The Boston Globe - 11.03.2020

A6 The Region The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020

A SPREADING THREAT

The virus raced through this
two-day conference at a fright-
ening speed that state health of-
ficials and company executives
were unable to match. As one of
the biggest and best-known bio-
tech firms in Massachusetts
and public health authorities in
one of the nation’s premier
medical communities struggled
to connect the dots, dozens of
Biogen employees were devel-
oping symptoms of the danger-
ous disease — even as they trav-
eled around Boston, the coun-
try, and the world.
Concerns about holding
large gatherings were already
circulating locally at least a
week before the Biogen confer-
ence. Massachusetts had detect-
ed its first coronavirus case on
Feb. 1 — a man in his 20s who
had flown back from Wuhan,
China, where the virus was
widespread. On Feb. 19, the Jap-
anese tech company Sony said
that due to concern about infec-
tions it would skip the annual
PAX East gaming expo at the
Boston Convention & Exhibition
Center, Feb. 27- March 1.
Biogen spokesman David
Caouette said he is unaware of
any internal discussions about
canceling the Biogen confer-
ence due to the global spread of
the virus.
“At the time of the meeting,
we were absolutely following
national guidance on travel and
in-person meetings,” Caouette
said in a statement.
Guests at the Long Wharf
conference included people
fromItaly,acountrywherethe
virus had spread, but not peo-
ple who had been to China,
where it originated late last
year, he said.
After a day of highly techni-
cal presentations on Wednes-
day, Feb. 26, many of the Bio-
gen attendees gathered at 6:
p.m. at the State Room, a few
blocks away at 60 State St., for
dinner and awards.
The conference picked up
Thursday morning and went
half a day, concluding in the af-
ternoon, when attendees head-
ed for the airport or home.
By Saturday night, signs of
trouble were emerging. One
Biogen executive reported feel-
ing sick, and planned to seek
treatment at Massachusetts
General Hospital in the morn-
ing, according to a person fa-
miliar with the company. That
executive was told on Sunday
that a coronavirus test was not
warranted under existing crite-
ria, the executive told col-
leagues on Sunday.
On Monday, another Biogen
employee from the conference
attended a Naples, Fla., execu-
tive round-table, held by the
consulting giant PwC. Accord-
ing to Biogen, that employee

uBIOGEN
Continued from Page A

had flu-like symptoms while at

the event. Biogen would not say

whether that person has since

tested positive — it declines to

discuss individual cases. But

PwC said in a statement that it

is taking the potential interac-

tion very seriously, informing

“all participants who attended

our PwC event that one of the

participants was in proximity to

individuals who have tested

positive for Covid-19.”

Biogen chief medical officer

Maha Radhakrishnan on Mon-

day sent a message to people

who attended the Boston con-

ference advising them to see a

doctor if they felt ill.

By Tuesday morning, March

3, more executives who had

been at the Boston conference

were not feeling well, according

to the person with knowledge of

the company, who asked not to

be identified because of the sen-

sitivity of the situation. Some of

them had gone to MGH or to

their doctors to request corona-

virus testing, only to be rebuffed

because they did not meet the

federal government criteria for

a test, which at the time was a

set of symptoms in addition to

recent travel to a breakout area

or contact with someone known

to have the virus.

Biogen officials reached out

to public health authorities in

Massachusetts on March 3, ac-

cording to a document ob-

tained by the Globe, to report a

cluster of about 50 conference

attendees with flu-like symp-

toms in this region and over-

seas. Those officials were told

that the cases did not satisfy re-

quirements for testing.

Massachusetts Public Health

Commissioner Dr. Monica

Bharel said in a Tuesday news

conference that she is unable to

pinpoint exactly when her de-

partment learned that people

who attended the Biogen confer-

ence were ill with Covid-19, and

when the agency acted to test

others who attended the confer-

ence or were in contact with

those attendees.

All the days are “blurring to-

gether,” Bharel said.

Another person familiar

with the events, who asked to

remain anonymous because

they are not cleared to speak on

the issue, confirmed that Bio-

gen’s chief medical officer first

contacted the state public

health department the morning

of March 3. Biogen told othe

DPH that day that a cluster of

people who attended the con-

ference were ill, according to

the unnamed person.

Biogen called the DPH again

the next day, March 4, accord-

ing to the person familiar with

these events, and alerted the

DPH that at least two people

from Europe who were at the

conference had tested positive

for Covid-19.

That same day, a “significant

number” of people from Biogen

— though still fewer than 10 —

came to the Emergency Depart-

ment at MGH asking for corona-

virus tests, said Dr. Paul Bidding-

er, chief of the hospital’s division

of emergency preparedness.

MGH had not been in-

formed previously of the Biogen

meeting or that people had

been exposed to the virus.

“There was concern that

there may be many more com-

ing,” Biddinger said. Too many

Biogen walk-ins, the hospital

feared, could disrupt care for

other patients.

All the Biogen people got a

medical evaluation but many

did not have symptoms that

would rise to an emergency;

they just wanted testing, Bid-

dinger said.

“For each person, we talked

to [Department of Public

Health] staff about these pa-

tients and whether or not they

meet testing criteria,” he said.

“Some were tested and some

were not.”

Some of the Biogen walk-ins

became “very frustrated” that

they couldn’t get a test. “There

were some challenging discus-

sions,” Biddinger said.

At 10 a.m. on March 5, se-

nior Biogen leadership held a

call with people who were at

the Boston conference, report-

ing that three attendees had

tested positive for Covid-19 out-

side of Massachusetts.

Several hours later, Biogen

executive vice president Al-

phonse Galdes and Radhakrish-

nan sent out a message to peo-

ple across the company describ-

ing the illnesses associated with

the conference:

“We wanted to inform you

that an unexpected high num-

ber of attendees have reported

varying degrees of flu-like symp-

toms (fever, headache, cough,

body ache, chills, general fa-

tigue, and malaise being among

the most common symptoms

reported),” the message said. It

added that three attendees had

tested positive for Covid-19.

The message said the compa-

ny could not identify the people

who had tested positive, but

that out of caution, Biogen

wanted everyone who was at the

conference to work from home.

That information alarmed

some employees, who were

concerned about having been

exposed to the illness in the

days prior to the announce-

ment, and were surprised that

the company didn’t give em-

ployees a better handle on the

situation sooner.

Two people familiar with the

companysaidanumberofem-

ployees got up and left after

reading the e-mail, with many

of them heading straight to

MGH to request a test.

In an e-mail from the com-

pany Thursday evening, Biogen

officials asked employees to re-

frain from going to MGH to be

tested for the coronavirus. The

e-mail said their efforts “are

overwhelming the emergency

room” and that hospital police

may have to bar Biogen employ-

ees from entering the area.

Biogen acknowledged for

the first time on Thursday night

that the coronavirus had been

spread at its meeting the week

before. By Friday, MGH and

Brigham and Women’s set up

temporary testing facilities in

their ambulance bays to handle

an influx of potential patients.

The outbreak at Biogen rip-

pled through the state’s close-

knit biopharma industry, which

employs about 74,000 people

and is marbled with Biogen

alumni. Several of the Biogen

executives from the Long Wharf

conference also attended a

health care event hosted by Co-

wen and Co. March 2-4, at the

Boston Marriott Copley Place,

including CEO Michel Vounat-

sos and other top officials.

Cowen has since warned at-

tendees of its event that Biogen

informed Cowen that multiple

individuals at the March 2

event have tested positive for

Covid-19. Cowen spokesman

Dan Gagnier directed inquiries

to Biogen.

Caouette, the Biogen spokes-

man, said in a statement that the

company could not discuss the

specifics of the cases, but he con-

firmed that multiple people from

Biogen “who were at the March

2 Cowen investment conference

in Boston” have tested positive.

“Several of our colleagues are

doing well and others are fight-

ing this novel virus and living in

isolation from their families.

Knowing they are in pain, hurts

each of us,” Vounatsos wrote in

an e-mail to staff on Monday.

“I am grateful for the cour-

age our team has shown in this

challenging time, working late

into the night and in constant

communication with public

health partners. In particular, I

want to thank our medical

team for providing their exper-

tise to support our employee’s

safety and well-being.”

Edward Fitzpatrick of the Globe

staff contributed to this report.

“It is imperative that we
take steps as individuals and as
a community to help limit the
spread of the coronavirus,” Mo-
naco said.
Spring break will be extend-
ed until that date, but under-
graduates must vacate campus
housing by Monday, March 16,
the statement said.
Emerson College and Suf-
folk University in Boston, Bab-
son College in Wellesley, and
the Olin College of Engineering
in Needham also announced
they will complete the semester
with virtual learning.
Earlier in the week, Amherst
College, Smith College, and
Middlebury College also in-
structed students to stay away
from campus after spring
break.
“The decision was not made
lightly,” Harvard president Lar-
ry Bacow said in his message to
his school’s community on
Tuesday. “The goal of these
changes is to minimize the need
to gather in large groups and
spend prolonged time in close
proximity to each other in spac-
es such as classrooms, dining
halls, and residential buildings.”
The last time Harvard took
such drastic measures, officials
noted, was in the 1940s, during
World War II, when the cam-

uCOLLEGES
Continued from Page A

pus was given over to military

training. But amid fears that

the coronavirus will continue

to spread, universities find

themselves in a vulnerable

spot.

MIT said a recent visit to

campus by a recruiter who had

contracted the virus illustrated

the risks — and the need for

more aggressive precautionary

measures. MIT officials said a

recruiter from Mastercard Ad-

visors who visited the universi-

ty’s business school in late Feb-

ruary has since tested positive

for Covid-19.

Mastercard alerted MIT this

past weekend and provided the

names of five MIT Sloan stu-

dents and two staff members

who met with the recruiter on

Feb. 26-27 in a conference

room on campus, according to

MIT Medical’s website.

The affected individuals

have been interviewed by MIT

Medical, the school’s health ser-

vice, and are reportedly in good

health and under observation.

“This ended up being a low-

risk situation for our communi-

ty,” L. Rafael Reif said in a mes-

sage to the university. “But it

might have turned out differ-

ently, so we consider this a cau-

tionary tale.“

MIT expects most under-

graduates to move out of their

dormitories by Tuesday. The

university will consider excep-

tions for some international

students and those who may

not have a safe place to go.

In Cambridge on Tuesday,

MIT and Harvard students

were stunned and flustered as

the reality sank in: Returning

from spring break was no lon-

ger an option.

Just before MIT announced

its plans, a group of students

gathered on the green in front

of the university’s iconic domed

building and hoisted up a hand

sanitizer station.

Shayna Ahteck, an MIT

freshman, took a photo of the

crowd and posted the question

on social media: “Where were

you when the world was end-

ing?”

Ahteck said she feels con-

flicted about the move online.

The classes she is most excited

about this semester are lab and

in-person, project-based

course, “so they’re effectively

canceled.” On the bright side,

she’s hopeful her midterms will

be nixed.

At Harvard, Jack Markert, a

19-year-old freshman from Ala-

bama, scurried through cam-

pus with several folded moving

boxes that he picked up from

the post office. Markert consid-

ers himself lucky: He has

friends and a sister in Boston

willing to store some items for

him.

“I have a lot of friends who

are international students and

who are scrambling right now

to see how they’re going to get

back to their own countries,

and how they are going to be

able to get all their stuff packed

up,” he said. “It’s very chaotic,

but we’re making it through.”

Trevor Ladner, 22, a senior at

Harvard, and a friend were de-

livering their leather-bound se-

nior theses to their professors.

They’d imagined a relaxing few

weeks before graduation, but

now they were trying to figure

out how to move all their stuff

back home and how they’d

manage the online classes.

Ladner said he lives in rural

Mississippi where the nearest

coffee shop is an hour’s drive

and the Internet connection is

spotty. At Harvard he also has

part-time jobs for the universi-

ty, which helps offset the tu-

ition costs and loans.

Ladner, who is gay, said he

feels supported at Harvard and

has a network of friends and

places he can freely visit in

Cambridge.

“I don’t have to worry about

it, I feel safe and affirmed,” Lad-

ner said. “I don’t necessarily

have that at home.”

Harvard said it is working

with students on financial aid

to help defray the expenses of

the last-minute move.

In the past few weeks, col-

leges across the country have

rapidly recalibrated their reac-

tions to the coronavirus, as the

illness moved from a threat in

China to a global problem.

As the virus spread, colleges

and universities recalled stu-

dents on overseas study abroad

programs, grounded domestic

and international travel for fac-

ulty and students, and then re-

stricted large gatherings, in-

cluding sports events and new

student orientations.

MIT on Monday announced

that it would transition all large

classes — those with more than

150 students — online. But 24

hours later, it moved all in-

struction online.

The University of Massachu-

setts Amherst has warned stu-

dents about traveling to places

where the coronavirus cases

have spiked and urged them to

practice good hygiene. The uni-

versity has said that it is making

preparations for online learn-

ing but hasn’t decided whether

to move in that direction.

“I understand they’re trying

not to cause panic,” said Alex-

andra McCandless, a senior at

UMass Amherst. “It feels like

the whole response has been

muted.... I want to know, are

we going to be here for gradua-

tion?”

Steve Annear of the Globe staff

contributed to this story.

Deirdre Fernandes can be

reached at

[email protected].

Follow her on Twitter

@fernandesglobe.

Inside the Biogen outbreak at a Boston hotel

JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

Seated at left, Dr. Paul Biddinger, chief of the division of emergency preparedness at Massachusetts General Hospital, led

a meeting on the hospital’s response to possible coronavirus patients.

Harvard and MIT put classes online

ERIN CLARK/GLOBE STAFF

MIT students were stunned to hear that they would have to

move out of their dorms.

JOHN TLUMACKI/GLOBE STAFF/FILE

The outbreak at Biogen has rippled through the state’s

close-knit biopharma industry,