Medical innovation like never before

Coronavirus forced us to work together and think on our feet

One year into the coronavirus pandemic, an anniversary that nobody wants to celebrate, we have watched our world rapidly change into an unrecognizable, movie-like reality.

But to keep up with the enormous change, the medical community has collaborated and innovated in remarkable ways that I, as a health reporter, had the privilege of covering.

Flash back to the early days, when lifesaving personal protective equipment was extremely limited at hospitals. Did exhausted health care workers and scientists just give up? No, they created solutions with the help of their industry colleagues.

Doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital created a coronavirus testing booth that completely eliminated the need for PPE while keeping physicians safe inside the booth while conducting tests.

Also at the Brigham, doctors created a plastic hood to be used during intubation that limits the spread of respiratory droplets and provides a protective shield for health care workers.

At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in-house technology that decontaminates 2,000 N95 masks within two hours daily was implemented to sterilize the precious PPE.

And let’s not forget about all of the companies, such as New Balance, that pivoted operations to make masks and other protective gear when we needed it most.

As the pandemic continued to ramp up and it became clear that drugs, therapies and other treatments were needed, the medical community stepped up to meet the challenge.

We saw rapid developments in the use of convalescent plasma that was tested for both the prevention and treatment of coronavirus.

UMass Medical School in Worcester and Johns Hopkins University teamed up on two clinical trials to test the blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients in September.

Now, plasma infusions have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and have helped many patients.

The same goes for drugs such as remdesivir, which was tested across the country and at major Massachusetts hospitals and is now approved by the FDA for treating the coronavirus.

With each twist and turn of the pandemic, the brightest minds worked together to get out of sticky situations, help patients and assist their colleagues.

Of course, one of the largest and most amazing examples of this has been the historic development, distribution and administration of coronavirus vaccines which took global collaboration and innovation.

In fact, coronavirus vaccine success can even be traced back to cancer care, which set the stage for quick clinical trials, as noted by Dr. William Nelson, professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University and chair of the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

“Doing clinical research and doing it quickly did sample or rely on or was aided by the infrastructure around cancer researchers,” said Nelson.

Now, more than two million vaccines are being administered in the United States every day, each one bringing us a step closer to ending the pandemic and getting back to the things we love.

In all, it certainly has been quite a year to say the least. The world has experienced pain, isolation, grief and loss.

But in the future, I hope we can also remember the great strides that were made in science and medicine when experts worked together for the common good. I hope we can remember everything we gained right alongside everything we lost.

Herald staff file SAFE TESTING: Medical assistant Victoria Addonizio, left, demonstrates coronavirus testing procedures in a specialized booth with licensed practical nurse Ruby Villajuan at a Brigham and Women’s testing site at the city’s Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center on May 12.

COurtesy Of BrighaM aNd WOMeN’s hOspital KEEPING A LID ON IT: Health care workers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital developed an innovative design of intubation hood that protects caregivers from the coronavirus.

NicOlaus czarNecki / herald staff file STERILIZE AND REUSE: N95 masks are decontaminated by the Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System set up at Assembly Row in Somerville on April 11.