Featured Headlines
Remdesivir Data from NIAID Trial Published – MedPageToday
Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who received remdesivir had a median recovery time of 11 days versus 15 days with placebo (rate ratio for recovery 1.32, 95% CI 1.12-1.55, P<0.001), reported John Beigel, MD, of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and colleagues. [Related Study]
Autopsies Turn Up Strange Feature of COVID-19 Lungs – MedPageToday
A close look at the body after death from COVID-19 turned up some potentially novel differences in the lungs. Histology showed the same diffuse alveolar damage with perivascular T-cell infiltration in the lungs of seven people who died with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) from COVID-19 as in those from seven decedents with ARDS from influenza A (H1N1). [Related study]
Last week, the Department of Surgery of MedUni Vienna/Vienna General Hospital carried out an urgent and highly complex lung transplant on a 45-year-old woman from Carinthia, who has developed severe respiratory failure as a result of Covid-19. The team led by Walter Klepetko, Head of the Department of Surgery and of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, successfully replaced the patient’s lungs, which had been damaged beyond repair, with new donor lungs. This is the first time in Europe that a Covid-19 patient has been given a lung transplant in an otherwise hopeless situation.
Chinese Virologist Warns Coronavirus Is ‘Just Tip Of The Iceberg’ – Forbes
Shi Zhengli, the deputy director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, said in an interview Monday on China Global Television Network that new viruses being discovered, such as Covid-19, are “just the tip of the iceberg,” and that international cooperation is needed to prevent future epidemics.
WHO warns of ‘second peak’; some U.S. states see uptick in hospitalizations – Reuters
The World Health Organization has warned that countries could face a second peak of coronavirus cases at any point, even before a presumed second wave of infections months from now, echoing concerns expressed by opponents of rapid reopening in countries around the world.
NEW from the FLARE team:
Using antibody tests for COVID-19
Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome and COVID-19
Survivors of Critical Illness in COVID-19
On May 7, Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in Sioux Falls, S.D., site of one of the biggest outbreaks of the coronavirus, reopened after coronavirus infections swept through the workforce.
In this large retrospective cohort study of persons admitted to two hospitals in New York City with SARS-CoV-2 infection in March, one-third of patients presented with at least one gastrointestinal symptom and nearly two-thirds presented with evidence of liver injury as measured by elevated aminotransferase levels. [Related study]
Examining Coronavirus Hot Spots: U.S. And Brazil – NPR
[3-Min Audio at the link] The U.S. is approaching a grim milestone: 100,000 coronavirus deaths. Brazil’s COVID-19 cases have surged, and the White House is clamping down on Brazil with a new travel ban.
US throngs gather amid rising COVID-19 cases as drug trial paused – CIDRAP
Despite US COVID-19 deaths approaching 100,000, crowds still gathered in many parts of the United States over the Memorial Day weekend, as the World Health Organization (WHO) today announced a pause on global hydroxychloroquine studies that it is leading.
Breathing again in the time of Covid-19 – CNN
I hardly recognized her as she sat in the hospital chair, smiling, talking, and eating her dinner from a tray. Then I noticed her long, brown braids and the pink manicure, now chipping, and I remembered her clearly.
Hot, Humid Weather Slows SARS-CoV-2 Transmission, but Won’t End the Crisis – BioSpace
A hot, humid summer will slow coronavirus transmission but, on its own, isn’t likely to end the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the University of Connecticut and Virginia Tech. Other measures, including social distancing and vaccines, will be critical elements in reducing infections.
Official Reporting for May 26, 2020
| WHO SITREP #126 | ECDC | Johns Hopkins | |
| Confirmed Cases | 5,304,772 | 5,459,526 | 5,543,439 |
| Deaths | 342,029 | 345,994 | 347,836 |
Total deaths: 97,669
Surveillance Headlines
USA
Massachusetts Reports 596 New Coronavirus Cases And 44 More Deaths – CBS Boston
Minnesota: Hospitalizations hit new peak as restrictions ease – Minnesota Public Radio
California: COVID-19 outbreaks at 9 facilities, including food processing plants – ABC News
New Mexico: 149 new positive COVID-19 tests as New Mexico approaches 7,000 total coronavirus cases – Las Cruces News
CANADA
Ottowa: Canadian soldiers witness ‘deeply disturbing’ scenes in seniors’ residences: PM – Reuters
SOUTH AMERICA
Peru: Seemed to do everything right. So how did it become a Covid-19 hotspot – CNN
Brazil: US suspends travel from Brazil for foreigners – BBC
Brazil: Coronavirus spreads in Brazil’s oilfields, as five offshore operators register cases – Reuters
EUROPE
Spain: Pension Payouts And Registrations Fall After Coronavirus Crisis Hits Elderly – Forbes
Sweden: COVID-19 antibody study in Sweden – Outbreak News Today
Sweden: Stockholm Won’t Reach Herd Immunity In May, Sweden’s Chief Epidemiologist Says – NPR
Germany: Germany extends coronavirus social distancing rules to June 29: source – Reuters
ASIA
South Korea: 6-Year-Old Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Complicating South Korea’s School Reopening Plans – Forbes
Singapore: COVID-19: Pre-school and primary school students to get face shields, hand sanitiser – Channel News Asia
Philippines: No school until there’s a vaccine, president says – Washington Post
Japan: apan’s Shinzo Abe Lifts Coronavirus State Of Emergency As Critics Swarm – NPR
Science and Tech
Therapeutics
Synthetic peptides are promising therapeutic candidates for Covid-19 – Pharmaceutical Technology
Novel peptides are being developed and repurposed as therapeutics for the treatment of Covid-19. Globally, researchers continue to search for compounds that either block the mechanisms important for SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication or treat conditions caused by the infection. On 21 February 2020, the FDA updated its definition of a biologic to include chemically synthesised polypeptides greater than 40 amino acids but less than 100 amino acids in size (synthetic proteins) and synthetic peptides 40 amino acids or less.
WHO Halts Hydroxychloroquine Trial Over Safety Concerns – NPR
The World Health Organization says it is temporarily halting its clinical trials that use hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients over published concerns that the drug may do more harm than good. The move comes after the medical journal The Lancet reported on Friday that patients getting hydroxychloroquine were dying at higher rates than other coronavirus patients.
Vaccine
Merck Jumps Into The Race For A Coronavirus Vaccine – Forbes
New Jersey-based pharmaceutical Merck announced three initiatives Tuesday to fight the novel coronavirus, including teaming up with nonprofit scientific research firm IAVI to develop a vaccine, as companies around the world race to find an effective treatment against the virus.
COVID-19 Vax Safe, Produced Responses in Healthy Chinese Adults – MedPageToday
An adenovirus type-5 (Ad5) vectored vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus was well-tolerated and provoked immune responses in healthy volunteers, Chinese researchers reported. [Related Study]
US company trials coronavirus vaccine candidate in Australia – ABC News
A U.S. biotechnology company has begun injecting a coronavirus vaccine candidate into people in Australia with hopes of releasing a proven vaccine this year
British scientists start Phase II on COVID-19 vaccine – European Biogechnology
The study sponsored by AstraZeneca plc is the third pivotal test of a COVID-19 vaccine that expresses SARS-CoV-2 antigens directly in human cells or in a viral vector. Last week, US-based Moderna Inc. announced headline results of a Phase II test of its mRNA vaccine, which led to production of antibodies that neutralised SARS-CoV-2 in the test tube. Results of Phase II trials with Chinese CanSino Ltd.’s adenoviral vaccine candidate published in Lancet gave similar results. However, the Chinese researchers warned that nobody knows what antibody titer is needed to neutralise the coronavirus in humans. According to the British researchers, a significant proportion of vaccines that are tested in clinical trials don’t work.
Infection Prevention
Top 10 Excuses Offered For Not Wearing Masks Despite Covid-19 Coronavirus – Forbes
Asking people to wear masks during this ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has unmasked a lot of ugliness in society. And it hasn’t been the “oh-that-mask-doesn’t-go-with-your-outfit” kind of ugliness. Instead, the ugliness had been some kind of political and cultural war, which should surprise basically no one in 2020.
You’re Getting Used to Masks. Will You Wear a Face Shield? – NYT
The clear plastic guards may be easier to wear, disinfect and reuse than cloth or surgical face coverings, although they don’t entirely replace the need for masks.
Published Research
Human neutralizing antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection – Nature
Tobacco smoking and COVID-19 infection – The Lancet
Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 — Preliminary Report – NEJM
Pulmonary Vascular Endothelialitis, Thrombosis, and Angiogenesis in Covid-19 – NEJM
Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of a recombinant adenovirus type-5 vectored COVID-19 vaccine: a dose-escalation, open-label, non-randomised, first-in-human trial – The Lancet
Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Manifestations of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease in a Large Cohort of Infected Patients From New York: Clinical Implications. – Gastroenterology
Imaging and Clinical Features of Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis – PubMed
Microbicidal Actives with Virucidal Efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 – American Journal of Infection Control
COVID-19: the vasculature unleashed – Nature
The hallmarks of COVID-19 disease – PLoS Pathogens
Ventilation Techniques and Risk for Transmission of Coronavirus Disease, Including COVID-19 – Annals of Internal Medicine
Pathology and Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 Associated with Fatal Coronavirus Disease, United States. – Europe Emerging Infectious Diseases
Read More: –
Pre-Pub (not yet peer reviewed, should not be regarded as conclusive)
Coping in Quarantine
A summer like no other – Harvard Gazette
You can have outdoor fun in the COVID era, Chan School expert says, but keep your distance
How an Immunology Blog Became a Covid-19 Guide to Going Out – Wired
When coronavirus locksdowns began in the US in March, most Americans learned how to live in a radical new reality governed by three rigid rules: stay home, limit contact with anyone outside your home, and only go to public places when absolutely necessary.