Coronavirus Breaking News

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released for public comment on September 1, 2020, a discussion draft of a preliminary framework to assist policymakers in planning for an equitable allocation of a vaccine against COVID-19 disease. The committee that developed the draft framework was formed in July 2020 in response to a request to the National Academy of Medicine from the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The committee recommends a 4-phased approach guided by evidence to achieve the primary goal of maximizing societal benefit by reducing morbidity and mortality.

“While major efforts are being made to have a significant supply of COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, the committee has been tasked with considering the tough choices that will need to be made for allocating the tightly constrained initial supplies,” said committee co-chair Helene Gayle, president, and CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, in a press statement.

Separately, the U.S. FDA announced on August 27, 2020, that a public meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will be held on October 22nd, to discuss the general matter of the development, authorization, and/or licensure of vaccines indicated to prevent COVID-19 disease.

And, the U.S. CDC's vaccine advisory committee released its draft plan on August 26, 2020.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who recently recovered from a coronavirus infection, said on August 31, 2020, that 'nobody will be forced to have the vaccine against the pandemic once it is developed', reported Reuters.

Brazil's government has committed to buy 100 million doses of the AZD1222 vaccine candidate from AstraZeneca, and a potential vaccine from Sinovac Biotech. The Sinovac vaccine candidate is the third in the world to enter large-scale testing on humans.

"Trials of CoronaVac will begin at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paulo," the state's governor, Joao Doria, told a news conference on July 20, 2020. Doria added 'initial results were expected within 90 days, reported Newsflare.

The National Education Association (NEA) announced in late August 2020 they would integrate information from third parties to help launch a tracker of coronavirus cases in public K-12 schools in the USA. This NEA tracker is broken down by state and shows schools and counties with known cases and suspected cases, as well as whether those infected were students or staff.

'Our Number One priority is the safety and well-being of students, educators, and their families. So we must consider infection rates and the ability to physically distance, provide masks and other protective equipment,' stated the NEA's new president Becky Pringle, on August 6, 2020.

However, the sources of information may not be verifiable, nor is the health information privacy-policy clear regarding how the information will be used.

Researchers in the Netherlands wrote a research letter on August 28, 2020, documenting a COVID-19 disease outbreak that sickened residents and staff in a nursing home. 'We advise that prevention of COVID-19 transmission should take into account the possibility of aerosol transmission in healthcare facilities and other buildings, where ventilation systems recirculate unfiltered inside air,' stated these researchers.

Non-drug interventions should be based on evidence and we need to generate this data to inform the COVID-19 and future pandemics,' argues Margaret McCartney, in an editorial published by the BMJ on August 28, 2020. 'Almost 1,300 controlled trials have been registered for drug interventions for COVID-19 during 2020. But why have non-drug interventions been subject to the same interrogation?'

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine announced on August 31, 2020, it is among the first sites in the USA to study whether an investigational vaccine co-developed by AstraZeneca can prevent COVID-19 disease that is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Maryland based Novavax, Inc. announced on August 31, 2020, it has reached an agreement in principle with the Government of Canada to supply up to 76 million doses of NVX-CoV2373, Novavax’ COVID-19 vaccine candidate.