The World Health Organization on Tuesday attempted to clarify
comments made 24 hours ago that transmission of the novel strain of
coronavirus in those carriers who don’t show apparent symptoms were
“very rare” cases. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove said on Tuesday that her
comments made during a Monday W.H.O. news briefing were a
“misunderstanding” and that she intended to say that asymptomatic
transmission is rare globally. “I was just responding to a question, I
wasn’t stating a policy of W.H.O. or anything like that,” the health
expert was quoted as saying the the New York Times.
The W.H.O.’s Monday comments created confusion and drew criticism from
health professionals outside of the agency who warned that transmission
of the COVID-19 illness is still possible without having apparent
symptoms. Countries throughout the world have adopted broad policies of
wearing facial coverings in an effort to limit the spread of the deadly
contagion. The W.H.O. said more information is needed to make any broad
statements about asymptomatic transmission but it currently estimates
that 16% of people are asymptomatic and can transmit the novel
coronavirus, while other data show that 40% of coronavirus transmission
is due to carriers not displaying symptoms of the illness. The COVID-19
pandemic, which was first identified in Wuhan, China in December, has
infected more than 7.1 million people and claimed more than 400,000
lives world-wide, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/world-health-organization-recants-claim-that-asymptomatic-coronavirus-transmission-very-rare-2020-06-09
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Fauci: Government response pivoting to ending lockdowns
Dr.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases, told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday he continues to work
with the White House coronavirus task force to focus on states reopening— including a meeting Tuesday with Vice President Mike Pence.
The
nation’s top infectious disease expert is not yet breathing a sight of
relief, but feels the U.S. has improved its response to the outbreak as
states relax restrictions on public life — even as some concerns remain
about regions seeing a new flare up of COVID-19 cases.
“Things
that [officials] are concentrating on right now are how do we safely
reopen,” he said. How do we get the cities, these towns, these counties
to try to get sort some sort of normality to get the economy back.
That’s most of what’s being discussed,” Fauci added.
On
the topic of a vaccine, and whether or not one will be ready this year,
Fauci said it is likely we will at least know if any work by the end of
the year.
Yet distribution to the general public is unlikely until next year, despite rising expectations of a more immediate breakthrough.
“My
prediction would be that we would have more than one candidate that
ultimately gets to the point of proven to be safe and effective,” Fauci
told Yahoo Finance.
A crowded field of over 100 companies are currently testing candidates, but only a handful have the most promise. However, there are fears that some countries may prioritize their own citizens if a treatment is found — an outcome Fauci downplayed.
“So
I don’t think we’re going to have a situation where one country or one
organization has a vaccine that they are not going to share with
others,” he said.
‘Essentially shut down the planet’
All
told, responding to the global pandemic has been a mammoth task, and
the decision to shutdown the economy saved a number of lives.
“We’ve
never been in a situation like that ever in history, where we had to
essentially shut down the planet. I mean, if you look at the globe, and
the more than 200-plus countries that have been afflicted, almost all of
them had that shut down. That is unprecedented right now,” he said.
But
it isn’t forever, as parts have begun to reopen, “as we march forward
to some sort of normalization and reopening not only our country, but
the rest of the world.”
Fauci also addressed the ongoing protests,
which have become a public health concern as protestors gather in large
groups without masks, or appropriate distance between bodies. Some
officials have encouraged participants to get tested.
As long as people are wearing masks, even while chanting, that should help lower the spread, according to Fauci.
“What
we say if you are going to demonstrate in a non violent way, a peaceful
demonstration, please be sure to wear a mask all the time. To say keep
physical distance is a non-starter because the very nature of a
demonstration, you see people in crowds. But wear a mask,” he said.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fauci-government-response-pivots-to-ending-lockdowns-after-having-to-shut-down-the-planet-150402100.html
Twist Bio teams up with Serimmune in COVID-19
Synthetic DNA maker Twist Bioscience (TWST +1.7%) will collaborate with privately held Serimmune to identify and evaluate therapeutic antibody candidates for the treatment of COVID-19.
The parties will assess existing Twist antibodies
that bind with either the SARS-CoV-2 S1 spike protein or the human ACE2
cellular receptor using Serimmune’s Serum Epitope Repertoire Analysis
(SERA) platform (maps antigenic targets of antibodies).
Epitopes identified in the first phase will be
used to re-screen Twist’s proprietary synthetic antibody discovery
libraries for new candidates and to boost their specificity.
Twist will be responsible for advancing all antibodies identified in the partnership.
Financial terms are not disclosed.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3581558-twist-bio-teams-up-serimmune-in-covidminus-19Assisted living facility operators seek $5B in federal aid
The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living have sent a letter to
HHS and FEMA requesting $5B in emergency funding and support for
assisted living communities dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Residents, along with those in nursing homes, are among the most
vulnerable to infection.
Operators intend to use the funds, if provided, to
hire additional staff, provide overtime pay, buy PPE gear, for
testing/diagnosing the respiratory infection and other uses.
There are more than 42K assisted living communities in the U.S. with more than 1M total residents.
Selected tickers: Ventas (VTR -5.0%), Sienna Senior Living (OTCPK:LWSCF -2.6%), Capital Senior Living (CSU -15.5%), Brookdale Senior Living (BKD -5.3%)
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3581572-assisted-living-facility-operators-seek-5b-in-federal-aidAytu announces performance stats on COVID-19 blood test
Aytu BioScience (NASDAQ:AYTU) announces results
from a National Cancer Institute evaluation of the performance of its
COVID-19 IgG/IgM rapid antibody blood test. Results from a 110-sample
panel (30 confirmed positives, 80 confirmed negatives):
IgG sensitivity/specificity: 96.7%/97.5%.
IgM sensitivity/specificity: 100.0%/100.0%.
Combined sensitivity/specificity: 100.0%/97.5%.
The FDA OK’d the emergency use of the test on May 29.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3581516-aytu-announces-performance-stats-on-covidminus-19-blood-testHologic expects improved financial outlook for fiscal third quarter
In a regulatory filing, Hologic (NASDAQ:HOLX) says that its financial outlook for FQ3 has improved since April 29.
Since then, the Company’s Breast and Skeletal
businesses have performed in line with expectations, and the Surgical
business has begun to recover more rapidly than forecast.
The company forecasts FQ3 Diagnostics revenue to
grow 20-25% (Y/Y), Breast and Skeletal Health revenue to decline 30-35%
and Surgical revenue to decline 65-70%.
HOLX says that the pandemic remain highly uncertain, and therefore cannot quantify the longer-term financial effects.
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3581553-hologic-expects-improved-financial-outlook-for-fiscal-third-quarterU.S. coronavirus cases surge in southwestern states
Twenty-one U.S. states reported weekly increases in new cases of
COVID-19, with Arizona, Utah and New Mexico all posting rises of 40% or
higher for the week ended June 7 compared with the prior seven days,
according to a Reuters analysis.
The three southwestern states joined hot spots in the South to help
push the national number of new infections in the first week of June up
3%, the first increase after five weeks of declines, according to the
analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort
to track the outbreak.
In New Mexico about half of the new cases were from one prison in Otero County, state health officials said.
Utah said at least 287 of the state’s 2,269 new cases were tied to an outbreak at a meat processing plant in Cache County.
Many states have ramped up testing for the novel coronavirus in
recent weeks. Nationally, over 545,000 tests were reported in a single
day last week, a new record.
In Arizona, the percentage of tests that came back positive for the new virus rose to 12% in the week ended June 7, from 7% a month ago, according to the Reuters analysis. In Utah, the positive test rate rose to 9% from 4%.
Nationally, the rate of positive tests has hovered between 4% and 7% for several weeks.
In the South, new cases of COVID-19 in Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina and North Carolina all rose by more than 30% in the past week.
Florida attributed the increase to more testing, while South Carolina was investigating outbreaks in three counties. The other states had no immediate comment. Positive test rates held steady in these states over the past four weeks, the analysis showed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended states wait for new COVID-19 cases to fall for 14 days before easing social distancing restrictions.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have met that criteria
for the week ended June 7, compared with 13 states the prior week, the
analysis showed. Pennsylvania and New York lead with eight straight
weeks of declines.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trends-graphic/u-s-coronavirus-cases-surge-in-southwestern-states-idUSKBN23G1GW
In New Mexico about half of the new cases were from one prison in Otero County, state health officials said.
Utah said at least 287 of the state’s 2,269 new cases were tied to an outbreak at a meat processing plant in Cache County.
In Arizona, the percentage of tests that came back positive for the new virus rose to 12% in the week ended June 7, from 7% a month ago, according to the Reuters analysis. In Utah, the positive test rate rose to 9% from 4%.
Nationally, the rate of positive tests has hovered between 4% and 7% for several weeks.
In the South, new cases of COVID-19 in Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina and North Carolina all rose by more than 30% in the past week.
Florida attributed the increase to more testing, while South Carolina was investigating outbreaks in three counties. The other states had no immediate comment. Positive test rates held steady in these states over the past four weeks, the analysis showed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended states wait for new COVID-19 cases to fall for 14 days before easing social distancing restrictions.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trends-graphic/u-s-coronavirus-cases-surge-in-southwestern-states-idUSKBN23G1GW
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