Historic composer Andrew Lloyd Webber announced on Twitter on August 12, 2020, "I am excited that tomorrow (Aug. 13th) I am going to be vaccinated for the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial," he wrote. "I'll do anything to prove that theatres can re-open safely."
Coronavirus Breaking News
The coronavirus disease COVID-19 is currently reaching pandemic levels in various countries.
Aug 13, 2020 • 9:16 am CDT
The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare announced it has signed a letter of intent with Novavax, Inc. and SK bioscience on August 13, 2020, to work toward broad and equitable access in South Korea to the coronavirus vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373.
Aug 13, 2020 • 3:53 am CDT
Argentine President Alberto Fernandez announced on August 13, 2020, the countries of Argentina and Mexico will produce the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and supply it to most of Latin America, except for Brazil, reported Reuters.
The agreement between AstraZeneca and the biotechnology company mAbxience of the INSUD Group includes a transfer of technology to initially produce 150 million doses of the vaccine, which is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2021.
The AZD1222 vaccine candidate is made from a virus (ChAdOx1), which is a weakened version of a common cold virus that causes infections in chimpanzees, that has been genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans. A preliminary report of the phase 1/2 study published on July 20, 2020, showed a single dose of AZD1222 resulted in a 4-fold increase in antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein in 95% of participants one month after injection.
Aug 13, 2020 • 3:07 am CDT
As of August 12, 2020, the U.S. FDA had authorized 210 coronavirus diagnostic tests, which include 173 molecular tests, 37 antibody tests, and 2 antigen tests. And, the FDA issued new Emergency Use Authorizations to LumiraDx UK Ltd., for its LumiraDx SARS-CoV-2 RNA STAR, and Biomeme, Inc., for its Biomeme SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time RT-PCR Test.
Aug 13, 2020 • 3:00 am CDT
The U.S. FDA published an online Consumer Update on August 12, 2020, with some simple steps to help slow the spread of the coronavirus disease and protect ourselves and our families. Furthermore, the CDC recommends wearing cloth masks or face coverings – not surgical masks or N95 respirators – when in public settings.
Aug 13, 2020 • 2:54 am CDT
As of August 12, 2020, the U.S. FDA says the food supply is safe and there is no evidence the coronavirus is transmitted through food, food containers, or food packaging.
Aug 12, 2020 • 3:31 pm CDT
To expand the number of blood plasma donations, LabCorp announced on August 11, 2020, details of a no-charge antibody testing program. For the next 3-months, LabCorp will perform the high-affinity coronavirus antibody test at no-charge to patients, insurance companies, or the government.
And when patients are receiving other medically necessary blood tests as part of a medically necessary exam or treatment, this program enables providers to add the SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Test to the same order, at no charge.
The no-charge high-affinity antibody testing program will use the Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 and does not apply to other COVID-19 antibody tests, such as the IgG test. Patients will be able to access their results through the LabCorp Patient™ portal and through their doctor.
Aug 12, 2020 • 2:56 pm CDT
Kaiser Permanente in Southern California reported that there was a J-shaped association between BMI and the risk for COVID-19 disease death from February 13, 2020, to early May 2020, even after adjustment for obesity-related comorbidities.
This study was published on August 12, 2020, and concluded saying 'obesity plays a profound role in risk for death from COVID-19, particularly in male patients and younger populations, and provides actionable insights for early interventions.'
Aug 12, 2020 • 2:43 pm CDT
As of August 12, 2020, the United Kingdom's official COVID-19 disease-related fatality calculation has been reduced by more than 5,000 following a review by the Department of Health and Social Care. Previous COVID-19 deaths were included for anyone who had died following a positive SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus test, at any point.
The new daily measure provides a UK-wide count of deaths under a consistent methodology for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales that has been endorsed by an external review. The measure will be based on a 28-day limit between the date of a positive lab-confirmed test and date of death.
Deaths that occur more than 28 days after a positive test will not be included in the headline count, stated the UK government.
The latest number of coronavirus tests, cases, and COVID-19 related fatalities in the UK is published on this webpage.
Aug 12, 2020 • 2:29 pm CDT
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on August 12, 2020, that the U.S. Department of HHS has extended operations for 4 temporary COVID-19 surge testing sites in Harris County, which includes the city of Houston. These testing sites will remain open through August 29th.
These testing sites are located in Houston, Pasadena, and Kingwood, and began operations on August 10th. Each location is able to process 1,250 tests per day or a total of 60,000 tests across the sites.
"As we address surges in COVID-19 cases across the state of Texas, increasing testing is essential to detecting and mitigating the spread of this virus," said Governor Abbott on August 7th. "I thank Secretary Azar, Admiral Giroir, and all of our partners at HHS for providing our communities with the additional resources they need to combat COVID-19."
As of August 12, 2020, Harris County has reported about 1,600 COVID-19 disease-related fatalities, which, based on the 4 million residents, indicates a case fatality rate of less than 1% during 2020.
Aug 12, 2020 • 1:11 pm CDT
Gilead Sciences announced on August 10, 2020, that it has submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA for Veklury (remdesivir), an investigational antiviral for the treatment of hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. Veklury has been approved by multiple regulatory authorities around the world, including in the European Union and Japan.
Aug 12, 2020 • 10:29 am CDT
The NBA announced it will be expanding the 'Bubble' around the players living in Orlando, Florida, on August 12, 2020. The NBA is now authorizing 4 guests per player, plus children.
This opportunity to bring guests into the Bubble located at Walt Disney World will be only for NBA teams advancing to the 2nd round of the playoffs, and the earliest any guest could satisfy quarantine rules and be reunited with a player is August 31, 2020, reported the AP.
“I miss the hell out of my family,” Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said last week. “My wife, my kids, my mother, and so on, and so on. So, it’s a huge challenge.”
Aug 12, 2020 • 8:14 am CDT
An August 11, 2020, report by the U.S. CDC highlights how nursing homes have been among the hardest-hit care facilities during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic of 2020. This CDC report, based on an outbreak at a Maryland facility, investigators found that around 20% of residents tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. And, 72% were asymptomatic at the time of testing.
This nursing home identified a significantly higher prevalence of coronavirus infection among residents receiving dialysis (47%), which indicates nursing home residents who undergo dialysis are a particularly vulnerable population.
Nursing Home fatality data can be found using this CDC Search map, which identifies the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania as reporting about 38% of all COVID-19 disease-related fatalities during 2020.
Aug 12, 2020 • 7:50 am CDT
The State of Connecticut issued $2,000 fines on August 10, 2020, for violations of the new requirements for travelers returning from COVID-19 disease hotspot states. The travel advisory violators both refused to fill out the travel advisory questionnaire, resulting in $1,000 fine each. One of those travelers did not quarantine, resulting in a second $1,000 fine for that person.
According to the State, no COVID-19 cases have been linked to these out-of-state travelers.
The violations were issued as the result of tips - from a co-worker - sent to the Department of Public Health that resulted in an investigation, Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said, report the CT Post. Geballe said there are additional investigations currently underway concerning possible violators, reported the AP.
Medical Review by
Aug 12, 2020 • 3:21 am CDT
Researchers recently tested fitted filtration efficiencies (FFEs) of 29 different fitted face mask alternatives for virus particle penetration, worn when performing a series of repeated movements to recreate typical occupational activities of healthcare teams. On August 11, 2020, JAMA published these results which concluded saying 'N95 masks that are past their expiration date or have been used and resterilized, can be acceptable alternatives to a standard, new single-use N95 masks.'
Which is good news, from a cost perspective.
However, the most effective face mask achieved only 79.7% FFE in this study.
Medical Review by
