Updates
Pfizer, BioNTech Share Clinical Data Linking Favored COVID-19 Vaccine to Improved Tolerability-Fierce Biotech
Pfizer and BioNTech have published clinical data on the COVID-19 vaccine they advanced into phase 3. The early clinical data link the phase 3 candidate to a far lower rate of adverse events than another prospect, explaining Pfizer and BioNTech's decision to move it into late-stage testing. Fierce Biotech, … Continue Reading
August 20, 2020
Grad Students Challenge University-Mandated COVID-19 Agreements-Science Magazine
On Saturday, Lauren Pope-a biology Ph.D. student at Stanford University-received an email detailing a "graduate student compact" she'll be required to sign before she can register for the fall semester. The document lays out expectations for how students will behave on campus given fears of COVID-19 transmission, as well as punishment procedures for those who don't follow the rules. Pope-who returned to the lab in June to resume her research and lives in on-campus housing-is concerned about … Continue Reading
August 20, 2020
Rise In Jobless Claims Reflects Still-Struggling US Economy-The Associated Press
The coronavirus recession struck swiftly and violently. Now, with the U.S. economy still in the grip of the outbreak five months later, the recovery looks fitful and uneven - and painfully slow. The latest evidence came Thursday, when the government reported that the number of workers applying for unemployment climbed back over 1 million last week after two weeks of declines. The Associated Press, … Continue Reading
August 20, 2020
As Coronavirus Surges, Spain’s Back-To-School Plans Under Fire-Reuters
With coronavirus cases surging and less than two weeks of the school holidays left, parents, teachers and opposition politicians in Spain are angry at the government's plans for reopening classrooms. Reuters, … Continue Reading
August 20, 2020
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy Tests Positive for Covid-19-CNN
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has tested positive for Covid-19, his office said Thursday. He plans to quarantine for 14 days, according to this office. CNN, … Continue Reading
August 20, 2020
How To Tell A Real COVID-19 Contact Tracer’s Call From A Scammer’s-NPR
State officials and federal agencies warn there's a new phone scam circulating: Callers posing as COVID-19 contact tracers are trying to pry credit card or bank account information from unsuspecting victims. NPR, … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
A Person With Covid-19 May Have Exposed Others At A Bar During Sturgis Motorcycle Rally-CNN
A person who spent hours at a bar during the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota last week has tested positive for Covid-19, state health officials said Tuesday. The potential exposure came during the city's 80th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally August 7-16. Health experts were concerned the mass gathering could be a "super-spreader" event, as many attendees travel from all over the country - including coronavirus hotspots - and could bring infections back home when they return. CNN, … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
Australia Secures Deal for Potential Covid-19 Vaccine, Will Provide it Free to All Citizens-CNN
Australia has secured a deal with the drugmaker AstraZeneca to supply a potential Covid-19 vaccine to its entire population free of charge, the government announced Tuesday, becoming the latest country to lock in supplies of the drug should trials succeed. British-based AstraZeneca is developing the vaccine in partnership with Oxford University, with advanced trials now underway with thousands of volunteers across multiple countries. Under the deal, the Australian government would manufacture … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
Tim Kaine Predicts Senate Breakthrough In Covid Relief After RNC-Politico
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) on Wednesday said the Senate will likely be motivated to work towards a deal on coronavirus relief shortly after next week's Republican National Convention, with a deal hopefully soon after Labor Day. Speaking with POLITICO's Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman, the former vice presidential hopeful criticized President Donald Trump's recent executive actions on coronavirus relief as "insufficient and unworkable and in some ways unconstitutional" and said Republicans would be … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
Will Covid-19 Vaccines Be Safe For Children And Pregnant Women? The Data, So Far, Are Lacking-STAT
As potential Covid-19 vaccines speed their way through development, manufacturers and U.S. regulators have largely delayed testing in children and women who are pregnant, raising the possibility that experts will lack critical safety and efficacy data in those populations when there's a pressing need to inoculate them. STAT, … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
Long-Haulers Are Redefining COVID-19-The Atlantic
Lauren Nichols has been sick with COVID-19 since March 10, shortly before Tom Hanks announced his diagnosis and the NBA temporarily canceled its season. She has lived through one month of hand tremors, three of fever, and four of night sweats. When we spoke on day 150, she was on her fifth month of gastrointestinal problems and severe morning nausea. She still has extreme fatigue, bulging veins, excessive bruising, an erratic heartbeat, short-term memory loss, gynecological problems, … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
Evidence Lags Behind Excitement Over Blood Plasma As A Coronavirus Treatment-Nature
US President Donald Trump has called on COVID-19 survivors to donate their blood plasma as a treatment for the disease, saying that "it's had tremendous response so far". Meanwhile, rumours have been swirling that US drug regulators are grappling with whether to give the plasma to more people by authorizing it as an emergency therapy. But researchers and clinicians around the world are concerned that a push to distribute blood plasma could undermine the clinical trials needed to determine … Continue Reading
August 19, 2020
Michigan State And Notre Dame Suspend In-Person Learning Over COVID-19 Concerns-NPR
Two Midwestern universities announced on Tuesday that they will be modifying their fall plans because of the coronavirus pandemic. The University of Notre Dame is moving all undergraduate instruction online for two weeks, and Michigan State University is going fully remote for the semester. NPR, … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
COVID-19 Now No. 3 Cause Of Death In US-The Hill
COVID-19 is currently the third-leading cause of death in the U.S., eight months after the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the country. The coronavirus is behind only heart disease and cancer among causes of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Hill, … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
How Schools Can Reopen Safely During The Pandemic-Nature
At schools across South Korea, children eat their lunches in silence, facing plastic screens that separate them from their friends. They wear masks, except when practising social distancing in the playground. And their temperatures are checked twice every morning — first at home and again at the school gates. This could be the new reality for the millions of children around the world. Nature, … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
Study Links COVID-19 To Rise In Childhood Type 1 Diabetes-Reuters
Cases of type 1 diabetes among children in a small UK study almost doubled during the peak of Britain’s COVID-19 epidemic, suggesting a possible link between the two diseases that needs more investigation, scientists said on Tuesday. Reuters, … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
Scientists Worried The Pandemic Would Cause Malaria Deaths To Soar. So Far, It Hasn’t Happened-Science Magazine
Back in March when COVID-19 hit, Pedro Alonso became alarmed about a different infectious disease. “I thought I would be witnessing the biggest malaria disaster in 20 years,” says Alonso, a malaria scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO). African countries went on lockdown to curtail COVID-19; worried about mass gatherings, they suspended campaigns to distribute mosquito-fighting bed nets. Fears abounded that with clinics overwhelmed by COVID-19, patients would be unable to get … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
How Bars Are Fueling COVID-19 Outbreaks-NPR
From the early days of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, states have wrestled with the best course of action for the nation's imperiled bars and nightclubs. Many of these businesses find their economic prospects tied to a virus that preys on their industry's lifeblood — social gatherings in tight quarters. Public health experts and top health officials, including the Dr. Tony Fauci, say the evidence is abundantly clear: When bars open, infections tend to follow. NPR, … Continue Reading
August 18, 2020
Hundreds Of Covid-19 Cases Reported As Students Return To College Campuses-CNN
Students are returning to college campuses across the US, and several universities are already detecting cases of coronavirus. CNN, … Continue Reading
August 17, 2020
In Pandemic Recovery, New York Has Had More Success Than Mass. What Explains the Gap?-The Boston Globe
Before the coronavirus pandemic had even reached some states, it was ripping through New York and Massachusetts. Both weathered a devastating spring, reaching peaks in April. New York was especially hard-hit; more than 32,000 residents have died of COVID-19 thus far, the vast majority in March and April. The Boston Club, … Continue Reading