Featured Headlines

First Coronavirus Vaccine Tested in Humans Shows Early Promise – New York Times

The vaccine, developed by government scientists and Moderna, a biotech company, appeared safe and provoked an immune response in 45 people in a study. [Another story by Emory Univ on Moderna Vaccine] [Another article from NIH on Moderna Vaccine]

Prepare for a winter covid-19 spike now, say medical experts – MIT Technology Review

We should prepare now for a potential new wave of coronavirus cases this winter, according to the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences. Health-care systems tend to struggle in winter anyway because infectious diseases spread faster as we spend more time in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, and because conditions like asthma, heart attacks, and stroke tend to be exacerbated in colder temperatures. But if you factor a potential winter rise in covid-19 infections that could be worse than the initial outbreak, a backlog of patients with other conditions, and exhausted frontline workers, health-care systems could be pushed beyond their limit, the academy has warned in a new report. [Related full report from the UK Academy of Medical Sciences]

A Texas ICU nurse is hospitalized with Covid-19 after testing negative – CNN

An ICU nurse in Texas has found herself in the position of some of the very same patients she’s spent the last few weeks treating — hospitalized with Covid-19 even after testing negative for the virus.

How Contact Tracing Breaks the Chain of COID-19 Transmission – Johns Hopkins

One COVID-19 patient could lead to thousands of new cases. Contact tracers use calls, texts, and personal persuasion to prevent that from happening.

Finding COVID-19 Cases Among the Dead: ‘It May Help the Living’ -MedPageToday

The number of deaths reported to the office of Connecticut’s chief medical examiner, James Gill, MD, spiked 137% in April, mostly due to COVID-19. Now, Gill sees a handful of cases each day, but there are more nuances to his investigations, with some patients experiencing lingering COVID-19 symptoms for weeks, or even months.

Fauci Says Young People Are ‘Inadvertently’ Spreading Covid-19 – Bloomberg

Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S., warned young people who gamble they can go out to bars and socialize thinking that even if they get sick, it won’t be a severe case of Covid-19, they are “inadvertently propagating the pandemic.”

CDC study recommends mask mandates to battle coronavirus after tracking infected stylists at Missouri hair salon – CNBC

Policies that require face coverings ought to be widely considered to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, a new study published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes.

A COVID-19 Success Story In Rwanda: Free Testing, Robot Caregivers – NPR

In some places in the world right now, getting tested for COVID-19 remains difficult or nearly impossible. In Rwanda, you might just get tested randomly as you’re going down the street.

Anthony Fauci discusses challenges of COVID-19, reasons for hope during Stanford Medicine event – Stanford Medicine

During the discussion, which was streamed live online, Minor called attention to the critical role that Fauci has played as a voice of authority about the pandemic, thanking him for his guidance and contributions during this crisis. “In fact, a recent poll showed that Americans cite Dr. Fauci as the most relied-upon official for information regarding the COVID-19 pandemic — and for very good reasons,” Minor said.

The Pandemic Could Get Much, Much Worse. We Must Act Now. – New York Times/John Barry

When you mix science and politics, you get politics. With the coronavirus, the United States has proved politics hasn’t worked. If we are to fully reopen both the economy and schools safely — which can be done — we have to return to science. To understand just how bad things are in the United States and, more important, what can be done about it requires comparison. At this writing, Italy, once the poster child of coronavirus devastation and with a population twice that of Texas, has recently averaged about 200 new cases a day when Texas has had over 9,000. Germany, with a population four times that of Florida, has had fewer than 400 new cases a day. On Sunday, Florida reported over 15,300, the highest single-day total of any state.

Clinical Considerations

Amount of SARS-Cov-2 receptor is increased in patients with pre-existing cardiac conditions – Medical.net

Nearly 20% of all COVID-19-associated deaths are from cardiac complications, yet the mechanisms from which these complications arise have remained a topic of debate in the cardiology community. One hypothesis centers on the infection of the heart itself, but the understanding of which cells may be infected is unclear.

The many faces of interstitial pneumonia: a case of presumed SARS-CoV-2 infection – Docwire

We present the case of an oncology patient admitted to our hospital during the current COVID-19 pandemic with clinical and radiological features strongly suggestive of interstitial pneumonia. Multiple laboratory tests were negative for SARS-CoV-2 (polymerase chain reaction testing of nasopharyngeal swabs, and of induced sputum and stool samples, investigation of serum immunoglobulins G and M). In the setting of an immunocompromised status due to recent chemotherapy cycles for lung adenocarcinoma and prolonged corticosteroid therapy (due to frequent exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in recent months), we actively searched for the pathological agent and found it to be Pneumocystis jirovecii.

COVID-19 and Acute Kidney Injury – DocWire

COVID-19 is essentially an acute respiratory illness that in some patients, especially vulnerable groups, can be fatal. High-risk patients include the elderly and the immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, as well as those with a history of chronic pulmonary disease, asthma, and diabetes. Recent reports in the media suggest a spike in kidney failure, placing a significant strain on the availability of dialysis spots and dialysis machines in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. How common is kidney failure and what causes it?

First baby reported to get coronavirus from mom in womb, study finds. Experts say cases are ‘exceedingly rare.’ – USA Today

The first confirmed case of a mother transmitting the coronavirus to her unborn baby has been reported in France, according to a case study published Tuesday. French doctors said in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications that a 23-year-old woman was admitted to the Antoine Béclère hospital in Paris with a fever and a cough when she more than 35 weeks pregnant. [Related Study in Nature]

Official Reporting for July 15, 2020