Here is what the editors at Physician's Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of July 13 to 17, 2020. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.
CDC Will Again Post COVID-19 Hospitalization Data
FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a quick policy reversal, the Trump administration on Thursday told the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to once again post data about COVID-19 hospitalizations on its website.
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3M Sues Over Fake N95 Masks, Price Gouging
FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- 3M says it has filed 18 lawsuits in relation to price gouging, counterfeiting, and fraud related to its N95 masks.
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Call for 'Challenge Trials' to Hasten COVID-19 Vaccine Development
FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. government should make immediate preparations for clinical trials in which volunteers are exposed to the new coronavirus to speed development of a vaccine, more than 100 top scientists say in a letter to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
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Lack of Public Education for Using Face Masks Leads to Noncompliance, Experts Warn
FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A nationwide, coordinated effort is needed to successfully implement widespread wearing of face masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19, according to Robert Brook, M.D., professor of medicine at UCLA and distinguished chair in the health care services program at the RAND Corporation, and May Chu, Ph.D., clinical professor of epidemiology with the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. They recently spoke with HD Live! about the impending consequences of nonmasking and possible strategies to improve compliance.
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Variety of Symptoms Reported for COVID-19 Patients
FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all symptomatic COVID-19 patients experience fever, cough, or shortness of breath, and a wide variety of other symptoms are reported, according to research published July 17 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Masking of Health Care Workers Cuts SARS-CoV-2 Positivity
FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Universal masking of health care workers is associated with a reduction in the rate of SARS-CoV-2 positivity, according to a study published online July 14 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Lopinavir/Ritonavir COVID-19 Treatment Linked to Bradycardia
FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Lopinavir/ritonavir treatment of COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk for bradycardia, according to a study published online July 9 in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.
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U.S. Must Spend $75 Billion to Improve COVID-19 Testing, Report Says
THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The United States faces "an impending disaster" from the coronavirus pandemic and should spend $75 billion to improve its diagnostic testing system for COVID-19, a Rockefeller Foundation report says.
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Younger Children Should Attend School When Possible: Expert Committee
THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Younger children and those with special needs should attend school in person whenever possible, because online learning is mostly ineffective for these children, according to a committee that advises the United States on science-related issues.
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Higher SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load Tied to Shorter Symptom Duration
THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Viral load of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is lower in hospitalized patients, and higher viral load is associated with a shorter duration of symptoms and hospital stay, according to a study published online July 2 in The American Journal of Pathology.
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SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 Induces Immune Response
THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The candidate vaccine mRNA-1273, which encodes the stabilized prefusion severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein, induces immune responses in healthy participants, according to a phase 1 study published online July 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Physical Distancing Interventions Cut Incidence of COVID-19
THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Physical distancing interventions are associated with a reduced incidence of COVID-19 globally, according to a study published online July 15 in The BMJ.
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Impact of COVID-19 Estimated on HIV, TB, Malaria Services
THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Disruption to services for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria due to COVID-19 could lead to considerable loss of life in low- and middle-income countries, according to a study published online July 13 in The Lancet Global Health.
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Nonsmoking Young Adults Less Vulnerable to Severe COVID-19
THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Nonsmoking young adults have lower medical vulnerability to severe COVID-19 illness, according to a study published online July 13 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Initiative May Favor Rich Countries
WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A global COVID-19 vaccine initiative has been formed with the objective of ensuring fair distribution of vaccines worldwide, but it may benefit rich countries more than poor nations.
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Childhood Vaccinations Decline During COVID-19 Pandemic
WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- There has been a decrease in childhood vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations says.
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CDC Will No Longer Receive Hospitals' COVID-19 Data
WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. hospitals have been told by the Trump administration to send all COVID-19 information to a central database in Washington, D.C., instead of to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Survival Up With Tocilizumab in Ventilated COVID-19 Patients
WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation, tocilizumab is associated with improved survival, according to a study published online July 11 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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Lymphocytopenia May Predict Greater Severity in COVID-19
WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Lymphocytopenia may be predictive of disease severity in patients with COVID-19, according to a study published online July 10 in the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology.
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Most U.S. COVID-19-Related Deaths Occur in Medical Facility
WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Most COVID-19-related deaths in the United States occur in a medical facility, according to a study published online July 9 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
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Layoffs Cost 5.4 Million Americans Their Health Insurance
TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- About 5.4 million Americans lost their health insurance after being laid off between February and May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study shows.
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No COVID-19 Deaths Reported in NYC for First Time in Months
TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- New York City -- once the COVID-19 epicenter in the United States -- has marked a major achievement.
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Symptom-Based Testing Not Adequate for Detecting COVID-19
TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Using symptom-based testing alone is not adequate for identifying COVID-19 cases in long-term care facilities, according to a research letter published online July 14 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Hyperglycemia Linked to Higher Mortality in COVID-19 Patients
TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For COVID-19 patients without a previous diagnosis of diabetes, fasting blood glucose ≥7.0 mmol/L is an independent predictor of 28-day mortality, according to a study published online July 10 in Diabetologia.
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Outcomes Worse for COVID-19-Linked Ischemic Strokes
TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19-associated ischemic strokes are more severe than non-COVID-19 ischemic strokes, with worse functional outcome and increased mortality, according to a study published online July 9 in Stroke.
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Shelter-in-Place Orders Cut Growth Rates of COVID-19 Deaths
TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Shelter-in-place orders reduced the daily growth rates of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, according to a report published online July 9 in Health Affairs.
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Slow Test Results Hampering U.S. Fight Against COVID-19
MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Test results for the new coronavirus are taking so long that they are doing little to help stop the spread of the virus in the United States, experts say.
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Some Hospitals in COVID-19 Hotspots Running Short of Remdesivir
MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Some U.S. hospitals in COVID-19 hotspots are running short of the antiviral drug remdesivir -- the only drug authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the disease -- while hospitals in other regions have stocks of the drug that are going unused.
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Rise Seen in U.S. COVID-19 Deaths
MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Led by states in the South and West, COVID-19 deaths in the United States have started a long-anticipated increase, data show.
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Black Individuals at Increased Risk for SARS-CoV-2 Infection
MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Black individuals are at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and hospitalization, according to a letter to the editor published online July 9 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.
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COVID-19-Related Symptoms Persist After Recovery
MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Most patients who have recovered from COVID-19 report persistence of at least one symptom, according to a research letter published online July 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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COVID-19 Case Rates, Deaths Considerably Higher in Prisons
MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 case rates are substantially higher in prisons than in the U.S. population and are escalating rapidly, according to a research letter published online July 8 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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