Infectious Diseases | Mount Sinai Today

Heart Disease and COVID-19: How to Reduce Your Risks

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | COVID-19, Featured, Your Health

During the pandemic, you may be exercising less, limiting your trips outside, and no longer eating a healthy diet, and this may be taking its toll. Some doctors say 25 percent of their patients have gained up to 20 pounds, and that can be leading to decline in mental health.

As a result, during this difficult period, experts at Mount Sinai are encouraging a focus on exercise, mental health, and nutrition, especially for those already at risk for heart disease, and they are sharing some tips on heart disease prevention to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and COVID-19.

Icilma Fergus, MD

“It is critical to stay physically fit and in your best personal health to combat heart disease, COVID-19 infection and the post-COVID effects,” says Icilma Fergus, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Disparities at The Mount Sinai Hospital. “During this pandemic some patients have expressed they’re dealing with stress, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. We discuss techniques to improve their mental and emotional wellness, which carries over to their cardiovascular health.”

Doctors say participating in home-exercise programs, taking a short walk, dancing, stretching, and even house cleaning will get you moving and make a difference.

“Keeping a good mental outlook is also key and it’s important for people to find ways to ensure that this happens by staying active, meditating, or simply doing things that make them happy,” says Dr. Fergus.

Tips for Lowering Heart Disease Risk

• Know your family history.

• Be aware of five key numbers cited by the American Heart Association: blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL (or “good”) cholesterol, body mass index, and fasting glucose levels.

• Maintain a healthy diet, eating nutrient-rich food and eliminating sweets. Limit alcohol consumption to no more than one drink per day. Quit smoking. Watch your weight and exercise regularly.

• Learn the warning signs of heart attack and stroke, including chest discomfort; shortness of breath; pain in arms, back, neck, or jaw; breaking out in a cold sweat; and lightheadedness.

According to the American Heart Association, about one in three people with COVID-19 has cardiovascular disease, making it the most common underlying health condition. COVID-19 patients with underlying conditions are six times more likely to be hospitalized and 12 times more likely to die than patients without any chronic health problems.

Nearly half of adults in the United States—more than 121 million people—have some type of cardiovascular disease. It is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States; nearly 650,000 die from it every year. Yet heart disease is preventable 80 percent of the time.

COVID-19’s Impact on the Heart and Recovery

COVID-19 can cause an inflammatory response in the body, along with clotting that can impact the heart and how it functions. Mount Sinai researchers discovered that some hospitalized COVID-19 patients have structural damage after cardiac injury that can be associated with deadly conditions including heart attack, pulmonary embolism, heart failure, and myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart.

Non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients can also experience complications including heart rhythm disorders, hypertension, myocarditis, and chest pain that feels similar to a heart attack. Cardiologists say it’s important for COVID-19 survivors—even without cardiac symptoms—to have a heart exam two to three weeks after recovery, as there could be residual effects that may go undetected and lead to future health problems.

“For anyone who developed heart issues post-COVID-19, exercise should be delayed two to three weeks after resolution of symptoms including chest pain, palpitations, and shortness of breath. Remember to ‘go slow’ as recovery from this illness is not a sprint; it is a marathon,” says Maryann McLaughlin, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Health and Wellness at Mount Sinai Heart. “Anyone who has been diagnosed with myocarditis needs to be under a physician’s direction when deciding to exercise, and competitive athletes may need three months to recover from the illness before returning to full routine.”

Recovered COVID-19 patients with a history of heart attack, coronary artery disease, or cardiac stents, should get a monitored stress test before getting back to a full workout. Anyone who had chest pain while sick with COVID-19 should talk to their doctor about evaluation with an echocardiogram or other cardiac imaging.

High-Risk Groups and COVID-19 Vaccinations

Everyone is at risk of heart disease, but people are more susceptible to getting the disease if they have cardiovascular risk factors including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, being overweight, and using tobacco. Age is also a factor, specifically for women over 65 and men older than 55, along with those with a family history of heart disease and people who sleep less than six hours a night.

Certain minority groups including African Americans and Latinos are also at higher risk due to genetic predisposition, diet, lifestyle factors, and socio-economic factors. However, illness in any population can be prevented by taking simple steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

Mount Sinai cardiologists encourage those in these high-risk groups to get a COVID-19 vaccine when they qualify under state distribution guidelines.

“We have noticed some patients in these high-risk minority groups have been reluctant to get vaccinated, fearing it’s not safe. What is important for them to understand is that tremendous scientific advancements have led to the safe development of COVID-19 vaccines and we are encouraging them to get vaccinated,” says Johanna Contreras, MD, Director of Heart Failure and Transplantation at Mount Sinai Morningside.

Mount Sinai Researchers Describe Viral Sanctuaries in the Gastrointestinal Tract of COVID-19 Patients

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | COVID-19, Featured, Research

A new study published in the journal Nature by researchers at Mount Sinai in collaboration with two other labs at Rockefeller University and co-investigators from the California Institute of Technology and Weill Cornell Medicine describes for the first time a persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in the intestines long after clinical resolution.

The study, entitled “Evolution of antibody immunity to SARS-Cov-2” and published online January 18, 2021, suggests that the memory B cell response to SARS-Cov-2 evolves between 1.3 and 6.2 months after infection in a manner that is consistent with antigen persistence.

Saurabh Mehandru, MD

The authors studied intestinal biopsies obtained from asymptomatic individuals four months after the onset of COVID-19.

Minami Tokuyama, a medical student at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and other members of the Mehandru Lab at the School of Medicine discovered that SARS-CoV-2 antigens persisted in the lining cells (epithelium) of the intestines long after (3-4 months post infection) resolution of clinical symptoms. The presence of such sanctuary sites could potentially enable continued maturation of the antibody response as was independently discovered by the Nussenzweig Lab at Rockefeller University.

“This finding is significant because it suggests that the memory B cell response does not wane after six months, providing reassurance that those who have previously been infected with the virus will likely mount a vigorous response if they are exposed a second time,” says study author Saurabh Mehandru, MD, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine and Director of the Mehandru Lab.

“Additionally, the presence of viral sanctuaries within the body needs to be better understood in COVID-19 patients with chronic symptoms, or ‘long haulers,’ which could help in identifying novel opportunities for the treatment of this group of patients,” says Dr. Mehandru.

Mount Sinai Launches Global FREEDOM COVID Trial to Study Anticoagulant Therapies

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | COVID-19, Featured, Research

Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Building on treatment protocols developed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mount Sinai Heart has launched the global FREEDOM COVID Anticoagulation Trial to determine the most effective dosage and regimen of anticoagulant therapy in improving the survival rate of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

“While vaccines are being used and clinical trials are underway, there is an urgent need to determine how to best treat the next hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 patients around the world,” says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital, and principal investigator of the FREEDOM trial. “This is a coordinated international effort, launched as an investigator-led trial to speed up the process.”

In March 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, Dr. Fuster closely observed patients with blood clots in their legs who had been admitted with COVID-19. After hearing from colleagues in China of other cases of small, pervasive, and unusual clotting that had triggered myocardial infarctions, strokes, and pulmonary embolisms, he initiated decisive action. “We became one of the first medical centers in the world to treat all COVID-19 patients with anticoagulant medications,” says Dr. Fuster, a pioneer in the study of atherothrombotic disease. “It was a decision that we believe saved many lives.”

That early protocol—based largely on intuition, Dr. Fuster says—led to groundbreaking research and insights by Mount Sinai into the role of anticoagulation in the management of COVID-19-infected patients. That work includes a study published in August 2020 in Journal of the American College of Cardiology that showed a 50 percent higher chance of survival compared to patients given no anticoagulant. The analysis was conducted by the Mount Sinai COVID Informatics Center.

Dr. Fuster says, “While our study was observational, it helped us design the large-scale FREEDOM COVID Anticoagulation Trial in partnership with more than 100 sites in 14 countries in order to reach 3,600 patients.” The prospective study will be randomized to investigate the effectiveness and safety of the anticoagulants enoxaparin and apixaban in patients age 18 and older who have been hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19, but are not in an ICU or intubated. The trial is currently enrolling and set for completion in June 2021.

Clotting in organs including the lungs, brain, and heart can be a complication of COVID-19, autopsies have shown. And anticoagulation therapies are associated with better outcomes in hospitalized patients with the virus. The FREEDOM clinical trial will evaluate different regimens.

The FREEDOM trial is based on months of clinical observation and pathology work conducted as deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic mounted globally in spring 2020 and thromboembolism emerged as an important disease manifestation. Autopsy studies at Mount Sinai demonstrated a high incidence of macrothrombi and microthrombi, prompting the suggestion that in-hospital use of blood thinners could be beneficial to COVID-19 patients. To help clarify the pivotal questions of anticoagulant choice, dosing, and treatment duration, Mount Sinai began an observational study in May 2020 of 4,389 COVID-19-positive patients who were admitted to five hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System.

“In this observational study, anticoagulation was associated with improved outcomes, and bleeding rates appeared to be low,” says corresponding author Anu Lala, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), and Director of Heart Failure Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “As a clinician who has treated COVID-19 patients on the front lines, the importance of having answers as to what the best treatment for these patients entails is immeasurable. Ultimately, clinical trials are what will inform those answers.”

Researchers looked at six different anticoagulant regimens, including oral and intravenous dosing. They found that both therapeutic and prophylactic doses of anticoagulants were associated with significantly improved in-hospital survival, and with a 30 percent reduced risk of admission to an ICU or intubation. The researchers used a hazard score to estimate risk of death, which took relevant risk factors into account before evaluating the effectiveness of anticoagulation, including age, ethnicity, pre-existing conditions, and whether the patient was already on blood thinners.

Separately, the researchers looked at autopsy results of 26 COVID-19 patients and found that 11 of them (42 percent) had blood clots—pulmonary, brain, and/or heart—that were never suspected in the clinical setting. These findings suggest that treating COVID-19 patients with anticoagulants as a preventive measure may be associated with improved survival.

Researchers were further encouraged by the finding that overall rates of major bleeding were low (3 percent or less), though slightly higher in the therapeutic group compared to the prophylactic and no-blood-thinner groups. This suggested to the team that clinicians should evaluate COVID-19 patients on an individual basis, weighing the risks and benefits of anticoagulant therapy.

“These observational analyses were done with the highest level of statistical rigor and provide important insights into the association of anticoagulation with critical in-hospital outcomes of mortality and intubation,” says first author Girish Nadkarni, MD, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Mount Sinai COVID Informatics Center, and Clinical Director of the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai.

The study also provided a strong rationale for the FREEDOM Trial, says co-author Zahi Fayad, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Cardiology), and Diagnostic, Molecular and Interventional Radiology, and Director of Mount Sinai’s BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute. “This work highlights the need to better understand the disease from a diagnostic and therapeutic point of view and the importance of conducting properly designed diagnostic and interventional studies.”

Tracking SARS-CoV-2 and its Evolving Variants

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | COVID-19, Featured, Research

The panel on the left shows the host cell with an ACE2 receptor, which is the binding target for the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein that mediates entry into the cell. An antibody competes for binding with the ACE2 receptor and blocks (or neutralizes) this interaction. The panel on the right shows that even when an individual mutation (highlighted in red) disrupts or reduces the binding affinity of antibodies to one area of the spike protein, the body’s immune response to infection or vaccination typically generates a spectrum of antibodies that target different areas of the virus.

A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appeared in Great Britain in greater frequency in December and has been reported in New York State. The new variant appears to spread more rapidly than older ones and has a distinct set of genetic changes, or mutations. This prompted renewed vigilance among scientists throughout the world who carefully monitor mutations of the virus within their own countries and share their data on public repositories. The genetic codes of 250,000 virus samples from all over the world have already been shared, according to the World Health Organization. Moreover, another new SARS-CoV-2 variant that appears to spread more quickly, but that is different from the English one, has been found in patients with COVID-19 in South Africa.

The Mount Sinai Health System’s Pathogen Surveillance Program continually studies the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants through genetic sequencing, a technique that allows them to examine the genetic composition of the virus and identify changes in its genetic code. The team’s work has yielded a series of firsts. Last spring, they reported that the first wave of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City started with several independent introductions of viruses that could be traced back to Europe. These studies also provided evidence for untracked community transmissions of the virus in February and March of 2020.

Mount Sinai Today recently discussed the latest SARS-CoV-2 variants with two leaders of Mount Sinai’s Pathogen Surveillance Program: Viviana Simon, MD, PhD, Professor of Microbiology, and Medicine (Infectious Diseases); and Harm van Bakel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genomic Sciences.

Has Mount Sinai’s Pathogen Surveillance team found this new UK variant in New York City?

Harm van Bakel, PhD

Dr. van Bakel: Although the UK variant has now been detected in New York State, in Saratoga Springs, we have not yet encountered it in our ongoing surveillance of patients cared for by the Mount Sinai Health System. Considering that New York City is a major hub for international travel we fully expect this to change as we continue to generate more data.

This new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from the United Kingdom has a set of distinct mutations—23 to be precise. Does that make it particularly noteworthy?

Dr. van Bakel: SARS-CoV-2 is a virus that tends to mutate slowly and the multiple mutations in this UK variant do make it different. Usually about one to two mutations occur each month. Mutations occur randomly and most of them do not change anything for the virus. But sometimes an occasional mutation makes it more transmissible or potentially less susceptible to existing immunity.

Viviana Simon, MD, PhD

Dr. Simon: There is some emerging evidence that the UK variant, termed B.1.1.7, is more transmissible, although that data is still being worked on. Importantly, there is no evidence that this variant is more deadly. One of the mutations in the UK variant is located within the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the virus’s spike protein, so that has created some concern. The RBD is an area of the virus that attracts a strong immune response from the human body. It is the area where the spike meets the cell receptor and where many neutralizing antibodies bind to prevent the virus from entering the cell.

Dr. van Bakel: A few months ago another variant arose in Danish mink farms that carried a different mutation in the RBD. We have also occasionally seen other RBD mutations as part of our surveillance efforts in New York City during the past few months. When this happens, the worry is that these variants can reduce the effectiveness of existing immunity, but we have not seen any evidence of that yet. There is also always a concern that the viruses become more infectious when they jump from humans to animals such as mink and back into humans. But thus far, we have not seen anything that points to this.

What can we say about this variant so far?

Dr. Simon: It is really important to note that there is no data suggesting that the UK variant is more dangerous or lethal. We are actively doing surveillance on this British variant. We are also looking at other variants that we know are in our city and in Mount Sinai’s patient populations. Starting in September, we began to notice a slow increase in diversity of SARS-CoV-2 detected in the patients seeking care at the Mount Sinai Health System. This is not surprising because SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus, and like other RNA viruses, such as influenza and HIV, the more people are infected, the more viral diversity is observed. SARS-CoV-2 does mutate more slowly than influenza viruses or HIV and the majority of these mutations are meaningless insofar as the properties of the virus remain unchanged.

Dr. van Bakel: We are waiting for functional data on the UK variant to tell us if there are differences with regard to how antibodies neutralize it. These data will come from already ongoing controlled experiments using sera from COVID-19 survivors as well as from vaccine recipients. Some genetic changes can render the virus more transmissible. For example, most of the SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating globally over the past 10 months carry a D614G mutation in the spike protein. Studies in animal models have shown that this mutation allows improved transmission compared to the original viral variant first reported in China. Similar studies are needed to determine if this is also the case for the distinct mutations seen in the UK variant.

Is there any evidence that the newly authorized COVID-19 vaccines will not work against this variant?

Dr. Simon: We believe all of the new vaccines will be effective against this B.1.1.7 variant, as well as other variants, because the vaccines entice the immune system to make antibodies against different regions of the spike protein, and not only the sections of the RBD that are mutated. The immune responses developed upon vaccination will offer protection, even if we find out the RBD of the viral variants has been slightly changed.

Dr. van Bakel: Wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing, and observing all of the measures that have been put in place to protect oneself, as well as others, are still the most effective ways in controlling the spread of the virus until vaccines are more broadly available. Adhering to these guidelines will be effective regardless of the variant that is circulating.

Dr. Simon: Hope is on the horizon. We have highly protective vaccines, which will be delivered to as many people as possible in the coming weeks and months. Since the case numbers in our area remain worrisome, we really need to be careful and follow the guidelines that work for all SARS-CoV-2 variants.

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Why Testing New Medicines in a Diverse Population Is Important

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | COVID-19, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured, Research, Vaccines

Companies are working to develop new vaccines for COVID-19, and one of the many challenges is ensuring that clinical trials required to test the new medicines reflect the population at large in order to determine how effective the vaccines will be when offered to tens of millions of people throughout the United States.

In this Q&A, Lynne D. Richardson, MD, Professor and Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine, Professor of Population Health Science and Policy, and Co-Director of Mount Sinai’s Institute for Health Equity Research, talks about the latest COVID-19 vaccines, why it is important for clinical trials to include a diverse population, and how well the pharmaceutical industry has done that.

Based on data you have seen about the most advanced COVID-19 vaccines in development, do you think the pharmaceutical companies have done a good job including a diverse group of people in their clinical trials?

They are all committed to trying to include a diverse population into their trials. I think there have been substantial efforts to improve the diversity of the participants in the vaccine trials. From the data I’ve seen, I think they did an okay job, though ideally, the makeup of the folks in the trials would be the same as the distribution of the disease.

Why is it important to have a diverse group of people in the clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines?

Trials are a way of getting information about how something works. So if you want to know that it works for people of all ages, people of all races, people of all ethnicities, people who have lots of other medical conditions, these people must be in the trial. This is always true, not just for vaccines. In addition, participation in the trials must be representative of the population that is suffering from whatever condition is being targeted by the vaccine, or the treatment. There are certain communities, specifically Black and Hispanic communities, who we know are being harder hit by COVID-19, both in the chance they contract COVID-19, and the severity of the disease if they do get it. That’s why it’s important to have a vaccine that is safe and effective for those communities.

Lynne D. Richardson, MD

In the past, how well have clinical trials included a diverse population, including people of color and those of different socio economic status?

If you go back 40 or 50 years, clinical trials consisted almost exclusively of white men between the ages of 25 and 65. They were considered the ideal subjects. The problem is, it is very hard to extrapolate the results and findings of the trial to types of people who are not participating in the trial. It was about 30 years ago that a big push to improve the gender diversity in clinical trials came with the establishment of an Office of Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health, and that’s when the federal agencies that sponsored research started paying attention to who actually was participating in trials. It was about a decade later that significant attention to the racial and ethnic diversity in trial participation emerged. So it’s not a new issue. The degree of under-representation even a decade ago was staggering. About five percent of clinical trial participants were Black at a time when Black people accounted for 12 percent of the population. About one percent were Hispanic at a time when Hispanics were 16 percent of the population.

Why has ethnic and racial representation been so poor?

For patients, there is a legacy of mistrust of research, certainly among the African American population, but also mistrust of the health care system in general and of research, specifically among many disadvantaged populations. They are skeptical about the motives and intent of researchers. Also, there are access issues. Most clinical trial participants are recruited through their physicians, and often companies did not include physicians and practices that serve diverse patient populations.

What can be done about that?

Project Impact of the National Medical Association, a national association of Black physicians, has been working to diversify participation in clinical trials for more than a decade by speaking with Black physicians, who often have a group of patients that is much more diverse. They have published results that show that when Black people are approached in the same way, when they are encouraged to participate by a physician with whom they have a relationship, and whom they trust, they participate at the same rates as other groups. But you have to reach out to the physician and the physician practices, where they have those sorts of relationships.

How has the situation changed during the pandemic?

In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Black people and Hispanics being disproportionately impacted by the virus, it’s essential to engage them in vaccine trials. Yet the level of public distrust in the research process and government has never been higher. So we have a lot of work to do if we’re going to get this pandemic under control. Building trust means developing relationships and that takes time. This is an ongoing challenge in some of the trials and is why Mount Sinai has been approached by many of the pharmaceutical companies because we do have access to this diverse population.

What is Mount Sinai doing?

At the Mount Sinai Institute for Health Equity Research, we have been approached by various entities, asking us to help recruit more diverse populations into their studies. We start by talking about the things you have to do. First, you have to talk with some of our community partners and you have to accept their input, such as the language you use in the materials you distribute to participants. You need to look at how burdensome the trial will be. If we are going to combat mistrust, we must behave in a trustworthy manner. The Institute is ready to work with researchers who are serious about building the relationships needed to recruit diverse populations into clinical trials.

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Mount Sinai Employees Explain Why They Were Excited to Receive the New COVID-19 Vaccine

Updated on Jun 30, 2022 | COVID-19, Featured, Vaccines

Petrona Ennis-Welch, RN, is one of the first employees to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine from David Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer of The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens.

The first health care workers throughout the Mount Sinai Health System received the first new COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, December 15. For many, it was an exciting and emotional moment. For these front-line workers, and for the Health System, receiving the vaccine represented a key milestone in the continuing fight against the pandemic, and a critical first step in what remains a long journey back to normal for the New York metropolitan area.

Afterward, some took a moment to explain why they were eager to receive the new vaccine.

“I feel a sense of moral obligation to get vaccinated if it means I’ll be less likely to contribute to further spread of the disease,” said Jamie Piekarski, NP, who provides emergency psychiatric care to patients when they first enter Mount Sinai Beth Israel. Like many others, she decided to receive the vaccine in order to keep herself, her patients, and her family safe. She felt lucky to be among the first employees offered the vaccine. “This is our quickest way back to something close to normal.”

“Getting the vaccine is very emotional for me,” said Matthew Bai, MD, an emergency medicine doctor at Mount Sinai Queens, and an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We have all been dealing with the pandemic for what seems like an eternity, and every day going to work, COVID-19 is always in the back of your mind. This is a symbol, an actual step toward going back to a normal life.”

He added: “I was not very nervous about the side effects. When you think about it and weigh it against getting COVID-19, then I’ll take the vaccine. So I was happy to get it … I have trust in the science and all the testing that’s been done with the vaccine. I believe it is 100 percent safe. It’s the first effective step we have ever had to actually combat this disease. Before, it was about keeping people alive, and now we are actually trying to stop it in its tracks … This is the light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel.”

Deborah Dean, MD, FACEP, Director of Emergency Medicine, was the first Mount Sinai Brooklyn employee to receive the vaccine, and she was joined by ED Nursing Director Bobby Lynch and ED Administrative Director Sue Stefko, who also received the vaccine.

“I was so excited to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which I hope marks the beginning of the end of this devastating virus. While it’s disheartening to see so many struggling, I’m encouraged by the hope that this innovative vaccine brings by helping my body create its own antibodies through mRNA,” she said.

“People of color have been disproportionately affected by COVID and, despite our history with health care in this country, I chose faith over fear and will do all I can to protect myself, my loved ones, and my community.”

Ugo A. Ezenkwele, MD, chief of the Mount Sinai Queens Emergency Department and an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine, said he and all of the staff were excited about the vaccine becoming available. He received the vaccine in order to help protect his colleagues and his family.

“I decided to get the vaccine because this offers some hope. We have been through a lot,” he said. “Furthermore, the science is sound. There have been a lot of people involved in the clinical trials. We also have to thank the scientists who have been working for years in order to get this vaccine to where it is now.”

Amanda Bates, MD, an emergency medicine doctor at Mount Sinai Queens, was looking forward to receiving the vaccine as soon as it was offered. “I have been working in emergency rooms since the pandemic started, and it has been incredibly devastating for patients and their families. I have seen a lot of complications that come from COVID-19 and it’s not something I want for myself, my family, or my patients,” she said. “I trust the vaccine. It is new, but the science behind it isn’t new. I feel confident that any risks that come with a new vaccine are far less severe than the risks that come with getting COVID-19. I think it’s the right thing to do to protect yourself and your community.”

Jonathan Nover, RN, MBA, Senior Director of Nursing in the Mount Sinai Queens Emergency Department, added: “I want to set an example for my team and my family, and I want to put all this behind us. Vaccines are safe, they are proven, and we need to move our lives forward. I feel very lucky and blessed for this opportunity, and I feel happy to let my staff, my family, and my friends know I was able to get the vaccine. I feel really proud of that.”

Althea Reid, is a Patient Care Associate on a behavioral health unit at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. She has been covering on a surge unit while COVID-19 cases increase. She received her COVID-19 vaccine because she wants to do her part to help end the pandemic. “The vaccine also gives me a sense of security and a sense of relief, especially on the bus and train, as I feel nervous about others being as responsible as I want to be,” she said.

Mateow Espinosa, a Care Team Assistant and Scribe at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, said: “A lot of people around me are hesitant to get the vaccine. I feel like it is necessary for me to take the vaccine as a way to educate the people around me. It is also important for me to keep myself and family safe.”

Luis Coello, a security officer at Mount Sinai Beth Israel: “I decided to take the vaccine because I do not want to get COVID-19, and I want to keep my family safe.”

Young Lee, MD, ICU Medical Director at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) at the Icahn School of Medicine: “It was much less painful than the flu vaccine. I decided to take this vaccine to protect myself, as well as my patients and my family.”

Farah Ali, a physician assistant in an emergency department at Mount Sinai Beth Israel: “What a whirlwind, brilliant year for medical science. It is surreal, a little scary, but overall exciting to be among the very first to get this vaccine. I got the vaccine for my Gramma and Grampa.”

Crystal Toribo, PharmD, a pharmacy resident at Mount Sinai Beth Israel: “The side effects of this vaccine are very similar to the flu shot. For anyone who is hesitant to take it, please know that there are so many people here in the hospital to speak to about it, so always feel free to ask questions about side effects and safety. To me, it is important that I get vaccinated so I can protect others, myself, and my family members.”

Michael Ruzzo, RN, who works in an intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Beth Israel: “I have family with pre-existing conditions and I’ve been paranoid about bringing home COVID-19 to them. I also did not see my fiancé for four months during the spring. This vaccine changes all of that.”

Watch a slideshow as employees who work at The Mount Sinai Hospital receive the first COVID-19 vaccine.