General News 

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the US is approaching one million as more than 55 thousand deaths have been documented. Overseas in Europe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is back on the job today after recovering from coronavirus. Meanwhile, Italy, one of the hardest hit countries is making plans to ease social distancing measures. 

Health and Science News

An article in the New York Times suggests Oxford University is currently leading efforts to produce a COVID-19 vaccine. Last month six rhesus macaque monkeys were inoculated with a single dose of the Oxford vaccine. The animals were then exposed to heavy quantities of the virus causing the pandemic. More than 28 days later, all six reportedly remain healthy. The scientists are now hoping to conduct a clinical trial involving 6,000 people by the end of next month.  (more…)

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases today released a new strategic plan to identify and define the institute’s plan for accelerating research to diagnose, prevent and treat COVID-19.

The NIAID’s plan includes four key priorities: 

1. Improving fundamental knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, including studies to characterize the virus and better understand how it causes infection and disease. Here, the NIH institute specifically notes that small and large animal models that can recapitulate COVID-19 disease seen in humans must be developed.
2. Developing rapid, accurate diagnostics and assays to identify and isolate COVID-19 cases and track the spread of the virus.
3. Characterizing and testing potential treatments for COVID-19. 
4. Developing safe and effective vaccines to protect individuals from infection and prevent future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks.

(more…)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories today announced the first confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections in two pet cats. The animals are the first pets in the United States to test positive for the disease. The cats lived in two separate areas of the state. Both showed mild respiratory illness and are expected to make a full recovery.  

According to the USDA, in one of the NY cases, a veterinarian tested the first cat after it showed mild respiratory signs. No individuals in the household were confirmed to be ill with COVID-19. It’s believed the virus may have been transmitted to this cat by mildly ill or asymptomatic household members or through contact with an infected person outside its home.

The full USDA press release can be found at this link.

Just announced by the NIH: A panel of physicians, statisticians and other experts has created treatment guidelines for battling COVID-19 infections. The guidelines, which are of course intended for use by healthcare providers, are based on both published and preliminary data, along with the clinical expertise of the panelists. 

The guidelines have been posted online at this link. They will be updated often as new data comes to light in peer-reviewed scientific literature and other trusted sources. 

Here’s a link to the full NIH announcement.  

General News 

According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, his state is expected to test 3,000 people for antibodies to the coronavirus starting today. The news comes as the single-day death toll in New York has finally dipped below 500. 

Some bad news for the oil industry as the price has dropped below zero for the first time in history. 

Health and Science News

While one would never say there’s a silver lining to a worldwide pandemic, some opposed to vaccines are changing their minds. That story comes from CNN. And an article from Medical News Today takes a look at what happens inside the body when someone is infected with SARS-CoV-2. In other news, the University of Calgary is looking into the risk of COVID-19 transmission from pets.  (more…)

The Food and Drug Administration today published additional information about the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP), which seeks to quickly move new COVID-19 treatments to patients, while at the same time finding out whether they are helpful or harmful.

According to an article today by Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D., and other FDA leaders, 72 clinical trials are being overseen by the agency. The summary highlights several of the therapies currently being tested including antiviral drugs, efforts to suppress the immune system’s overreaction to SARS-CoV-2 and the delivery of antibodies through blood plasma. The full article can be found here.   

We’ve heard plenty of bad news over the past few weeks. Today, some good news. We’re getting an early peek at data on the drug remdesivir. It’s again early data, but it suggests COVID-19 patients are responding to treatment. Some additional good news from the NIH which is conducting animal studies of remdesivir. They say it prevents disease progression in monkeys with novel coronavirus. 

As for the human toll of COVID-19, the New York Times explains why we don’t know the true death rate for the disease. And China has increased its coronavirus death toll by 50% in Wuhan. More information can be found in this story, which also comes from the New York Times.   (more…)

General News 

According to The Washington Post, COVID-19 is rapidly becoming America’s leading cause of death. 

Health and Science News

Studies conducted by the CDC and WHO suggest mosquitoes cannot spread coronavirus. Now the USDA will study the issue as well. There’s some intriguing news out of MIT about one possible way to combat the excessive and often deadly immune response that can occur in severe COVID-19 cases. Researchers have developed specialized proteins, similar in structure to antibodies, that they believe could help address this issue.  (more…)

General News 

An ominous milestone today as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed 2 million worldwide.   

NPR reports nearly 9,300 U.S. health care workers have so far contracted the novel coronavirus and 27 have died. The data from the CDC also says that a majority of those who tested positive (55%) think they were exposed while at work. In a related and admittedly heartbreaking story, The New York Times shared the final text messages from a hospital worker on the front lines who lost their battle to the disease.  (more…)

General News

New York City was one of the first metropolitan areas in the US to combat a large COVID-19 outbreak. A story in Politico says the community is now hoping to lead recovery efforts by manufacturing its own coronavirus testing kits. Starting in May, New York companies are expected to produce 50,000 test kits a week. 

Overseas in Russia, new COVID-19 cases have started to surge after the nation thought it had initial control over their outbreak. 

Health and Science News

We’ve spotted some stories that do a nice job of highlighting the importance of animal studies in combatting coronavirus. Science Magazine looks into the animal species that can help us defeat the disease. Quartz.com explains how monkeys, ferrets and horses are helping scientists fight COVID-19.  (more…)