Inside STAT: Fears about Covid-19 are complicating care for patients with sickle cell

DIMA HENDRICKS OUTSIDE OF HER HOME IN BROCKTON, MASS. (KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR STAT)

The Covid-19 pandemic has complicated care for many diseases, and it's hit those with sickle cell disease particularly hard. Patients with the condition are immunocompromised and considered at high risk for serious complications from Covid-19, so some have relied on telemedicine for care instead of going to a hospital. Boston area therapist Dima Hendricks says telemedicine for her sickle cell disease has been a blessing. “I feel like it’s easier to make appointments and get refills,” she tells STAT's Los Angeles correspondent Usha Lee McFarling. Sickle cell patients also say the pandemic has brought a new level of compassion. “When I was sick before, people used to say, ‘You’re faking it,’” Hendricks says, adding, “Now they say, ‘Why don’t you go get some rest?’” Read more here.