Media Coverage

The SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7, which first cropped up in the United Kingdom, was identified by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine during an analysis of samples from positive COVID-19 tests, officials said.

The new COVID variant first detected in the U.K. has made its way to Chicago. Chicago and Illinois public health departments today announced that the case was identified through an analysis of positive COVID tests by Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

“While we knew that the memories of people with primary progressive aphasia were not affected at first, we did not know if they maintained their memory functioning over years,” said study author Dr. M. Marsel Mesulam, director of the Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

From a public health perspective, “testing is necessary in the short-term to be able to react quickly when cases are increasing and prevent or interrupt outbreaks whereas vaccinations are a prophylactic solution to prevent cases and end the pandemic,” said Dr. Sadiya Khan, assistant professor of preventive medicine in epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Some good news is that vaccines are already being distributed to high priority groups and, with that, people should develop immunity to the virus. But even so, we could be doing this weird version of reality for a while, says Clyde Yancy, MD, vice dean for diversity and inclusion at Northwestern Medicine. “Every prediction that anyone might say would be a rough approximation—from me included,” he says.

“Our goal is to make COVID-19 mild instead of severe, making it comparable to a bad cold,” study co-author Dr. Scott Budinger said in the news release. He is chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Study co-author Dr. Richard Wunderink, professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Feinberg and medical director of Northwestern Medicine’s ICU, added that “this effort truly represents a ‘moonshot’ in COVID-19 research.”

Here’s an example I ran by Dr. Marc Sala, a critical care and pulmonary specialist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine: A vaccinated person could be exposed to someone infected with the coronavirus. The virus might hang out in their respiratory tract for a period of time as it tries — and, due to the vaccine, likely fails — to get a better foothold in their system. During that time, they could potentially transmit the virus to another person, who might go on to develop COVID-19.

“Through supporting pediatric clinicians in adhering to the guidelines, we have an achievable way to prevent peanut allergy and reduce incidence, which is exciting,” Dr. Ruchi Gupta, the study principal investigator, noted.

It’s a test that looks “promising” for helping doctors decide when a patient may not need a CT scan, said Dr. Cynthia LaBella, a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and medical director for the Institute for Sports Medicine at Lurie Children’s Hospital. “I think where this can be helpful is in that setting where you’re trying to decide, do I need to scan this person,” LaBella said.

Here in Illinois, there have been successes. Dr. Sadiya Khan, an assistant professor and epidemiologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told us that large hospitals have done a good job of vaccinating doctors, nurses and other employees who work with patients. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday that one-third of all health care workers have gotten at least one of the two shots needed.