CHR's COVID-19 Bulletin, April 22, 2020

[This article deals with a continuously developing situation. It was written by Norbert Gleicher, MD, on April 22, 2020 and published on April 22, 2020. For a list of all COVID-19 Bulletins, scroll to the bottom.]

We have not published a Bulletin for almost a week because there has not much been happening regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to “reopen” the country appear to be gaining strength but New York state does not appear to be on the forefront of such activities. That is on the one hand understandable because the state, especially New York City, has been a hotbed of COVID-19 infection. On the other hand, considering the economic importance of New York City for the whole country, the impact of keeping the city shut down must be seriously considered.

We are pleased to report that some of the major hospitals are getting ready to resume pre-COVID-19 health care. That, too, of course, represents a degree of “reopening” the city.

COVID-19 came to the U.S. already in January

Likely the most significantnew reporting on COVID-19 in recent days was the recognition that the first two deaths caused by the virus happened in Washington State much earlier than previously reported. Autopsies of deaths on February 6 of this year now established beyond doubt that they were COVID-19 cases. Because both of these deaths were the consequence of community transmission, this finding strongly suggests that the virus entered the U.S. already in January. We, therefore, already into the fourth month of the pandemic in this country.

Reciprocal collaboration among IVF centers on the wane?

Finally, we are sorry to report that most IVF centers remain closed in the US. As indicated in our last Bulletin, we had hoped that some of our colleagues may start reopening their centers but, so far, not much has been happening.

We also must express a degree of disappointment with IVF centers that have remained open. To our surprise, at least some of them now refuse to offer routine cycle monitoring for CHR patients who live outside of NYC, as was reciprocal, collaborative practice before the COVID-19 crisis broke. The excuse is that they are “too busy,” which really does not make much sense because all IVF centers, even those that remained open, have seen a significant decline in patient volume.

It is disappointing to see that, instead of becoming more collaborative, these centers are going the opposite way during the COVID-19 crisis. CHR, of course, does not do that, and will gladly monitor patients from centers outside of NYC at their behalf whenever that becomes necessary.

CHR's COVID-19 Bulletins

Norbert Gleicher, MD

Norbert Gleicher, MD, FACOG, FACS

Norbert Gleicher, MD, leads CHR’s clinical and research efforts as Medical Director and Chief Scientist. A world-renowned specialist in reproductive endocrinology, Dr. Gleicher has published hundreds of peer-reviewed papers and lectured globally while keeping an active clinical career focused on ovarian aging, immunological issues and other difficult cases of infertility.

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