Segment 1, beginning at 4:29: Coronavirus outbreaks in places meant to offer long-term care has changed perceptions about their safety.
The coronavirus pandemic has introduced unprecedented challenges for nursing homes and the nursing home industry. Those involved say they are facing some of the same problems as hospitals, and that, until a vaccine is found, the future will mean a different operating model.
Segment 2, beginning at 33:26: How vaccine trials in Kansas City, Missouri, are progressing
The Center for Pharmaceutical Research is one of two clinics selected to conduct trials on vaccines being developed for COVID-19. The center's founder explained how the vaccines are meant to work, how quickly the work is progressing and the methodology for testing.
Segment 3, beginning at 41:01: The streaming films and series to take your mind off pandemic life.
With theaters still shuttered, everyone has recommendations for what to stream instead. From films sourced through Kansas City's art houses to tours of area museums, there's enough to entertain even the most seasoned viewer.
Testing is one piece of reopening society, but experts are still relying on the help of a COVID-19 vaccine to keep the public safe. Researchers are increasingly optimistic that scientists are getting closer to developing a vaccine, even though were barely months into identifying and learning about the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Human and clinical trials are well underway, but just when they will be ready for manufacture and distribution is another story.
What is a realistic timeline and does one exist? Briana Vannozzi of NJTV News asked Dr. Vincent Silenzio, an expert in urban and global public health at Rutgers University.
This post appeared first on NJTV News.
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When we look beneath the headlines, however, there are signs of an emerging story of solidarity that cuts across our polarized politics. The leading actors in this story are members of the "Traditional Conservative" segment we identified in our 2018 report, "Hidden Tribes: A Study of America's Polarized Landscape."
Traditional Conservatives are staunch Republicans -- 87% voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and 86% voted for a Republican candidate in the 2018 midterms -- and constitute almost 20% of the adult population overall and approximately 39% of Americans who identify as Republican.
If this shift endures, it could have significant implications -- not just for the 2020 election but for the strength of America's social fabric.
When we published "Hidden Tribes" two years ago, we identified seven distinct segments of the American population. We described four segments as comprising the "Exhausted Majority" because, while ideologically and demographically diverse, they shared a set of common features: They were fed up with hyper-partisan politics, felt like their voices were not heard and wanted our country to come together. We put a spotlight on this group as a potential force to reduce polarization in politics and foster a spirit of collaboration.
Traditional Conservatives -- along with the "Progressive Activist" (8% of the population) and "Devoted Conservative" (6% of the population) segments -- were not part of the Exhausted Majority in 2018 because of the intensity of their partisan identity and investment in the political status quo.
In this new study, we unexpectedly found that many Traditional Conservatives expressed views closer to those of the Exhausted Majority, breaking ranks from their Devoted Conservative allies.
Fully two-thirds (67%) of Traditional Conservatives say they are now more grateful to live in the US (versus 34% average) and 22% say they feel closer to the people in the areas hardest hit by Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic, such as New York City, California, and Washington State. Just 5% of Devoted Conservatives expressed such solidarity with these blue areas.
These shifts do not represent a definitive change in the political landscape. Traditional Conservatives still express many views similar to those of the Devoted Conservatives -- 42% of Traditional Conservatives and 64% of Devoted Conservatives are "much more frustrated" with journalists and reporters now than before the onset of the virus, for example.
However, today, many Traditional Conservatives appear to be more closely aligned with a growing American consensus that appreciates the need for national solidarity against Covid-19 and is frustrated by our broken politics.
This bolsters the ranks of Americans looking for leaders to heal our divisions and build on our shared experiences of loss, gratitude and hope as we wrestle with this pandemic.
New Zealand is now allowing gatherings of up to 100 people, and the country says it has just one active COVID-19 case. Much of the credit for the country's success has gone to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seen here walking through the coastal city of Napier on Friday. Kerry Marshall/Getty Images hide caption
New Zealand is now allowing gatherings of up to 100 people, and the country says it has just one active COVID-19 case. Much of the credit for the country's success has gone to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, seen here walking through the coastal city of Napier on Friday.
New Zealand is now down to only one active COVID-19 case, reaching a new level of success in its fight against the coronavirus. The last time a new case was reported in the country was more than a week ago; no one is currently hospitalized with the disease caused by the coronavirus.
"For the seventh day in a row, there are no new cases of COVID-19 to report in New Zealand," the Ministry of Health said on Friday.
The news came on the same day that the country further eased its restrictions on the public. It will now permit gatherings of up to 100 people clearing the way for weddings, parties, funerals and other large events. Restaurants can also host up to 100 people, as long as safety protocols are followed.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has repeatedly urged caution, even as she has celebrated a string of successes in combating COVID-19.
When Ardern announced last month that the country had eliminated community transmission, she said, "We have won that battle," and added, "But we must remain vigilant if we are to keep it that way."
The prime minister is credited with taking decisive and early action to minimize the coronavirus's impact on her country.
"In mid-March, as cases were exploding in Italy and Spain, Ardern ordered anyone entering New Zealand into quarantine," NPR's Jason Beaubien reports. "At that point, the country had confirmed just six cases. A few days later, on March 19, Ardern shut down travel to the country, essentially banning all foreigners from entering the island nation of 4.8 million."
The prime minister also explained the "unprecedented" threat posed by the coronavirus and the country's plan to tackle it, laying out a four-stage lockdown system that closed schools, businesses and travel.
That system worked well, allowing New Zealand to permit businesses and schools to reopen earlier this month.
In a bid to help the country's economy by bolstering domestic tourism, Ardern has also urged businesses to consider allowing employees to work a four-day week.
Overall, New Zealand has reported a total of 1,154 confirmed and 350 probable cases of COVID-19. Twenty-two people have died.
With seven more people having recovering from COVID-19 late this week, the number of recovered cases now stands at 1,481, the ministry says.
Worldwide, the four countries with the highest numbers of confirmed cases are the U.S. with more than 1.7 million cases followed by Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom.
The region as a whole is now reporting more daily cases than the United States. And politics, rather than policy, seem to have informed the very different approaches that various South American countries have taken -- with ideology appearing to have trumped best medical practices in some cases.
Yet despite the different approaches by regional and national authorities, Latin America as a region now faces a harsh, common reality: the pandemic seems to be unstoppable, regardless of efforts made.
Last week the World Health Organization said South America had become the new Covid-19 epicenter.
Tale of two countries
This week, Brazil moved ahead of Russia to become the country with the second-highest number of infections in the world, after the United States.
But despite the virus's massive spread in Brazil, differences between Bolsonaro and state governors on how to handle the crisis have grown greater. He has frequently criticized governors for attempting to enforce lock down and social-distancing measures, insisting that the economy comes first.
The Brazilian opposition says enough is enough. Alessandro Molon, a Brazilian lawmaker and member of the Brazilian Socialist Party, told CNN it's time to impeach President Bolsonaro. "This is a time when our country should be united, fighting together against this disease. We've unfortunately discovered that the virus main ally and best friend is the president," Molon said.
Neighboring Peru, which reacted swiftly and strictly to contain the virus, has also seen a dramatic rise in cases despite its efforts. Though it mandated stay-at-home orders, curfews and border closings, health experts say income inequality forced the poor to venture outside their homes for work, food and even banking transactions, anyway.
Nowhere in Peru is this more evident than in La Victoria, a district in capital city Lima with the highest incidence of Covid-19 cases in the entire nation. On Tuesday, a viral social media video showed Mayor Georgia Forsyth desperately asking people in a crowded street to go home.
One of the greatest problems in Peru is the informal economy, Forsyth says. The Gamarra market in La Victoria, for example, is the largest textile center in Latin America and most workers there are day laborers. About 70% percent of people in Peru are thought to work in the informal sector. "This is not the moment to go to our beautiful, but battered district because it is the most infected one in all of Peru. This poses great risks and that's why I was asking people not to come," Mayor Forsyth said.
Inequality is a factor -- but not the only one
Poor Latin Americans are much less likely to have access to resources like sanitation, access to running water, and vaccination, writes Linnea Sandin, Associate Director and Associate Fellow, of the CSIS Americas Program and the report's author. "They are also more likely to live in overcrowded neighborhoods or lack running water, meaning that self-isolation and frequent hand washing, and disinfecting are extremely difficult."
Mara Dolores Prez, the Pan-American Health Organization representative in Costa Rica, told CNN that the country's government health system, which covers nearly 95 percent of the population, allowed the health authorities to launch a coordinated effort against the spread of the virus.
"The strength of Costa Rica's health system and its universal coverage that the country enjoys, as well as the strength of its epidemiology vigilance system have been crucial factors. Another key factor has been the commitment of Costa Ricans to fight the virus because they trust their healthcare system and believe in it. That's why they have adhered to the government's guidelines," Prez said.
Following the guidelines has recently allowed Costa Rica to ease its economy back into gear. The Costa Rican Health Ministry recently approved a gradual reopening hotels, movie theaters and beaches. Some establishments may remain open as late as 10pm on weeknights.
And even informal workers have been able to return to work -- though not without precautions. Walter Steller, who sells lottery tickets in downtown San Jos, Costa Rica's capital, is back on the job for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Like most people around the downtown area, he's wearing a mask.
"If people don't heed the warnings, the problem will become serious again," Steller told CNN. "Some people think this is over, but they have to realize this doesn't end."
CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. Remember that Lake of the Ozarks crowd over the Memorial Day Weekend? One of the people who was there later tested positive for COVID-19 according to the Camden County Health Department.
The Health Department says this person was possibly infectious and likely incubating the illness at the time they were at the lake.
Below is a list of places the person visited while visiting the Lake of the Ozarks area:
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Backwater Jacks: 1 p.m. 5 p.m.Shady Gators and Lazy Gators Pool: 5:40 p.m. 9 p.m.Backwater Jacks 9:40 p.m. 10 p.m.
Sunday, May 24
Buffalo Wild Wings: 1 p.m. 2 p.m.Shady Gators: 2:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. -7 p.m.Taxi from Shady Gators to private residence around 7 p.m.
The public who may have been in these places is asked to please monitor for symptoms:
If you develop symptoms, the Health Department asks for you to contact your physician, and isolate until test results are known and to stay home if youre sick.
The Boone County Health Department and other local health departments are working to contact others.
New research has poured cold water on the theory that the Covid-19 outbreak in Washington state the countrys first was triggered by the very first confirmed case of the infection in the country. Instead, it suggests the person who ignited the first chain of sustained transmission in the United States probably returned to the country in mid-February, a month later.
The work adds to evidence that the United States missed opportunities to stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from taking root in this country and that those opportunities persisted for longer than has been recognized up until now.
Our finding that the virus associated with the first known transmission network in the U.S. did not enter the country until mid-February is sobering, since it demonstrates that the window of opportunity to block sustained transmission of the virus stretched all the way until that point, the authors wrote in the paper. The paper has been posted to a preprint server, meaning it has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a journal.
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The research was led by Michael Worobey, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona.
Using available genetic sequence data, Worobey and his co-authors modeled how SARS-CoV-2 viruses would have evolved if the original case, known in the medical literature as WA1 (short for Washington state patient 1), had been the source of the states outbreak. They ran the model 1,000 times, comparing the genetic sequences of 300 randomly selected simulated cases to those retrieved from 300 actual patients. The results didnt jibe.
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In all likelihood this didnt start with WA1, Worobey told STAT in an interview. It started with some unidentified person who arrived in Washington state at some later point. And we dont know from where.
Worobey said the sequence data suggest the infection may have been brought to the country by someone returning from China, or from a nearby Asian country, or even from Asia via British Columbia, Canada.
Trevor Bedford, a computational biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, drew the initial line between the first Washington state case a man who returned to the state from Wuhan on Jan. 15 and the states first reported case in someone who had not traveled outside the country. That person, a high school student who had been tested negative for influenza, was recognized as a Covid-19 case at the end of February.
Analysis of the genetic sequences of the viruses that infected these two people looked close enough that Bedford concluded SARS-CoV-2 had been spreading undetected in the Seattle area for about six weeks.
But in a series of tweets he posted on Sunday, Bedford said he now concludes that theory was not correct.
Based on data thats emerged in the intervening months, I no longer believe that a direct WA1 introduction is a likely hypothesis for the origin of the Washington State outbreak, he tweeted.
Others agree.
Im convinced by the Worobey study, Kristian Andersen of Scripps Research, an expert on viral genomes, told STAT.
Samuel Scarpino, an assistant professor at Northeastern Universitys Network Science Institute, said Worobeys paper confirms what a lot of what we were starting to suspect from the epidemiological data, that there were some early introductions in the West Coast that did not spark sustained transmission.
Worobey and his co-authors estimated that the infection that started the Seattle area outbreak arrived in the country around Feb. 13, shortly after President Trumps ban on travel from China went into effect on Feb. 2. Thousands of Americans in the country fled back to the United States in the days after the ban was announced.
Worobey said the work isnt merely an effort to set the historical record straight. If WA1 sparked the Seattle outbreak, there was really little more that could have been done to prevent it. The patient had recognized he was probably ill and alerted his physician to the risk. Public health authorities mapped his travel and contacted his contacts, isolating him and quarantining the people hed been in contact with.
When the first case of local transmission was linked back to WA1, it appeared that the efforts to contain his infection hadnt been adequate. But in fact, they probably were, Worobey said.
Conclusions that the Seattle area was already six weeks into an epidemic by the end of February, rather than two or three, and the notion that stringent efforts to prevent spread had failed in the WA1 case, may have influenced decision-making about how to respond to the outbreak, including whether such measures were worth the effort, he and his co-authors wrote.
Scarpino said the research supports the idea that contact tracing and isolation can work. Everything is sort of lining up in the direction that if were serious about it, we can control this thing, he said. Were just not being serious about it.
Worobeys group also disputed a claim, published earlier this month, that a more transmissible lineage of SARS-CoV-2 viruses has emerged, arguing the increased geographic spread of viruses with that mutation pattern has more to do with timing than with increased infectiousness.
Viruses with these mutations spread from Hubei province to Italy and from there to New York City and began to spread locally undetected for a time. This viral lineage appears to have been amplified because of luck, not high fitness, they wrote.
Correction: The headline on an earlier version of this story misstated a key finding of the new research that the coronavirus took off in the U.S. later than previously thought.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) When Benito Sosa celebrated turning 71 on April 4, there was no sign of the virus that would rob him of birthdays to come.
But within two weeks, he fell ill with COVID-19.
By May 10, the construction and factory worker who refused to retire at 71 laid near death at Spectrum HealthButterworthHospital in Grand Rapids.
Sosas daughter, MariaGarnica Altamirano, wonders if her dad could have survived if hed gone to the hospital sooner.
But he was very stubborn. He didnt want to say, Im feeling sick. I cannot breathe, saidGarnicaAltamiranoin a Zoom interview with News 8 from her home in Chicago.
When doctors said Sosa would need a ventilator and dialysis for the rest of his life, the family made the excruciating decision to let him go.
My other sister, who is a doctor, we talk together, and we said, no more because he wont like that, saidGarnica Altamirano, referring to the ventilator and dialysis.
A nurse herself, she had traveled from Chicago to be at her dads hospital bedside at the end.
I told him, dont worry, were okay, recalledGarnicaAltamiranothrough tears.
Im sorry if we made you suffer all these days, but we thought you will make it because we know you are strong, and you dont have nothing. There is no high blood pressure, no diabetes, nothing. But right now, you can go inpeace andwell be OK. Well take care of mom.
On the record filed with the Kent County clerks office, Sosas immediate cause of death was listed as Acute Respiratory Distress System and COVID-19 pneumonia.
While there were no other significant conditions listed as contributors to Sosas death, his daughter believes he may have had undiagnosed lung problems due to working construction in Mexico, where he lived part of the year.
Shortly before his birthday, Sosa had returned to Grand Rapids and the factory job his family said he enjoyed.
He worked hard for us, saidGarnica Altamirano.
He made changes in his life because he lives in Oaxaca, Mexico. Its more of a poor place. He traveled with my mom for us to have a better life.
He succeeded.
Sosa and his wife raised seven children, all of whom hold college degrees.
Benito Sosa was one of 11 Hispanic people who died in Kent County from COVID-19 in May, according to death certificates filed with the clerks office as of Thursday.
According to the Kent County Health Department, while Latinos make up around 10% of the countys population, they have so far comprised 18% of COVID-19 deaths overall.
The disparity was even more pronounced in the month of May.
Death certificates filed with the county as of Thursday, showed one-third of COVID-19 deaths11 out of 33 occurred in the Latino population.
But the gap in infection rates is even more alarming.
While thedisproportionalityof deaths is significant, the disparity in the disease itself is even greater, wrote a health department official in an email exchange with Target 8.
Despite comprising just 10% of the countys population,KCHDreports Latinos make up 40% of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
That means there are four times more cases among the Hispanic population than we would have expected if the distribution were equal, concluded the health department employee.
Latinos are also dying at a younger age than their counterparts.
Kent County health leaders say the average age of non-Hispanics whove died from COVID-19 is 77 years old, while the average age of Hispanics is 61.
MatiasDomingo was 51 when he died from COVID-19 at Mercy Health Saint Marys on May 16.
Domingo ran a Guatemalan grocery store with his wife,Candelaria, on Burton Street, west of Division Avenue in Grand Rapids.
He was also studying to become a deacon in the Catholic Church.
It was in the deacon program that Orlando Benedict met Domingo.
He was a person youd like to have as a friend. Extremely friendly and very helpful. A person who always gave more than he received, Benedict said.
Benedict recalled that Domingo used to spend Saturdays visiting sick patients at Grand Rapids hospitals.
It was on a Saturday in one of the hospitals where Domingo once spread hopethat the aspiring deacon succumbed to COVID-19.
The grocery store is closed for now as his wife and family grieve his passing.
The record filed with the Kent County Clerks office listed the cause of Domingos death as Acute Hypoxic Respiratory Failure,AdultRespiratory Distress Syndrome, and COVID-19pneumonia.
The death certificate listed Klebsiella pneumonia and Pneumothorax as significant conditions contributing to his passing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describedKlebsiellapneumonia as a bacterial infection that commonly occurs among sick people who are receiving treatment for other conditions for instance, patients whose care requires devices like ventilators.
According to death records, of the 12 Latinos who died in April and May (one died in April), eight had at least one other significant condition that contributed to their death but did not directly cause it.
Its unclear whereMatiasDomingo and Benito Sosa contracted COVID-19, but both had jobs that could have exposed them to the virus.
Sosa worked in a factory that produces dog food and Domingo worked in his grocery store, which remained open as an essential business during the lockdown.
Benedict said hes certain Domingo was happy to continue working to serve people in need.
Edith Reyes, a reporter with the Spanish language newspaper, ElVocero, thinks Latinos may be at higher risk because they often work jobs in essential industries like food production, foodservice and agriculture.
Reyes, also a student at Grand Valley State University, helped Target 8 connect with families for this report, visiting homes with us and translating conversations.
She said she fears for her own family too, especially her mom, who works in food production.
Her having to work, its like her having to put her life at risk, said Reyes.
Reyes noted that the Latino community has less access to health care and benefits like unemployment.
They dont have a choice to stay home and protect themselves, she said.
Some worry about their immigration status as well.
Benito Sosa came to West Michigan on a green card and was studying to take the citizenship exam.
At the end, Sosas daughter, Maria, tried to make sure her dad knew hed prepared his children well for life.
He can go inpeace andwere OK, she said tearfully.
Thirty countries and multiple international partners and institutions have signed up to support the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP) an initiative aimed at making vaccines, tests, treatments and other health technologies to fight COVID-19 accessible to all.
The Pool was first proposed in March by President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica, who joined WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today at the official launch of the initiative.
The COVID-19 Technology Access Pool will ensure the latest and best science benefits all of humanity, said President Alvarado of Costa Rica. Vaccines, tests, diagnostics, treatments and other key tools in the coronavirus response must be made universally available as global public goods.
Global solidarity and collaboration are essential to overcoming COVID-19, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Based on strong science and open collaboration, this information-sharing platform will help provide equitable access to life-saving technologies around the world.
The COVID-19 (Technology) Access Pool will be voluntary and based on social solidarity. It will provide a one-stop shop for scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property to be shared equitably by the global community.
The aim is to accelerate the discovery of vaccines, medicines and other technologies through open-science research, and to fast-track product development by mobilizing additional manufacturing capacity. This will help ensure faster and more equitable access to existing and new COVID-19 health products.
There are five key elements to the initiative:
With supportive countries across the globe, C-TAP will serve as a sister initiative to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and other initiatives to support efforts to fight COVID-19 worldwide.
WHO, Costa Rica and all the co-sponsor countries have also issued a Solidarity Call to Action asking relevant stakeholders to join and support the initiative, with recommended actions for key groups, such as governments, research and development funders, researchers, industry and civil society.
WHO and Costa Rica co-hosted todays launch event, which began with a high-level session addressed by the WHO Director-General and President Alvarado in addition to Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados and Aksel Jacobsen, State Secretary, Norway. There were video statements by President Lenn Moreno of Ecuador; President Thomas Esang Remengesau Jr., of Palau; President Lenn Moreno of Ecuador; , Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; Jagan Chapagain, Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; and Retno Marsudi, Minister for Foreign Affairs for Indonesia. Leaders from across the UN, academia, industry and civil society joined for a moderated discussion.
To date, the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool is now supported by the following countries: Argentina, Bangladesh, Barbados,Belgium, Belize,Bhutan, Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Honduras, Indonesia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Mozambique, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, South Africa,Sri Lanka,Sudan, The Netherlands, Timor-Leste, Uruguay, Zimbabwe
Other international organizations, partners and experts have also expressed support to the initiative and others can join them using the website.
Note to Editors:
The Solidarity Call to Action follows from numerous international commitments, including: Global Sustainable Development Goal 3, target 3b; The WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPA- PHI) and the WHO Roadmap for access to medicines, vaccines and health products 2019-2023; the UN General Assembly Resolution on International cooperation to ensure global access to medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to face COVID-19 (A/RES/74/274); and the 73rd World Health Assembly Resolution on the COVID-19 response (WHA73.1).
To access the event:https://who.zoom.us/j/99683467690-Password: WHO%OMS27
