Vaccines

30 million doses of vaccine purchased by the U.K.

The Financial Times reports that the U.K. has signed an agreement to purchase 30 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech. Preliminary testing data suggested positive results and the vaccine will soon be tested on 30,000 volunteers. It's one of 23 currently being evaluated. Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands have already signed up for 400 million doses of a potential AstraZeneca vaccine

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Oxford University vaccine found to produce COVID-19 antibodies

Euronews reported that an Oxford University vaccine test showed “a good immune response in almost everybody.” The vaccine produced neutralizing antibodies, molecules which are key to blocking infection, and also causes a reaction in the body's T-cells which help to fight off the coronavirus.

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A coronavirus vaccine may not be a one-and-done deal

Even while important vaccine research is underway, Fortune's The Capsule Newsletter, reports that new research from the U.K. suggests that COVID-19 infections can recur in patients who have already recovered, suggesting that antibodies may not confer long-lasting immunity. If that holds true, it could mean that COVID is more like seasonal illnesses such as flu or the common cold, but far more potent.

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Russia first nation to finish human trials for Covid-19 vaccine

According to an Economic Times healthworld.com report on July 13, 2020, “Russia has become the first nation to complete clinical trials of a Covid-19 vaccine.” There was no word about when the vaccine would enter the commercial production stage. Bloomberg reports that many members of Russia's business and political elite have since April been getting shots developed by the state-run Gamaleya Institute in Moscow. The vaccine's phase 1 trial only wrapped up last week, and the results are not yet known.

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Human clinical trials for Covid-19 vaccine initiated in India

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has begun human clinical trials for a vaccine for Covid-19 with approximately 1,000 volunteers participating. Two vaccine candidates developed in India will be tested. The Economic Times healthworld.com quoted ICMR as saying ”since India is one of the largest vaccine producers, it is the country's ‘moral responsibility’ to fast-track vaccine development process.”

Update on Masks

Retailers ask politicians for help on wearing masks

According to TriplePundit editor Leon Kaye, “when it comes to wearing masks, retailers have thrown their hands up in the air and are now asking political leaders to step up and enforce mask mandates.”

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Who wears a mask? National Geo poll tells all

A July 10, 2020, National Geo and Morning Consult poll shows how “mask compliance varies by age, geographical region, income level, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, political viewpoints” when asked this question: “How often do you wear a medical or non-medical face mask when you leave your home?”

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National Retail Federation position on masks

The National Retail Federation was quoted in Fortune’s July 15, 2020, The Capsule Newsletter regarding masks: "Shopping in a store is a privilege, not a right. If a customer refuses to adhere to store policies, they are putting employees and other customers at undue risk.”

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PM 2.5 Filter Masks – 11 Things You Need to Know Before Buying

Terry Cralle a registered nurse specializing in respiratory and sleep disorders has put together a comprehensive guide to PM 2.5 filter masks. “This type of mask features a cloth pocket with replaceable activated carbon filter inserts ... The mask allegedly helps dissipate your breath nicely and shouldn’t cause breathing troubles, irritation of nose, throat, or even eyes.”

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To mask or not to mask, WHO sowed confusion, CDC provided clarity

While much has been politicized about whether masks are effective in reducing the spread of the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) has contributed to the confusion.

• WHO’s April guidance on masks declared that “the wide use of masks by healthy people in the community setting is not supported by current evidence and carries uncertainties and critical risks.” This was the guidance New Zealand followed while eradicating the disease in that island nation.
• WHO’s June guidance reiterates the April guidance, but also adds “Many countries have recommended the use of fabric masks/face coverings for the general public.“ WHO now advises “that to prevent COVID-19 transmission effectively in areas of community transmission, governments should encourage the general public to wear masks in specific situations and settings as part of a comprehensive approach to suppress SARS-CoV-2 transmission.”

Both the April and June guidance contain comprehensive details about guidelines on mask use for both health workers, infected persons, and the uninfected general public.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides more clarity with this guidance:

• Recommends that people wear cloth face coverings in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.
• Says cloth face coverings may help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others.
• Indicates that cloth face coverings are most likely to reduce the spread of COVID-19 when they are widely used by people in public settings.
• Says cloth face coverings should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing, is unconscious, incapacitated or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

Here at Home

Did Black Lives Matter marches affect the spread of coronavirus?

Washington Post reporter Chelsea Janes examined the data. “Absent a few positive tests among protesters announced here and there,” she wrote, “the only major outbreak tied to protests happened in South Carolina, where organizers postponed demonstrations or moved them online after at least 13 people who took part in previous protests tested positive.” A non-peer reviewed study by the National Bureau of Economic Research of cellphone data in 315 cities that found “no evidence that urban protests reignited Covid-19 case growth during the more than three weeks following protest onset.”

The Post says “one important caveat to analysis is that covid-19 testing and contact tracing efforts are so broken in the United States that it's nearly impossible to know the origin of outbreaks in many areas. But as Janes wrote, the handful of health authorities who managed to interview new covid-19 patients in the wake of local protests found few people who had even attended.

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Poll finds extensive Covid infections in skilled nursing homes

The State of Reform reports that a California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) poll released on July 17, 2020, found 76% of frontline employees at California skilled nursing facilities say they have had known or suspected COVID-19 cases among staff at the facilities. Sixty percent of those surveyed report cases among residents. The survey was conducted in June and July and gathered responses from 353 skilled nursing facility employees, including 285 certified nurse assistants.

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Massive batch testing method used in Wuhan approved for U.S.

Fortune reports that a method for testing coronavirus used in Wuhan, China, has been approved for use in the U.S. Quest Diagnostics will be allowed to use batch testing to pool samples of up to four people. When used in Wuhan, 6.5 million people were tested in 10 days.

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Challenges of contact tracking learned in training course

Wyndham Robertson was the first female assistant managing editor of Fortune. Now retired, she took a six-hour contact tracing course at the Bloomberg School of Public Health to see what it would be like to take one of those jobs. An interesting insight into the challenges of contact tracing.

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Patients without Covid-19 are delaying care

Reuters reports that “with U.S. coronavirus infections reaching new heights, doctors and hospitals say they are also seeing sharp declines in patients seeking routine medical care and screenings - and a rise in those who have delayed care for so long they are far sicker than they otherwise would be”. For example, statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that "patients seeking care for heart attacks dropped by 23% and stroke care by 20%." 

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U.S. the only high-income country where Covid is spreading rapidly

According to the New York Times, “there is now only one high-income country in the world in which the virus is spreading rapidly: the United States. Even in Sweden — which has had one of the least successful responses to the virus — the number of new cases has plummeted in the past two weeks.” In China, Japan, South Korea and several other Asian countries, the virus is under even better control than in Europe or Canada.

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U.S. public increasingly skeptical of Covid-19 death toll

The Guardian reports that an Axios-Ipsos poll showed 31% of those U.S. citizens polled believe the true number of Covid-19 deaths is smaller than reported, even as official U.S. statistics have documented nearly four million cases and more than 140,000 deaths.

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Use of masks and gloves for Covid exacerbating plastic consumption

Again, according to Fortune, “COVID-19 has proved beyond any doubt that we cannot live without plastics. The World Health Organization recently estimated that the world is using about 89 million masks and 76 million gloves each month, spiking our consumption of single-use plastics.” Writer Surendra Patawari says “plastics have saved thousands of lives. I am afraid that the pandemic may put the topic of sustainability in the back seat.”

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40% of black-owned businesses not expected to survive coronavirus

CBS News reports that of one million black-owned U.S. businesses, 440,000 “had shuttered their companies for good – a 41% plunge.” Only 17% of white-owned businesses had closed.  The reason for the disparity? Many black-owned businesses lack access to bank credit or are micro-enterprises, providing a livelihood to a sole proprietor or a few employees at most. CBS says “profit margins are thin, while owners' financial savings are often meager, making them vulnerable to sudden downturns.”

Around the World

Canada has handled the virus far better than the United States. 

Though Quebec and Ontario had big outbreaks and the military had to be enlisted to help hard-hit areas, the Washington Post’s July 15, 2002, Coronavirus Newsletter reported Canada was able to flatten the curve in the spring, and new cases have plummeted since. On the other hand, the outbreak has been so bad in the United States that Canada and Mexico appear to be happy to let the borders stay closed until America gets its spread under control. Here's what analysts say led to Canada's relative success.

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Mexico’s Pemex has worst coronavirus death toll in the world

Bloomberg reports in a July l15, 2020, story that the state-owned Mexican petroleum company Pemex has the worst coronavirus death toll in the world. 202 employees and five contractors have died of the disease so far. Next on the list is New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority which has lost at least 131 workers.

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Siberian village sealed itself off from Covid by digging trenches

The Siberian village of Shuluta took drastic measures to address Covid-19. According to the Washington Post, 37 of the 390 residents have contracted the virus, thought to have been brought in by visitors attending an annual event or on their way to Tunkinsky National Park. Town leaders decided to isolate the village from future infection by digging trenches around the town and sealing it off until the end of July.

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How Rwanda is successfully dealing with coronavirus

According to CNN, “densely-populated Rwanda is emerging as one nation that has effectively managed coronavirus.” Although a low-income nation, Rwanda began improving its health care system before Covid-19. When the pandemic hit, it utilized cutting-edge technology to address the issue, including robots to take temperatures and drones to deliver medical supplies to clinics in rural areas with poor infrastructure. Utilizing randomized and pooled testing and tracing, the east African nation of 12.5 million people has had only 1,629 cases and 5 deaths. Those testing positive receive free medical care and quarantine services.

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India says 63% of Covid patients have recovered so far

India’s Ministry of Health claims 63% of those infected by Covid have recovered so far. The Economic Times in healthworld.com says “of the total 11,92,915 cases, 4,11,133 were active, and the total number of patients that have recovered stands at 7,53,049.”

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Chinese head back to the movies

While movies theaters are still closed in the U.S., the BBC reports that China's cinemas are opening in "low-risk" areas, covering most of the country. Restrictions include a 30% capacity cap and a halving of the number of movies each cinema can display. Everyone will have to wear masks, and movie-goers will have their temperature taken when they show up. No food or drink will be sold.

Solutions

New Hazmat Suits for Air Travel Might Not Be Allowed Onboard

VYZR Technologies, a specialist in personal protective gear, has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for a $249 personal hazmat suit. Called the BioVYZR, Forbes reports that “the suit comes down to just the waist and is fitted with hospital-grade air-purifying technology” and has anti-fogging windows.  There are questions about whether the suits would be allowed onboard because they would need to be removed to hear safety announcements and couldn’t accommodate an air mask if there was a decompression in flight.

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XPrize launches Pandemic Alliance to find Covid-19 solutions

Xprize, the world leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges, has launched the Xprize Pandemic Alliance “to address the immediate needs of the COVID-19 crisis by expanding visibility into solutions underway. This launch comes with an open call to arms to the world’s innovators, clinicians, researchers, data scientists, institutions, and experts to join the Alliance and share existing work and resources using covid19.xprize.org.” 

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Solutions not - billionaires hoarding in the midst of record needs
While the pandemic has caused economic harm around the world, the rich are not being generous in contributing to solutions. "Food shortages and unemployment are at record highs, yet billionaires managed to add over $400 billion to their collective holdings just since this crisis began. Yet so far this year, the ultra-rich have barely increased their giving at all," writes WhyNot Initiative director Alan Davis for Fortune. Davis says Bill Gates' $300 million donation for COVID-19 relief is "a big number, but it's pocket change for him."

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What would nature do to solve the pandemic?

This July 8, 2020, article from findingnature.org asks a penetrating question about how nature solves problems. Author Gary Ferguson and Mary M. Clare say that “Right now, on a lot of days, things can seem every bit as extraordinary as anything that’s come before. From the perils of climate change, to the Covid-19 pandemic, to a long-overdue deep dive into the realities of racism, the ground is shifting under our feet. It’s exactly in such times, when the changes and the challenges are big, that it’s worth asking what might at first seem like an odd question: What would nature do?”

“We sometimes forget that humans are nature, too – the product of eons of life being nudged and tweaked and fine-tuned. With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that social science is confirming that human endeavors – from solving challenges in the board room, to making important scientific discoveries – are very much influenced by the level of diversity in the group tackling the problem. Indeed, if we really want to see where that much-admired goal of being able to “think outside the box” can take us, we’d do well to make sure the process is driven by people from all manner of backgrounds and life experiences.”