Archive for coronavirus
Could plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients help others?
As new cases of COVID-19 mount daily, treatment revolves around supportive therapy to reduce symptoms, meaning there are no treatments shown to slow down or kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus. One new idea actually isn’t so new: transfusing blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients into patients currently sick with the disease. Last week, the Food and Drug ... Read More about Could plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients help others?
Teens, social distancing, and anxiety in the time of COVID-19
You’d think teens would be in their sweet spot: minimal school, no extracurriculars, and plenty of time to sleep in, watch Netflix, surf the web, and have video chats. But in reality, many teens are unnerved by COVID-19 and the disruption it has brought. Many struggle with being stuck at home, unable to visit their ... Read More about Teens, social distancing, and anxiety in the time of COVID-19
Mobile ‘location’ data could help guide COVID-19 social distancing measures
How well are quarantines and social distancing working to slow the COVID-19 pandemic? When is it safe for us to return to school or work? The answers could lie, in part, in the “location” data that companies like Google collect from us every day. Last week, a group of epidemiologists, public health experts, and data ... Read More about Mobile ‘location’ data could help guide COVID-19 social distancing measures
COVID-19 and children: Answers from a Boston Children’s Hospital expert
Parents around the world have been glued to news outlets for the past few weeks, looking for information about COVID-19 and how it might affect their kids. Although early reports from China indicated that most children and teens infected with COVID-19 only had mild to moderate symptoms, many parents are still understandably nervous about how ... Read More about COVID-19 and children: Answers from a Boston Children’s Hospital expert
COVID-19 and children: Understanding the science
As information on COVID-19 pours in from all kinds of sources, not all of them reliable, we wanted to bring you the facts about how children and teens appear to be responding to the infection. In recent weeks, several highly respected medical journals have published studies and commentaries based on observations in children and teens ... Read More about COVID-19 and children: Understanding the science
Help your kids stay busy and happy at home during COVID-19 shutdowns
With schools closed and many parents working from home, it can be a challenge to keep kids both busy and relaxed. For tips on how to help your child deal with cabin fever, we turned to Jill Twomey-McLaughlin and her colleagues in Child Life Services at Boston Children’s Hospital. Relax body and mind Add the ... Read More about Help your kids stay busy and happy at home during COVID-19 shutdowns
Crowdsourcing the COVID-19 pandemic in real time
News about the global COVID-19 pandemic changes virtually minute by minute. Beyond staying home, handwashing, and covering your cough, you may wonder what you can do to help. A new website developed by the HealthMap team at Boston Children’s Hospital, COVID Near You, offers one way. Taking a moment to share your health status on ... Read More about Crowdsourcing the COVID-19 pandemic in real time
Designing a coronavirus vaccine for next year – and the years beyond
As the number of coronavirus infections swell daily across the globe, strategies for developing a safe and effective vaccine are rapidly moving forward. In response to this public health crisis, the Precision Vaccines Program (PVP) at Boston Children’s Hospital is on the front lines of developing a coronavirus vaccine targeted especially toward older populations, those ... Read More about Designing a coronavirus vaccine for next year – and the years beyond
Messenger RNA: A game-changing advance in regenerative medicine
A new way to reprogram ordinary human cells into stem cells, using RNAs, appears safer and much more efficient than current methods — and can much more readily transform stem cells into specialized cells to treat disease. We now know that scientists can take one of your cells, perhaps a skin cell, and transform it into ... Read More about Messenger RNA: A game-changing advance in regenerative medicine