What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 20, 2020
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…)
FDA Provides Update on Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program
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.
What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 17, 2020
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…)
What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 15, 2020
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…)
What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 15, 2020
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…)
What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 14, 2020
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…)
What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 13, 2020
General News
Since the beginning of the outbreak, New York State has recorded more than 10,000 COVID-19 deaths. However, the number of new cases appears to be stabilizing in that state, enough so there is now talk about eventual plans to “reopen” the regional economy. Groups of governors on both the east and west coasts are coordinating efforts to bring their states back online.
Overseas in Europe, coronavirus lockdowns are expected to last into May. The estimate comes as the number of deaths in the United Kingdom has now topped 10-thousand.
Research News
There’s new news coverage today about efforts at the California National Primate Center at UC Davis to generate an effective vaccine. (more…)
New AMP Resource: Video Highlighting the Importance of Animal Studies in Developing Vaccines Throughout History
Animal research will undeniably play a pivotal role in the development of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci explained this recently during a White House briefing. However, many Americans are likely unaware research in a variety of species led to vaccines to protect us from a host of infectious disease threats. Mice and monkeys were involved in the development of a polio vaccine in the 1950s. And just last year, studies in nonhuman primates led to an Ebola vaccine that is incredibly effective.
To educate the public about this important topic and assist the research community in doing the same, Americans for Medical Progress created this brief video that explains in detail how time-and-time again, animal studies led to safe and effective vaccines.
Please help us in sharing and distributing this video. We’ve posted it on YouTube and also on Vimeo. We’ve also shared it on our various social media channels including Facebook.
What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 10, 2020
General News
Some good news out of New York as the number of coronavirus patients in I.C.U.s has started to fall. Experts say this is due to the success of stay-at-home orders, school closures and social distancing. However, new projections also suggest lifting those restrictions after just 30 days will lead to a dramatic infection spike this summer and death tolls that would compare to doing nothing. And some grim news from the BBC, which tells us New York is apparently ramping up mass burials amid the outbreak.
The federal government is reportedly considering issuing Americans certificates of immunity from the coronavirus, as the Trump administration works to better identify those who have been infected and restart the U.S. economy in the coming weeks. In related news, CNN reports antibody tests for the novel coronavirus could be available within a week. (more…)
What We’re Reading About COVID-19 – April 9, 2020
General News
Coronavirus hospitalizations are finally dropping in New York – the lowest daily jump in admissions since the crisis picked up. But officials there say they are not out of the woods yet. Things appear to be much worse in Detroit where hospital workers say people are dying in ER hallways before help can arrive.
Overseas, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has left the ICU.
There’s even more bad news for US newspapers, many of which are already struggling in the internet age. Some say they face an ‘extinction-level’ crisis due to COVID-19.
Science and Health News
Ferrets may be a potential ally in the search for a coronavirus vaccine. Studies suggest the disease can replicate in that species. According to an article in Popular Science, a new vaccine has been shown to protect mice from a separate but related coronavirus. Scientists hope a similar vaccination strategy might work for SARS-CoV-2. (more…)