Featured Headlines
Majority Black Counties See Triple the Covid Death Rate – Bloomberg
It has become increasingly clear that black Americans are dying at alarmingly high rates of Covid-19. But absent national statistics, the picture remains incomplete. Piecemeal data trickling out of cities and states have shown disproportionate death rates among African Americans, with an analysis of available state-provided figures by APM Research Lab putting the black death rate at 2.6 times higher than that of whites.
Dr. Veena Jones was on her morning commute from her home in Menlo Park to her office at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital in Palo Alto when she learned of lab test results that might have caused her to swerve off on El Camino Real if she hadn’t already been driving cautiously in the slow lane. [Related pre-print Paper]
Coronavirus blood-clot mystery intensifies – Nature
Research begins to pick apart the mechanisms behind a deadly COVID-19 complication.
Kawasaki Disease From COVID-19 in Kids: How Common? – Med Page Today
The first known published case of classic Kawasaki disease associated with COVID-19 was reported in Hospital Pediatrics in late April. A 6-month-old seen in Stanford, California, screened positive for COVID-19 after presenting with fever, blotchy rash, and minimal respiratory symptoms. She had initially been sent home from urgent care.
New articles from the Flare team:
- ECMO for COVID-19 (Part II)
- ECMO for COVID-19 (Part I)
- New observational reports on anticoagulation and immunomodulation
- Helmet ventilation in COVID-19
Warnings out on inflammatory syndrome but many questions remain
Market For Blood Plasma From COVID-19 Survivors Heats Up – NPR
Diana Berrent learned she had tested positive for COVID-19 on a Wednesday in mid-March. Within a day, she had received 30 emails from people urging her to donate blood.
Doctors keep discovering new ways the coronavirus attacks the body
Damage to the kidneys, heart, brain — even ‘covid toes’ — prompts reassessment of the disease and how to treat it
What We Don’t Know About Coronavirus Origins Might Kill Us – Bloomberg
The WHO is seeking a new mission to China to hunt for the pathogen’s source.
Nitric Oxide, BCG, and COVID-19’s Weakness – Med Page Today
While our attention is focused on the re-purposing of approved drugs to treat COVID-19 and to develop a durable vaccine to safeguard against SARS-CoV-2, the clinical outcomes of inhaled nitric oxide gas and BCG immunotherapy will likely emerge to be effective and provide insight as to coronavirus’ vulnerability: nitric oxide sensitivity.
Should We Worry That COVID-19 Coronavirus Is Sexually Transmitted? – Forbes
When it comes to outcomes in the disease process of coronavirus infections, men have been faring worse than women from the get-go. In the very early days of this virus’s presence in Wuhan, China, my Forbes piece reported that the death rate in males was nearly double that of females.
A Drug Cocktail Hastens Recovery in Some Coronavirus Patients – NYT
A combination of three antiviral drugs, including interferon, seemed to speed recovery, researchers reported. [Related Lancet study]
Official Reporting for May 11, 2020
| WHO SITREP #112 | ECDC | Johns Hopkins | |
| Confirmed Cases | 4,006,257 | 4,063,525 | 4,152,670 |
| Deaths | 278,892 | 282,244 | 284,536 |
Total deaths: 78,771
Surveillance Headlines
USA
USA: For Most States, At Least A Third Of COVID-19 Deaths Are In Long-Term Care Facilities – NPR
New York: N.Y.C. Reports 38 Cases of Virus-Related Syndrome in Children – NYT
NORTH AMERICA
Mexico Sees Spike in Coronavirus Cases with 3,500 New Cases Over the Weekend
EUROPE
UK: Britain to Impose Quarantine on Air Travelers to Fight Coronavirus – NYT
Germany: Germany infection rate rises as lockdown eases – BBC
France: Eases lockdown after eight weeks – BBC
ASIA
North Korea: Outbreak on Border Raises Doubts Over Its Virus Toll – Bloomberg
Wuhan, China: Wuhan in first virus cluster since end of lockdown – BBC
South Korea: As South Korea Eases Limits, Virus Cluster Prompts Seoul to Close Bars – NYT
Science and Tech
Several drugs approved for treating hepatitis C viral infection were identified as potential candidates against COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This is the result of research based on extensive calculations using the MOGON II supercomputer at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). One of the most powerful computers in the world, MOGON II is operated by JGU and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz.
Antivirals
How remdesivir blocks SARS-CoV-2’s polymerase – Chemical and Engineering News
Researchers use cryo-EM to show how the drug stops RNA replication
Therapeutics
A randomized, controlled clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a treatment regimen of the investigational antiviral remdesivir plus the anti-inflammatory drug baricitinib for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun. The trial is now enrolling hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in the United States. The trial is expected to open at approximately 100 U.S. and international sites. Investigators currently anticipate enrolling more than 1,000 participants. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring the trial.
Study finds no hydroxychloroquine effect on death, severe COVID-19 – CIDRAP
large study on the use of the antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine in hospitalized COVID-19 patients found that the drug had no impact on the risk of the most severe outcomes from the disease [Related Study NEJM]
A Drug Cocktail Hastens Recovery in Some Coronavirus Patients – NYT
A combination of three antiviral drugs, including interferon, seemed to speed recovery, researchers reported. [Related Lancet study]
Economic Impact
Pandemic sends US jobless rate to 14.7% – BBC
The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered its worst growth numbers in a decade and the worst retail sales report on record.
Published Research
Observational Study of Hydroxychloroquine in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 – NEJM
Collateral Effect of Covid-19 on Stroke Evaluation in the United States – NEJM
Pre-Pub (not yet peer reviewed, should not be regarded as conclusive)
Coping in Quarantine
The Tulane Outbreak Daily (TOD) has had a few unsubscribes lately with the reasons being given are something like the following, “too depressing’, “I can’t deal with this anymore” and so on… In this section of the TOD going forward it will be dedicated to Mental Health Monday. Please feel free to email me content that you run across if it would benefit other readers. It appears this may go on for some time – let’s help lift each other up and come out the other end of this uncertain time better humans.
The coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental-health crisis – Washington Post
Anxiety and depression are rising.
A guide to negotiating a covid “bubble” with other people – MIT Tech Review
Planning to widen your social circle to stop yourself going stir crazy? Here’s how to have the conversation.
This course will train an army of contact tracers. You can take it, too. – Washington Post
[Video at the link] The nation needs a sprawling network of contact tracers to track and halt the spread of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Public health experts estimate that an effective tracking system will require at least 15 tracers per 100,000 Americans — and, in the hardest-hit regions, a workforce twice that size. [Link to register for course]