COVID-19 Activities

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Content last updated 4/28/2021

Select Key Research Findings

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Content last updated 4/28/21

Michael Boeckh and collaborators experimentally demonstrated that the spike protein of seasonal human coronavirus 229E evolves at a rate that, within one to two decades, allows it to escape neutralization by antibodies generated to provide immunity against the original strain.

Michael Boeckh and other Seattle Flu Study/SCAN investigators, including Amanda Casto, have demonstrated the feasibility of remote monitoring (using contactless methods of recruitment, enrollment and sample collection) for surveillance of influenza and other respiratory pathogens within households and in the community. The group has also applied these methods to investigate prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Seattle-area homeless shelters.

Amanda Casto contributed to a study that found that titers of neutralizing and binding antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein declined modestly within 4 months of COVID-19 symptom onset, consistent with other known viral infections.

Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda and Josh Schiffer developed an intra-host mathematical model of SARS CoV-2 kinetics that captures the timing and intensity of staged immune pressure against the virus, serves as a platform for clinical trial simulations, and identifies the relationship between viral shedding and immune responses. With Ashish Goyal. See manuscripts in Science Advances and Viruses.

Larry Corey is a co-author on two New England Journal of Medicine articles that describe safety and efficacy data from the Phase 3 trials of two SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. The first article demonstrated 94.1% efficacy of the Moderna mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 illness, with no safety concerns identified. The second article showed 66% efficacy of the single-dose Ad26.COV2.S vaccine from Johnson & Johnson in preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 illness, with an acceptable safety profile.  

Larry Corey, Emily Ford, and Anton Sholukh published a sero-epidemiology study of SARS-CoV-2 in Blaine County, ID, with follow up analysis of humoral response to seasonal coronaviruses and functionality of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (a collaboration with Ketchum FD, University of Washington [UW] Virology and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences).

Elizabeth Duke,  Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda, and Josh Schiffer developed a mathematical model to explain why remdesivir has a greater antiviral effect on SARS CoV-2 in lung versus nasal passages in rhesus macaques. With Ashish Goyal.

Josh Hill and Manoj Menon conducted a retrospective observational study to assess whether use of the immunomodulatory therapy tocilizumab is associated with clinical improvement of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and receiving supplemental oxygen.

Keith Jerome and Larry Corey conducted a population epidemiology study to characterize trends in PCR test positivity for SARS-CoV-2 in Washington (WA) State and the Seattle area before and after statewide physical distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders.

Keith Jerome 

• Developing and validating SARS-CoV-2 molecular assays, including multiplexing, sample pooling, sample stability, different specimen types, and a direct RT-qPCR assay that omits RNA extraction. See publications in Journal of Clinical Virology (Manuscripts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5), Journal of Clinical Microbiology (Manuscripts 1, 2 and 3), and PloS Biology, as well as a Commentary in JCM summarizing how their team rapidly validated tests and increased testing capacity.
  
• Validated a highly sensitive, specific test (Abbott SARS-CoV-2) that detects antibodies in the blood of a person who may have had the virus, and used the assay to measure population-level antibody prevalence in Boise, Idaho. Now assessing in UW Medicine employees and across WA State.
• Characterized SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology in hospitalized patients, including: 1) the occurrence and timing of subsequent PCR positivity in initially negative patients, 2) identification of lower respiratory tract SARS-CoV-2 in patients with negative nasopharyngeal tests, 3) SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in pregnant and postpartum patients, and 4) incidence of healthcare-associated SARS-CoV-2 acquisition. See also publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, Clinical Infectious Diseases and JAMA Internal Medicine.
• Pursuing the development and validation of faster tests that hospitals, doctor’s offices and pharmacies could use within minutes to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection, making testing more widely available and decreasing transmission. Determined the sensitivity of the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag CARD (a rapid antigen test for SARS-CoV-2); optimized and validated a dual-target reverse-transcriptase loop mediated amplification method for SARS-CoV-2 detection; and developed the SHERLOCK-Testing-in-One-Pot STOPCovid test.
• Involved in outbreak investigations tracking the presence and persistence of PCR-detectable SARS-CoV-2 and associated symptoms in both a Seattle-area assisted/independent living community and inpatient psychiatry unit.
  
• Involved in designing and implementing a system to expedite SARS-CoV-2 screening of donors and recipients to support continued solid organ transplantation.
• Identified an inverse correlation of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies levels and viral load, and association of viral load at presentation with clinical outcome.

Keith Jerome and Amanda Casto have completed a comparative assessment of the sensitivities and specificities of SARS-CoV-2 molecular assays using different primer sets and one commercial assay kit.

Keith Jerome and Pavitra Roychoudhury

• Are involved in genomic epidemiology efforts, using genomic surveillance and phylogenetic analyses to reveal SARS-CoV-2 lineages and determine likely transmission patterns within communities and across the US. See publications in Science (Manuscripts 1 and 2), Journal of Clinical Virology, Cell, and preprints (1 and 2).
  
• Have examined host responses to SARS-CoV-2 via RNAseq on nasopharyngeal swabs, revealing that the host response depends on viral load and infection time course, with observed differences due to age and sex that may contribute to disease severity.
• Provided the first direct evidence that pre-existing neutralizing antibodies are protective against SARS-CoV-2 infection, using data from a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak aboard a fishing vessel.
• Determined that no significant difference in clinical outcomes (hospitalization or death) could be discerned between individuals infected with different SARS-CoV-2 clades.
• Evaluated the Swift Biosciences single tube, SARS-CoV-2 multiplex amplicon sequencing panel for the recovery of genomes from low viral loads samples.
• By sequencing clinical isolates, identified variants of SARS-CoV-2 with large deletions.
  
• Have developed ddPCR-based assays to rapidly identify variants and mutations of concern.

Keith Jerome, Samuel Minot, and Pavitra Roychoudhury evaluated metagenomic approaches for unbiased detection of emerging pathogens including SARS-CoV-2.

Keith Jerome and Anna Wald contributed to a study which used B-cell epitope prediction methods, combined with comprehensive mining of sequence databases and structural data, to identify SARS-CoV-2 proteins suitable for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in serum samples.

Catherine Liu, Chikara Ogimi, Steve Pergam, and Alpana Waghmare conducted a study on “Clinical and Virologic Characteristics and Outcomes of Coronavirus Disease 2019 at a Cancer Center.”

Chikara Ogimi, Alpana Waghmare, Keith Jerome and Michael Boeckh identified risk factors (including hyperglycemia) for lower respiratory tract infection caused by seasonal human coronaviruses, in a retrospective study of recipients of hematopoietic cell transplants. 

Chikara Ogimi and Michael Boeckh conducted an ecological study to examine whether childhood vaccine status is associated with COVID-19 related outcomes on a country basis.

Chikara Ogimi has reviewed current knowledge and recent discoveries on the virology, epidemiology and disease associated with common, community-acquired human coronaviruses and coronaviruses responsible for past epidemics in pediatrics and immunocompromised hosts.

Steve Pergam contributed to a cross-sectional study of 230 US vaccine trials with 219,555 participants, which demonstrated that racial/ethnic minority groups and people 65 years and older are underrepresented in US vaccine trials.  

Steve Pergam, Catherine Liu, and Keith Jerome investigated SARS-CoV-2 prevalence, clinical characteristics and outcomes in symptomatic Seattle-area healthcare workers.

Dan Reeves and Josh Schiffer developed a mathematical model, parameterized with demographic and contact data from King County, WA, to project SARS-CoV-2 transmission during and after various reopening scenarios, with the goal of understanding how adjunctive interventions and physical distancing may be used to help society return to “normalcy” including the safe reopening of schools, and to endure potential subsequent epidemic waves. Recently released COVID projections app. With Chloe Bracis (Grenoble), Eileen Burns, Dobromir Dimitrov, Mia Moore, and Dave Swan.

Dan Reeves, Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda, and Josh Schiffer developed a SARS CoV-2 transmission model that links observed viral shedding kinetics with key epidemiologic features of transmission, identifies viral loads necessary for SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and explains why super-spreader events are more common for SARS-CoV-2 than for influenza. They then used this model to demonstrate that widespread use of even modestly effective masks is predicted to severely limit epidemic spread, and to identify early super-spreader events as a likely determinant of SARS-CoV-2 variant predominance. With Ashish Goyal and Bryan Mayer. This work was featured directly in the New York Times and LA times and also cited in the Atlantic, the Washington Post, NPR and the Smithsonian.

Dan Reeves and Josh Schiffer identified rapid vaccination and early implementation of partial lockdown as critical variables to save lives in the context of emerging highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 variant, by simulating multiple scenarios using the above model. With Chloe Bracis (Grenoble), Dobromir Dimitrov, Mia Moore, and Dave Swan. This work was featured in Geekwire, and is also now featured on a user-friendly webpage intended to simulate possible trajectories for COVID-19 epidemiology in King County. 

Dan Reeves used phylogenetically-informed models of viral evolution to determine that neutral evolution, rather than adaptive selection, can explain rare mutations seen across SARS-CoV-2 genomes, and that a single vaccine candidate should be efficacious against currently circulating lineages. In partnership with collaborators at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Josh Schiffer determined that optimal COVID-19 vaccine allocation strategies depend critically on the degree of viral transmission and the single-dose efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. The study used mathematical modeling combined with optimization algorithms to minimize five metrics of disease burden. With Laura Matrajt, Julia Eaton, Tiffany Leung, Dobromir Dimitrov, Dave Swan, and Holly Janes.

Josh Schiffer found that circulating immune signatures were similar in patients hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2, Flu, or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection compared to healthy donors. However, regulatory T cells were elevated in the circulation of patients with the most critical COVID-19 disease, and showed phenotypic changes indicating increased suppressive capacity and tissue-migratory patterns. With Sarah Vick, Marie Frutoso, Florian Mair, Andrew J Konecny, Evan Greene, Caitlin Wolf, Jennifer Logue, Jim Boonyaratanakornkit, Raphael Gottardo, Helen Chu, Martin Prlic, and Jennifer Lund.

Josh Schiffer and Keith Jerome investigated the longitudinal dynamics of IgG and IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 infection and demonstrated that antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 do not appear to be the primary mechanism underlying viral clearance from the nasal passages. With Ashish Goyal, Shuyi Yang (summer student) and Alex Greninger.

Anton Sholukh, Emily Ford, Keith Jerome, and Larry Corey compared three platforms for SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and demonstrate high concordance between cell-based assays with live and pseudotyped virions.

Josh Schiffer and Dan Reeves used mathematical modelling to assess the potential impact of COVID-19 vaccines that prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection, versus those that only prevent symptomatic COVID-19 disease after infection, on the numbers of infections and deaths in King County, Washington. With Dobromir Dimitrov, Dave Swan, Chloe Bracis (Grenoble), Holly Janes, Mia Moore, Laura Matrajt, Elieen Burns, Deborah Donnell, and Myron Cohen. 

Josh Schiffer, Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda, Dan Reeves and Larry Corey used this vaccine efficacy model to predict the extent to which a vaccine will need to reduce infectiousness in order to prevent or limit the extent of a fourth epidemic wave in spring 2021, the reduction in viral load needed for an adequate reduction in infectiousness, and the size of a study that is needed to determine how much a vaccine prevents infection. With Ashish Goyal, Dobromir Dimitrov, Dave Swan, Chloe Bracis (Grenoble), Mia Moore, Elizabeth Krantz, Elizabeth Brown, Fei Gao, Peter Gilbert, Myron Cohen (UNC), and Holly Janes. See coverage in Geekwire.

Alpana Waghmare, Josh Schiffer, Michael Boeckh, Keith Jerome, Elizabeth Duke, Dan Reeves, and Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda demonstrated that self-sampling with mid-nasal foam swabs is well-tolerated and provides quantitative viral output concordant with mid-turbinate flocked swabs, that nasal cytokine levels correlate and cluster according to immune cell of origin, and that periods of stable viral loads are followed by rapid elimination, which could be coupled with cytokine expansion and contraction using mathematical models. Studies are ongoing to determine the utility of the foam swab for SARS-CoV-2 testing at home. With Subhasish Baral.

Anna Wald contributed to a publication that describes comprehensive profiling of T cell and antibody functions related to targeting SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The study revealed a functionally diverse and coordinated response between T cells and antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2, which is reduced in the presence of comorbid illnesses that are known risk factors for severe COVID-19.

Anna Wald, Elizabeth Duke and Amanda Casto, as study investigators in the ACTT-1 NIH randomized controlled trial of remdesivir for hospitalized patients, showed that remdesivir was superior to placebo in shortening the time to recovery in adults who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and had evidence of lower respiratory tract infection.

Anna Wald and Keith Jerome, as part of the COVID-19 Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) Trial, found that hydroxychloroquine did not demonstrate a clinically meaningful effect in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, among contacts of persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Anna Wald, Keith Jerome, and Joshua Schiffer, as part of the COVID-19 Treatment Study: Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and Azithromycin (AZ), that neither HCQ nor HCQ/AZ shortened the clinical course of outpatients with COVID-19.

Danniel Zamora, Keith Jerome and Anna Wald assessed clinical, laboratory, and temporal predictors of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 among COVID-19 convalescent plasma donor candidates. With Jim Boonyaratanakornkit.

Active and Pending Funding

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Content last updated 4/28/21

Michael Boeckh

• The CovidWatch Study, funded by Amazon. A Longitudinal Observational Study To Determine SARS-Cov-2 Incidence, Asymptomatic And Symptomatic Infection, And Immune Correlates In Healthy Individuals With High Risk Of Exposure. . [active]
  
• NIH/NIAID Covid Immune Protection Study (Co-I): Functional and dysfunctional human CD4 T-cell and B-cell responses to bacteria and viruses. [active]
• Merck Investigator Studies Program Funding for “Cytomegalovirus viremia as risk factor for poor outcome of COVID-19.” [pending]
  
• Contract with Ridgeback for COVID trial titled “A Phase IIa, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of EIDD-2801 to Eliminate SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection in Persons with COVID-19.” With Elizabeth Duke. [active]

Elizabeth Duke

• Contract with Merck for COVID trial titled “Efficacy and Safety of Molnupiravir (MK4482) in Non-Hospitalized Adult Participants with COVID-19 (MK4482-002).”

Josh Hill 

• Contract agreement with Gilead for COVID Phase 3 trial to evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Remdesivir in an Outpatient Setting.

Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda and Josh Schiffer

• Submitted an R01 COVID-19 Supplement entitled Mathematical Modeling of Optimal Therapeutic Combinations for HIV Cure. The proposed research is relevant to public health because understanding which drug dose, treatment initiation and schedule will lead to plausible combinations of repurposed, tested agents against SARS-CoV-2 achieve reduction of viral shedding and intensity of inflammatory response may significantly optimize the design of clinical trials geared to that purpose.
  

Keith Jerome

• Paul G. Allen Family Foundation funded study that will use antibody testing to determine the percentage of Washingtonians who have been infected by COVID-19, and the prevalence of infection within certain populations.
•  MJ Murdock Charitable Trust. COVID-19 Point of Care Assay Evaluation. Aim to validate and deliver point-of-care COVID-19 diagnostic test for use in hospitals, doctors’ offices and pharmacies. This will accelerate testing, isolation and treatment of infected individuals, saving thousands of lives. Daniel Stone contributed to writing the proposal.

Manoj Menon

• Assessing the Inflammatory Cytokine Profile in the Treatment of COVID‐19 Among Recipients of Convalescent Plasma or Placebo on “Passive Immunity Trial for Our Nation Study.”
  

Steve Pergam

• Vanderbilt U01 COVID supplement. Comparison of High vs. Standard Dose Flu Vaccine in Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Recipients. Will retrospectively identify immunocompromised patients with prior COVID-19, and will prospectively enroll immunocompromised patients who had a proven or suspected COVID-19 infection or have had an exposure to SARS-COV-2.

Warren Phipps

• Submitted response in July to NIH U54 funding opportunity to establish SARS-CoV-2 Serologic Sciences Centers of Excellence in East Africa as part of a multi-institutional collaboration among the Fred Hutch, University of Nebraska, Uganda Cancer Institute, and Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Tanzania.

Josh Schiffer

• R01 supplement to use an existing COVID-19 cohort to assess multiple potential immunologic markers of progression to severe disease at initial clinical presentation, identify immunologic variables associated with viral elimination over ensuing weeks, and compare these measures to persons infected with other respiratory viruses such as RSV and influenza. With Martin Prlic, Jennifer Lund, and Helen Chu (UW).
• Internal Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center COVID-19 funding to test multiple cancer agents against SARS-CoV-2 replication and to then simulate trials with these agents. With Dobromir Dimitrov.
• Funding through the Centers for Disease Control Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to develop forecasts and intervention-focused mathematical models for rapid dissemination to the public. With Dobromir Dimitrov.
• Submitted an R01 that proposed testing combinations of repurposed drugs against SARS, SARS-CoV-2 and MERS and using these results to propose rapid clinical trial designs for the next coronavirus pandemic. With Judith White (UVA), Steve Polyak (UW).
• Submitted an R13 to host the Viral Dynamics Conference in Seattle. This conference, which focuses on modeling viral infections in an infected host, will have a heavy focus on COVID-19 this year. With Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda.
• Submitting a P51 as a co-investigator to study the dynamics of inflammation associated with COVID-19 in non-human primates. With Fei Gao, Mirko Paiardini (Emory)

Alpana Waghmare

• NIH/NIAID R01: Evaluation of viral and host response kinetics to respiratory viral infections, including SARS-CoV-2, early during infection in a prospective surveillance cohort and to identify specific cellular populations that are associated with severe disease in both peripheral blood and the lower respiratory tract.
• FH COVID-19 Pilot: Study to evaluate early transcriptomic signatures in COVID-19 using a home-based blood collection system.
• CDC BAA (Co-I): Longitudinal assessment of immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in children
• NIH/NIAID Covid Immune Protection Study (Co-I): Functional and dysfunctional human CD4 T-cell and B-cell responses to bacteria and viruses.

Anna Wald

• UM1AI1485731from NIH/NIAID  for UW Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit (VTEU) -  Provided funds for NIH sponsored clinical trial of Remdesivir for COVID-19 infections, Novavax Phase 3 clinical trial of a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, and Gritstone Phase1 COVD-19 vaccine. 
• Funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for BMGF COVID-19 PEP Study (with Ruanne Barnabas), A randomized, open-label trial of post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) using hydroxychloroquine in adults exposed to the virus to determine the safety, tolerability, and preventive efficacy of the drug.
• “A Pilot Study for Collection of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Immune Plasma,” Sponsor:  Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc.
  

Jia Zhu

• As a co-Investigator along with PIs and other co-investigators at UW School of Engineering received a NIAID funded U01 to develop a highly sensitive and specific immunoresistive sensor for point-of-care screening of COVID-19.

Media Engagements, Outreach, and Community Involvement

                                                                                                                                                                                                        Content last updated 4/19/21

AUGUST 2020 - APRIL 2021

Larry Corey

• Listed as one of “The 8 most important leaders of Operation Warp Speed” by STAT News. FDA approval of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine can be credited in part to Dr. Corey’s leadership of the COVID-19 Prevention Network that oversaw the Moderna trial and other vaccine testing programs. 
• Spoke at the National Academy of Medicine's COVID Conversations webinar series on Nov 18, 2020: COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Development, Approval, Allocation and Distribution in the U.S. More than 6,900 people attended.
• Presented “COVID-19 Vaccine” for University of Washington Medicine Grand Rounds on January 22, 2021.
• Dr. Corey’s work was included in a Hutch News story that took a look back at 2020, where scientists applied their diverse expertise to the COVID-19 pandemic while advancing discoveries and cures for cancer.
• Wrote opinion articles:
  • “The mRNA vaccine news is good. But let's keep masks for now” and “The Evolving Virus Against the Vaccines” for the Timmerman Report
  • “A pandemic holiday brings scientific gifts of innovation” for the Seattle Times
• Interviewed for:
  • Seattle Times Q&A story “New study of students at UW, other colleges, will answer a key question about coronavirus transmission”
  • Frontpage Seattle Times story “With a coronavirus vaccine on the way, clinical trials leader reflects on what’s next”.
  • National Public Radio story for “Why You Should Still Wear A Mask And Avoid Crowds After Getting The COVID-19 Vaccine”
• Quoted in:
  • “Don't expect a coronavirus vaccine before December, experts caution” from CNN
  • “The Race for a Coronavirus Vaccine Runs Through Fred Hutch” from the Seattle Met
  • “‘As good as it gets’: Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, which got its start in Seattle, is 94.5% effective” from GeekWire
  • “COVID-19 vaccines may not prevent spread of virus, so mask-wearing, other protections still critical” from University of Washington News
  • “Second doses not guaranteed at Snohomish County vaccination sites” and “VERIFY: Length of immunity after getting COVID-19 vaccine remains unclear” from KING 5 News
  • “New strains of COVID swiftly moving through the US need careful watch, scientists say” from USA Today
  • “The coronavirus is going to stick around forever. Get ready for the new normal” from Insider
  • “What Will it Take to Make Covid-19 Vaccines Variant-Proof?” from Wired
  • “Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine could increase immunization access for Washington's rural areas” from KING 5 News
• Multiple local news appearances include KING 5-TV’s morning newscast, in which Dr. Corey reflected on the start of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations, and KOMO 4-TV’s evening newscast for a story about herd immunity, vaccine testing in children and the vaccine scarcity.
• Discover Magazine quoted Dr. Corey in “Will the Vaccine End the Pandemic? This Question Must Be Answered” and featured results of a preprint study with co-author Josh Schiffer “COVID-19 vaccines that reduce symptoms but do not block infection need higher coverage and faster rollout to achieve population impact”. Drs. Corey and Schiffer are quoted in “UK variant likely to drive new wave of US transmission in spring, experts say” from CNN, "We may never reach herd immunity on coronavirus – but it probably doesn’t matter” the Seattle Times.
• Featured in “A year after I first wrote about recovering from COVID-19, here’s how my life has changed” in the Seattle Times.
• Anna Wald and Larry Corey are quoted in “What will it take for Washington state to reach 'herd immunity?” and “When COVID-19 vaccine is available, will you get it? Some fret about side effects” from KOMO News.

Josh Hill was Interviewed for KIRO 7-TV’s evening newscast for a story on whether cancer patients should get the COVID-19 vaccines.

Keith Jerome:

• Recognized in a Hutch News Story for ‘fearless science’. As the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in spring of 2020, Dr. Jerome moved quickly to build capacity for diagnostic testing to detect the coronavirus at the University of Washington Medicine Clinical Virology Lab at a time when there were few options in the U.S.
• Joined Fred Hutch President and Director Tom Lynch and other experts for an Alaska Airline funded event: “Rising to the Challenges of a Pandemic: A Conversation with Experts”.
• Multiple invited expert commentator appearances discussing COVID-19 for the Dave Ross Radio Show: 2020-February 2021

Catherine Liu was interviewed in “Lessons Learned About COVID and Cancer— Applying evidence, acknowledging uncertainty, adapting, moving forward with humility” for MedPage Today and quoted in “If I Have Cancer, Dementia or MS, Should I Get the Covid Vaccine?” for Kaiser Health News.

Manoj Menon was quoted in “Early Use of High-Titer Plasma May Prevent Severe COVID-19” for Medscape

Steve Pergam

• Sat on the Advisory Committee for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products, which reviewed results of 2020’s massive clinical trials testing both the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Dr. Pergam voted to endorse their emergency use. Read the full story from Hutch News
• A Fred Hutch News story profiling Dr. Pergam was highlighted in “Hutch News Tip Sheet: Summaries of recent Fred Hutch research findings and other news”. Fred Hutch also checked in with patients and national experts and clinicians, including Dr. Pergam, to get some answers about the COVID-19 vaccines and cancer patients. Read the full story from Hutch News.
• Quoted in:
  • “FDA plans to authorize Moderna's coronavirus vaccine quickly” from CNN
  • “With COVID-19 vaccine in short supply, confusion abounds over second shots” and “What to expect as Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine rolls out in Washington state’ from the Seattle Times
  • “Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine gets panel support, set to become the second cleared by FDA for use in US” from USA Today
  • “FDA plans to OK 2nd COVID-19 vaccine after panel endorsement” from AP News
  • “Recommendation paves way for FDA authorization of Moderna Covid vaccine in US” from The Guardian
  • “In the Vaccine Scramble, Cancer Patients Are Left Behind” and “As Covid-19 Vaccines Raise Hope, Cold Reality Dawns That Illness Is Likely Here to Stay” from the New York Times
  • “NCCN Releases Guidelines on COVID-19 Vaccinations in Patients With Cancer” from Targeted Oncology
  • “Vaccine trials fail to capture representative sample of Americans” from Axios
• Interviewed for:
  • “Oncologists can allay COVID-19 vaccination concerns of patients with cancer, survivors” from Healio
  • “COVID complicates Thanksgiving as families struggle to modify 2020 holiday plans” from CNBC
  • “Health workers worried about Halloween COVID-19 increases” from Kiro 7 News
  • “No flu yet, but still — get your shot” and “Halloween is a dress rehearsal this year” from Fred Hutch News

Joshua Schiffer

• Promoted mask-wearing in a press conference with Governor Jay Inslee, by presenting strong evidence that mask-wearing prevents COVID-19 from spreading at the alarming, exponential rate currently experienced by multiple states, and sharply diminishes the severity of the virus should it pass from an infected person wearing a mask to another person wearing a mask. King 5 News aired Dr. Schiffer's warning about the dangers caused by leadership not promoting mask-wearing at a national level.
• Led studies mentioned in a front-page New York Times article “The Coronavirus Is Threatening a Comeback. Here’s How to Stop It”, along with a quote, and a Washington Post article “We’ve known how to fight the coronavirus since March. We just have to do it”.
• Wrote opinion articles:
  • “Against COVID-19, Imperfect Measures Do the Most Good” for the New York Times
  • “Make the necessary sacrifices to avoid an unimaginable catastrophe” for the Seattle Times
  • Interviewed by Audie Cornish of National Public Radio for “Medical Residents Study Whether Trump Rallies Are Tied To Infection Spikes” and Q13 News for “Doctor answers top COVID-19 questions”.
• Quoted in:
  • “Why easing COVID-19 restrictions too soon could be a boon for coronavirus variants” from the LA Times
  • “Can a fourth wave of COVID-19 be prevented? Not likely, says Fred Hutch model — but the curve could be flattened” from the Seattle Times.
  • “Is it really time to roll back gathering restrictions? Some experts are optimistic about WA moving to Phase 3” from KUOW
  • “Can vaccinated people still transmit COVID-19? The answer is key for herd immunity, research finds” in GeekWire
  • “Pence’s Chief of Staff and Other Key Aides Test Positive for Coronavirus” from the Wall Street Journal
  • “MLS Cup playoffs begin as COVID-19 cases spike: Will postseason be finished safely outside a bubble?” from ESPN
  • “Can COVID-19 testing allow us to gather safely for the holidays?” from Reuters

Anton Sholukh was invited by the World Health Organization to present at a meeting of their Solidarity II workgroup, a global collaboration that promotes the implementation of serological studies of SARS-CoV-2.

Anna Wald

• Among those whose work was featured in the “12 most viewed stories in 2020” from University of Washington Medicine Newsroom. The article was ranked #7 by unique page and was titled “Plasma donors sought among recovered COVID-19 patients”.
• A University of Washington Medicine Newsroom story “UW Medicine starts Novavax COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial“ covered the start of volunteer enrollment for an investigational trial that Dr. Wald is co-leading. The Phase III study is examining whether the Novavax vaccine candidate can protect against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19. The trial is part of the NIH’s newly established COVID-19 Prevention Network formed by NIAID.
• Quoted in:
  • “We Just Got One Step Closer To Emergency U.S. Approval For The Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine” from Refinery29
  • “Do your vaccine side effects predict how you'd react To COVID-19” from HuffPost
  • “Poll: Many people insist they will not get a COVID-19 vaccine”, “Experts concerned people will view Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine as inferior”, “Do COVID-19 survivors still need to get a vaccine?”, “Why aren't teachers more highly prioritized in Washington's COVID-19 vaccine rollout?”, “What common side effects happen after taking COVID-19 vaccine?” and “Pfizer's COVID-19 likely to receive emergency use authorization” from KOMO News
  • A COVID-19 vaccine for children could be available next fall” from KIRO 7 News
  • “Roll up your sleeve to fight COVID-19: 3 new vaccine trials will start soon in the Seattle area” from the Seattle Times

JANUARY - AUGUST 2020

Michael Boeckh’s CovidWatch study was recently featured on the front page of The Seattle Times, “Fred Hutch Study Targets Front-line Workers Most at Risk from the Coronavirus.”

Amanda Casto was interviewed by a writer for UW Medicine for an article on clinician recommendations for the upcoming influenza season in the context of the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Article to appear in UW Medicine patient publication Right as Rain.

Larry Corey

• • In April, was appointed as a member on two of the working groups (the COVID Clinical Trial Capacity and the COVID Vaccines working groups) that make up the NIH-led Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) program. Led by an Executive Committee that includes the directors of NIH and NIAID, ACTIV is a public-private collaboration intended to streamline the processes of SARS-CoV-2 candidate vaccine development and testing, including serving as a centralized program for the harmonization of clinical trials and accelerated licensure and distribution of successful vaccine candidates and therapeutic modalities. A May 11^th news release summarized this effort, which has received widespread attention from a range of news organizations such as Reuters, Geekwire, and The ASCO Post.
  • Will head the Hutch-based operations center for the COVID-19 Prevention Network (CoVPN), a collaboration formed by Anthony Fauci to manage multiple large-scale clinical trials of coronavirus vaccines including Moderna’s phase three COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial, which began on July 27. Dr. Corey discusses this effort in a June 4^th article on the Hutch News Stories webpage titled “Q&A: Dr. Larry Corey at the center of COVID-19 vaccine research” and has been very actively involved in keeping the public informed about CoVPN and the challenges and opportunities surrounding development of vaccines for COVID-19. Some engagements include interviews with ABC News for “As pressure for vaccine builds, regulators may face difficult decision,” The Washington Post for “Decades of research on an HIV vaccine boosts the bid for one against coronavirus,” McClatchy DC for “Will Trump’s ‘Operation Warp Speed’ rush the science of a coronavirus vaccine?” and Wired for “Let’s Say There’s a Covid-19 Vaccine—Who Gets It First? An immunization shot is still in development, but debate over who gets priority has already begun.” Other recent media engagements include quotes and interviews with NBC New York, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider and KIRO 7.
  • Spoke about his recent Science Policy Forum on COVID-19 co-authored with NIH/NIAID directors Anthony Fauci, Francis Collins and John Mascola on the podcast Long Run with Luke Timmerman
  • CNN, GeekWire and Hutch News were among the media that covered Larry Corey and John Mascola’s discussion on COVID-19 vaccine development for Tom Lynch’s webinar “Vaccinating the World: Two Global Experts Explain What It Will Take to Succeed.”

Emily Ford and Danniel Zamora are part of a team of volunteers deployed to area nursing homes to provide SARS-CoV-2 testing to people in facilities with multiple confirmed COVID positive cases.

Keith Jerome

• • The Seattle Times discussed his antibody study which will gauge the prevalence of COVID-19 in WA, in partnership with the WA Department of Health and funded by the Allen Family Foundation.
  • Participated as a panelist speaker at a Life Science Washington webinar titled “Emerging from COVID-19: A Ground-Zero Perspective from the Washington Life Science Community.”
  • Was quoted in a GeekWire article about how the rise in positive COVID-19 tests indicates a rise in infections rather than false positives.
  • Was quoted by NBC News about the impact of testing delays on transmission or the need for self-quarantine in “COVID-19 tests: There's an insurmountable backlog of virus tests. A rapid test could help
  • ”The Seattle Times discussed Keith Jerome and Larry Corey’s JAMA Network paper characterizing the Seattle COVID-19 outbreak, analyzing testing demographics, and quantifying viral load in COVID-19 patients.
  • Hutch News covered a study by Keith Jerome, Samuel Minot, Pavitra Roychoudhury and collaborators that evaluated metagenomic approaches for unbiased detection of emerging pathogens including SARS-CoV-2.

Fellow Olivia Kates was quoted by KING 5 News in “Experts concerned coronavirus cases could rise with Seattle protests.”

Catherine Liu

• • Was quoted in a Cancer Today article titled “Treating cancer patients with COVID-19: A New York City experience.”
  • Was quoted in the HealthLeaders article “How cancer clinics can treat patients safely during the coronavirus pandemic.”
  • Gave a podcast on “Best Practices for Drive-Thru COVID Screening” for Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).
  • Participated as a panelist in the forum “How Will We Bring Patients Back to the Clinic,” for the American Association for Cancer Research Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer, July 20-22, 2020.

Catherine Liu and Steve Pergam

• • Each gave a talk for the Washington State Medical Oncology Society Virtual Conference Series on COVID-19, on June 25, 2020.
  • Gave a podcast on “Infection Prevention efforts to protect patients with cancer from COVID-19,” available on the SCCA Blog.

Steve Pergam has been very actively involved in keeping the public informed. Some engagements include talking to KUOW for “Coronavirus outbreak means tough decisions for cancer patients, physicians”, the Scientific American podcast “Coronavirus Hot Zone: Research and Responses in the U.S. Epicenter”, and KING 5 news for “The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Distancing.” He was featured in The Seattle Times article “The etiquette of social distancing in the time of coronavirus, from the 'Miss Manners' of germs” as well as GeekWire’s story “Infectious disease expert Steve Pergam shares his prescription for a safe weekend get-together.” Recently he was interviewed by NPR and Scripps National News about the importance and timing of flu vaccination in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other media engagements include quotes and interviews with the Wall Street Journal, USAToday, NPR, Forbes, Scripps National News, ESPN, Healio, ACCC, MedPage Today, CURE Today and Cancer Health magazines, The Cancer Letter, Poz, The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, KOMO News, Q13 FOX News, Patient Worthy, Unravel Pediatric Cancer Podcast, CureTalks podcast, Uromigos podcast, MyNorthwest, Women’s Health Magazine, the SCCA blog and podcast, and Hutch News.

Warren Phipps

• • Presented on “Cancer management during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa” as an invited speaker to the NIH National Cancer Institute Project ECHO Webinar on August 6, 2020.
  • Presented on “Best Practices in Cancer Care in COVID-19 Era: Considerations for Adaptation to the Africa Region” as an invited speaker to the NIH National Cancer Institute Project ECHO Webinar on April 9, 2020.

Pavitra Roychoudhury

• • Was quoted by the New York Times in an article about the use of genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses to determine likely transmission patterns of SARS-CoV-2 in Seattle and throughout the US. Her work in this area has also been featured in the Timmerman Report, on KHSU public radio, on Boise State Public Radio, and in a University of Idaho alumni feature.
  • Her work associated with the CDC’s Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response, Epidemiology and Surveillance (SPHERES) project has been covered by DarkDaily, and she was quoted in a New York Times article about SPHERES.
  • An article in Times of India quoted one of her tweets to support the viewpoint that it was premature to suggest higher virulence in an Indian strain of SARS-CoV-2, based on the limited genomic data at the time.

Josh Schiffer

• • Interviewed for the NPR Podcast Innovation Hub in a piece titled "An Imperfect Toolkit for COVID-19" in which he discusses that holding out for a perfect solution for COVID-19 could be unwise, and the rapid and extensive use of a number of imperfect prevention and treatment methods is the key to turning the tide. He presents the benefits of some effective, although far from flawless, tools in the battle against COVID-19. 
  • Has participated in six episodes of Joel Asks Fred Hutch, an Instagram Live COVID-19 Q&A series in which he and comedian Joel McHale discuss the latest efforts in the pandemic response. The episodes have collectively been viewed well over 400,000 times on Instagram.
  • Was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for “Why Fully Recovering from Coronavirus Might Take Longer than Expected.”
  • Was quoted in the New Yorker article “How Does the Coronavirus Behave Inside a Patient?”, the NPR article “Without a Vaccine, Researchers Say, Herd Immunity May Never Be Achieved,” the New York Times article “Airlines say it’s safe to travel. But is it?”, the Guardian article “Can you catch coronavirus twice? What we know about Covid-19 so far” and the Axios articles “Pandemic science speeds up — but there are limits” and “More young people are getting — and spreading — the coronavirus.”
  • Scientific article in Open Forum Infectious Diseases was discussed by Fox News in “COVID-19 must be treated earlier to save lives, scientists advise.”
  • His pre-print article entitled “Wrong person, place and time: viral load and contact network structure predict SARS-CoV-2 transmission and super-spreading events” with Ashish Goyal, Daniel Reeves, Fabian Cardozo-Ojeda and Bryan Mayer has received extensive media attention including an article in the New York Times, appearances on the Today show and KOMO news, and will be featured in the Smithsonian.
  • Consulting for the National Football League, Aegis Living, Explorer West Middle School, and Pac NW Soccer Club to assist with COVID-19 planning for the autumn.

Alpana Waghmare

• • Was interviewed by CNN health, and quoted by The Scientist, about SARS-CoV-2 viral load in children, in relation to a recent study suggesting that young children may have higher viral loads than adults.
  • Participated in a town hall by the ASTCT focused on current patient guidelines and practices for COVID-19.
  • Was part of Seattle Children’s Online Grand Rounds on “COVID-19: The Seattle Children’s Experience.”

 

Anna Wald

 

• • Appeared on KIRO 7 to discuss COVID-19 vaccine development, including the apparent limitations of the process followed in developing the Russian vaccine, the steps the FDA will mandate to ensure safety of any vaccine tested in the US, and which populations will be targeted for enrollment in COVID-19 vaccine trials in the US in order to benefit those most affected by the disease.
  • Co-leading the COVID-19 Plasma Donation Study which was covered by King 5 News, the News Tribune and the UW Medicine Newsroom.

 

Danniel Zamora participated in the Northwest Hospital surge capacity response earlier this year by working in the medical ICU treating/caring for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients, and volunteered covering the hospital-wide UW Medical Center clinical COVID-19 pager answering and advising clinical questions regarding COVID-19 treatment and testing.