Coronavirus Today

→ October 22nd, 2020

Eliminating fake vaccine news with pharmacist, nurse, and physician review.

Coronavirus Breaking News

Brazil's President Cancels COVID-19 Vaccine Order From China

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro announced on October 21, 2020, he rejected the planned purchase of 46 million doses of the CoronaVac vaccine candidate, which is produced by a Chinese firm.

On October 20, 2020, Brazil’s health minister Eduardo Pazuello said 'the federal government had reached a deal with Sao Paulo state to buy CoronaVac vaccine doses to be administered starting in January 2020.'

“The Brazilian people will not be anyone’s guinea pig,” Bolsonaro said on Twitter. “My decision is to not purchase such a vaccine.”

Research Finds Super-Antigen-Like Motif Not Present in Other SARS Coronaviruses

A study published by PNAS on October 13, 2020, found hyperinflammatory syndrome reminiscent of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is observed in severe COVID-19 patients, including children with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). These researchers showed that the SARS-CoV-2 spike contains sequence and structure motifs highly similar to those of a bacterial superantigen and may directly bind T cell receptors.

They further reported a skewed T cell receptor repertoire in COVID-19 patients with severe hyper-inflammation, in support of such a superantigenic effect.

Notably, the superantigen-like motif is not present in other SARS family coronaviruses, which may explain the unique potential for SARS-CoV-2 to cause both MIS-C and the cytokine storm observed in adults with COVID-19.

Previously, a September 8, 2020 study published in Nature stated: 'Different SARS-CoV-2 strains haven’t yet had a major impact on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they might in future.'

The U.S. CDC Defines Who is a 'Close Contact'

The leaders of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, announced the expansion of how it defines a “Close Contact” of someone with COVID-19. The CDC's leaders said on October 21, 2020, a close-contact is someone who spent a cumulative 15-minutes or more within 6-feet of someone who was infectious over 24 hours.

The CDC advises anyone who has been in Close Contact with a COVID-19 patient to quarantine for 2-weeks.

And, if possible: 'Wash hands regularly, stay at least 6-feet away from others whenever possible, and wear masks, says the CDC.

Japan's COVID Vaccine Sprint Depends on Partners

Japan's first clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine is underway at Osaka University Hospital. Some of the small-scale results, along with those from another university, are expected within the next month and will determine whether a larger clinical trial can be held in November 2020, involving 500 people, reported Nikkei Asia on October 13, 2020.

Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan's largest pharmaceutical maker, chose not to develop a coronavirus vaccine on its own, deciding to either manufacture or import and distribute those of two U.S. drug developers, such as Novavax and Moderna.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been just 1,679 fatalities reported amongst Japan's 126 million residents, as of October 21, 2020.

Japan Launches Studies For Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine

Reuters reported Pfizer and BioNTech SE announced on October 20, 2020, launching combined Phase I and Phase II clinical trials in Japan of their mRNA vaccine candidate BNT162, which is targeted against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla recently stated 'Pfizer expects to have the safety data from BNT162 in the third week of November 2020.'