Coronavirus Breaking News

The coronavirus disease COVID-19 is currently reaching pandemic levels in various countries.

Dec 14, 2020 • 7:06 am CST

Paris Restaurants Close for the Holidays

Estimates from Gira Conseil, a foodservice research company GIRA, forecast that about half of restaurants in France may close in the coming months. It estimates 90,000 establishments out of an estimated 198,000 are at risk because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chef Jean-François Trap was the guest of Bonjour Paris on December 14, 2020, describing a "catastrophic" situation for restaurants in Paris.

According to data sources, France's mid-November spike in COVID-19 fatalities has diminished, with an average of 400 deaths per day confirmed during December 2020.

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Staff Review

Dec 14, 2020 • 6:07 am CST

Canada's COVID-19 Vaccines Arrived

"The first batch of doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2) have arrived in Canada," posted Prime Minister Trudeau on Twitter late on December 13, 2020. The initial 30,000 vaccine doses are being distributed to 14 sites across Canada.

The vast majority of COVID-19 related fatalities in Canada (13,431) have been reported in Quebec (7,508) and Ottawa (3,968).

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Staff Review

Dec 14, 2020 • 5:57 am CST

Tokyo Confirms 535th Coronavirus Related Fatality in 2020

The Tokyo metropolitan government announced on December 13, 2020, about 480 new coronavirus infections were confirmed. This report indicates Tokyo's cumulative SARS-CoV-2 virus infection total is now 47,225.

Tokyo, a city of about 33 million residents, has confirmed 535 fatalities related to COVID-19 during 2020.

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Staff Review

Dec 13, 2020 • 9:24 pm CST

Cancer Patients Found Susceptible to Severe COVID-19

This original case-control study by the JAMA found that patients with cancer and COVID-19 had significantly worse outcomes than patients with COVID-19 without cancer and patients with cancer without COVID-19. These researchers observed synergistic effects between COVID-19 and cancer on both death and hospitalization rates.

These findings published on December 10, 2020, highlight the need to protect and monitor patients with cancer as part of the strategy to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Staff Review

Dec 13, 2020 • 2:17 pm CST

Over 213 Million Coronavirus Tests Confirmed in the USA

Over 213 million diagnostic tests have been confirmed by the U.S. CDC, as of December 13, 2020. The state of California leads the USA with 23,457,173 coronavirus tests performed.

Overall, the CDC's data indicates a COVID-19 infection positivity rate of 8.22%.

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Staff Review

Dec 13, 2020 • 1:09 pm CST

Germany Launches 'Hard Virus Lockdown'

Public life in Germany will be drastically shut down beginning December 16, 2020, according to N-TV reporting. Most of the retail trade will close until January 11, 2021. Schools and daycare centers are also closing. And there are strict requirements for Christmas meetings, such as congregational singing is prohibited.

Furthermore, private get-togethers with friends, relatives, and acquaintances are still limited to one's own household and to another household, in any case to a maximum of (5) people. Children up to 14 years of age are exempt from this mandate.

"We are forced to act and are acting now," stated Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference on December 13, 2020. A softer COVID-19 pandemic lockdown has been in place in Germany since early November.

As of December 13, 2020, Germany's 83 million residents have reported about 21,900 fatalities related to COVID-19.

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Don Ward Hackett

Dec 13, 2020 • 12:52 pm CST

USA Continues Buying mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense announced on December 11, 2020, they will purchase an additional 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidate, called mRNA-1273, from Moderna. If authorized by the U.S. FDA, the Moderna vaccine will begin shipping immediately and be provided at no cost to Americans.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar stated in a press release, “This new federal purchase can give Americans even greater confidence we will have enough supply to vaccinate all Americans who want it by the second quarter of 2021.”

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Don Ward Hackett

Dec 13, 2020 • 11:16 am CST

U.S. CDC Confirms Their Approval for a COVID-19 Vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) on December 11, 2020, for a vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older. Additionally, the U.S. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted their approval during the afternoon of December 12, 2020.

“While not an FDA approval, today’s emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine holds the promise to alter the course of this pandemic in the United States,” commented Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

The EAU enables the experimental Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (BNT162b2) to be distributed in the USA.

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Staff Review

Dec 13, 2020 • 11:05 am CST

Pregnant Women COVID-19 Vaccination Debate Continues

NPR's Richard Harris reported on December 5, 2020, vaccine researchers don't expect that the experimental vaccine BNT162b2 will put mothers or newborns at risk. But, unfortunately, pregnancy-specific research data do not yet exist.

Studies involving pregnant women are not expected to begin enrollment until the first quarter of 2021, reported NPR.

'We don't generally give live viral vaccines in pregnancy because there's a theoretical risk that the live virus could be passed and it infects the fetus,' stated Denise Jamieson, chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine. 'But with the exception of smallpox vaccines, there really have been very few problems with vaccines,'

In the UK, the NHS issued a notice stating on December 10, 2020: 'COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine BNT162b2 is not recommended during pregnancy. For women of childbearing age, pregnancy should be excluded before vaccination. In addition, women of childbearing age should be advised to avoid pregnancy for at least 2 months after their second dose.'

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Karen McClorey Hackett

Medical Review by

Danielle Reiter, RN

Dec 12, 2020 • 12:37 pm CST

Pneumonia, Influenza, or COVID-19 Fatalities Continue Above Threshold

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) death certificate data available on December 10, 2020, the percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia, influenza, or COVID-19 (PIC) for week #49 was 14.3% and, while it declined compared with the percentage during week #48 (19.6%), it remains above the epidemic threshold of 6.5%.

Additionally, the overall percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the USA, increased from 12.1% during week #48 to 13.3% during week #49, with positivity rates increased among all age groups.

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Staff Review

Dec 12, 2020 • 11:44 am CST

Are Pregnant Women Eligible to Receive mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines?

The U.S. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) committee posted the December 12, 2020, presentation, which includes statements relevant to women who are pregnant and intend to be vaccinated with the BNT162b2 vaccine.

The ACIP confirmed: 'There are no data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in pregnant women.'

And, if a 'woman is part of a group (healthcare personnel) who is recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine and is pregnant, she may choose to be vaccinated and discussions with her healthcare provider can help her make an informed decision.'

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Karen McClorey Hackett

Dec 12, 2020 • 11:23 am CST

Should Schools Offer In-Person Learning For Students?

In a letter written to a Georgia high school board on December 11, 2020, leaders from the U.S. CDC stated: 'Research conducted throughout Europe, Asia and Australia has shown very little (coronavirus) transmission in schools, with a wide variety of mitigation measures in place.'

'In the US, with significant community transmission across the country, schools have opened without substantial school-based transmission.'

This letter was co-signed by the CDC's Dr. Nancy Messonnier.

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Staff Review

Dec 12, 2020 • 6:02 am CST

Healthcare Workers Begin Weekly COVID-19 Testing

The California Department of Public Health confirmed that all healthcare professionals working in identified hospitals should be tested for COVID-19 each week. This action follows the U.S. CDC's recommendations that were published on July 17, 2020.

The state of California leads all US states in COVID-19 testing, with over 21 million tests confirmed by the CDC, as of December 11, 2020.

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Staff Review

Dec 12, 2020 • 5:47 am CST

Human DNA Could Lead to new COVID-19 Treatments

University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute's researchers announced they have identified 'potential treatments for COVID-19 after the discovery of (5) genes associated with the most severe form of the disease. Genes involved in (2) molecular processes, antiviral immunity, and lung inflammation, were pinpointed.

They stated 'Genetic evidence is second only to clinical trials as a way to tell which treatments will be effective in a disease.'

Dr. Kenneth Baillie, the study's project chief investigator, said in a press release: "This is a stunning realization of the promise of human genetics to help understand critical illness. Just like in sepsis and influenza, in COVID-19, damage to the lungs is caused by our own immune system, rather than the virus itself. Our genetic results provide a roadmap through the complexity of immune signals, showing the route to key drug targets."

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Staff Review