About the public’s health
FDA gives green light on 'pool testing' to increase diagnostic capacity: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization for Quest Diagnostics to begin pooled testing — a testing technique increases capacity, allowing up to four test samples to be tested at once…
Pooled testing is relatively straightforward: If the pooled test comes back negative, then all four samples are negative. If it comes back positive, then each sample is individually tested.”
Contact Tracing during Coronavirus Disease Outbreak, South Korea, 2020: There is a lot of information in this CDC-published study. The most important finding may be that researchers “found the highest COVID-19 rate (18.6% [95% CI 14.0%–24.0%]) for household contacts of school-aged children and the lowest (5.3% [95% CI 1.3%–13.7%]) for household contacts of children 0–9 years in the middle of school closure.”
Challenge Trials for COVID-19: 125 scientists signed an open letter to NIH head Dr. Francis Collins highlighting the “vast importance of human challenge trials as a method to help develop vaccines.” They stress the need for properly chosen test subjects and clinical protocols.
Dozens of Florida labs still report only positive COVID tests, skewing positivity rate: “A review of state data shows many small, private labs have been reporting only their positive results to the state -- skewing the positivity rate higher.
Even after this issue came to light… several dozen labs are still reporting 100% positivity rates, according to a review of Friday's DOH data.”
Pre-fab vaccine facilities aim to help fill production gap: “The German engineering group Exyte has developed modular Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing facilities that can be delivered within six months, to supply pharmaceutical companies rushing to expand their production sites on the back of encouraging clinical trial data. The Stuttgart-based business, formerly known as M+W Group, has joined forces with Siemens and Belgian group Univercells Technologies to offer bespoke facilities that meet European and US regulations, and can be transported on the back of a lorry.”
About health insurance
Appeals court upholds Trump administration's expansion of short-term plans: “A federal appeals court upheld the Trump administration's expansion of short-term health plans.
A panel of judges for the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that while opponents of such plans may be correct that they're a poor option for consumers, the Department of Health and Human Services was within its statutory authority to expand them regardless.”
Hospitals Appeal Decision Upholding Disclosure of Rates Negotiated With Insurers: “The American Hospital Association on Friday appealed a decision upholding a Trump administration rule that requires hospitals disclose the rates they negotiate with insurance companies that aren’t made public.
The trade group argued the rule goes against congressional intent and is based on an unlawful interpretation of federal law, according to its filing with the U.S. District Court Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.”
About pharma
AstraZeneca's eagerly awaited COVID-19 vaccine passes large test, but confirmation needed:”As Moderna, Pfizer and BioNTech have this month been busy releasing early data out of their COVID-19 vaccine programs, AstraZeneca is now joining the July data drop…
The trial of the vaccine, known as AZD1222 and being developed by AstraZeneca and scientists at the University of Oxford, was generally safe (fevers and headaches hit the majority but could be controlled), and it saw both antibody and T-cell immune responses.”
Synairgen's inhaled interferon beta cuts chance of developing severe COVID-19 disease:
”Synairgen announced Monday that its inhaled formulation of interferon beta, dubbed SNG001, significantly reduced the chance of developing severe disease compared to placebo in hospitalised COVID-19 patients…According to Synairgen, results showed that the odds of developing severe disease during the treatment period were cut by 79% for hospitalised patients receiving SNG001 compared to those given placebo. In addition, patients who received SNG001 were more than twice as likely to recover over the course of the treatment period versus those in the placebo group.”
Remdesivir: Recommendations for Hospitalized Patients With Severe COVID-19: The NIH updated its recommendations on Friday:
“In situations where remdesivir supplies are limited, the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) recommends that remdesivir be prioritized for use in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 who require supplemental oxygen but who are not mechanically ventilated or on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (BI).
The following recommendation statements for the use of remdesivir are currently being revised and will be updated soon:
The Panel recommends administering the investigational antiviral agent remdesivir for 5 days for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients with SpO2 ≤94% on room air (at sea level) or those who require supplemental oxygen (AI).
The Panel recommends remdesivir for the treatment of COVID-19 in patients who are on mechanical ventilation or ECMO (BI).”
Possible vaccine protein for COVID-19 made in silkworms: “Kyushu University has used silkworms to develop a protein that could become a candidate vaccine for COVID-19, with the hope of starting clinical research for the vaccine as early as fiscal 2021… the vaccine could be mass-produced at an ‘insect plant,’ keeping down the cost per inoculation to only several thousand Japanese yen.” [The Yen is trading at about 107/1US$]