Former Bates College lacrosse player Jack Allard released from hospital after battling coronavirus

Bates College attack Jack Allard (45) tries to cut to the middle in front of Amherst College’s Daniel Annino (15) during a men’s lacrosse game at Garcelon Field in Lewiston in March 2015. Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal file photo Buy this Photo

Jack Allard, the 26-year-old former Bates College lacrosse player who was placed in a medically-induced coma after contracting COVID-19 last month, has recovered and is out of the hospital, according to Inside Lacrosse.

Allard, a 2016 Bates graduate, was discharged from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on Friday. A video posted on Twitter showed Allard walking out of the hospital on his own while being applauded by hospital personnel.

JACK ALLARD WALKS OUT OF UPENN 💪. BEST. NEWS. EVER. ⁦⁦@BatesLacrosse⁩ pic.twitter.com/mxvE011F8Q

— RHSBOYSLACROSSE (@RHSBOYSLACROSSE) April 17, 2020

“This is the most important win I’ve ever witnessed,” Bates College men’s lacrosse coach Peter Lasagna said in a text to the Sun Journal.

Allard, an equity analyst for Bank of America in Manhattan, was hospitalized on March 16 after experiencing symptoms related to the coronavirus. A Metuchen, New Jersey resident, he was placed in a medically-induced coma and breathing through a ventilator when he was transferred by helicopter from JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey, to UPenn on March 24 after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

Allard’s family lobbied for him to be placed in a clinical trial for remdesivir, an experimental drug that has shown promising results in combating the virus. He was accepted to take part in the trial but it has not been revealed whether he received the drug.

Allard had no pre-existing conditions and was otherwise healthy when he contracted the coronavirus. His battle with COVID-19 garnered international headlines as a early example of a young, healthy person who was affected by the virus.

Lasagna said the family is grateful “to the heroes at UPenn Hospital and everyone who has supported Jack in his fight. The selfless professionals on the front lines are miracle workers.”