Tag Archives: science

CBS Pittsburgh reports: The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is unveiling a possible vaccine for the Coronavirus pandemic that has spread across the world. Doctors unveiled the vaccine at a news conference this morning. According to Pitt researchers, it is “delivered through a fingertip-sized patch of microscopic needles.” They say, it “produces antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 at quantities thought …

Reuters reports: Losing your sense of smell and taste may be the best way to tell if you have COVID-19, according to a study of data collected via a symptom tracker app developed by British scientists to help monitor the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus. Almost 60% of patients who were subsequently confirmed as positive for COVID-19 had reported …

Mediaite reports: Johnson & Johnson announced Monday that the first candidate for its experimental coronavirus vaccine has been selected, and trials will begin by September. J&J also said that if the first phase of testing goes as planned, the vaccine could be ready for administration under emergency authorization beginning in early 2021. This is much earlier than the usual 18-month …

Just in via press release: The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported the death of an infant younger than one year in Chicago who tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19). “There has never before been a death associated with COVID-19 in an infant. A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death,” said IDPH Director Dr. …

Bloomberg News reports: Abbott Laboratories is unveiling a coronavirus test that can tell if someone is infected in as little as 5 minutes, and is so small and portable it can be used in almost any health-care setting. The medical-device maker plans to supply 50,000 tests a day starting April 1, said John Frels, vice president of research and development …

Reuters reports: A British company behind a 10-minute coronavirus antibody test, which will cost about a $1, has begun sending prototypes to laboratories for validation, which could be a game-changer in the fight against the pandemic. Health technology firm Mologic, which created one of the first at-home pregnancy tests, is aiming for the test to be rolled out by as …

Business Insider reports: Of the funding allocated to the CDC, the bill sets aside at least $500 million for public health data surveillance and modernizing the analytics infrastructure. The CDC must report on the development of a “surveillance and data collection system” within the next 30 days. While it’s not clear what form that surveillance system will take, the federal …

NBC News reports: The United States has reached a grim milestone as the number of deaths linked to coronavirus passed 1,000 in the country on Thursday, according to a count by NBC News. The number of reported deaths associated with the disease in the U.S. was at least 1,001 as of Thursday morning, according to that count, and there have …

The Washington Post reports: Hospitals on the front lines of the pandemic are engaged in a heated private debate over a calculation few have encountered in their lifetimes — how to weigh the “save at all costs” approach to resuscitating a dying patient against the real danger of exposing doctors and nurses to the virus’s contagion. The conversations are driven …

Via press release from Christian Newswire: In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical companies are racing to provide a vaccine to prevent further spread of the disease. Unfortunately, Moderna, the company that has been recently touted in news headlines for its developing mRNA-1273 vaccine to fight the virus, uses aborted fetal cells. Debi Vinnedge [screenshot above], Executive Director of Children …

The New York Daily News reports: The loss of taste and smell could be crucial warning signs in “hidden carriers” of the novel coronavirus, experts have revealed. The British Association of Otorhinolaryngology — which represents ear, nose and throat specialists — says the loss of senses often appears in patients who show none of the earlier known symptoms. “In young …

The Washington Post reports: The FDA late Friday approved the first coronavirus test that can be conducted entirely at the point of care for a patient — and deliver results in 45 minutes. The FDA granted “emergency use authorization” to Cepheid, a California company that makes a rapid molecular test for the coronavirus. Getting results in 45 minutes would be …

The New York Times reports: Working at a breakneck pace, a team of hundreds of scientists has identified 50 drugs that may be effective treatments for people infected with the coronavirus. Many scientists are seeking drugs that attack the virus itself. But the Quantitative Biosciences Institute Coronavirus Research Group, based at the University of California, San Francisco, is testing an …

The Insider reports: China has exonerated a doctor who was officially reprimanded for warning about the coronavirus outbreak and later died of the disease, a startling admission of error by the ruling Communist Party that generally bodes no challenges to its authority. The party’s top disciplinary body said the police force in Wuhan had revoked its admonishment of Dr. Li …

Reuters reports: A pill containing two HIV drugs that was touted as a potential treatment for the novel coronavirus was not effective, according to a study released late on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. A test in Chinese patients with severe COVID-19 disease found the 99 who received AbbVie Inc’s Kaletra, a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir, …

Via press release from the CDC: Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals, parades, concerts, sporting events, weddings, and other types of assemblies. These events can be planned …

The Associated Press reports: A clinical trial evaluating a vaccine designed to protect against the new coronavirus will begin Monday, according to a government official. The first participant in the trial will receive the experimental vaccine on Monday, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the trial has not been publicly announced yet. The National Institutes of …

Via press release: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), International Mail Facility (IMF), intercepted a package containing suspected counterfeit COVID-19 test kits arriving from the United Kingdom. On March 12, 2020, CBP officers discovered six plastic bags containing various vials, while conducting an enforcement examination of a parcel manifested as “Purified Water …

Bloomberg News reports: Roche Holding AG won emergency approval from the U.S. government for a highly automated coronavirus test, potentially speeding up tenfold the ability to test patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an “emergency use authorization” to the test, which runs on Roche’s cobas 6800/8800 systems. The tool also is available in Europe and countries that accept …

ABC News reports: Older Americans, especially those with underlying health conditions, should stockpile supplies and avoid unnecessary travel, a top official at the CDC said Monday. Most Americans are likely at risk of catching the novel strain of the coronavirus, said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “As the trajectory of the outbreak …