Featured Headlines
Covid-19 Coronavirus May Survive For 28 Days On These Surfaces – Forbes
On the surface, this doesn’t look good. A study just published in the Virology Journal found that the Covid-19 coronavirus can survive on common surfaces such as glass, stainless steel, and money for up to 28 days. That’s almost three Scaramuccis and enough time for the Kate Hudson character to lose three guys. And the survival of the virus increases with colder temperatures, which sounds like great news heading into the Fall and Winter. But before you resolve to touch absolutely nothing during the rest of the pandemic, except for perhaps your BTS shrine, there are caveats to the study. [Related article – CSIRO scientists publish new research on SARS-COV-2 virus ‘survivability’]
Aerosols Driving COVID-19 Spread – MedPageToday
Compelling evidence indicates that COVID-19 transmission via small-particle aerosols, not droplets, may be driving the pandemic, a panel of aerosol researchers said on Thursday.
U.S. Virus-Death Rate Is World’s Worst Among Developed Nations – Bloomberg
The proportion of Americans dying from coronavirus infections is the highest in the developed world, according to a study of global mortality rates that shows the U.S. pandemic response left citizens exposed to the lethal disease.
The Race for a Super-Antibody Against the Coronavirus – New York Times
A network of scientists is chasing the pandemic’s holy grail: an antibody that protects against not just the virus, but also related pathogens that may threaten humans.
COVID-19 antibodies persist at least 3 months, studies show – CIDRAP
Two separate studies late last week in Science Immunology document the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in COVID-19 patients at least 3 months after symptom onset.
When Symptoms of Covid-19 Don’t Go Away – New York Times
Research is underway to assess the pandemic’s long-term effects and find ways to prevent and treat lasting symptoms. At the start of the pandemic, doctors were necessarily focused on combating the acute effects of Covid-19 and saving lives, but research is now underway to assess its long-term effects and find ways to prevent and treat lasting symptoms. There is increasing concern that the pandemic will result in “a significant surge of people battling lasting illnesses and disabilities,” the journal Nature reported.
Engineer Says Where You Sit in a Room Can Influence Your Risk of Catching COVID-19 – Science Alert
It doesn’t take long for airborne coronavirus particles to make their way through a room. At first, only people sitting near an infected speaker are at high risk, but as the meeting or class goes on, the tiny aerosols can spread.
Schools Aren’t Super-Spreaders – The Atlantic
In early august, the first kids in America went back to school during the pandemic. Many of these openings happened in areas where cases were high or growing: in Georgia, Indiana, Florida. Parents, teachers, and scientists feared what might happen next. The New York Times reported that, in parts of Georgia, a school of 1,000 kids could expect to see 20 or 30 people arrive with COVID-19 during week one. Many assumed that school infections would balloon and spread outward to the broader community, triggering new waves. On social media, people shared pictures of high schools with crowded hallways and no masking as if to say I told you so.
Clinical Considerations
Case of adult large vessel vasculitis after SARS-CoV-2 infection – Annals of Rheumatic Diseases
We read with great interest the article ‘Characteristics associated with hospitalisation for COVID-19 in people with rheumatic disease: data from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician-reported registry’ by Gianfrancesco et al.1 This study showed that glucocorticoid exposure of ≥10 mg/day was associated with higher odds of hospitalisation and anti-TNF with a decreased odds of hospitalisation in patients with COVID-19 with rheumatic disease. Like this report, studies on the relationship between COVID-19 and rheumatic diseases are needed. Although several cases of vasculitis, such as large vessel vasculitis (LVV) and Kawasaki disease, have been reported among patients with COVID-19,2 3 there are no recorded cases of adult LVV developing after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. We report a case of this development.
Scientists Confirm Nevada Man Was Infected Twice With Coronavirus – NPR
A 25-year-old was infected twice with the coronavirus earlier this year, scientists in Nevada have confirmed. It is the first confirmed case of so-called reinfection with the virus in the U.S. and the fifth confirmed reinfection case worldwide.
Therapeutic Management of Patients with COVID-19 – NIH
A number of investigational agents and drugs that are approved for other indications are currently being studied in clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19 and associated complications. Data from randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective observational cohorts, and case series studies are rapidly emerging. The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) continues to review the most recent clinical data to provide up-to-date treatment recommendations to clinicians who are caring for patients with COVID-19. In this section, the Panel recommends strategies for managing patients with different severities of disease. A comprehensive summary of clinical data for drugs that are being investigated can be found in the Antiviral Therapy, Immune-Based Therapy, and Adjunctive Therapy sections of these Guidelines.
COVID-19 Antibodies Raise Unanswered Clinical Questions – MedPageToday
Experts noted monoclonal antibodies have yet to show an impact on clinical outcomes
Official Reporting for October 12, 2020
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update October 12, 2020 (Last Updated)
Cumulative Cases: 37,423,660
Cumulative Deaths: 1,074,817
ECDC
Confirmed Cases: 37 568 843
Deaths: 1 077 508
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 37,722,044
Deaths: 1,078,411
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 7,740,934
Total deaths: 214,108
Surveillance Headlines
UNITED STATES
Wisconsin: Wisconsin Judge Upholds Mask Mandate As Coronavirus Cases Surge – Forbes
Washington D.C.: How The Coronavirus Has Affected Individual Members Of Congress – NPR
Washingron D.C.: White House hosted Covid ‘superspreader’ event, says Dr Fauci – BBC
Utah: Hospital officials warn state in ‘precarious’ situation with record COVID-19 hospitalizations – Deseret News
Montana: Struggling With A Coronavirus Surge – NPR
New York: Covid-19 Cases Keep Rising in Some New York Hot Spots – Wall Street Journal
MIDDLE EAST
Iran: Iran records its highest daily death toll from coronavirus – Los Angeles Times
ASIA
China: Testing 9 Million People For Covid-19 This Week As New Outbreak Emerges – Forbes
China: China Ends Virus-Free Streak as Cluster in Port City Emerges – Bloomberg
India: India’s coronavirus infections cross 7 million ahead of festivals – Reuters
EUROPE
Europe tightens restrictions as COVID-19 cases rise – CBS News
Germany: Kaiserslautern area raised to second-highest health alert level as coronavirus cases surge in Germany – Stars and Stripes
Science and Tech
New research on SARS-CoV-2 virus ‘survivability’ – Science Direct
COVID-19 causing virus lasts for 10 days longer than Influenza on some surfaces Lower temps, glass, stainless steel and paper banknotes give virus longer life.
Another casualty of the coronavirus pandemic: Trust in government science – Washington Post
In another era, what happened Wednesday might have been viewed simply as good news. Two companies, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly, have independently developed therapeutic drugs, called monoclonal antibodies, that in preliminary testing appear to reduce symptoms for coronavirus patients. They applied for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.
Vaccine
Why So Many Americans Are Skeptical of a Coronavirus Vaccine – Scientific American
In the face of nearly seven million infections and 200,000 deaths, many Americans refuse to wear masks because they don’t feel the coronavirus is real. Even some of those who believe the virus exists are not concerned about getting sick.
Home-Made Covid Vaccine Appeared to Work, but Questions Remained – Bloomberg
Do-it-yourself scientist says human biology too ‘messy’ to get a clear reading in a small trial.
Therapeutics
AstraZeneca’s Covid Antibody Drug Heads Into Advanced Trials – Bloomberg
Two trials for more than 6,000 people are starting in the next few weeks looking at prevention, with plans for a further 4,000 adults to test the antibody medicine as a treatment, Astra said in a statement. The drug will be assessed for its ability to avoid infections for as much as a year in some people and as a pre-emptive medicine once patients have been exposed to the virus in others.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
Number of divorce cases in DC area surge amid coronavirus pandemic – WTOP
The coronavirus pandemic has created the perfect storm for couples contemplating divorce in the D.C. area. Making a marriage work is challenging enough when things are going well. But when you add COVID-19 into the mix, it becomes much harder. For many couples, it was too much.
Published Research
SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody structures inform therapeutic strategies – Nature
Overall decrease of SARS-CoV-2 viral load and reduction of clinical burden: the experience of a Northern Italy hospital – Clinical Microbiology and Infection
Advancement in biosensors for inflammatory biomarkers of SARS-CoV-2 during 2019–2020 – Bioscensors and Bioelectroics
Antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with differing severities of coronavirus disease 2019 – PLoS One
Is recurrence possible in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? Case series and systematic review of literature – European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
An aberrant STAT pathway is central to COVID-19 – Nature / cell death & differentiation
Genomic evidence for reinfection with SARS-CoV-2: a case study – The Lancet
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
Eight Persistent COVID-19 Myths and Why People Believe Them – Scientific American
- THE VIRUS WAS ENGINEERED IN A LABORATORY IN CHINA.
Because the pathogen first emerged in Wuhan, China, President Donald Trump and others have claimed, without evidence, that it started in a lab there, and some conspiracy theorists believe it was engineered as a bioweapon.