Featured Headlines
Coronavirus deaths on the rise in almost every region of the U.S. – Washington Post
New U.S. coronavirus cases reached record levels over the weekend, with deaths trending up sharply in a majority of states, including many beyond the hard-hit Sun Belt.
Immunity to covid-19 could disappear in months, a new study suggests – MIT Tech Review
Immunity to covid-19 may be short-lived, according to a new longitudinal study of people who have caught the disease and recovered. [Related pre-print study]
Covid-19 testing system is reaching a brink as growing demand surpasses what the nation’s labs can handle, sparking supply shortages and backlogs
The Covid Death Rate in Majority-Black Counties Is Getting Worse – Bloomberg
If you’re Black in America, Covid-19 is more likely to kill you, and the disparity has only widened as cases have surged across the U.S.
If the coronavirus is really airborne, we might be fighting it the wrong way – MIT Technology Review
This was the week airborne transmission became a big deal in the public discussion about covid-19. Over 200 scientists from around the world cosigned a letter to the World Health Organization urging it to take seriously the growing evidence that the coronavirus can be transmitted through the air. WHO stopped short of redefining SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes covid-19) as airborne but did acknowledge that more research is “urgently needed to investigate such instances and assess their significance for transmission of COVID-19.”
For months, California hospitals avoided the dreaded surge in coronavirus patients that threatened to overwhelm wards and stretch thin staff and supplies. But now, with coronavirus hospitalizations in the state at an all-time high, doctors and nurses at some hospitals say the nightmare has arrived.
Back to school: What doctors say about children and COVID-19 – NBC
Evidence suggests that children aren’t as susceptible as adults to COVID-19, but the risks aren’t the same for all young people.
Why R0 Is Problematic for Predicting COVID-19 Spread – The Scientist
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has revealed the limitations of R0 as no other disease outbreak has before, at a time when policymakers need accurate forecasts.
Hong Kong’s New Virus Measures Include $645 Fine for No Mask – Bloomberg
Hong Kong ordered gyms and bars to close for a week, restored strict limits on public gatherings and introduced fines for anyone refusing to wear a mask on public transport in a fresh bid to prevent the resurgent coronavirus from spiraling out of control.
Ideas For Reopening Schools; Evidence Of Airborne Spread – NPR
10 Minute Audio at the link – The Australian state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, just started a new six-week lockdown. The state just recorded a record number of new daily cases: 191. Education and public health experts agree it’s important that kids get back to school in the fall. The question is how to do it safely. NPR’s Anya Kamenetz reports on some radical ideas for reopening.
Celebrate the good news – New York City Reaches Milestone With No Reported Virus Deaths Bloomberg
New York City, once the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak, has just reported its first day with zero confirmed or probable virus deaths since the pandemic hit New York State.
Clinical Considerations
Coronavirus doctor’s diary: Why are people remaining ill for so long? – BBC
Four months after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, doctors are still on a steep learning curve. One surprise is just how long symptoms seem to last, for some patients. Dr John Wright of Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) talks to two young women who are still tired and breathless many weeks after falling ill.
COVID-19 Has Been Linked to a Rare Neurological Disorder. Here’s What We Know So Far – Science Alert
The patient in the case report was 54 and in good health. For two days in May, he felt unwell and was too weak to get out of bed. When his family finally brought him to the hospital, doctors found that he had a fever and signs of a severe infection, or sepsis.
1 in 3 Young Adults May Face Severe COVID-19, UCSF Study Shows – UCSF
The heart: Before, during and after COVID-19 – ABC News
As the coronavirus pandemic rapidly evolved into a public health crisis of global proportions, doctors and scientists embarked upon a real-time journey to uncover how the virus mercilessly attacks various parts of the body and what to do about it. While medical experts have been troubled by the respiratory virus’ tendency to wreak havoc on the lungs, perhaps more puzzling has been its relationship with the heart.
Virology Podcast: Do, there is no try
Daniel Griffin provides a clinical update on COVID-19, then Viviana Simon joins to review serological assays developed at Mt. Sinai for SARS-CoV-2 infection, tracking the outbreak in NYC, and listener questions.
Official Reporting for July 13, 2020
World Health Organization
Confirmed Cases: 12,768,307
Deaths: 566,654
ECDC
Confirmed Cases: 12,875,963
Deaths: 568,628
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 12,988,624
Deaths: 554,721
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total deaths: 570,397
Surveillance Headlines
UNITED STATES
Florida: Reports more than 15,000 new coronavirus cases, shattering record – NBC
Georgia: Georgia surpasses 3,000 coronavirus deaths – Atlanta Journal Constitution
LATIN AMERICA
Mexico: Surpasses Italy to post world’s fourth-highest coronavirus death toll – NBC News
EUROPE
Netherlands: Thousands of Mink to be culled after SARS-COV-2 found on 23rd farm – NL Times
Russia: Detour Helps Russians Evade Virus Travel Ban – Bloomberg
MIDDLE EAST
ASIA
Japan: US military bases in Okinawa hit by Covid-19 as outbreak worsens – CNN
Science and Tech
Bottleneck for U.S. Coronavirus Response: The Fax Machine – New York Times
Before public health officials can manage the pandemic, they must deal with a broken data system that sends incomplete results in formats they can’t easily use.
Vaccine
Russia Completes Human Trials Of Covid-19 Vaccine – Forbes
After Brazil was the first emerging market to get a test drive of the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine, its Russia that is the first to complete human trials. Elena Smolyarchuk, chief researcher for the Russian Center for Clinical Research on Medications at Sechenov University, told TASS newswire on Sunday that human trials for the vaccine had been completed and those test patients will be discharged soon.
Antivirals
Gilead starts Phase I trial of inhaled version of Covid-19 drug remdesivir – MedCity News
The study is enrolling 60 healthy volunteers aged 18-45, but the company hopes it will form the basis of trials of the drug as an outpatient treatment for patients who do not require hospitalization. Remdesivir is currently administered via IV.
Therapeutics
Why lopinavir and hydroxychloroquine do not work on COVID-19 – Med Express
Lopinavir is a drug against HIV; hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria and rheumatism. Until recently, both drugs were regarded as potential agents in the fight against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. A research group from the University of Basel and the University Hospital has now discovered that the concentration of the two drugs in the lungs of COVID-19 patients is not sufficient to fight the virus.
Social/Psychological
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Go To A ‘Covid Party’ – Forbes
Do you still believe that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, is a hoax? Well a 30 year old male in San Antonio, Texas who recently attended a “Covid party” believing that the virus might be a hoax is now dead. He reportedly told nurses before he died this week at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, “I think I made a mistake. I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not.”
Published Research
None Today
Pre-Pub (not yet peer reviewed, should not be regarded as conclusive)
None Today
Coping in Quarantine
Welcome to the new buffet, which isn’t a buffet anymore – Washington Post
Before every stranger and every set of communal salad tongs became a threat to our existence, the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace was the ultimate grazing land for herds of wandering tourists in Las Vegas. It served more than 3,000 people a day across nine stations, featuring hundreds of items including nigiri sushi, dim sum, rotisserie chicken, bone marrow, 12-hour roasted American wagyu, paella, lobster bisque, snow crab legs, chicken and waffles, gnocchi, pizza, deviled eggs, pho, miso soup (pause for breath), panang curry, cheeseburger sliders, soba noodles, poke, foie gras PB&J, oysters on the half-shell, shrimp and grits, street tacos, pozole, mapo tofu, General Tso’s chicken, avocado toast, peppercorn-crusted prime rib and I haven’t even touched upon the dessert options yet.