In an interview with CNBC, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN+4.1%) CEO Leonard Schleifer said that
the company should have its coronavirus treatment ready for human
testing by August. It expects to be producing 200K prophylactic doses by
then.
Over the next few weeks, company scientists will screen a range of antibodies to identify the best ones to block the virus.
He also said that it is “committed” to an affordable product for patients.
The FDA has signed off in Moderna’s (MRNA-2.3%) IND for mRNA-1273, its vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing the current outbreak.
The first batch of product has been shipped to and received by the NIH for use in a Phase 1 study.
Counties across California are bracing for the possible spread of COVID-19 in their communities.
But what’s being done to protect L.A.’s homeless population of more than 50,000?
When it comes to the new coronavirus, L.A. County Department of
Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said she’s worried about
people experiencing homelessness. She told us:
“I’m not worried about homeless people spreading the
disease to non-homeless people. I’m worried about homeless people being
infected and spreading the disease amongst themselves as they live in
these very close, sort of challenging conditions.”
TAKING PRECAUTIONS
The public health message has been to:
Ferrer says all that’s difficult advice to follow if you’re homeless.
And people living on the streets tend to be sicker from a range of
pre-existing conditions.
The Department of Public Health is briefing shelter providers on some
possible strategies. That includes keeping winter shelters open longer,
Ferrer said. “It’s certainly easier for people to take better care of
themselves in terms of public health practices — was your hands, etc. —
if you’re indoors,” she said.
Ferrer is also recommending that shelters provide as much space
between people as possible in sleeping quarters and try to isolate sick
people when possible. https://laist.com/latest/post/20200303/los-angeles-county-worried-about-coronavirus-homeless
The coronavirus outbreak in the Seattle area is at a critical
juncture and could see explosive growth in cases much like Wuhan, China,
if public officials don’t take immediate, forceful measures, according
to a new analysis of genetic data.
The author of the analysis, a computational biologist named Trevor
Bedford, said there are likely already at least 500 to 600 cases of
Covid-19 in the greater Seattle area. He urged health authorities and
the public to immediately begin adopting non-pharmaceutical
interventions — imposing “social distancing” measures, telling the sick to isolate themselves, and limiting attendance at large gatherings.
“Now would be the time to act,” Bedford, who is at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, told STAT.
The genetic sequences of patients in the Seattle-King County region
suggest the virus has been circulating there since about mid-January,
when the first U.S. patient — a man who returned from Wuhan — was
diagnosed, Bedford wrote in the analysis, published online.
The spread of the virus has gone undetected in part because many
infected people experience only mild infections that could be confused
for a cold or the flu, and in part because of stumbles in the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s effort to develop test kits for
state and local public health laboratories, which has meant very little
testing has been done in the country until the past few days.
On Capitol Hill, Washington Sen. Patty Murray (D) expressed deep
frustration with the situation.“The failure to develop and distribute
working test kits to public health agencies has really cost us valuable
time. I am hearing from people personally across our state who are
frustrated,” Murray said.
“They believe they have been exposed, they are sick, they want to get
tested, they have nowhere to go,” she added. “People want to be safe
and protected, they do not want to spread this, they want to take care
of themselves but we don’t have the capability right now to do it with
the policies we have in place.”
Bedford said Seattle faces a stark choice — take aggressive actions
to slow down the spread of the new coronavirus now or face the type of
outbreak that engulfed Wuhan’s health facilities and led to a lockdown
of the city that remains in place six weeks later.
Seattle is effectively in the position that Wuhan was on Jan. 1, when
it first recognized it had an outbreak of a new virus, but did not
realize the scale of the problem or the speed at which the virus was
spreading, Bedford said. The majority of coronavirus cases in China were reported in Wuhan, in Hubei province. STAT; World Health Organization
Three weeks later, on Jan. 21, China imposed the most draconian
quarantine measures ever deployed in modern times, both in that city and
in others to which the virus had spread but where transmission was only
just beginning.
“January 1 in Wuhan was March 1 in Seattle,” Bedford told STAT. “Now
would be the time to start these interventions rather than waiting three
weeks.”
Samuel Scarpino, an assistant professor at Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute, agreed time is of the essence.
“I think it’s unequivocal that there is widespread community
transmission in Seattle and they have to take decisive action now,” said
Scarpino, who uses mathematical and computational models of infectious
diseases transmission to inform public health policy.
Washington State health authorities announced late Friday that they
have found a case of Covid-19 in a teenager from Snohomish County, north
of Seattle. The teen had not traveled outside the country and had no
known contact with a confirmed Covid-19 patient, meaning this was likely
a case of community transmission of the virus. This was the first such
case for Washington State and one of the first four or five detected in
the country.
The case was actually found by the Seattle Flu Study. Bedford, a
co-investigator, normally works on influenza but has been one of the key
players trying to assess what is happening with the new virus by
studying genetic sequences from around the world.
Frustrated by the lack of testing resulting from the problem with the
CDC-developed kit, the Seattle Flu Study began using an in-house
developed test to look for Covid-19 in samples from people who had
flu-like symptoms but who had tested negative for flu. That work —
permissible because it was research — uncovered the Snohomish County
teenager.
Analysis of the genetic sequence of the virus from the teenager
showed it was so closely related to that of Washington State’s first
case that Bedford believes the teen was infected as part of a chain of
transmission that started with the first case. That would mean the virus
has been circulating in the northern part of the state for about six
weeks.
The pattern seen in other locations that are fighting the new virus
is that it takes a while for enough people to be infected for severe
cases to start showing up in hospitals for care. The Seattle area is
soon going to be there, Bedford said.
“So we’re going to expect a large uptick in just the number of people presenting to hospitals,” he said.
As of Tuesday, the state was reporting 27 cases and nine deaths. That is up from 18 cases and six deaths on Monday.
The stringent actions China took drove down new infections in Hubei
province — where Wuhan is located — to low levels, though transmission
continues there. Other cities in the country that started to see cases
were able, with the same measures, to avoid the explosive transmission
Wuhan had experienced. Flattening the epidemic curve, as that phenomenon
is called, helps health care systems continue to function. An eruption
of cases overtaxes hospitals, leading to deaths that otherwise could
have been avoided.
“China saw not much of an epidemic outside of Hubei because they acted early,” Bedford said.
Some question Bedford’s analysis. Nancy Messonnier, director of the
CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said it
is possible that another traveler who came from Wuhan later started the
chain that infected the Snohomish County teen.
While Scarpino agreed that is a possibility, he insisted that from a public health point of view, it makes little difference.
The window of opportunity “may be already shut. But we have to assume
we’ve got some time left,” Scarpino said. “But that means, like
yesterday, we have to start seriously testing, putting infection control
policies in place, ensuring we have plans for what we’re going to do
with homeless or marginalized populations.”
Scarpino urged hospitals in the Seattle area to assume anyone coming
in with acute respiratory infections is infected with Covid-19 and
isolate them to protect other patients and health workers.
The first nine coronavirus deaths in the United States show the biggest risks aren’t traveling abroad,
or riding mass transit, or attending crowded events. The riskiest place
to be is in a rehab or nursing home. The second most dangerous is a
hospital.
Five residents of the Life Care Center, a nursing facility in Kirkland, Wash., have died and some 50 other residents and staff members there reportedly have coronavirus symptoms.
Be on the alert for more deadly outbreaks in nursing homes wherever coronavirus spreads. Nursing homes are infection cauldrons.
Most nursing facilities ignore precautions like separating infected
residents and disinfecting rooms and medical equipment. Even without
coronavirus, these facilities are dangerous. Last year, regulators cited
Kirkland’s Life Care for shoddy infection control.
Generally, someone with coronavirus will pass it to two other people,
data show. But not in nursing homes. There, one infected person can
lead to carnage.
The feds and state health officials, including the New York
Department of Health, should focus on getting nursing homes ready. Some
2.2 million Americans live full time in these facilities, and hundreds
of thousands more go for rehab after hospitalization. The Committee to
Reduce Infection Deaths, the nonprofit I lead, announced guidelines
Monday on what nursing homes should do to curb coronavirus.
Few children become seriously ill from coronavirus. But the elderly struggle, and in many nursing homes they won’t stand a chance.
Also in the virus’ crosshairs are health-care workers and hospital
patients. When an infected patient went to VacaValley Hospital, near
Sacramento, for care in February, three health-care workers there
contracted it. Doctors and nurses need training
in the use of N95 masks, goggles and protective gear when treating
suspected cases. A staggering 41 percent of coronavirus patients at a
Wuhan, China, hospital contracted the virus in the hospital. Across
China, some 3,400 health workers became infected. Now in Europe, they
are bearing the brunt.
When federal officials assessed New York City hospitals for readiness
to contain a contagion like measles or coronavirus, fewer than
three-quarters of health-care workers put on the necessary protective
gear, such as goggles, before entering an infected patient’s room.
Hospitals were drilled twice, and 39 percent failed at least once.
President Trump’s initial response to the coronavirus was to limit travel.
That bought America time. Now federal officials are rolling out their
pandemic battle plan. The broad contours are providing medical care and
developing tests, treatments and vaccines. Second, closing school and
encouraging people to stay home. Third, disinfecting public spaces.
In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says we’ll be smelling bleach from public cleanup. Good. Also, the Port Authority should install hand hygiene dispensers in every jetway and check-in area at our airports.
Coughing and sneezing spray viral droplets, but the droplets only
reach six feet. More significant is the danger of touching an object,
such as a check-in touch screen or railing, after an infected person.
The virus can live on hard surfaces for as long as 9 days. MIT
researchers estimate that improving hand cleanliness at airports could
reduce viral spread by double digits.
What should the rest of us do? Go about our routines, but sanitize
our hands frequently, especially after touching elevator buttons and
escalator handrails, riding in taxis and taking mass transit.
Avoid going to an emergency room unless it’s a real emergency. You don’t want to be waiting next to someone infected.
Finally, keep your perspective. Worldwide, just more than 3,000
people are known to have died. Compare that to the 18,000 deaths from
ordinary flu in the United States alone so far this season.
Even worse is the enormous death toll every year here from
health-care infections with names we’ve come to fear, such as Staph and
C. diff. Improving infection prevention to battle the new virus will
save many lives in hospitals and nursing homes, whether coronavirus
explodes or peters out. Betsy McCaughey, a former lieutenant governor of New York, is chairwoman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. https://nypost.com/2020/03/03/why-hospitals-and-nursing-homes-are-the-likely-coronavirus-epicenters/
The sudden emergence and rapid spread of a novel coronavirus, now
called Covid-19, is a reminder of the power of infectious diseases. It
also offers insights into how innovation and technology are better
equipping us to handle public health emergencies and contain the spread
of diseases.
The exponential growth of connectivity — and the access to the wealth
of data it offers — allows health officials to quickly track the spread
of disease, giving vulnerable populations vital information. Facebook
has generated maps
that display population density, demographics, and travel patterns,
enabling researchers to decide where to send supplies or how to mitigate
an outbreak. Similarly, Facebook, Google, and Twitter are working to
identify and eliminate misinformation about the coronavirus, directing users to reliable sources at the CDC and WHO.
When SARS first broke
out in late 2002, it took scientists more than a year to sequence the
genome of the virus. This time around, the genome of Covid-19 was
sequenced in less than a month after the first case was identified.
Similarly, researchers developed the first diagnostic test for the virus
soon after the first public announcement was made about it. Veredus Laboratories
in Singapore has said the company will soon release a “Lab-on-Chip”
detection kit that can be purchased commercially. It will allow patients
to be tested for three kinds of coronavirus within two hours.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has also proven effective in advancing public health. BlueDot, a Canadian company, uses AI
to scan 100,000 online articles in 65 different languages daily for
public health information. This approach was so effective that the
company was able to alert clients about the coronavirus before the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health
Organization alerted the public. Health apps with chatbots
are also using artificial intelligence to screen people who are
feverish and coughing and advise them whether they should be evaluated
for infection with the coronavirus. Metabiota,
another health tech company, offered early and accurate analysis about
the spread of Covid-19, predicting it would reach South Korea, Japan,
and Taiwan one week before it was reported inside their borders. In
years past, researchers used AI to predict Zika outbreaks
and to trace the insects that spread Chagas disease. By helping track
and contain the spread of disease, these technologies may someday stop
epidemics before they cross borders.
Innovation is also improving how we care for those people sickened by infectious diseases. During the West African Ebola crisis,
tech innovations in protective gear for caregivers and smartphone
thermal imaging apps helped detect irregular body temperatures. 3M has responded
to the coronavirus outbreak by increasing production of technologically
advanced face masks that, when combined with good habits such as
regular handwashing, can help protect travelers and others vulnerable to
the disease. Two Israeli startups are working on washable, reusable masks embedded with antiviral and antibacterial agents that could prove more effective than disposable masks.
Blockchain is an innovation that can help streamline medical supply chains,
ensuring that doctors and patients have access to the tools they need
when they need them and preventing contaminated items from reaching
stores.
As we’ve seen in the wake of natural disasters, drones can deliver
medical supplies to remote or quarantined areas. This could be critical
to controlling infections by keeping some health workers out of hot
zones. Drones can also move faster than ambulances in crowded, urban areas.
Even teleworking, enabled by technology, can slow the spread of
infection. Some of China’s biggest tech companies, including Alibaba and
Baidu, instructed their employees
to work from home after the Lunar New Year. In earlier years, this
would have ground business to a halt. Thanks to technologic innovations,
companies can continue to work, their employees meeting virtually with
international partners and colleagues in a way that keeps everyone safe.
The growing possibilities of telemedicine will help patients get the
care they need, without putting doctors at risk. Remote patient
monitoring enables earlier — and more accurate — diagnoses. Remote care —
powered by 5G — is already being used for remote diagnosis of Covid-19 in Wuhan, China, where doctors are already stretched thin.
In the U.S., one patient in Washington state is being treated for the coronavirus by a robot named Vici, through which he communicates with his care team. In China, a robot named Little Peanut transports food to patients quarantined in a hotel. In one Chinese hospital, patients hand over trash and bedsheets to robots.
Similarly, hospitals and airports are using technology to monitor patients and disinfect facilities. BioSticker
measures an individual’s temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, and
coughing — the symptoms of coronavirus — and can transmit updates every
10 minutes. GermFalcon,
a germ-killing robot with strategically placed ultraviolet-C lamps, was
developed to sanitize airplanes from most viruses on surfaces and in
the surrounding air.
These advances show the great things that can happen when medical
expertise and tech innovation are brought together. It’s the reason why
my organization, the Consumer Technology Association, has partnered with
the World Bank Group on the Global Tech Challenge. It calls on tech companies around the globe to develop innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.
The coronavirus outbreak is one of many public health crises we will
face in the coming decade. But with the right minds on the job and
plenty of collaboration, we can create a world that’s up to the
challenge of meeting them. Gary Shapiro is president and CEO of the Consumer Technology
Association, a U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000
consumer technology companies, and author of the book “Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation” (William Morrow, 2018). The views expressed here are his own.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is up 9% premarket on modest volume as bargain hunters jump in. Shares sold off 20% last week on coronavirus fears. If the gain holds, it will be the best intraday bullish action since 2011.
Joe Biden’s strong showing last night vs. Bernie Sanders may have helped remove an existential threat to a number of players.
Related tickers: CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) (+2%), Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) (+7%), Cigna (NYSE:CI) (+8%), eHealth (NASDAQ:EHTH) (+4%), Centene (NYSE:CNC) (+6%)
