Jordan Feld, MD, MPH
Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and clinician-scientist at the Toronto Center for Liver Disease of Toronto General Hospital, discussed:
- HCV-related highlights from the 2020 Liver Meeting, including results from the MINMON and HERO studies;
- How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the hepatitis C elimination goals – “we’re going to have to put our foot back on the gas and really accelerate our screening efforts and treatment efforts;”
- How more laboratory testing due to COVID-19 could possibly be leveraged to increase screening for hepatitis C, and possible opportunities to couple COVID-19 testing with hepatitis C testing;
- The need for better follow-up for people at risk for re-infection and the need for better models to predict who is at risk of developing liver cancer in patients with cirrhosis;
- Greatest challenges in HCV today: the need for a vaccine and long-acting injectables; and
- His hope that after the COVID-19 pandemic is under control, the HCV community will come back to elimination efforts “with renewed vigor.”