A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirms that in the majority of juveniles infected with COVID-19, the symptoms are less severe than in adult patients.
The report, Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children – United States, Feb. 12-April 2,
shows that fewer children with COVID-19, the disease caused by the
novel coronavirus, are hospitalized. Additionally, the report shows that
children with the disease are less likely than adults to experience
fever, cough or shortness of breath. However, the report is quick to
point out that some pediatric patients, those under the age of 18, can
become seriously ill and require hospitalization. At the time the report
was released Monday, there had been three juveniles in the United
States who died from COVID-19.
The CDC findings were based on an analysis of 2,572 known juvenile
cases of COVID-19 that were part of a batch of 149,760
laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, the CDC said. The median age of
pediatric patients in the study was 11 years old. The data from the CDC
analysis confirms what had originally been reported from China when the
outbreak of COVID-19 began. In China, data suggested that pediatric
COVID-19 cases might be less severe than adult cases and that children
might experience different symptoms than adults.
In its analysis, the CDC said 73% of pediatric patients had symptoms
of fever, cough or shortness of breath compared with 93% of adults aged
18–64 years during the same period. When looking at the symptoms
individually, 56% of pediatric patients reported fever, 54% reported
cough and 13% reported shortness of breath, the CDC said.
The data used included different variables, including hospitalization
status, underlying conditions and overall disease symptoms. But, some
of the information that was available for these variables was low. For
the symptoms, the researchers only had data for about 10% of the 2,572
patients and only knew about underlying conditions in 13% of them.
Underlying conditions included asthma, immunosuppression and
cardiovascular disease. The researchers also only had hospitalization
information for about one-third, 33%, of the pediatric patients.
But, what those hospitalization rates showed is that juveniles were
hospitalized less than adults. According to the analysis, 5.7% of all
pediatric patients, or 20% of those for whom hospitalization status was
known, were hospitalized, the CDC said. That was lower than the rates
for adults. The data shows that adult patients aged 18 to 64 were
hospitalized 33% of the time. Children under the age of 1 year accounted
for the highest percentage of hospitalization among pediatric patients
with COVID-19. Those youngest patients represented 15% to 62% of all
children and pediatric patients hospitalized, the CDC said.
“These data support previous findings that children with COVID-19
might not have reported fever or cough as often as do adults. Whereas
most COVID-19 cases in children are not severe, serious COVID-19 illness
resulting in hospitalization still occurs in this age group,” the CDC
said.
While pediatric patients may have less severe symptoms of the
disease, the CDC said social distancing recommendations and other
preventative measures are critically important to slow the spread of the
disease.
Among the 2,572 pediatric cases used for the research, 850 (33%) were
from New York City where the outbreak has been severe; 584 (23%) were
from the rest of New York state; 393 (15%) were from New Jersey, and the
remaining 745 (29%) were from other states and U.S. territories. https://www.biospace.com/article/cdc-report-confirms-preliminary-reports-that-covid-19-is-less-severe-in-pediatric-patients/
With anxiety about the U.S. drug supply running high these days,
drugmakers have been keeping a close eye on demand spikes. Now, Johnson
& Johnson, maker of ubiquitous painkiller Tylenol, is reporting
shortages in certain markets as consumers stock their medicine chests.
J&J is reporting a “temporary” scarcity of Tylenol
after heightened demand for the over-the-counter drug has strained
supply, the drugmaker said in a statement.
The shortage is limited to specific regions, and J&J says
it’s speeding up production to meet the increase demand. J&J is
working with retailers to “encourage” purchasing limits and is working
to keep supplies running to consumers and hospitals.
“We are committed to maintaining our increased production, including
running lines up to 24/7 to maximize supply,” J&J said in a
statement.
The spot shortages of Tylenol come as U.S. consumers have focused in
on the global pharmaceutical supply chain’s ability to keep up with
increased demand amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Saturday, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told Fox News the
administration has seen spot shortages of certain medications during the
crisis but hasn’t observed state actors like China, a major producer of
global active pharmaceutical ingredients, deliberately affecting U.S.
supply.
Hahn did highlight the need for increased “redundancy” in the supply
chain to help shore up patient access in the event of heightened and
sustained demand for certain drugs.
Late last month, J&J began running its Tylenol manufacturing at
top speed after the drugmaker saw between two and four times the
normal amount of demand for the OTC brand, Reuters reported.
Last week, the FDA reported shortages of
hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, antimalarial meds that have been
targeted by President Donald Trump and others as front-runners for a
possible COVID-19 therapeutic.
Despite a “significant surge in demand,” the FDA said manufacturers
are working to ramp up production of the drugs to supply ongoing
clinical trials as well as fill prescriptions for existing patients. The
FDA’s updated drug shortages list as of Monday listed 148 products across the pharmaceutical spectrum.
Other approved drugs and investigational candidates––including Gilead
Sciences’ therapeutic hopeful remdesivir––have neared shortages as the
push for a COVID-19 therapeutic continues. Earlier this week, Gilead
said it had stepped up production of remdesivir to meet heightened
demand, pledging to donate 1.5 million doses of the drug ready or nearly
ready for shipment. https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/johnson-johnson-reports-temporary-tylenol-shortage-amid-heightened-demand
Mallinckrodt (MNK+20.1%) inks agreements with
certain institutional investors to exchange ~$495M of its outstanding
4.875% Senior Notes due 2020 for new 10.000% First Lien Senior Secured
Notes due 2025 on a dollar-for-dollar basis (neither was discounted).
The deal gives the company a bit of breathing room as it tries to stabilize its finances.
Shares plummeted in mid-March after it failed to secure new term loans.
A Colorado county is closing its doors to tourists amid the
coronavirus outbreak, threatening anyone who violates a new public
health order with up 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Gunnison County officials issued a public health order Friday barring
non-residents and tourists from staying in the central Colorado
community or to request a waiver to explain why they should be allowed
to stay, according to the order.
“The public health director finds that non-residents, visitors and
non-resident homeowners from lower altitudes are at a greater risk for
complications from COVID-19 infection than residents, who are
acclimatized to the high altitude environment of Gunnison County,” the
order states.
Anyone who doesn’t live in the county is further “imposing
unnecessary burdens” on health care, food supplies, first responders and
other essential public services, the new directive reads.
“Accordingly, the presence of non-residents and visitors, including
non-resident homeowners, is no longer permitted in Gunnison County in
order to maintain public health and safety and to continue to address
the COVID-19 pandemic,” it reads.
The public health order makes Gunnison County the first jurisdiction
in the state to impose criminal charges for violating Colorado’s
stay-at-home order, KREX reports.
“Our goal is to maintain the health and safety of our residents and
the integrity of our health care system,” Gunnison County Emergency
Operations Center spokesman Daniel Kreykeys told the outlet. “To that
end, there’s some language in that health care order that allows for
folks to apply for an exemption. We realize there are certain things
going on with out residents that may require that. We want to give
people that option, if needed.”
It’s unclear exactly how the order will be enforced, KREX reports.
County officials alerted residents to the new guidance on Facebook
Thursday, telling would-be visitors and those with second homes to stay
home.
“Help Gunnison County begin to sink the spike of positive COVID-19 tests by simply not visiting Gunnison County,” the post read.
“We miss you. We value you. We can’t wait to see you again. Just
please. Not until we begin to reverse the aggressive trend of this
global pandemic in our neck of the woods.” https://nypost.com/2020/04/07/colorado-county-shuts-door-to-tourists-amid-coronavirus-crisis
As many as 4,000 seriously ill coronavirus patients in New York are
being treated with the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, state
health officials say.
President Trump has touted hydroxychloroquine as a potential life-saver, although there is no widespread scientific evidence to date showing it helps battle COVID-19.
But Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month said
health care providers in the state would be using the drug in
combination with the antibiotic Zithromax, or azithromycin, for some
last-ditch cases, based on potentially promising research.
“Time is of the essence,’’ Albany University Public Health Dean David
Holtgrave, who is on the state’s research team, said in a statement.
A state Health Department official said the DOH has shipped doses of
hydroxychloroquine to 56 hospitals across New York, distributing enough
“to treat 4,000 patients to date.”
Patients have received doses as part of four- or 10-day regimens, officials said.
The University of Albany’s School of Public Health is observing the
drug’s impact on the patients, and its preliminary study could come back
in weeks instead of the usual months, officials said.
There are also clinical trials being conducted to see whether the drug can help block transmission.
NYU Langone Medical School is conducting a random trial with a $9.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“Currently, there is no proven way to prevent COVID-19 after being
exposed,” said Anna Bershteyn, an assistant professor with the
Department of Population Health at NYU Langone and the study’s
co-principal investigator.
“If hydroxychloroquine provides protection, then it could be an
essential tool for fighting this pandemic. If it doesn’t, then people
should avoid unnecessary risks from taking the drug.”
The drug has long been used to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Its potential side effects include everything from fatal heart
arrhythmia to vision loss, ear-ringing, vomiting, mood changes, skin
rashes and hair loss.
Health officials are treading cautiously, saying they don’t
anticipate hydroxychloroquine will be a “miracle drug” against the
coronavirus — but the studies are worth the gamble.
In terms of the NYU clinical trial regarding prevention, researchers are enrolling 2,000 adult volunteers at six sites.
They are recruiting people who lack any COVID-19 symptoms but have
been in close contact with others who have a confirmed or pending
diagnosis.
On a random basis, the trial participants will receive either
hydroxychloroquine or a placebo pill — vitamin C — every day for two
weeks.
Each day during the 14-day period and then again on Day 28, the
participants will swab their nasal passages and send the samples to
researchers to detect potential COVID-19 infection.
“If everything goes as planned, the eight-week trial could provide
answers by summer on whether a preventive dose of the drug is safe and
effective,’’ NYU Langone said in a release.
“If so, the strategy could give health officials a much needed boost in slowing person-to-person transmission.”
The federal Food and Drug Administration granted emergency-use
authorization to use hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients amid
the pandemic.
There has been anecdotal evidence — including from China — that the drug helps patients clear the virus sooner.
But Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health, asked
recently whether the drug was considered a treatment for the novel
coronavirus, said, “The answer is no … The evidence that you’re talking
about … is anecdotal evidence.”
Meanwhile, Northwell Health facilities — including Lenox Hill, Long
Island Jewish and Staten Island University hospitals — and Maimonides
Medical Center are giving moderately to seriously ill coronavirus
patients certain antiviral drugs such as Sarilumab, an IL-6 inhibitor,
and Remdesivir, a drug that incorporates itself into the genome.
Northwell has recruited 143 patients for a Sarilumab trial.
Mount Sinai’s-Icahn School of Medicine also is one of 34 institutions
nationwide participating in the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma
Project. The program seeks blood-plasma donations from recovered
coronavirus patients that contain antibodies that can be used to fight
the virus in seriously ill patients. https://nypost.com/2020/04/05/ny-coronavirus-patients-being-treated-with-anti-malarial-drug/
Eli Lilly & Co. Tuesday unveiled a program offering $35 co-pays for its key insulin products during the coronavirus crisis.
The Indianapolis drug maker said the Lilly Insulin Value Program
allows anyone with commercial insurance and those without insurance to
fill their monthly prescriptions for $35.
Eli Lilly said the program covers most of its insulins, including all Humalog formulations.
The company in early March said it doesn’t expect any shortages of its insulin products during the pandemic.
