First US patient infected with coronavirus leaves hospital

A 35-year-old man who was reportedly the first U.S. patient diagnosed with the coronavirus involved in an outbreak in China has left a hospital in Seattle after receiving treatment.
The Associated Press reported Monday that the unidentified man wished to remain anonymous but thanked his doctors and nurses upon leaving Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington.
“I am at home and continuing to get better,” the man said in a statement obtained by the AP. “I ask that the media please respect my privacy and my desire not to be in the public eye.”

“I appreciate all of the concern expressed by members of the public, and I look forward to returning to my normal life,” he continued.
Thousands of people, mostly in China, have been sickened in the outbreak of coronavirus in recent weeks as Chinese officials struggle to control the disease’s spread. The virus, which officials believe originated in the city of Wuhan at a seafood market, causes a form of pneumonia that can be deadly. More than 300 people have died in the country from the disease.
An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called the outbreak an “unprecedented threat” in a statement last week, and added that CDC officials were hoping to join a delegation to China to assist with controlling the disease’s spread.
“I think that we at CDC have incredibly strong scientists who have a lot of technical experience with similar diseases,” Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said.
“Our presence on the ground in China would be a help to folks in China trying to unravel this thing,” she added.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/481264-first-us-patient-infected-with-coronavirus-leaves-hospital

HHS to Congress: may transfer millions of funding dollars to respond to coronavirus

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified Congress on Sunday that it may need to transfer millions of dollars of funding in its budget to respond to the coronavirus.
HHS could shift up to $136 million to key agencies responding to the coronavirus, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
An HHS spokesperson said the notice was delivered “out of an abundance of caution and to ensure HHS’s ability to respond and adapt to a rapidly changing situation.”

Federal law requires HHS to notify Congress before shifting appropriated funds from one account to another.
A person familiar with the notice said HHS did not indicate which accounts it would be transferring the money from.
The CDC has already dipped into a $105 million fund created by Congress last year to help federal agencies respond to public health emergencies.
That funding was used to enhance laboratory capacity, communication and education efforts and to provide a surge in support for ports of entry and CDC technical assistance.
The CDC is performing enhanced entry screenings at five U.S. airports where passengers from Wuhan will arrive.
The CDC is also increasing staff at 20 ports of entry where the CDC’s medical screening stations are located.

“We are preparing as if this were the next pandemic,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
The CDC has confirmed 11 cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. Nine of the patients had recently traveled in China. The other two patients contracted the virus from their spouses, who had recently traveled to China.
President Trump declared a public health emergency Friday and banned foreign nationals from entering the U.S. if they had recently traveled to China.
American citizens can continue entering the U.S. from Hubei province — the epicenter of the outbreak — but may be quarantined for up to 14 days in a facility.
Other American citizens who have traveled in mainland China but not in Hubei may be self-quarantined in their homes.
All of these efforts are to prevent the virus from spreading to people in the U.S., the CDC says.
“The CDC, along with state and local health departments, has limited resources and the public health system could be overwhelmed if sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus occurred in the United States,” reads the White House proclamation issued Friday.
“Sustained human-to-human transmission has the potential to have cascading public health, economic, national security, and societal consequences,” it adds.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/481267-hhs-tells-congress-it-may-transfer-millions-of-dollars-in-funding-to

Verastem +3.7% as Point72 discloses 7.4% stake

Verastem (NASDAQ:VSTM) is up 3.7% after hours following an ownership filing by Point72.

The firm discloses a 7.4% stake in the company, or 5.5M shares beneficially owned.

After a Thanksgiving low, shares in Verastem have gained 41.4% over the past month and are up 72.5% over the past three months.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3537709-verastemplus-3_7-point72-discloses-7_4-stake

EyePoint Pharma in eye med license deal with Equinox Science

EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:EYPT) +11% after-hours on news it signed an exclusive license agreement with Equinox Science to develop vorolanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion.

EyePoint is developing vorolanib as EYP-1901, utilizing a miniaturized, injectable, sustained-release intravitreal drug delivery system with a six-month duration.

The company says it recently completed a positive Type B pre-Investigational New Drug meeting with the Food and Drug Administration clarifying the pathway for a phase 1 clinical trial, which it expects will provide data in H2 2021.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3537714-eyepoint-pharma-inks-exclusive-license-deal-equinox-science

Footage of New Military-Operated Coronavirus Hospital in Wuhan

Huoshenshan Hospital construction nears completion in Wuhan, China on Feb. 2, 2020. (Stringer/Getty Images)

Coronavirus Outbreak

A newly built hospital in the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in central China, began operations on Feb. 3 under the supervision of China’s military.
Medical staff there will comprise workers from different organizations, such as military medical universities and military hospitals. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Joint Logistic Support Force will oversee the operations.

The hospital, which isn’t open to the public, will only receive patients as arranged by the local government in Wuhan.
Netizens and Chinese media shared videos showing the interior of the facility, which corroborate footage released by the authorities.
In video footage published on Feb. 2, a member of the construction crew that worked on the hospital demonstrates that all of the doors are locked from the outside, meaning that patients can’t freely enter or leave their rooms or the facility.
“This so-called hospital is actually a prison. You can’t leave if you are inside,” the man says. “Basically, [patients] are waiting to die here. They will then be sent to the crematorium after death.”
That information couldn’t be independently verified by The Epoch Times.

Hospital

On Feb. 3, the Huoshenshan Hospital was officially in operation. Chinese state media Xinhua praised that this hospital was built quickly, because more than 4,000 workers only spent 10 days to build this 1,000-bed capacity hospital.
Another state media China Pictorial reported that the total construction area of the hospital is 59,000 square meters (635,070 square feet). The isolated ward area is 34,000 square meters (365,970 square feet).
The other buildings inside the hospital are living quarters for medical staff and soldiers.
Another new facility built in Wuhan in response to the outbreak, Leishenshan Hospital, will be handed over to the army on Feb. 5 and put into operation on Feb. 6, according to the report. Leishenshan Hospital is bigger, and can accomodate 1,300 coronavirus patients.
As with the Huoshenshan Hospital, the Leishenshan Hospital will also be guarded by soldiers and only receive patients arranged by Wuhan authorities.

A Prison?

On Feb. 2, state-run media and Chinese netizens shared photos and videos of the Huoshenshan Hospital.
From the released photos, the makeshift container rooms are compact and clean. Each patient’s room has a window facing the corridor, but the window is sealed by iron bars.

An inside view of the Huoshenshan hospital in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, on February 2, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Next to the window is a small box, where food trays can be inserted. The box can be opened from the room and the corridor.
Inside the room, there are two doors: one is connected to an adjoining bathroom, and the other opens to a so-called “buffer room” where medical staff prepare their treatments. The buffer room has a hand washbasin and a door to the corridor.
On the other wall of the patient’s room is a large double door, but it cannot be opened from the inside.
Twitter is blocked inside China, but some use VPN software to circumvent the firewall. @Dubha3 said on Twitter on Feb. 2: “The Huoshenshan hospital is like a prison or cage. I’m worried that patients won’t be allowed to leave, before they [die and] are sent to a funeral house for cremation.”
Guyan Gonggong posted on Pincong, a Chinese social media platform, on Feb. 2: “The hospital is managed by the army, which means everything inside are military secrets. It’ll be a crime if somebody leaks it out.”
“Nobody can enter the military-managed areas freely. Family and friends [of the patients] won’t know if a person died inside,” Twitter user @Zhanyoutongmeng feared.

Pollution Concerns

Chinese netizens are also worried that construction of the facilities has polluted nearby water sources.
Huoshenshan Hospital is located on the bank of Zhiyin Lake, one of Wuhan’s freshwater sources. Although the hospital has wastewater integration equipment installed on Jan. 30, people are still worried whether the device can effectively filter biowaste and prevent the coronavirus from spreading into water sources.
Chinese media Economy Observer quoted Wuhan government officials on Jan. 25, who acknowledged that the hospital could be a potential pollution source to the Wuhan water supply system. They said they have contacted device suppliers to find the best wastewater treatment equipment for the hospital.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/footage-of-new-military-operated-coronavirus-hospital-in-wuhan-reveals-prison-like-environs_3225863.html

Gilead Sciences Q4 2019 Earnings Preview

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) is scheduled to announce Q4 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th, after market close.

The consensus EPS Estimate is $1.67 (+16.0% Y/Y) and the consensus Revenue Estimate is $5.74B (-1.0% Y/Y).

Over the last 2 years, gild has beaten EPS estimates 75% of the time and has beaten revenue estimates 63% of the time.

Over the last 3 months, EPS estimates have seen 4 upward revisions and 4 downward. Revenue estimates have seen 6 upward revisions and 3 downward.

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3537438-gilead-sciences-q4-2019-earnings-preview

New ACIP adult immunization schedule recommends changes to several vaccines

1. New ACIP Adult Immunization Schedule recommends changes to several vaccines
ACIP now recommends shared decision-making for HPV, PCV13, and Meningitis B vaccines
Abstract: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M20-0046
URL goes live when the embargo lifts
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) released its 2020 Recommended Immunization Schedule for adults with changes to the administration of the influenza, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal B, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. The schedule, which can be complex and challenging to implement, features revised content, format, and graphics to make it easier to follow. The complete schedule, including changes in the vaccine notes section, is being simultaneously published in Annals of Internal Medicine and on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site.
The schedule is streamlined for ease of reference. Physicians should pay careful attention to the details found in the vaccine notes section, as they clarify who needs what vaccine, when, and at what dose.
In addition to changes in the administration of some vaccines, the 2020 schedule includes new instructions for shared clinical decision-making for several vaccines. First, the HPV vaccine is recommended for some patients aged 27 through 45 who are not adequately vaccinated. Clinicians should consider discussing HPV vaccination with those who are most likely to benefit from it based on a detailed list of considerations. Second, the pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13) should be discussed with adults 65 years or older who do not have an immunocompromising condition, cerebrospinal fluid leak, or cochlear implant, and who have not previously received PCV13. And third, clinicians should consider discussing the meningitis B vaccine with adolescents and young adults age 16 through 23 who are not at increased risk for meningococcal disease.
The ACIP is comprised of 15 voting members, ex officio members who represent other federal agencies, and non-voting representatives of liaison organizations, including the American College of Physicians, that bring related immunization expertise. Each year, ACIP reviews the CDC’s Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule to ensure it reflects current clinical recommendations for licensed vaccines. The recommendations are intended to guide physicians and other clinicians about the appropriate vaccines for their adult patients.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/acop-naa012820.php