Updates
For Inmates With COVID-19, Anxiety And Isolation Make Prison 'Like A Torture Chamber'-NPR
Back in early April as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged New York, John J. Lennon was sure he would contract the coronavirus. As a prisoner at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y., social distancing was impossible, he says. Making calls on prison phones, Lennon says, meant being "chest to shoulders" with nearly two dozen inmates. "It was a death-trap situation to use the phone," he says. NPR, … Continue Reading
September 24, 2020
Massive Genetic Study Shows Coronavirus Mutating And Potentially Evolving Amid Rapid U.S. Spread-The Washington Post
Scientists in Houston on Wednesday released a study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of the coronavirus that reveals the virus’s continual accumulation of mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious. The new report, however, did not find that these mutations have made the virus deadlier or changed clinical outcomes. The Washington Post, … Continue Reading
September 24, 2020
Reaching The World's Most Vulnerable Poses Biggest Challenge For COVID-19 Vaccine, Experts Say-Devex
Global health and development leaders expressed optimism during the United Nations General Assembly this week that a COVID-19 vaccine is forthcoming and can end the devastating pandemic. But many warned that equitable distribution will face additional hurdles of financing and misinformation once an effective vaccine is found. Devex, … Continue Reading
September 24, 2020
Dogs Used To Detect Coronavirus In Pilot Project At Helsinki Airport-Reuters
Dogs trained to detect the novel coronavirus began sniffing passenger samples at Finland’s Helsinki-Vantaa airport this week, authorities said, in a pilot project running alongside more usual testing at the airport.The dogs’ efficiency has not been proven in comparative scientific studies so passengers who volunteer to be tested and are suspected as carrying the virus are instructed to also take a swab to confirm the result. Reuters, … Continue Reading
September 24, 2020
Here Come The Tortoises: In The Race For A Covid-19 Vaccine, Slow Starters Could Still Win Out-STAT
The race is not always to the swift, as the cocky hare learned in Aesop’s classic fable, “The Hare and the Tortoise.” Those handicapping the so-called competition to develop Covid-19 vaccines would do well to keep an eye on the slower runners in this pursuit. STAT, … Continue Reading
September 24, 2020
Trump Administration Plans Crackdown On Hospitals Failing To Report COVID-19 Data-NPR
The federal government is preparing to aggressively crack down on hospitals for not reporting complete COVID-19 data daily into a federal data system, according to internal documents obtained by NPR. The draft guidance, expected to be sent to hospitals this week, also adds new reporting requirements, asking hospitals to provide daily information on influenza cases, along with COVID-19. NPR, … Continue Reading
September 23, 2020
Hoyer: House Should Vote On COVID Aid — With Or Without A Bipartisan Deal-The Hill
The second-ranking House Democrat is amplifying calls for the lower chamber to vote on a multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill in the coming days — even absent a deal with the White House. The Hill, … Continue Reading
September 23, 2020
F.D.A. To Release Stricter Guidelines For Emergency Vaccine Authorization-The New York Times
The Food and Drug Administration plans to soon issue stricter guidelines for the emergency authorization of any new coronavirus vaccine, adding a new layer of caution to the vetting process even as President Trump continues to contradict his own scientific experts and promise that a vaccine will be available as early as next month. The New York Times, … Continue Reading
September 23, 2020
CDC Chief Expects Most Americans To Be Vaccinated For COVID-19 By July: Hearing-Reuters
A top U.S. health official told a U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday that he expects the vaccination process for COVID-19 to take many months, but that most Americans could be vaccinated by July of 2021 at the latest. Reuters, … Continue Reading
September 23, 2020
COVID-19 Testing Lab Shows How Colleges Can Reopen Safely-Scientific American
In a vast, unintentional public health experiment, millions of U.S. college students have descended on campuses to begin their fall semester with an unwelcome new arrival: the novel coronavirus. In order to safely reopen, institutions of higher learning need the capacity to conduct a massive amount of coronavirus tests and get results back quickly. The Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University offers a program that can help meet this need. More than … Continue Reading
September 23, 2020
New Dashboard Tracks Coronavirus Cases In Schools Across 47 States-NPR
A new national effort asks K-12 schools to voluntarily — and anonymously — report their confirmed and suspected coronavirus cases, along with the safety strategies they're using. The COVID-19 School Response Dashboard, which NPR is reporting on exclusively, was created with the help of several national education organizations. Right now it shows an average of 230 cases per 100,000 students, and 490 per 100,000 staff members, in the first two weeks of September. NPR, … Continue Reading
September 22, 2020
Airlines Call For COVID-19 Tests Before All International Flights-Reuters
Global airlines called on Tuesday for airport COVID-19 tests for all departing international passengers to replace the quarantines they blame for exacerbating the travel slump. Rapid and affordable antigen tests that can be administered by non-medical staff are expected to become available in "coming weeks" and should be rolled out under globally agreed standards. Reuters, … Continue Reading
September 22, 2020
Trump: U.N. ‘Must Hold China Accountable’ For Pandemic-Politico
President Donald Trump on Tuesday admonished China over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic in his address to the United Nations General Assembly, demanding that the intergovernmental organization hold Beijing's ruling Communist government "accountable for their actions." Politico, … Continue Reading
September 22, 2020
WHO Unveils Global Plan To Fairly Distribute COVID-19 Vaccine, But Challenges Await-Science Magazine
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that countries representing close to two-thirds of the world's population have joined its plan to buy and fairly distribute COVID-19 vaccines around the globe. It also unveiled the mechanism through which it plans to allocate the vaccine as it becomes available, aiming "to end the acute phase of the pandemic by the end of 2021." Science Magazine, … Continue Reading
September 22, 2020
CDC Publishes — Then Withdraws — Guidance On Aerosol Spread Of Coronavirus-NPR
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted guidance Friday evening saying that aerosol transmission might be one of the "most common" ways the coronavirus is spreading - and then took the guidance down on Monday. The now-deleted updates were notable because so far the CDC has stopped short of saying that the virus is airborne. NPR, … Continue Reading
September 22, 2020
As Rich Nations Struggle, Africa’s Virus Response Is Praised-The Associated Press
At a lecture to peers this month, John Nkengasong showed images that once dogged Africa, with a magazine cover declaring it "The Hopeless Continent." Then he quoted Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah: "It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity." The coronavirus pandemic has fractured global relationships. But as director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nkengasong has helped to steer Africa's … Continue Reading
September 21, 2020
U.S. CDC Says Coronavirus Could Spread Through Air-Reuters
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that COVID-19 could spread through airborne particles that can remain suspended in the air and travel beyond six feet. The agency previously said the virus mainly spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets when a sick person coughs, sneezes or talks. Reuters, … Continue Reading
September 21, 2020
WHO Sets Rules For Testing African Herbal Remedies-BBC News
The World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed rules for the testing of African herbal remedies to fight Covid-19. Sound science would be the sole basis for safe and effective traditional therapies to be adopted, it said. Any traditional remedies that are judged effective could be fast-tracked for large-scale manufacturing. BBC News, … Continue Reading
September 21, 2020
UK Science Advisers Warn Of Darker COVID-19 Days Ahead-The Associated Press
Britain's top medical advisers on Monday painted a grim picture of exponential growth in illness and death if nothing is done to control the second wave of coronavirus infections, laying the groundwork for the government to announce new restrictions later this week. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
September 21, 2020
Testing Czar Says Cases Are Down, Even As U.S. Nears 200,000 Covid-19 Deaths-Politico
Even as the U.S. nears 200,00 Covid-19 deaths, HHS testing czar Brett Giroir said Sunday morning that progress was being made on many fronts. "From the peaks in early July and late July, the number of cases are down by 41 percent," the Health and Human Services official told CNN's Jake Tapper. "The number of people in an ICU are down 62 percent. The number of deaths are down almost 30 percent. But we have to stay strong and do the things that could decrease the spread." Politico, … Continue Reading