The following information was prepared in collaboration with MDS Foundation Medical and Scientific Advisory Board members Rafael Bejar, MD, PhD and Rena Buckstein, MD, and MDS Foundation Board of Directors member Michael Savona, MD.
Recommendations for MDS Patients:
The following general recommendations were prepared by the Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation in collaboration with their Medical Advisory Board Chair Mikkael Sekeres MD and Co-Chair Olatoyosi Odenke MD.
The coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which may cause illness in animals or humans. COVID-19 is the most recently discovered coronavirus which is the cause of the current pandemic. Other coronaviruses are the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
COVID-19 is not like the flu in so far as, unless there is direct cough or sneeze from an infected individual, transmission of the virus through the air is less likely. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. People can also catch COVID-19 if they breathe in droplets from a person with COVID-19 who coughs out or exhales droplets. This is why it is important to stay more than 6 feet (2 meters) away from a person who is sick.
Rise Above COVID
Rise Above COVID is a movement to find medicines for COVID-19 through the ACTIV-2 Study. This study is for people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 10 days.
Frequently Asked Questions – From the first AAMDSIF COVID-19 Webinar
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://umiamihealth.org/alerts/coronavirus-covid-19 – Stem Cell Transplant
https://www.aamds.org/education/covid-19 – Bone Marrow Failure
https://bloodwise.org.uk/blog/coronavirus-and-blood-cancer – United Kingdom
https://covidcancercare.com/ – – COVID Cancer Care is a free stress management program for cancer patients.
attune™ program – The first digital therapeutic program designed specifically for anxiety and depression in people living with cancer.
https://www.nccn.org/covid-19/default.aspx – National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) COVID-19 Resources.