CNN -
December 11, 2020
Dogs can be trained to detect Covid-19 by sniffing human sweat, according to a proof-of-concept study published on Thursday. … many countries worldwide are exploring the possibility of using dogs as a rapid, reliable and relatively cheap way to prescreen people for Covid-19 or perform rapid checking in certain circumstances, like at airports. … During the testing period, the dogs did dozens of trials, with a success rate of between 76% to 100%. Jacky and Bella, the two dogs that specialized in detecting colon cancer, had a 100% success rate in the 68 tests they completed.
Reuters -
December 11, 2020
Walmart Inc said on Thursday it was entering into agreements with U.S. states to administer COVID-19 vaccines, when approved, to customers and employees. The retailer said it was preparing over 5,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies with freezers and dry ice to handle vaccine storage requirements. It was also working with states to support vaccinations in long-term care facilities, if needed. Pharmacy chains CVS Health Corp and Walgreens Boot Alliance have also signed agreements with the U.S. government to administer COVID-19 vaccines to residents of long-term care facilities.
NPR -
December 10, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic pushed the U.S. past another dire milestone Wednesday, the highest daily death toll to date, even while the mortality rate has decreased as health experts learn more about the disease. The Covid Tracking Project, which tracks state-level coronavirus data, reported 3,054 COVID-19 related deaths — a significant jump from the previous single-day record of 2,769 on May 7.
USA Today -
December 10, 2020
A committee crucial for clearing a COVID-19 vaccine will hold an all-day meeting Thursday, and depending on how it votes, the nation's first doses could ship as early as Friday. The external expert committee will review data from Pfizer and German startup BioNTech on their vaccine, called BNT162b2, and by day's end will vote whether the U.S. FDA should authorize the country’s first COVID-19 vaccine. The companies are requesting an “emergency use authorization,” shy of a full approval. … If the independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee recommends that authorization, the FDA is expected to sign off on the vaccine, possibly as soon as late Thursday.
ABC News -
December 10, 2020
Hospitals around the country are facing shortages of hospital beds and intensive care unit space as the number of COVID-19 cases rise to record numbers, according to data released by HHS this week. More than 76% of ICU beds in hospitals with the capacity to staff them are filled this week, according to an internal HHS memo obtained by ABC News.
AP -
December 10, 2020
As states frantically prepare to begin months of vaccinations that could end the pandemic, a new poll finds only about half of Americans are ready to roll up their sleeves when their turn comes. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows about a quarter of U.S. adults aren’t sure if they want to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Roughly another quarter say they won’t.
Reuters -
December 10, 2020
Moderna Inc said on Thursday it had dosed the first participant in a mid-to-late stage study testing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in adolescents aged 12 to less than 18. … “Our goal is to generate data in the spring of 2021 that will support the use of mRNA-1273 in adolescents in advance of the 2021 school year,” said Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel.
AP -
December 10, 2020
Arguments over mask requirements and other restrictions have turned ugly in recent days as the deadly coronavirus surge across the U.S. engulfs small and medium-size cities that once seemed safely removed from the outbreak. In Boise, Idaho, public health officials about to vote on a four-county mask mandate abruptly ended a meeting Tuesday evening because of fears for their safety amid anti-mask protests outside the building and at some of their homes.
CNN -
December 10, 2020
A global analysis of over 3 million Covid-19 cases from January to June has found that male patients with the disease have "almost three times the odds" of requiring admission to intensive care than female patients. What's more, men were almost 1.4 times more likely to die from Covid-19 than women -- although both sexes have an equivalent risk of infection.
BBC -
December 10, 2020
Rich countries are hoarding doses of Covid vaccines and people living in poor countries are set to miss out, a coalition of campaigning bodies warns. The People's Vaccine Alliance says nearly 70 lower-income countries will only be able to vaccinate one in 10 people. This is despite Oxford-AstraZeneca pledging to provide 64% of its doses to people in developing nations. Steps are being taken to ensure access to vaccines is fair around the globe.
CBS News -
December 10, 2020
A Royal Caribbean "cruise to nowhere" was cut short and the ship returned to Singapore on Wednesday after an elderly passenger was diagnosed with the coronavirus, but the health ministry later said new tests on the man were negative. … It said it will conduct another test Thursday to confirm his status. … The Singapore Straits Times reported that the vessel, which had 1,680 guests and 1,148 crew members on board, returned on the third day of a four-day trip.
ABC News -
December 10, 2020
Despite top health experts warning Americans against holding indoor in-person gatherings during the holidays, President Donald Trump has continued to brush those concerns aside, defending holding White House parties this month amid daily record numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.
AP -
December 10, 2020
South Africa is seeing a dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases and bracing for increased hospitalizations and deaths, said the country’s health minister Zweli Mkhize. … South Africa’s new wave is likely to spike so quickly that it could overwhelm hospital capacities in some regions, he warned. South Africa’s surge highlights that a new wave of the disease is sweeping across Africa, John Nkengasong, the head of the Africa CDC, said Thursday.
TIME -
December 10, 2020
China’s state-backed coronavirus vaccine protected 86% of people against Covid-19 in trials conducted in the United Arab Emirates, state media there reported, giving credence to the quickly developed shot that Beijing intends to distribute around the developing world. The data was from trials that included 31,000 volunteers in the UAE, which found the vaccine was highly effective in preventing moderate and severe cases of Covid-19 and had no serious safety concerns, according to the report …
AP -
December 9, 2020
Deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to more than 2,200 a day on average, matching the frightening peak reached last April, and cases per day have eclipsed 200,000 on average for the first time on record, with the crisis all but certain to get worse because of the fallout from Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. Virtually every state is reporting surges just as a vaccine appears days away from getting the go-ahead in the U.S.
NPR -
December 9, 2020
The FDA released a detailed analysis Tuesday morning of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech ahead of a Thursday meeting of a group of independent experts that will advise the agency on whether to grant the vaccine an emergency use authorization. The agency's analysis finds "no specific safety concerns identified that would preclude issuance of an EUA." Serious reactions were rare. Side effects are common, however, with a majority of study volunteers experiencing reactions at the site of injection, headaches and fatigue.