Featured Headlines
A newly revised University of Washington model projects the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 will climb to just above 224,000 by Nov. 1, up 16,000 from a prior forecast, due to rising infections and hospitalizations in many states.
Youth sports a driver of COVID-19 infections in St. Louis area – STL Today
Youth sports programs have come under fire for a rise in coronavirus cases. Since late June, there have been new cases of COVID-19 reported daily in children and teens ages 10 to 19. The rising cases have coincided with the start of summer sports programs, and contact tracers have noted a link to participation in those activities.
Model suggests U.S. opened up too early as COVID-19 ran wild – MedicalNews.net
A new modeling framework designed to track the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in the U.S. suggests that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic was not under control by the end of May – just before containment measures were relaxed. [Related pre-print study]
Introductions and early spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the New York City area – Science Magazine
Deaths caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in New York City (NYC) during the spring of 2020 have vastly exceeded those reported in China and many other countries. What were the early events that led to such a severe outbreak? Gonzalez-Reiche et al. sampled some of the early patients seeking assistance in February and March of 2020 at the Mount Sinai Health System. Phylogenetic analysis of virus sequences in these people, who were drawn from across NYC, showed that the virus had been independently introduced many times from Europe and elsewhere in the United States. Subsequent clusters of community transmission occurred. The focus of infection in NYC is a marker of the role this city plays as a two-way hub for human movement.
A Second Coronavirus Death Surge Is Coming – The Atlantic
There is no mystery in the number of Americans dying from COVID-19. Despite political leaders trivializing the pandemic, deaths are rising again: The seven-day average for deaths per day has now jumped by more than 200 since July 6, according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic. By our count, states reported 855 deaths today, in line with the recent elevated numbers in mid-July.
Clinical Considerations
COVID-19 May Manifest in the Mouth in Some Patients – MedPageToday
You can add enanthem, or a rash inside the body, such as in the mouth, to the ever-lengthening list of symptoms with which COVID-19 patients can present, researchers in Spain suggested. [Related letter JAMA]
An Arizona man in a coma from coronavirus woke up paralyzed – CNN
For Eddie Case, recovering from Covid-19 comes with hard work and uncertainty. The virus sent him into a medically induced coma, he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Wednesday. And when he woke up, he was paralyzed. “I really thought I had been involved in an accident or some sort of mishap,” Case said. He has since had to learn how to stand and how to write.
COVID-19: Patients improve after immune-suppressant treatment – Science Daily
Most patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (coronavirus) pneumonia experienced improvement after receiving an FDA-approved drug normally given for rheumatoid arthritis, according to an observational study. Outcomes for patients who received the drug, tocilizumab, included reduced inflammation, oxygen requirements, blood pressure support and risk of death, compared with published reports of illness and death associated with severely ill COVID-19 patients.
Official Reporting for July 16, 2020
World Health Organization
Confirmed Cases: 13,378,853
Deaths: 580,045
ECDC
Confirmed Cases: 13,530,628
Deaths: 583,892
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 13,654,445
Deaths: 586,174
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total deaths: 136,938
Surveillance Headlines
UNITED STATES
Oregon: Oregon Passes 13,000 Coronavirus Cases – OPB
Alabama: Alabama already saw more coronavirus cases in July than any other month – AL
California: Tesla has more than 130 employees who tested positive for coronavirus – Mercury News
California: California Breaks a Record: 10,000 New Cases in a Day – New York Times
Oklahoma: Oklahoma’s Kevin Stitt is the first governor to test positive for the coronavirus – Washington Post
MEXICO
Pemex says 232 workers have died of COVID-19 – Border Report
EUROPE
Sweden: Swedish PM Defends Covid Plan as Immunity Fails to Catch On – Bloomberg
AUSTRALIA
Melbourne: Melbourne, On COVID-19 Lockdown, Reports Record Case Count – NPR
ASIA
India: India Sets Record For Its Daily Coronavirus Count – NPR
Indonesia: Indonesia Stumbles As Coronavirus Cases Surge – NPR
Hong Kong: Sees Record 63 Local Virus Cases in Swelling Wave – Bloomberg
Science and Tech
Testing
How Pooled Testing for Coronavirus Could Help Test More People in Less Time – Time
s pandemic re-opening efforts show mixed success, across the U.S., there have been reports of long lines for COVID-19 testing, and shortages in some places. One solution could be pooled testing, a strategy that’s already been used in China, Germany, Israel and South Africa to test a large number of people in a short amount of time.
Therapeutics
The results of clinical trials point to the potential clinical efficacy of antivirals, especially remdesivir (GS-5734), lopinavir/ritonavir, and favipiravir. Other therapeutic options that are being explored involve meplazumab, tocilizumab, and interferon type 1.
Vaccine
COVID-19 vaccine: Early Oxford trial data to be published next week – NBC News
Early-stage human trial data on a vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University will be published on July 20, The Lancet medical journal said on Wednesday.
In Coronavirus Vaccine Race, China Strays From the Official Paths – New York Times
Beijing is offering several vaccine candidates to employees of state-owned companies and the armed forces, while also conducting clinical trials in other countries.
Researchers have been watching how the human body reacts to a vaccine which was designed to beat COVID-19. According to doctors, the preliminary results appear to show that the vaccine did it’s job at boosting antibodies.
Positive news’ on AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is imminent: report – Fierce Biotech
straZeneca and the University of Oxford are set to share “positive news” on their COVID-19 vaccine soon, according to a leading U.K. journalist. The update, which could come as soon as tomorrow, may shed light on how the front-runner vaccine fared in early clinical trials. AZD1222, an recombinant adenovirus vaccine candidate that originated in Oxford, moved into phase 2/3 in May on the strength of data from a 1,000-subject phase 1 trial. However, the researchers are yet to share clinical data from the phase 1, leaving observers to argue over the results of a study conducted in monkeys to determine whether the vaccine is likely to work.
Published Research
Hydroxychloroquine as Postexposure Prophylaxis for Covid-19 – NEJM
Covid-19 and Disparities in Nutrition and Obesity – NEJM
Pre-Pub (not yet peer reviewed, should not be regarded as conclusive)
None Today
Coping in Quarantine
Vacation in the Summer of Covid-19 – New York Times
Traveling during a pandemic requires lots of research, precision planning and a willingness to play by new and very stringent rules. For these writers, it still felt good to get away.
Tammy Calhoun traded a loaf of freshly baked bread and a few homegrown avocados for a neighbor’s help planting a vegetable garden in her front yard last month — a great deal she never would have come across before the novel coronavirus pandemic.