Dr. Stuart Weiss: COVID-19 Update Tuesday 11-August-2020
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP
August 11, 2020
Today’s topics: When is wearing a face covering worse than wearing nothing? Reader question about breathalyzer test.
| Wow, a Russian Coronavirus vaccine, amazing…not really Today, President Vladimir Putin announced that the Runnian health regulator had approved the world’s first coronavirus vaccine. In an incredibly stupid and dangerous move, their vaccine was approved without completing the phase three trials that proves a vaccine is safe and actually prevents the disease it is made to prevent. So Mr Putin gets to make a political statement about a non-existent vaccine. Without showing that it is effective, it is nothing better than salt water at this point. Remember that the fastest we have ever produced a safe and effective vaccine previously was 3-5 years. The world is vigorously working to reduce that time down to less than a year. WIthin that time frame, vaccines should go through a three phase process. Phase one and two are on small groups of very brave souls that volunteer to receive an unproven vaccine. Phase one and two look at safety and side effects as well as protection from the disease. These are small samples of people. Then, once you have shown that a vaccine is safe and effective in a small group, you do a phase three trial with 20,000 – 30,000 people to see if it really protects people and is really safe. Only then can you release it for widespread distribution but you still need to monitor for side effects. The Russian vaccine has not gone through any phase three trial at all and when they do start the phase three, they are only planning on using 2,000 people. Another sign of bad judgement. The problem with rushing through vaccine trials is that some vaccines have shown early results that are good only to flop when studied with larger populations. Some vaccine actually turn out to be dangerous. For example, an early SARS-1 vaccine turned out to rev up the immune system in such a way that when people came into contact with actual virus, they had a life threatening overwhelming immune response. The cure was worse than the disease. J ust last week, the World Health Organization warned the Russians that they should not stray from effective vaccine development practices. And yet, that’s exactly what they did. So congratulations to our Russian colleagues who have approved an unstudied, unproven vaccine. Even though Putin reportedly gave it to one of his kids and they only had fever for two days, I certainly wouldn’t take that vaccine myself. New study shows that social distancing actually works A study published in the medical journal PLOS Medicine showed that there is a strong correlation between government issued social distancing orders and reductions in both CoViD-19 case numbers and deaths. Their modeling shows that within 4 days of a statewide physical distancing order, case growth rates dropped. So over the past few days, I have written about the Kansas face covering experiment showing that face coverings work and now a study showing that social distancing orders work. We know what to do to stop the virus from spreading. Now we just have to do what we know. Perhaps if we get new leadership in Washington, we will finally have the collective will to do what is needed so we don’t reach the predicted 300,000 American deaths. Can our President just stop making false statements already? President Trump once again incorrectly stated yesterday that kids are “for the most part” immune to Covid. That statement is clearly not true. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association reported that 100,000 US children have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 in recent weeks. In Florida over the past month, pediatric cases of CoViD-19 have risen 137% from 6,797 cases on July 9th to 39,735 on August 9th. Kids are catching this illness and the numbers may well spike when schools are reopened. Numerous High Schools across the South have opened recently only to see a spike in cases and close again. President Trump’s false statements are very tiresome and confuse people. We need clear Pandemic leadership now to help us avoid a very difficult September and October. Be well and take care of yourself. There are storm clouds on the horizon .–Dr. Stu |
COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY
| Coronavirus update for August 11, 2020 World Wide Updates Putin says Russia has registered “world first” coronavirus vaccine Countries were more likely to shut down if their neighboring countries did, too, study suggests UK records more than 1,100 new Covid-19 cases WHO reviewing details of Russian vaccine trials approval Being overweight or obese linked to increased risk of hospitalization due to Covid-19, UK study shows France maintains ban on mass gatherings until end of October Mexico will start phase 3 trials of vaccines from US and Chinese companies Taiwan has used effective but strong measures to combat Covid-19, US health official says Denmark sees spike in Covid-19 cases, after being one of the first countries in Europe to reopen Russia names coronavirus vaccine “Sputnik-V,” says 20 countries have requested more than a billion doses New Zealand reinstates some lockdown restrictions after recording first locally-transmitted coronavirus case in 102 days Hong Kong records 33 coronavirus cases — its lowest count since mid-July Coronavirus has led to a resurgence of “little wine holes” in Italy Australia’s internal borders are going to stay closed Japan’s new daily Covid-19 infections drop below 1,000 for the first time in nearly two weeks Iranian newspaper on temporary suspension after expert questions government’s official coronavirus numbers Lebanon registers record daily number of coronavirus cases after blast Total Cases Worldwide: 20,467,099 Total Deaths Worldwide: 743,481 Total Recovered: 13,313,742 US Updates Pac-12 conference postpones football season Hospitalizations in San Francisco drop by almost 25% since July Ohio governor says state does not have the money to contribute to unemployment aid Big Ten conference postpones 2020 football season New York Comic Con canceled over coronavirus concerns, but virtual events will go on Statewide physical distancing policies helped slow the spread of the pandemic, study finds Georgia high school temporarily closing after multiple Covid-19 cases More than 500,000 Ohio public school students will return to in-person learning, governor says Florida governor advocates for college sports to play in the fall Texas man says he regrets dismissing Covid-19 after 14 family members get sick Covid-19 cases among US children increased 90% over the past 4 weeks, report says Illinois reports more than 1,500 new Covid-19 cases Nursing home residents on dialysis treatments could be at greater risk for Covid-19, research finds Old Dominion University cancels fall sports due to the pandemic University of Massachusetts cancels 2020 football season A California fitness trainer who was put into a medically induced coma says he didn’t think Covid-19 “was real” Georgia superintendent faces backlash for starting the school year remotely Community spread driving big spike in new Covid-19 cases in US nursing homes, health group says Florida’s Covid-19 cases in children have increased 137% in past month Vaccines and asymptomatic spreaders may hold keys to answering Covid-19 mysteries, experts say US Food and Drug Administration releases guidance for temporary production of hand sanitizer At least 66 NFL players have opted out of the upcoming season because of the pandemic Citing coronavirus, Trump administration weighs more restrictions on US-Mexico border Expert says children may be able to spread coronavirus like they spread the common cold Trump postpones G7 summit until after November 97,000 children tested positive for Covid-19 in 2 weeks as more schools plan to reopen NYC to provide free child care to about 100,000 families: Mayor de Blasio says Hawaii has the highest transmission rate in the nation: ‘We are super-spreaders’ Most Americans won’t be able to get a coronavirus vaccine until well into 2021 Teenage Sesame Place work punched by visitors over theme park’s mask requirement Fever-induced seizure from coronavirus caused 7-year-old Georgia boy to drown in shower: coroner North Carolina reports first dog to die from Covid-19 in the state Total US cases: 5,297,306Total US deaths: 167,350Total Recovered: 2,736,939Total Tested in US: 62,513,174 Total cases in CA: 583,560Total deaths in CA: 10,530 Total cases in FL: 542,792Total deaths in FL: 8,553 Total cases in TX: 524,356Total deaths in TX: 8,863 Total cases in NY: 451,603Total deaths in NY: 32,854 |
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