Featured Headlines
Coronavirus Variant Emerging in California ‘One to Watch’ – NBC San Diego
A new strain of the coronavirus, CAL.20C, may be contributing to the acceleration of the recent surge of cases across Southern California, according to a study released this week.
Patients, clinicians seek answers to the mystery of ‘Long COVID’ – CIDRAP
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, public attention has mainly focused on the number of people who become severely ill and die from COVID-19. But what’s become clear in recent months is the large and growing group of people who continue to deal with prolonged symptoms long after their original illness.
Biden to Mend World Health Organization Ties, Fauci to Speak – Bloomberg
President Joe Biden plans to re-engage with the World Health Organization Wednesday and send top U.S. medical expert Anthony Fauci to speak to the group in a strong repudiation of former President Donald Trump’s snubs during the coronavirus pandemic.
Crowded ICUs tied to higher risk of COVID-19 death – CIDRAP
COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) at US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals during peak coronavirus patient surges were twice as likely to die than those treated during low-demand periods, an observational study published today in JAMA Network Open suggests.
Emerging Coronavirus Variants May Pose Challenges to Vaccines – New York Times
Laboratory studies of mutations circulating in South Africa suggest they may dodge some of the body’s immune responses.
The Coronavirus Is Mutating. Here’s What We Know – Wall Street Journal Video
As new coronavirus variants sweep across the world, scientists are racing to understand how dangerous they could be.
New COVID-19 variant defeats plasma treatment, may reduce vaccine efficacy – Reuters
The new COVID-19 variant identified in South Africa can evade the antibodies that attack it in treatments using blood plasma from previously recovered patients, and may reduce the efficacy of the current line of vaccines, scientists said on Wednesday.
First wave of COVID-19 linked to spike in cardiovascular deaths – Medical News Today
In the United States, cardiovascular deaths that were not directly due to COVID-19 surged early in the pandemic. The postponement of procedures, the extra strain on services, and patients’ avoidance of hospitals may partly explain the increase.
Vaccine Headlines
Hong Kong Set to Grant Approval of Pfizer Shot – Bloomberg
Hong Kong is set to grant emergency approval for the Pfizer Inc.–BioNTech SE coronavirus vaccine, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an unidentified government source.
Could delaying a second vaccine dose lead to more dangerous coronavirus strains? – Science News
Spiking COVID-19 cases, slow vaccine rollout and the emergence of more transmissible coronavirus variants in some countries have sparked debate among scientists over the best way to protect people with recently authorized vaccines.
Clinical Considerations
Acute Brain Dysfunction Prolonged in COVID-19 ICU Patients – MedPageToday
Acute brain dysfunction — coma or delirium — occurred frequently and was prolonged in critically ill COVID-19 patients, a large multicenter cohort study showed.
SARS-CoV-2 in neurons may damage brain tissue – Medical News Today
A recent three-pronged study concludes that SARS-CoV-2 may infect nerve cells and impede blood flow in the central nervous system.
Official Reporting for January 21, 2021
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update January 19, 2020
Confirmed Cases: 94 963 847
Deaths: 2 050 857
ECDC
Confirmed Cases: 89 802 096
Deaths: 1 940 529
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 96,823,968
Deaths: 2,073,866
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 24,135,690 (+153,106 New Cases)
Total deaths: 400,306 (+2,297 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
The importance of assay design in the face of SARS-CoV-2 mutations – ThermoFischer Scientific
It’s a known fact that viruses mutate all the time, and it was no surprise that SARS-CoV-2 was no exception. However, there are whole host of issues that arise when the impact of these mutations is global, and it involves a novel coronavirus crisis. When news of the B.1.1.7 lineage (aka 501Y.V1 or UK variant) and B.1.351 lineage (aka 501Y.V2 or South African variant) broke, it was obvious that scientists would ponder the impact to current TaqPath COVID-19 tests.
Rogue antibodies could be driving severe COVID-19 – Nature
Evidence is growing that self-attacking ‘autoantibodies’ could be the key to understanding some of the worst cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
SARS-CoV-2 in neurons may damage brain tissue – Medical news Today
A recent three-pronged study concludes that SARS-CoV-2 may infect nerve cells and impede blood flow in the central nervous system.
COVID-19: Gut bacteria may influence severity – Medical News Today
A recent study investigated links between the gut microbiome and COVID-19.
The authors conclude that an individual’s gut microbiome may affect how the body responds to a SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Gut bacteria might influence both the short- and long-term effects of infection.
COVID research updates: The unsung viral feature that could lead to more COVID treatments – Nature
Neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 block particles of the virus, which makes them some of the body’s most potent weapons against the new pathogen. Most of the neutralizing antibodies that researchers have studied target a region of the virus’s spike protein called the receptor-binding domain (RBD). But previous studies have also identified neutralizing antibodies that act against other portions of spike — particularly a region called the N-terminal domain (NTD).
Psychological and Sociological Impact
None Today
Published Research
Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and risk factors for susceptibility and infectivity in Wuhan: a retrospective observational study – Lancet
SARS-CoV-2: its potential neurological manifestations and plausible mechanism: a review article – PubMed
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
None Today
Coping in 2020 (and probably most of 2021)
An article not focused on COVID for your reading entertainment
Bloodletting: Why doctors used to bleed their patients for health – Medical Page Today
Bloodletting — the practice of withdrawing blood from a person’s veins for therapeutic reasons — was common for thousands of years. In this Curiosities of Medical History feature, we look at the history of bloodletting and how it eventually fell out of favor with the medical community.