Featured Headlines
Dr. Fauci speaks on Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine pause – NBC News
Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks with Lester Holt about whether the pause was necessary, why some adverse reactions aren’t discovered in vaccine trials and more.
Joint CDC and FDA Statement on Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine – FDA
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the J&J vaccine. In these cases, a type of blood clot called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) was seen in combination with low levels of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia). All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered. Usually, an anticoagulant drug called heparin is used to treat blood clots. In this setting, administration of heparin may be dangerous, and alternative treatments need to be given.
NIH experts discuss post-acute COVID-19 – NIH
Many people who have COVID-19 make a full recovery and return to their baseline state of health; however, some people have symptoms or other sequelae weeks or months after initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. These heterogeneous symptoms were the subject of the virtual “Workshop on Post-acute Sequelae of COVID-19” hosted on Dec. 2 and 4, 2020, by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in collaboration with other institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health. A paper published recently in Annals of Internal Medicine describes the workshop. Over 1,200 registered participants including researchers, clinicians, and affected community members discussed what is known about sequelae after COVID-19 and the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in future research.
How this DARPA research effort will try to stop the next pandemic – Washington Technology
In more normal times, we probably wouldn’t write about a company winning a potential $20.5 million contract to develop the next generation of protective fabrics that will protect wearers from all sorts of chemical and biological threats.
German government seeks more powers to set pandemic rules – ABC
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday her government wants clear, uniform rules imposed in all regions with high numbers of COVID-19 infections
‘Breakthrough’ COVID Infection Rates as Expected – MedPageToday
Low numbers of breakthrough infections among the fully vaccinated; national count unknown
How the Coronavirus Variants Are Spreading in New York City – NYT
New, searchable ZIP code-level data provides a close look at how contagious variants have kept New York’s case levels alarmingly high.
Vaccine Headlines
What you should do if you’ve received the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine – Washington Post
Federal health officials warned doctors and patients Tuesday to watch for symptoms that could indicate an extremely rare but serious form of blood clot in the brain suffered by six women who received Johnson & Johnson’s coronavirus vaccine. So what should you look for if you are one of the more than 7 million people who have received the company’s one-dose vaccine or are scheduled to receive it soon?
Moderna says protection from its COVID-19 vaccine still strong six months on – Reuters
Moderna Inc said on Tuesday that its COVID-19 vaccine still showed strong protection against the illness six months after people received their second shot, with efficacy of more than 90 percent against all cases of COVID-19 and more than 95 percent against severe COVID-19.
Op-Ed: J&J Vax Pause Is Actually Good for COVID Long Game – MedPageToday
May boost vaccine hesitancy right now, but the gain in public trust is more important
Three Different Futures for the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine – The Atlantic
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has entered regulatory purgatory. This morning, the CDC and FDA jointly recommended, “out of an abundance of caution,” a nationwide halt to the single shot’s rollout. The two agencies are investigating a rare blood-clotting disorder: In the six cases reported so far, all in the United States, women ages 18 to 48 developed an unusual type of blood clot within about two weeks of receiving the company’s inoculation.
Novavax says supply shortages delaying full-speed production of its COVID-19 vaccine – Reuters
Novavax Inc has pushed back the timeline for hitting its production target of 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per month until the third quarter due to supply shortages including bags used to grow cells, a company spokeswoman told Reuters.
U.S. FDA to scrutinize vaccine design behind COVID-19 shots linked to blood clots – Reuters
With two COVID-19 vaccines now under scrutiny for possible links to very rare cases of blood clots in the brain, U.S. government scientists are focusing on whether the specific technology behind the shots may be contributing to the risk.
Mexican-made COVID-19 vaccine could be ready this year – Reuters
Mexico aims to have developed a vaccine against COVID-19 that could be granted approval for emergency use this year, a senior official said on Tuesday, an outcome that could wean it off unreliable foreign supplies for its slow vaccination program.
Clinical Considerations
Clinics pop up to treat long-haulers’ lingering COVID-19 symptoms – New York Times
As the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations accelerates, millions of Americans are planning for life after the pandemic. But for people with lingering symptoms — patients known as “long-haulers” — that day may never come.
Covid disease damage leading to ‘completely new category’ of organ transplants – NBC News
Hospitals grapple with a growing group of patients whose organs — most often hearts and lungs — are “basically destroyed by the virus.”
Mapping Severe COVID-19 in the Lungs at Single-Cell Resolution – NIH Director’s Blog
A crucial question for COVID-19 researchers is what causes progression of the initial infection, leading to life-threatening respiratory illness. A good place to look for clues is in the lungs of those COVID-19 patients who’ve tragically lost their lives to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), in which fluid and cellular infiltrates build up in the lung’s air sacs, called alveoli, keeping them from exchanging oxygen with the bloodstream.
Official Reporting for April 14, 2021
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update April 12, 2021
Confirmed Cases: 136 291 755
Deaths: 2 941 128
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 137,214,213
Deaths: 2,956,621
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 31,076,891 (+61,526 New Cases)
Total deaths: 559,741 (+569 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
None Today
Psychological and Sociological Impact
Don’t Mistake Silent Endurance for Resilience – NYT
In powering through discomfort, I became inured to it — until I figured out how to acknowledge what I actually wanted.
Published Research
SARS-CoV-2 incidence and vaccine escape – Lancet
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Fake Covid-19 Certificates Hit Airlines, Which Now Have To Police Them – Wall Street Journal
The documents are often the Covid-19 test results required by many countries on arrival. The International Air Transport Association industry body says it has tracked fake certificates in multiple countries, from France to Brazil, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Border control authorities and police forces have also reported arrests of people selling documents in the U.K., Spain, Indonesia and Zimbabwe, among others.