Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #64

[tmar]

Fauci says no guarantee U.S. will have effective COVID-19 vaccine, warns spread 'could get very bad'

Fauci says no guarantee U.S. will have effective COVID-19 vaccine, warns spread 'could get very bad'

By Paul Simao and Carl O'Donnell

4 hrs ago
...
WASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - The United States cannot count on the availability of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, the government's top infectious diseases expert said on Tuesday, and he warned that the daily surge in cases could more than double if Americans fail to take steps to get the virus under control.
California, Texas and many other states have reported record increases in new cases of the sometimes deadly illness caused by the novel coronavirus, leading to a sobering reassessment of U.S. efforts to contain the pandemic.
...
Scores of vaccine candidates using a variety of approaches are being developed and tested at unprecedented speed.

Fauci, however, cautioned that "there is no guarantee ... we'll have a safe and effective vaccine," and he urged Americans to come together to contain the virus.

Fauci warned that the daily increase of new cases in the United States, currently around 40,000, could reach 100,000 if people do not adhere to social distancing guidelines and wear masks.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Sure thing, here:

Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count

It's a bit better today - although upstate New York is concerning (it's just starting to heat up).

Maricopa County, Arizona has seen a downturn over 2 days which is very good news. It seems to take something like panic and rapidly rising rates to get people to wear masks and stay home.

thanks @10ofRods...this is just chock full of info....

 

[justbeachy]

I ended up canceling my dental cleaning/checkup. I'm a little to admit it, but I got cold feet and just didn't think it was the right thing to do. I tossed and turned all night long worrying about the strict procedures for entering the office. The routine appointment wasn't urgent, and DH is overdue for his cleaning due to COVID-19, so we will both schedule our visits in a week or two unless cases in Michigan surge.

I had my dental appointment a couple of weeks ago (my original appt had been cancelled and they called with an available opening). They took my temp and had me do an antimicrobial pre-rinse before the tech started working. She had on a mask as well as a face shield, gloves, and her hair was up in a wrap as well. They did the plaque removal and general checkup, but not the polishing or flossing. At the time I decided to go because it seemed that this was going to be the "new norm" for a while, but now I'm glad I did because things actually got worse (I'm in Central FL) and I would be hesitant to go now. My son has an orthodontist appointment in 2 weeks and both my kids have dentist appointments in a month so I'll feel those out as they get closer.

 

[tresir2012]

This is such a great Guardian today...... So much more news in there than just the Fauci remarks.

For example:
The US has bought up virtually all the stocks for the next three months of one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid-19, leaving none for the UK, Europe or most of the rest of the world.

Experts and access to medicines campaigners are alarmed both by the US unilateral action on remdesivir and the wider implications, for instance in the event of a vaccine becoming available. The Trump administration has already shown it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.

“They’ve got access to most of the drug supply [of remdesivir] so there’s nothing for Europe,” said Dr Andrew Hill, senior visiting research fellow at Liverpool University.

I know there are folks who will boast about this action. I find it totally and absolutely disgusting.

Ya know... there is going to be more times in the future than less where the USA is going to have to work with the rest of the world...

NO science-based leadership at all, but we are still going to steal all the cookies.

I don't believe this because of the link I just posted about India and the deal that has been done to supply 127 countries.

The Guardian is normally a really good source but this just doesn't ring true to me because of the involvement of India manufacturing via a WHO royalty free agreement with Gilead, as shown in the link I just posted. When articles like this are posted it is best to check other sources also IMO.

 

[tabitha111]

Note, that 2nd shot is a dosey! You might get a fever the 2nd day. I had one last month. 1st shot, no problem. 2nd one.. I wondered if I had Covid. Just FYI.

I know...the first one hit me hard. Not looking forward to the second one. I also know your immune system fights it hard...so I plan on just staying home for a week or so..going nowhere.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This is a pretty sad little story. The cancer patient lives in Jacksonville, the woman who spit on her is from my town.....

Woman Coughs on Cancer Patient in Store, Goes Viral - Parentology


This woman, Heather Ross Sprague, is suffering from brain cancer, a patient of our Mayo Clinic, has 10 children, and really appears to be a wonderful, gracious, loving mother and individual... I know there are restrictions on facebook, but her story is stated better from her own words, and if you view her FB site you will see what a wonderful woman she is......

Log into Facebook | Facebook

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This one? I have it bookmarked.

Rt COVID-19

NO.... @10ofRods sent me the NYT site... But I have wanted this one too!!! So thanks, so much. Dr. Campbell in the UK uses this one sometimes!!! Good info. thanks.

 

[tmar]

U.S. coronavirus cases double in June in at least 10 states

U.S. coronavirus cases double in June in at least 10 states

By Christine Chan and Lisa Shumaker

5 hrs ago
...
(Reuters) - Coronavirus cases more than doubled in at least 10 U.S. states, including Florida and Texas in the month of June, a Reuters analysis on Tuesday showed.

Arizona recorded the biggest jump in cases for the month at 294%, followed by South Carolina and Arkansas. Cases also more than doubled in Alabama, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Utah.

Nationally cases rose by at least 43% and deaths increased by 20%. Several states have yet to report cases on Tuesday. (Open The novel coronavirus in the U.S. in an external browser for a Reuters interactive)

While much of the world appears over the worst of the pandemic, the United States and a few other countries are still seeing huge daily spikes.
A strong national response, stringent lockdowns and mandatory mask wearing in public helped bring the pandemic under control in much of Asia and Europe. In the United States, wearing masks has become a divisive political issue and many states began reopening businesses without having met government health benchmarks for doing so safely.

In the past week, 21 U.S. states reported rates of people testing positive for the virus above the 5% level that the WHO has flagged as concerning. Arizona has the highest rate in the country at 24%. (Open Where U.S. coronavirus cases are on the rise in an external browser for a Reuters interactive)

Cases increased by less than 10% in June in just four states - New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey.

New York, once the epicenter of the U.S. epidemic, saw cases rise by about 6% in June - the lowest rate in the country - after strict lockdown and social distancing measures were put in place to help bring the disease under control.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

If anyone has Netflix, which I’m steadily going through, Turkish & odd Korean movies as well, I highly recommend ‘Homemade.’ They are short films made by various people during quarantine.

O si quieren moverlo, Por favor, hazlo

Oh... at first I thought you were saying "SELF MADE".... another fabulous movie/doc on Netflix... will check out Homemade....

 

[nhmemorymaker]

More good news:

NPR’s Greg Allen—who has been with NPR for three decades as an editor, executive producer, and correspondent, including the past 14 years in Miami—reports that Florida doctors are telling him that the COVID-19 cases they're seeing now are less acute, and that many of those with COVID are actually in the hospital for other conditions when they're tested and found positive.

This is similar to what the executive at the company running 13 stand-alone ERs in Texas said yesterday that they’re in Texas.

Twitter

Yes! Yes! Less acute is truly better. However, there are lots of different articles about ol Florida....
This one is from Johns Hopkins, and lists the three fasted growing Covid metro areas in the country...
1. Orlando
2. Tampa area
3. Jacksonville

So lots of different stories in Florida....we shall see. Hopefully the huge number of less acute won't go near many people....

Johns Hopkins University stats: Jacksonville ranks 3rd in country for metro area COVID-19 growth

 

[tresir2012]

More good news:

NPR’s Greg Allen—who has been with NPR for three decades as an editor, executive producer, and correspondent, including the past 14 years in Miami—reports that Florida doctors are telling him that the COVID-19 cases they're seeing now are less acute, and that many of those with COVID are actually in the hospital for other conditions when they're tested and found positive.

This is similar to what the executive at the company running 13 stand-alone ERs in Texas said yesterday that they’re in Texas.

Twitter

This is great news if correct. I guess we will know for sure in a few weeks time.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

Dr. Fauci says the number of infections and deaths related to Covid is going to be very disturbing, but feels strongly that we need to do whatever we can to get children back to school.

Disturbing numbers and sending kids to school doesn't make any sense to me.

Fauci warns coronavirus cases could reach 100K a day

 

[jjenny]

Dr. Fauci says the number of infections and deaths related to Covid is going to be very disturbing, but feels strongly that we need to do whatever we can to get children back to school.

Disturbing numbers and sending kids to school doesn't make any sense to me.

Fauci warns coronavirus cases could reach 100K a day

Need to do whatever we can to get kids back to school doesn't mean he just wants to send all kids back to school right now. For instance, if we were to get a good vaccine, we could send kids back to school.

 

[Tippy Lynn]

Need to do whatever we can to get kids back to school doesn't mean he just wants to send all kids back to school right now. For instance, if we were to get a good vaccine, we could send kids back to school.

I understand what it means.

We won't have a vaccine for months and months and maybe never.

ETA: If we had a good vaccine we could open everything wide open again too.

 

[JerseyGirl]

'There's nothing to debate': Officials say masks critical to stopping COVID spread

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —More city and county governments are mandating masks in public but not everyone is happy about it.

Mask-wearing brought a small protest to downtown Orlando last week and the threat of a lawsuit against Orange County.

Seminole County Emergency Medical Director Dr. Todd Husty said, “For most people, masks pose no threat beyond inconvenience. If there's somebody's acutely short of breath, I get it. A mask might hurt them, but there are lots of healthcare workers and surgeons who have asthma and even COPD. You think they go into surgery without their mask on? No. They can handle it.”

"It's just a medical thing. We've known this for a hundred years or more that masks work. Why debate it? There's nothing to debate," Husty said.

 

[tresir2012]

I understand what it means.

We won't have a vaccine for months and months and maybe never.

ETA: If we had a good vaccine we could open everything wide open again too.

I've seen some reports that kids don't spread it so maybe we don't need to be worried so much about schools. Plus if the virus is weakening as well that can only be good too. MOO

 

[jjenny]

I've seen nothing to suggest that virus is weakening in the US. Infections rates are going up, and so are hospitalizations. Which means a lot of people are getting to be sick enough that they need to be in a hospital.

 

[musicaljoke]

I don't believe this because of the link I just posted about India and the deal that has been done to supply 127 countries.

The Guardian is normally a really good source but this just doesn't ring true to me because of the involvement of India manufacturing via a WHO royalty free agreement with Gilead, as shown in the link I just posted. When articles like this are posted it is best to check other sources also IMO.

Are the two articles referring to the same situation? At first read, it looks like the US bought up the supply of Remdesivir from Gilead, which sounds like they bought the trade name product, Veklury, but that Gilead is also producing a generic brand which is going to 127 low and middle income countries.

I'm not sure that the US purchase precludes purchases or manufactures by other countries. Gilead has a manufacturing plant in Canada and Mexico, and possibly in other countries. Back in May, Beximco Pharmaceuticals launched the first generic version of Remdesivir.

So I think that the announcement that the US has bought up the entire supply is probably political bluster.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals launches first generic remdesivir for Covid-19

 

[Tippy Lynn]

I've seen some reports that kids don't spread it so maybe we don't need to be worried so much about schools. Plus if the virus is weakening as well that can only be good too. MOO

I hope that's the case. I would love for kids to have some normalcy back in their lives

 

[jjenny]

Are the two articles referring to the same situation? At first read, it looks like the US bought up the supply of Remdesivir from Gilead, which sounds like they bought the trade name product, but that Gilead is also producing a generic brand which is going to 127 low and middle income countries.

Is that correct?

Drug is under a parent. Sounds like Gilead is allowing companies in poor countries to make it, but not companies with wealthy countries? So that would leave a country like UK not able to make it.
"The drug, which was invented for Ebola but failed to work, is under patent to Gilead, which means no other company in wealthy countries can make it. The cost is around $3,200 per treatment of six doses, according to the US government statement."
US buys up world stock of key Covid-19 drug remdesivir