Updates
Are The Risks Of Reopening Schools Exaggerated?-NPR
Despite widespread concerns, two new international studies show no consistent relationship between in-person K-12 schooling and the spread of the coronavirus. And a third study from the United States shows no elevated risk to childcare workers who stayed on the job. NPR, … Continue Reading
October 20, 2020
How Obesity Could Create Problems For A COVID Vaccine-Nature
When Jesús Ojino Sosa-García looks out over the people being treated for COVID-19 in his hospital’s intensive-care unit, one feature stands out: “Obesity is the most important factor we see,” he says. Sosa-García works at Hospital Médica Sur in Mexico City, which has been battling a COVID-19 outbreak for six months. “Every day, we receive patients,” he says. And many of those showing up with severe cases come from Mexico’s growing population of obese individuals — currently 36% of adults. … Continue Reading
October 20, 2020
Argentina Passes 1 Million Cases As Virus Hits Latin America-The Associated Press
At the edge of Argentina in a city known as “The End of the World,” many thought they might be spared from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. Sitting far from the South American nation’s bustling capital, health workers in Ushuaia were initially able to contain a small outbreak among foreigners hoping to catch boats to the Antarctic at the start of the crisis. But as Argentina passed 1 million virus cases Monday, it is now smaller cities like Ushuaia that are seeing some of the most … Continue Reading
October 20, 2020
U.S. FDA Meeting On COVID-19 Vaccines To Discuss Criteria For Emergency Nod-Reuters
The U.S. health regulator’s criteria for allowing emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine and plans to monitor its safety after a regulatory go-ahead, are among the topics to be discussed at a closely watched meeting scheduled for Thursday. Details posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website showed the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has formulated plans to monitor safety and effectiveness of a vaccine even after the FDA allows for its emergency use. Reuters, … Continue Reading
October 20, 2020
What Do People In BRICS Countries Think About A COVID-19 Vaccine?-Devex
Vaccine hesitancy will prove a steep challenge for global efforts to find a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine and ensure its equitable distribution, new evidence suggests. About 28% of 13,400 individuals from 19 countries would hesitate to get, or completely refuse, a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study published Tuesday on the opening day of the 51st Union World Conference on Lung Health. The study surveyed respondents from some of the countries hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, … Continue Reading
October 20, 2020
‘At A Breaking Point’: New Surge Of Covid-19 Cases Has States, Hospitals Scrambling, Yet Again-STAT
Here we go again. As hospitalizations for Covid-19 inch up around the country, some states are readying plans for field hospitals. Communities are delaying reopening plans and even imposing new measures, though some governors remain opposed to additional restrictions. Deaths — currently standing about 220,000 — have not surged again yet, but that might just be a matter of time. STAT, … Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
‘Overwhelmed’: Hospitals Engulfed By Rebounding Virus-Politico
The coronavirus is engulfing big city hospitals in states including Utah, Wisconsin and Indiana that are running low on nurses and beds and are being forced to set up overflow facilities. With new daily U.S. cases surpassing 62,000 on Thursday, the prospect of swamped intensive care units is prompting some governors who previously resisted public health orders to weigh new restrictions to ease pressure on their health care systems. Politico, … Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
WHO Study Finds Remdesivir Didn’t Help COVID-19 Patients-The Associated Press
A large study led by the World Health Organization suggests that the antiviral drug remdesivir did not help hospitalized COVID-19 patients, in contrast to an earlier study that made the medicine a standard of care in the United States and many other countries. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
Africa Needs To Go Beyond COVAX To Secure Vaccine Doses, Experts Say-Devex
Health experts in Africa have praised the COVAX Facility as a solution for ensuring that the continent has prompt access to an affordable vaccine for COVID-19 — but concerns surrounding gaps in funding and the continent’s immunization needs have experts looking at alternative ways of securing vaccine doses. Devex, … Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
Pfizer Won’t Apply For Covid-19 Vaccine Authorization Before Mid-November, CEO Confirms-STAT
Pfizer confirmed Friday it expects to seek emergency authorization of its experimental vaccine against Covid-19, if it is effective, in the third week of November. STAT, … Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
How Bad Will Coronavirus Be This Winter? Model Projects 170,000 More U.S. Deaths-NPR
Coronavirus cases are rising rapidly in many states as the U.S. heads into the winter months. And forecasters predict staggering growth in infections and deaths if current trends continue. It's exactly the kind of scenario that public health experts have long warned could be in store for the country, if it did not aggressively tamp down on infections over the summer. NPR, … Continue Reading
October 15, 2020
'Intense' G20 Negotiations Fall Short On Debt Support Expectations-Devex
The G-20 extended its debt suspension initiative but otherwise fell short of what low-income countries, advocates, and World Bank President David Malpass had hoped it would do to help countries facing debt challenges in the wake of COVID-19. Devex, … Continue Reading
October 15, 2020
Early Approval Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Could Stymie The Hunt For Better Ones-Science Magazine
Success in the push to find a COVID-19 vaccine at record-breaking speed could hand the world a new problem. The first vaccine to cross the finish line might be only marginally effective, yet it could become the enemy of the good—or even the great—candidates in the wings by disrupting ongoing studies. Science Magazine, … Continue Reading
October 15, 2020
US Jobless Claims Rise To 898,000 With Layoffs Still High-The Associated Press
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week by the most in two months, to 898,000, a historically high number and evidence that layoffs remain a hindrance to the economy’s recovery from the pandemic recession. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
October 15, 2020
Oxford Scientists Develop Five-Minute COVID-19 Antigen Test-Reuters
Scientists from Britain’s University of Oxford have developed a rapid COVID-19 test able to identify the coronavirus in less than five minutes, researchers said on Thursday, adding it could be used in mass testing at airports and businesses. Reuters, … Continue Reading
October 15, 2020
Sleepless Nights, Hair Loss And Cracked Teeth: Pandemic Stress Takes Its Toll-NPR
Throughout the pandemic, people who never had the coronavirus have been reporting a host of seemingly unrelated symptoms: excruciating headaches, episodes of hair loss, upset stomach for weeks on end, sudden outbreaks of shingles and flare-ups of autoimmune disorders. The disparate symptoms, often in otherwise healthy individuals, have puzzled doctors and patients alike, sometimes resulting in a series of visits to specialists with few answers. NPR, … Continue Reading
October 14, 2020
India Turns To Economic Overhaul As Growth Prospects Slide Amid Coronavirus-The Wall Street Journal
With India facing an economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking to deregulation as the cure. The changes pushed through in recent weeks by his Bharatiya Janata Party, affecting everything from factory floors to farming, have so far led to more confusion than acclaim, but economists say the economic overhaul could ultimately improve India’s troubled growth prospects. The Wall Street Journal, … Continue Reading
October 14, 2020
YouTube Bans COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation-The Hill
YouTube will ban content containing misinformation about coronavirus vaccines, expanding its policy surrounding misinformation about the virus, the company said Wednesday. The Google-owned video platform said it will remove any content that includes claims about COVID-19 vaccinations that contradicts information from health authorities. The Hill, … Continue Reading
October 14, 2020
You Can Get Reinfected With Covid-19 But May Still Have Immunity. Let’s Explain.-Vox
Researchers at the University of Nevada have reported that a 25-year-old man was reinfected in June with SARS-CoV-2, the virus the causes Covid-19. He joins a handful of other confirmed cases of reinfection in people without immune disorders — in Belgium, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Ecuador — where researchers have demonstrated that the genetic signature of the second infection did not match that of the first. Vox, … Continue Reading
October 14, 2020
How To Avoid COVID While Voting-Scientific American
Zeke Dunn of Brooklyn has worked at polling places in nearly every primary and general election since 2017. The 39-year-old television producer says doing so provides a way for him to connect with his neighbors and fulfill his civic duty. But this past June he skipped working in New York State’s primary: his partner is pregnant, and he could not risk bringing the novel coronavirus home from a polling place. As infection rates in New York City declined to low levels over the summer, Dunn … Continue Reading