Upcoming Virtual Events

A Conversation with Dr. Anthony Fauci – San Francisco State University

Friday, December 18, 2020
12:00 PM – 12:45 PM
https://www2.calstate.edu/

Featured Headlines

2020 Breakthrough of the Year: Shots of Hope – Science

Desperately needed vaccines against COVID-19, developed and tested at record speed, are 2020’s breakthrough. In March, when cases of COVID-19 began to overwhelm hospitals in the United States, I told my 90-year-old mother that she had to shelter in place. She lives alone in Los Angeles, and to keep her company, I FaceTimed her every night. In the role reversal that happens with time, I became the forever-worried, nagging parent, and she was the ever-doubting, defiant child.

COVID-19 as the Leading Cause of Death in the United States – JAMA

The current exponential increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is reaching a calamitous scale in the United States, potentially overwhelming the health care system and causing substantial loss of life. The news media dutifully report each day’s increase in new cases and deaths, but putting these numbers in perspective may be difficult. The daily US mortality rate for COVID-19 deaths is equivalent to the September 11, 2001, attacks, which claimed 2988 lives,1 occurring every 1.5 days, or 15 Airbus 320 jetliners,2 each carrying 150 passengers, crashing every day.

Record numbers of covid-19 patients push hospitals and staffs to the limit – Washington Post

In Boston, pediatric wards are being consolidated to fit all the adults battling covid-19. Philadelphia hospitals are once again barring family visitors due to transmission worries. And in Los Angeles, a public hospital canceled elective and scheduled surgeries because it cannot spare ICU beds.

COVID-19 virus enters the brain, research strongly suggests – Science Daily

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, like many viruses before it, is bad news for the brain. In a new study, researchers found that the spike protein, often depicted as the red arms of the virus, can cross the blood-brain barrier in mice. The spike proteins alone can cause brain fog. Since the spike protein enters the brain, the virus also is likely to cross into the brain.

WHO says Beijing welcomes Covid-19 investigators trip to China – NBC

It was unclear whether the WHO investigators will travel to the city of Wuhan where the virus was first detected.

Protective Potency – Harvard

Neutralizing antibodies protect against severe COVID-19. Understanding the body’s immune response to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is key to developing effective treatments and long-lasting vaccines.

Evaluation of Cloth Masks and Modified Procedure Masks as Personal Protective Equipment for the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic – JAMA

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the general public has been advised to wear masks or improvised face coverings to limit transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, there has been considerable confusion and disagreement regarding the degree to which masks protect the wearer from airborne particles.

Shorter quarantines could actually help prevent COVID-19 outbreaks – National Geographic

Two-week quarantines strain mental health and finances. New research shows weeklong restrictions could ease this burden and improve contact tracing.

Vaccine Headlines

FDA Panel Recommends Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine For Emergency Use – NPR

In a 20-0 vote, with one abstention, a panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Moderna be authorized for emergency use in adults during the pandemic.

Vaccines Are Here. We Have to Talk About Side Effects – Wired

SINCE MONDAY, EAGERLY awaited Covid-19 vaccines have been going into the upper arms of health care workers around the United States, the first slender tranche of millions of doses to come. But the joy that has greeted the shots’ arrival is already being muted by worries. Billions of dollars were spent to achieve the formulas. Prepping the US population to receive them got much less attention.

How the Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Works – NYT

The University of Oxford partnered with the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca to develop and test a coronavirus vaccine known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or AZD1222. A clinical trial revealed the vaccine was up to 90 percent effective, depending on the initial dosage. But uncertainty over the results has clouded its prospects.

How Will Moderna Meet The Demand For Its COVID-19 Vaccine? – NPR

3 Min Audio at the Link – Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is expected to become the second to get the Food and Drug Administration’s green light. A decision could come within days.

Bloomberg Prognosis Podcast: Voices From the U.S. Vaccine Program

Just one month ago, Iowa experienced its worst Covid-19 surge yet. Coronavirus cases began soaring there in early November, as they have throughout the United States. By the middle of the month, Iowa was recording about 4,000 new cases every day. But this week, staff at a University of Iowa Health Care system finally had reason to celebrate. The first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine arrived at the Iowa City location Monday morning, in tiny vials packed in dry ice. Angelica Lavito spoke to healthcare workers there just after they became some of the first Americans outside of clinical trials to get immunized against the deadly disease.

COVID Vaccine Delivery Proceeding Smoothly, Officials Say – MedPageToday

At a press briefing Wednesday, Gen. Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s effort to speed up development of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, said that two trays of vaccines headed for delivery to two separate places in California had to be returned to Pfizer — because they got too cold.

Clinical Considerations

Post-COVID-19 Recovery, Patients May Still Carry SARS-CoV-2 RNA – Infectious Disease Advisor

Individuals who recovered from a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection may still carry replicating SARS-CoV-2 and be positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, according to findings from a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine. [Related JAMA article]

NIH observational study of coronavirus infection and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children begins – NIH

An observational study has launched to evaluate the short- and long-term health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), and to characterize the immunologic pathways associated with different disease presentations and outcomes. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19. The study, called the Pediatric Research Immune Network on SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C (PRISM), will enroll at least 250 children and young adults ages 20 years or younger from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds at approximately 20 sites nationwide.

‘Feel Like I’ve Aged 20 Years’: COVID Long Haulers Continue To Experience Symptoms Months Later – CBS News

As 2020 comes to an end, some of the first Americans to contract COVID-19 are still experiencing side effects of the coronavirus. Those who experience many of the common symptoms, as well as brain fog, are now being studied as “COVID-19 Long Haulers,” people who continue to experience issues with the virus even after they should have recovered.

Coping in 2020