Featured Headlines
Biden Pandemic Adviser On Vaccine Distribution And Public Health Messaging – NPR
4 min Audio at the link – NPR’s Ari Shapiro talks with Dr. Julie Morita, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s pandemic advisory team, about the challenges involved in coronavirus vaccine distribution and public messaging.
Biden Asks Fauci To Serve As ‘Chief Medical Advisor’ During Covid Crisis – Forbes
President-elect Joe Biden wants Dr. Anthony Fauci to serve as his “chief medical advisor” after he’s inaugurated next month, the incoming president told CNN Thursday afternoon, introducing a new title for the federal government’s top infectious disease expert and the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are volunteering to get their Covid-19 vaccines on camera to promote public confidence in the vaccine’s safety once the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes one.
FDA Chief Vows Transparency in Vaccine Approvals – MedPageToday
21 Min Audio at the link – “Track the Vax” is a new weekly podcast where we speak with leading experts, pharmaceutical companies, and other physicians and patients on the latest news and science behind the race for a COVID-19 vaccine. This week, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, spends some time answering questions from host Serena Marshall.
Vaccines offer hope for end to pandemic, but brutal months lie ahead – Washington Post
Coronavirus vaccines are poised to be approved and distributed in the coming weeks in the United States, but that promising news comes amid record levels of infections and hospitalizations, with experts warning that the most brutal period of the pandemic lies ahead.
How Many Might Die Even With a COVID Vaccine? – MedPageToday
Sometimes an estimation needs a little more background and an understanding of what is at stake. Census data from 2019 estimated the U.S. population at 328.2 million people. We know that about 10 million people in the U.S. have so far contracted COVID and we will assume that prior infections confer immunity and those individuals will not be vaccinated. We can now work with the total population uninfected and unvaccinated to be 318.2 million people.
Which interventions reduce transmission? – MedNewsToday
In a new study, scientists develop an equation that can help determine the likely number of people contracting SARS-CoV-2 from a single other person with the virus at different types of events. [Related Study]
With Virus Spreading in Homes, U.S. Governors Run Out of Weapons – Bloomberg
Governors and mayors have cracked down on schools, restaurants, gyms, nursing homes, places of worship and much more. But enforcement is proving almost useless in Americans’ homes, where some leaders insist that hang-out culture is a major source of pandemic risk.
Clinical Considerations
Heart Failure Seen in Baby With COVID-19 – MedPageToday
Reversible heart failure was reported in a 2-month-old with COVID-19, which, while rare, may suggest yet another cardiac complication to watch out for.
How the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Hijacks and Rapidly Causes Damage to Human Lung Cells – Boston University
In a multi-group collaborative involving the National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratories (NEIDL), the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM), and the Center for Network Systems Biology (CNSB), scientists have reported the first map of the molecular responses of human lung cells to infection by SARS-CoV-2. By combining bioengineered human alveolar cells with sophisticated, highly precise mass spectrometry technology, BUSM researchers have identified host proteins and pathways in lung cells whose levels change upon infection by the SARS-CoV-2, providing insights into disease pathology and new therapeutic targets to block COVID-19.
Official Reporting for December 4, 2020
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update December 1, 2020
Confirmed Cases: 63 965 092
Deaths: 1 488 120
ECDC
Confirmed Cases: 64 455 619
Deaths: 1 495 430
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 65,169,904
Deaths: 1,505,527
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 13,822,249 (+196,227 New Cases)
Total deaths: 272,525 (+2,762 New Deaths)
Surveillance Headlines
UNITED STATES
Iowa: Iowa Is What Happens When Government Does Nothing – The Atlantic
Minnesota: Surging Minnesota catches up with the Dakotas among the hardest-hit states – NYT
EUROPE
Germany: Extends Restrictions to Fight Stubborn Virus Spread – Bloomberg
ASIA
Japan and South Korea: Osaka Alert at Highest; South Korea Cases Rise – Bloomberg
Science and Tech
Oral drug blocks SARS-CoV-2 transmission – Medical Express
Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection with a new antiviral drug, MK-4482/EIDD-2801 or Molnupiravir, completely suppresses virus transmission within 24 hours, researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University have discovered.
Vaccine
Encouraging news about Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine was published on Thursday, suggesting that it could protect people for at least three months.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
How the pandemic has changed the fitness industry – Fortune
People have changed how they exercise during the coronavirus pandemic, turning to outdoor activities like biking and running as well as home gym equipment. The shift, some of which is expected to continue long after the pandemic has ended, has created new opportunities for companies that bank on the business of sweat.
Published Research
No evidence for increased transmissibility from recurrent mutations in SARS-CoV-2 – Nature
Event-specific interventions to minimize COVID-19 transmission – PNAS
Actionable Cytopathogenic Host Responses of Human Alveolar Type 2 Cells to SARS-CoV-2 – Molecular Cell
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Since the last special report, COVID-19 related online mis- and disinformation decreased and shifted focus towards vaccines, according to multiple analyses of thousands of available fact-checks since the beginning of the pandemic. The spread and reach of mis- and disinformation online remains worryingly high. A lack of tools and access to relevant data hinders research to estimate its direct impact on human behaviour. (Thanks Chris!)
Coping in 2020
I don’t even like cats, and this is pretty funny.
Bored Quarantined Owners Have Started Building Cardboard Forts For Cats