Covid-19 Making a Dangerous Comeback in Most Parts of U.S – Bloomberg

Covid-19 is spreading again across most of the U.S., hammering rural America and smaller cities and raising anxiety in New York, as experts warn that school reopenings and colder weather may cause the situation to rapidly deteriorate.

Coronavirus Vaccine update from the FDA – JAMA Video

Peter Marks, MD, PhD directs the US FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and will “call the balls and strikes” on any COVID-19 vaccine, according to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD. He joins JAMA editor Howard Bauchner, MD for an update on vaccine progress-to-date and prospects for pre-election political interference in the FDA approval process. Recorded October 5, 2020.

Rogue Antibodies and Gene Mutations Explain Some Cases of Severe COVID-19 – NIH Director’s Blog

One of the many perplexing issues with COVID-19 is that it affects people so differently. That has researchers trying to explain why some folks bounce right back from the virus, or don’t even know they have it—while others become critically ill. Now, two NIH-funded studies suggest that one reason some otherwise healthy people become gravely ill may be previously unknown trouble spots in their immune systems, which hamper their ability to fight the virus.

Face masks: what the data say – Nature

The science supports that face coverings save lives, and yet the debate trundles on. How much evidence is enough? To be clear, the science supports using masks, with recent studies suggesting that they could save lives in different ways: research shows that they cut down the chances of both transmitting and catching the coronavirus, and some studies hint that masks might reduce the severity of infection if people do contract the disease.

Bloomberg Prognosis Podcast: A Homemade Vaccine?
A fringe group of DIY scientists bet that without regulatory hurdles, they could produce a shot themselves a whole lot faster. But as Kristen V. Brown reports, they learned that making one that is reliable and proven safe is incredibly difficult. Get the latest episode here.

CDC Acknowledges Coronavirus Can Spread Via Airborne Transmission – NPR

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says the coronavirus can be spread through airborne particles that can linger in the air “for minutes or even hours” — even among people who are more than 6 feet apart.

Clinical Considerations

Neurologic Symptoms Found in 4 of 5 Hospitalized Covid Patients – Bloomberg

About 4 out of 5 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 suffer neurologic symptoms such as muscle pain, headaches, confusion, dizziness and the loss of smell or taste, new research shows.

Charting a Covid-19 Immune Response – New York Times

Amid a flurry of press conferences delivering upbeat news, President Trump’s doctors have administered an array of experimental therapies that are typically reserved for the most severe cases of Covid-19. Outside observers were left to puzzle through conflicting messages to determine the seriousness of his condition and how it might inform his treatment plan.

Official Reporting for October 6, 2020

World Health Organization

Weekly Epi Update October 5, 2020 (Last Updated)

Cumulative Cases: 35,347,404
Cumulative Deaths: 1,039,406

ECDC

Confirmed Cases: 35 523 518
Deaths: 1 042 398

Johns Hopkins

Confirmed Cases: 35,659,199
Deaths: 1,046,831

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Total cases: 7,436,278
Total deaths: 209,560

Surveillance Headlines

UNITED STATES

Minnesota: Reports all-time high of confirmed COVID-19 infections from unknown sources – Minneapolis Star

US Colleges: Even In COVID-19 Hot Spots, Many Colleges Aren’t Aggressively Testing Students – NPR

Arizona: How Arizona Squelched Its COVID-19 Surge – MedPageToday

ASIA

 

EUROPE

France: Paris goes back on high alert for COVID-19: French capital closes bars, limits gatherings – USA Today

 

Science and Tech

Vaccine

FDA Requires Lengthier COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Data for any Applications – Contagion Live

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released new guidance for developers of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidates to follow when submitting the product for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) approval.

COVID-19 vaccines: how to ensure Africa has access – Nature

Last month, a grand experiment was launched. Its aim? To speed up the development of COVID‑19 vaccines and make sure they are distributed equitably among higher- and lower-income countries.

Therapeutics

Kaletra Again Fails for Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19 – MedPageToday

Lopinavir-ritonavir (Kaletra), a protease inhibitor mainly used for HIV, did not reduce mortality or speed recovery from COVID-19, Britain’s large RECOVERY trial affirmed.

Diagnostics

Researchers Produce Superior SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Test – Boston University

Using a modified version of a standard serology test, BUSM researchers have found SARS-CoV-2 reactive antibodies in samples collected before the start of the pandemic, revealing antibody immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19 in unexposed people.

NIH RADx initiative advances six new COVID-19 testing technologies – NIH

The National Institutes of Health, working in collaboration with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), today announced a third round of contract awards for scale-up and manufacturing of new COVID-19 testing technologies. The six new Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative contracts total $98.35 million for point-of-care and other novel test approaches that provide new modes of sample collection, processing and return of results. Innovations in these new technologies include integration with smart devices, mobile-lab processing that can be deployed to COVID-19 hot spots, and test results available within minutes.

Psychological and Sociological Impact

Heart Vulnerable While Spouse Is in ICU – MedPageToday

A new variation on “broken heart syndrome” described in Japanese data. Having a spouse in the ICU was linked to modestly elevated risk of a cardiovascular event, a Japanese observational study showed. [Related Study]

How To Combat Covid-19 Apathy – Forbes

Covid-19 is far from over in the US. Infections continue to occur in communities around the country. Viral resurgence has forced multiple states to pause or reverse overall reopening plans. Public health leaders caution that we may not experience “real normality” until next year, and even that may be optimistic. The pandemic has not gone away.

Published Research

Upper respiratory tract levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and duration of viral RNA shedding do not differ between patients with mild and severe/critical COVID-19 – Journal of Infectious Diseases

Frequent neurologic manifestations and encephalopathy‐associated morbidity in Covid‐19 patients – Annals of Translational Neurology

Risk of Cardiovascular Events After Spouse’s ICU Admission – Circulation

Case Series of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Adults Associated with SARS-CoV-2 Infection — United Kingdom and United States, March–August 2020 – CDC

Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories

Featured Headlines

False coronavirus claims and rumours about Trump – BBC

Many appear to be politically motivated and conflicting information from the White House over the weekend hasn’t helped.