The coronavirus disease COVID-19 is currently reaching pandemic levels in various countries.
Quest Diagnostics reported the average Turnaround Time for COVID-19 high-quality molecular diagnostic testing increased to approximately 2-3 days. According to Quest's data as of November 24, 2020, the Turnaround Time can fluctuate with consumer demand and vary by region.
Additionally, Quest announced an overall testing capacity of 215,000 molecular tests per day.
Researchers from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association compiled data from state health departments to confirm that children can contract COVID-19, about 8% or reported cases, although severe disease appears to be very uncommon.
As of September 10, 2020, the data indicated 0.01% of child cases in the USA resulted in death.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced the guiding principles for Texas' COVID-19 vaccine allocation process, which will serve as a foundation for the state's initial distribution for COVID-19 vaccines expected as early as December 2020.
These principles, published on November 23, 2020, have been established by the Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel, created by DSHS to make recommendations on vaccine allocation decisions, including identifying groups that should be vaccinated first to provide the most protection to vulnerable populations and critical state resources.
Governor Abbott stated in a press release, "This foundation for the allocation process will help us mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our communities, protect the most vulnerable Texans, and safeguard crucial state resources."
Additionally, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) held an out-of-schedule, emergency meeting on November 23rd, to discuss various issues related to experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidates. The ACIP’s vaccine allocation presentations focused on healthcare personnel, seniors, and those people at high-risk based on their health condition. And a specific focus was on ‘equity-based’ allocations and administration concerns.
Qantas airlines CEO Alan Joyce said 'he believed it would be a necessity for passengers to be vaccinated once a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available in 2021. And, Joyce is reported by ABC in Australia to have said 'Qantas was looking into the possibility of requiring, both domestic and international passengers, to have a vaccination passport prior to traveling.'
A population-based cohort study of 225,556 people in Ontario, Canada, found the O and Rh− blood groups may be associated with a slightly lower risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 illness. Of the study participants infected with the new coronavirus, the lowest unadjusted probability of SARS-CoV-2 infection was among the O− blood group (2.1%), and the highest was in the B-positive blood group (4.2%).
This new study was published in the Annuals of Internal Medicine on November 24, 2020.
Zhou Junlong, vice-president of the Shanghai Airport Authority, announced on November 23, 2020, that 17,719 workers from the cargo handling section of Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which is a major aviation hub of East Asia, were tested for the virus that causes Covid-19.
And, 11,544 people had tested negative, with analysis of the remaining samples underway, reported the SCMP.
According to the Shanghai Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in China, two men were believed to have contracted the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus during October when they cleaned a freight container.
As of November 22, 2020, the U.S. CDC has reported 176,874,220 coronavirus tests had been reported in the USA.
The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, announced interim trial data from its Phase III trials on November 23, 2020, that shows its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019 (AZD1222), is effective at preventing COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, and offers a high level of protection.
A new phase 3 interim analysis indicates that the vaccine is 70.4% effective when combining data from (2) dosing regimens. In the two different dose regimens, the AZD1222 vaccine's efficacy was 90% in one and 62% in the other.
These data also suggest that this half dose and full-dose regimen could help to prevent transmission of the virus, evidenced by lower rates of asymptomatic infection in the vaccinees, with further information to become available when trial data are next evaluated.
Professor Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Chief Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, said in a press statement: ‘These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens could be around 90% effective, and if this dosing regimen is used, more people could be vaccinated with the planned vaccine supply.'
The U.S. CDC issued a Level 4: Very High Level of COVID-19 travel alert on November 21, 2020, recommending that all people avoid travel on cruise ships, including river cruises, worldwide. The CDC stated 'cruise passengers are at increased risk of person-to-person spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, and outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships.'
Furthermore, the CDC says 'discuss cruise ship travel planswith your healthcare provider.'
A new study published by The Lancet on November 19, 2020, found 'although SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedding can be prolonged in respiratory and stool samples, the viable virus is short-lived. Most studies detected the SARS-CoV-2 viral load peak within the first week of COVID-19 illness.
This study's findings highlight 'isolation practices should begin immediately with the identification of any COVID-19 symptom,' such as loss of smell or taste.
"Although viral RNA loads appear to be largely similar between those with and without symptoms, a few studies suggest that asymptomatic individuals might clear the viral material from their bodies faster," added lead author Dr. Muge Cevik, of the University of St Andrews, UK.
Health Canada granted authorization under the Interim Order Respecting the Importation, Sale, and Advertising of Drugs for Use in Relation to COVID-19 for the use of bamlanivimab (LY-CoV555) as a treatment for adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age or older with mild to moderate COVID-19 who weigh at least 40 kg and are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19 illness and/or hospitalization.
This authorization issued on November 20, 2020, the second authorization around the world for bamlanivimab, is based on data from BLAZE-1, a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled phase 2 study in patients with recently diagnosed, mild to moderate COVID-19.
The U.S. FDA published an updated COVID-19 Response At-A-Glance Summary on November 20, 2020, that offers a quick look at facts, figures, and highlights on the agency's response efforts during the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic during 2020.
The results of a new study published by the American Society for Microbiology on November 20, 2020, demonstrate that there is a significant inverse correlation between mumps titers from the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and COVID-19 severity.
Jeffrey E. Gold, president of World Organization, in Watkinsville, Georgia, stated in a press release: "This (study) may explain why children have a much lower COVID-19 case rate than adults, as well as a much lower death rate."
"The majority of children get their first MMR vaccination around 12 to 15 months of age."
Study co-author David J. Hurley, Ph.D., professor and molecular microbiologist at the University of Georgia, added: "The MMR II vaccine is considered a safe vaccine with very few side effects. If it has the ultimate benefit of preventing infection from COVID-19, preventing the spread of COVID-19, reducing the severity of it, or a combination of any or all of those, it is a very high reward, low-risk ratio intervention."
Over 171 million diagnostic tests, excluding antibody, and antigen tests, were performed to confirm if a person has a SARS-CoV-2 infection, reported the U.S. CDC. Overall, the reported data indicates a COVID-19 infection positivity rate of 8%, as of November 20, 2020.
In 2020, the state of California leads the USA with 17,979,560 coronavirus tests performed, followed by New York (16,449,405), Florida (12,921,116), and Texas (10,555,400).
Furthermore, during Week #46 of 2020, the CDC reported 3,435,511 specimens were tested for SARS-CoV-2 for diagnostic purposes, and 407,928 (11.9%) were positive. This is an increase compared with Week #45, during which 10.8% of specimens tested were positive. The percentages of specimens testing positive increased among all age groups.
According to a recent study published in the journal Pain, the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can relieve pain. The finding may explain why nearly half of all people who get COVID-19 experience few or no symptoms, even though they are able to spread the disease, according to the study’s corresponding author Rajesh Khanna, Ph.D., a professor in the UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Department of Pharmacology.
Dr. Khanna stated in a press release: “You have the virus, but you don't feel bad because your pain is gone. If we can prove that this pain relief is what is causing COVID-19 to spread further, that's of enormous value."
Based on mortality surveillance data available on November 19, 2020, the U.S. CDC reported 10.7% of the fatalities occurring during the week ending November 14, 2020 (week #46), were due to pneumonia, influenza, and COVID-19 (PIC).
Among the 2,187 PIC deaths reported for week #46, 1,260 had COVID-19 listed as an underlying or contributing cause of death on the death certificate and just 2 listed influenza, indicating that the current increase in PIC mortality is due primarily to COVID-19, and not influenza, says the CDC.
