Coronavirus News and Research

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IQWiG supports initial assessment of coronavirus diagnostics

As a founding member, the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has been involved in EUnetHTA, a European network for Health Technology Assessment (HTA), since 2006.

26 Jun 2020

Antibody tests may give false hope of immunity, health experts warn

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, health experts warn against the use of antibody tests to determine if a person has immunity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). An antibody test determines if a person developed antibodies against the infection due to past exposure.

26 Jun 2020

China to initiate phase 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trial in UAE

Now, China is ready to run its large-scale phase III clinical trial of its novel coronavirus candidate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Over a dozen experimental vaccines are being trialed across the globe, but China’s vaccine is the first one to proceed to phase III human trials.

26 Jun 2020

Chilblains and COVID-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is primarily a respiratory infection, though the majority of cases are asymptomatic or mild disease. However, other manifestations are also being reported, such as gastrointestinal features, neurological signs, and skin symptoms. A new study published online in the journal JAMA Dermatology in June 2020 examines the possibility that chilblains could be a manifestation of COVID-19.

26 Jun 2020

Genes associated with SARS-CoV-2 human lung cell infection

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 attempts to make sense of this data to identify viral genes that are explicitly expressed in the cells infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This could help reveal new therapeutic targets.

26 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 has been evolving for at least 7 years

The burning question is how novel viruses acquire the ability to recognize, bind to and enter human cells for the first time – whether this is dependent only on viral proteins recognizing host cell proteins, or adaptations in other viral processes that allow replication in a human host.

25 Jun 2020

Race, rurality play huge role in Georgia areas hardest hit by COVID-19

While counties in populous metropolitan Atlanta had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the initial weeks following Georgia's first reported case, it was rural Southwest Georgia counties, with a higher number of black residents and lower number of ICU beds, experiencing the highest rates of infection and death per capita, investigators report.

25 Jun 2020

Entos Pharmaceuticals selects two lead DNA vaccine candidates for COVID-19

Entos Pharmaceuticals, a healthcare biotechnology company developing nucleic acid medicines with its Fusogenix drug delivery platform, today announced the selection of two lead candidates for a pan-coronavirus Fusogenix DNA vaccine from its prototyping program launched at the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

25 Jun 2020

Dysregulated inflammation in severe COVID-19

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has so far caused 9.58 million cases and more than 488,000 deaths within just six months. The spectrum of disease is broad, from completely asymptomatic cases to critical illness ending in death. Now, a new paper by researchers from Yale University and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 identifies an imbalance in immunological response that is linked to poor outcomes and early biomarkers that may help predict the course of the disease.

25 Jun 2020

Pixatimod is active in lab studies against SARS-CoV-2

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) circulating the world has caused over 9.6 million cases and over 490,000 deaths as of June 26, 2020. With neither an effective vaccine nor therapeutic drug yet available, intensive and widespread research is ongoing to develop a pharmacological intervention that will halt the global pandemic.

25 Jun 2020

Biological therapy may decrease the risk of severe COVID-19

A recent observational study by Spanish researchers, currently available on the medRxiv preprint server, suggests that patients with immune-mediated diseases who receive biological therapy may have a lower risk for severe manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

25 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 can replicate in human pediatric gastric organoids

A diverse research group from the United Kingdom, Italy, China, and Australia established a first expandable human gastric organoid culture across fetal developmental stages, supporting the hypothesis that fetal tissue seems to be much less susceptible to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection – especially in the early stages of development.

25 Jun 2020

Physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19 in northern Dutch provinces

Researchers at the University Medical Center Groningen, in the Netherlands, have described preliminary results from the Lifelines COVID-19 Study, where participants living in northern Dutch provinces self-report their experiences during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and any effects on their physical and mental health.

25 Jun 2020

USask researchers receive $900,000 to help strengthen Canada's rapid response to COVID-19

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has awarded three University of Saskatchewan research teams a total of $900,000 to help strengthen Canada's rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic which had killed more than 450,000 people worldwide.

25 Jun 2020

Novel sensor may be able to test for COVID-19 and influenza simultaneously

The novel coronavirus has been compared to the flu almost from the moment it emerged in late 2019. They share a variety of symptoms, and in many cases, an influenza test is part of the process for diagnosing COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The pandemic shifts; the politics, not so much

President Donald Trump caused a stir when he said at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last weekend that he wanted less testing for COVID-19.

25 Jun 2020

Watch: Fauci, other health officials weigh California’s COVID response

Samantha Young, California Healthline's California politics correspondent, helped moderate a discussion hosted by the Sacramento Press Club about California's response to the coronavirus crisis.

25 Jun 2020

Packed bars serve up new rounds of COVID contagion

As states ease their lockdowns, bars are emerging as fertile breeding grounds for the coronavirus. They create a risky cocktail of tight quarters, young adults unbowed by the fear of illness and, in some instances, proprietors who don't enforce crowd limits and social distancing rules.

25 Jun 2020

Cities brace for ‘collision course’ of heat waves and COVID-19

Aaron McCullough brought his 3-year-old daughter, Ariana, to a playground in a leafy neighborhood of Rochester, New York, on a day in mid-June when the temperature topped out at 94 degrees.

25 Jun 2020