Tulane Outbreak Daily – October 30, 2020

Featured Headlines

Researchers find ‘glimmers of hope’ after inviting thousands to indoor concert amid pandemic – Washington Post

Link to WP Video – German researchers who invited thousands of people to a concert two months ago to study gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic have found “glimmers of hope” for the future of indoor events amid the spread of the virus. [Related August article on experiment] [Related pre-print Study]

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Public Transportation Vehicles: A Case Study in Hunan Province, China – DocWire

Here we report a case study of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak event during bus trips of an index patient in Hunan Province, China. This retrospective investigation suggests potential airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the possibility of superspreading events in certain close contact and closed space settings, which should be taken into account when control strategies are planned.

The Pandemic Is in Uncharted Territory – The Atlantic

The fall surge is rewriting the coronavirus record books across America. And the numbers are still climbing.

Task force sees ‘unrelenting’ COVID-19 spread; daily U.S. cases up by record 91,000 – Reuters

The White House coronavirus task force warned that much of the country is in the grips of an “unrelenting” surge in COVID-19 cases and urged tough countermeasures, as the number of U.S. infections reported on Thursday hit a new daily record of more than 91,000.

High rate of symptomless COVID-19 infection among grocery store workers – Science Daily

Those in customer-facing roles five times as likely to test positive as their colleagues. Grocery store employees are likely to be at heightened risk of COVID-19 infection, with those in customer-facing roles 5 times as likely to test positive as their colleagues in other positions, a new study suggests.

The Simple Rule That Could Keep COVID-19 Deaths Down – The Atlantic

During the first COVID-19 surge of the spring, the mantra was “Flatten the curve”—to buy time, using every tool available.

Seven months later, it’s possible to measure what that time has bought: The death rate for COVID-19 has fallen dramatically. Hospitals in most places are not overburdened, and treatments are improving in many small but cumulative ways. In one study of patients hospitalized in a New York City health system, the adjusted death rate fell from 25.6 percent in March, at the pandemic’s onset, to 7.6 percent in August.

How Safe Is Flying in the Age of Coronavirus? – Bloomberg

How safe is it to fly? This remains a troubling question. The hopes of airlines for a rebound in travel after an initial collapse ran up against a resurgence of the coronavirus around the world in late 2020. Would-be passengers continue to worry about being stuck in a cabin for an extended time with possibly infectious strangers. The evidence shows the risks aren’t negligible.

Clinical Considerations

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins Disrupt the Blood-Brain Barrier, Potentially Raising Risk of Neurological Damage in COVID-19 Patients – Temple University Medicine

Like a key, SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – attaches to specific molecules on the host cell surface, opening gateways into the cell interior. Viral entry into host cells triggers a prodigious immune response. Much of this battle is waged within the lungs, which explains why many patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have severe respiratory symptoms. [Related Study in Neurobiology Disease]

Official Reporting for October 30, 2020

World Health Organization

Weekly Epi Update October 27, 2020 (Last Updated)

Cumulative Cases: 44,888,869
Cumulative Deaths: 1,178,475

ECDC

Confirmed Cases: 45 120 596
Deaths: 1 182 408

Johns Hopkins

Confirmed Cases: 45,475,639
Deaths: 1,187,014

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Total cases: 8,924,548
Total deaths: 228,100

 

Surveillance Headlines

UNITED STATES

U.S. records more than 90,000 Covid-19 cases in one day for the first time – NBC News [Link to video]

Texas: Amid COVID-19 Upswing, El Paso, Texas, Doctor Says ICU Is ‘Surreal’ And ‘Strange’ – NPR

EUROPE

Netherlands hit hard by COVID – NY Times

Europe: They Conquered COVID-19. Now They’re Struggling. – Foreign Policy

ASIA

Japan: Coronavirus cases top 100,000 – ABC News

China: Xinjiang region is facing the country’s biggest coronavirus outbreak in months – CNN

Science and Tech

Therapeutics

Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 antibody treatment shows promise – CIDRAP

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) this week shows that Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 convalescent plasma–derived virus-neutralizing monoclonal antibody treatment (LY-CoV555) reduced viral loads, lowered the severity of symptoms, and had no serious adverse effects in outpatients.

Regeneron hit by ‘safety signal’ for COVID-19 cocktail as data board tells pharma to stop enrolling sicker patients – Fierce Biotech

The saga of COVID-19 antibody R&D continues as the REGN-COV2 antibody cocktail used by President Donald Trump and touted as a cure has been hit by safety worries as it continues to push for an FDA emergency authorization.

Vaccine

FDA approves first-in-human trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate – European Pharmaceutical Review

The safety and immunogenicity of CORVax12, a novel DNA-encodable COVID-19 vaccine, will be evaluated in 36 healthy volunteers.

Trials of Oxford coronavirus vaccine begin in Kenya – Oxford University

Kenya has joined the global efforts in search of an effective vaccine for COVID-19 with the start of a trial evaluating the ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019 Oxford coronavirus vaccine.

Emory begins advanced stage clinical trial for another COVID-19 vaccine – Emory

Emory University will enroll adult volunteers in a large-scale clinical trial designed to evaluate whether a single dose of an investigational vaccine can prevent symptomatic COVID-19.

U.K. Accelerates Reviews of Pfizer and Astra-Oxford Vaccines – Bloomberg

The U.K.’s drug regulator has started accelerated reviews of Covid-19 vaccines under development from Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc, as Britain gets ready to approve the first successful shot as quickly as possible.

Psychological and Sociological Impact

 

Published Research

The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein alters barrier function in 2D static and 3D microfluidic in-vitro models of the human blood-brain barrier – Neurobiology Disease

Handwashing and Detergent Treatment Greatly Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load on Halloween Candy Handled by COVID-19 Patients – American Society for Microbiology

Pre-Print Studies

 

Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories

 

Coping in 2020

A story that may give you a little hope that it’s going to be ok when this is over.

The runner who beat COVID-19 — and then ran the virtual 2020 NYC Marathon – ESPN

Rojas, 59, had run several marathons, but walking to her kitchen from her bedroom that night felt almost impossible. She paused after every other step, holding on to the walls for support, still gulping for the air that seemed to be everywhere around her but nowhere within her.