Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

Yes, it's true, the supposed miracle cure for Covid-19 that is really no cure at all, is all over the news again, thanks to President Donald Trump and a group of true believers, who are re-upping their endorsement of its all-around wonderfulness.

Though distracting, the attention hydroxychloroquine is drawing raises a different but very important issue: whatever happened to the relentless US search for a Covid-19 cure?

The third entry, convalescent plasma, has been around even longer. A version of it was given during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. It is cheap and available but requires a human source and must be given intravenously. Optimal use of these three therapies, including administering two or even all three together, has not been determined.

It turns out that while we have all been buzzing about hydroxychloroquine and the tantalizing race for a someday vaccine, too often we have been dismissive of the actual, not hypothetical, good thing in front of us -- direct treatment of the infection -- like an old high school friend you wish had never called.

Sure, the vaccine race is a great story, full of high-tech science, international intrigue and lots of money. Naked DNA and viral vectors and spike proteins are all very cool sounding for sure -- but this doesn't mean vaccines will solve the Covid-19 pandemic any time soon.

Maybe, with luck, in a few months we will have a probably-not-unsafe vaccine that shows some evidence of benefit for an uncertain duration in some patients. Maybe it will be made in China or Russia or some other country with which we have relationship issues.

The smallest group under development is antivirals, which happen to be the one proven effective way to treat viral infections. We have effective antivirals for many diseases including herpes (simplex and zoster), HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Certainly, the time required to develop drugs is famously long and expensive. But then, so is development of a vaccine.

So why the slow roll? Granted, few of the deaths in Covid-19 infection are directly from viral invasion. Covid-19 kills by provoking overwhelming inflammation that damages heart, lung, brain and blood vessels. Inflamed blood vessels promote clotting.

One might argue that treatment to blunt the downstream effect of the virus, rather than the virus itself, may be appropriate.

I imagine this approach is less due to scientists' views on the cause of death and more due to the notion that one drug for one disease really doesn't cut the mustard anymore, at least from a commercial perspective.

The larger interest is to develop "platforms" for broader discovery, such as playing with the immune system, where insights from Covid-19 may have applicability to additional diseases, including cancer or arthritis.

This is a great long-term business strategy but wrong-headed in the midst of a crisis. When the house is burning down, you want the best firehose, not a disruptive technology that promises a new way to separate water into component molecules that can to be sent to a repository 600 miles away at the speed of light, reconstituted and dispersed over the flames.

The latter approach, if successful, may change society as we know it; but the former will keep people from burning to death.

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The other way to hit back at Covid-19 - CNN

A man with a mask depicting American flags jogs past the U.S. Capitol in April. More than three-quarters of respondents to the NPR/Ipsos poll support enacting state laws to require mask wearing in public at all times. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption

A man with a mask depicting American flags jogs past the U.S. Capitol in April. More than three-quarters of respondents to the NPR/Ipsos poll support enacting state laws to require mask wearing in public at all times.

With the national death toll from COVID-19 passing the grim 150,000 mark, an NPR/Ipsos poll finds broad support for a single, national strategy to address the pandemic and more aggressive measures to contain it.

Two-thirds of respondents said they believe the U.S. is handling the pandemic worse than other countries, and most want the federal government to take extensive action to slow the spread of the coronavirus, favoring a top-down approach to reopening schools and businesses.

"We've come to a pretty dire place when it comes to both the death toll and the spread of coronavirus across the country," said Mallory Newall, a pollster with Ipsos. "Americans, as they grapple with the reality of just how grave the situation is, they're looking for sweeping, really broad, powerful action here."

While debates over masks and whether to reopen have dominated headlines, more than three-quarters of respondents support enacting state laws to require mask wearing in public at all times. And nearly 60% said they would support a nationwide order making it mandatory to shelter at home for two weeks.

The findings come as federal public health officials warn of a new phase in the pandemic, with widespread infections across the country, and as the president openly feuds with those advisers. The poll was conducted July 30-31 and surveyed 1,115 adults from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii.

"We're doing absolutely worse" compared with other countries, said Laura Braslow, a Republican in Quakertown, Pa., who took part in the survey.

"We have a leader, and I use the term loosely, who is not providing leadership to this country at all," added Braslow, who didn't vote for Trump in 2016 and doesn't plan to back him in November.

"I mean if I have to suck it up and wear a mask, he should be sucking it up and wearing a mask. He should be showing the American public that this is the right thing to do."

Even some conservatives who plan to vote for Trump say the federal government should do more.

"I think a national approach would be better," said Kevin Reno, a Republican voter in Irving, Texas. "I think it would be effective, and it may be at the point here before too long that we have to do that."

Other measures that enjoy broad backing include government funding to expand testing for the coronavirus and make it free of charge, making any future vaccine available to all Americans, and a push to produce more personal protective equipment.

Mask mandates gain broad backing

Trump has resisted many of those proposals and tweeted Monday that America has done "MUCH better than most other Countries" in easing the impact of the coronavirus.

But most people surveyed disagree.

"I think we're doing worse," said Sophie McClellan, a Democrat from Jacksonville, Fla.

"I don't think we have adequate testing because it can take up to two weeks to get results," McClellan told NPR. She also said it was time for all states to impose public health mandates requiring masks in public places.

Trump has declined to wear a mask in public, but Monday he sent a message to supporters saying people should try to wear masks when they are not able to socially distance from others. The NPR/Ipsos survey found that for most Americans Democrats and Republicans mask wearing is not controversial.

Two-thirds of those surveyed favor a single, national strategy for combating the virus's spread, and about 60% support a single, national strategy for when businesses and schools can reopen.

On the question of schools, 66% of Americans say they prefer remote, distance learning for children in their area in the fall, a view shared overwhelmingly by Democrats. Republicans are more divided, with nearly 60% agreeing with Trump that schools should reopen and kids should return to classrooms.

When given a choice on returning to work, 69% said that, whenever possible, people should be allowed to work from home until a coronavirus vaccine becomes available. Thirty-one percent chose the option of people returning to offices and workplaces now, with safety precautions in place for employees.

Americans lean toward more relief, more aggressive measures

As Washington is deadlocked on aspects of a federal relief package, most people polled roughly two-thirds say the federal government should take on more debt to pass a bill that provides a payment for all Americans. A similar number want federal unemployment benefits extended.

"They're saying right now pass another stimulus bill, pass more unemployment benefits, do your part to get the economy going," said Ipsos' Newall, who noted a majority of Republicans also back another round of federal spending.

The poll also found:

"It's clear from this poll Americans want to do everything in their power to limit the spread of the virus," Newall said. "That means sweeping federal government action."

With the presidential election three months away, the coronavirus looms large as 46% of respondents said the pandemic is a top concern. And when thinking about choosing a candidate, two-thirds said each candidate's plan for economic recovery is a very important factor, followed by their plans for the coronavirus and for uniting the country.

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US Handling Pandemic Worse Than Other Countries, Say Two-Thirds Of Americans - NPR

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during a House subcommittee hearing on Friday. Kevin Dietsch/AP hide caption

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, listens during a House subcommittee hearing on Friday.

Updated at 4:15 p.m. ET

A coronavirus vaccine could be ready for distribution by the end of the year, and distributed to Americans in 2021, the nation's top infectious disease specialist told lawmakers Friday.

While it typically takes years to develop vaccines, new technologies, the lack of bureaucratic red tape and the human body's robust immune response to COVID-19 have hastened the process, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

"From everything we've seen now in the animal data, as well as the human data we feel cautiously optimistic that we will have a vaccine by the end of this year and as we go into 2021," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. "I don't think it's dreaming."

In contrast to the decades-long search for an HIV vaccine, COVID-19 is more likely to respond to a vaccine, Fauci said. HIV vaccine development has been so difficult because the body doesn't make a strong immune response to that virus, he explained. With COVID-19, the immune response is much stronger.

More than 250,000 people have already registered their interest in participating in clinical trials, Fauci said. He urged Americans to sign up at CoronavirusPreventionNetwork.org "so that you can be part of the solution of this terrible scourge."

The administration is preparing for wide distribution, with the hope that the current vaccine candidate will prove effective in phase three trials, Fauci said. Fauci said the administration is taking "financial risk" to prepare for distribution once the vaccine is shown to be safe and effective.

The Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would work together to distribute a vaccine to Americans in phases. Government committees will determine who needs the vaccine first, Fauci said. That will likely include essential workers and people at greater risk.

The Food and Drug Administration would still need to grant final approval before any vaccine is administered to the public.

Lawmakers at the hearing drew attention to issues of importance to them and their supporters. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, appeared especially concerned about state edicts limiting attendance at religious gatherings without also putting similar restrictions on political protests.

"Do protests increase the spread of the virus?" Jordan asked Fauci.

"Crowding together, particularly when you're not wearing a mask, contributes to the spread of the virus," Fauci responded.

"Should we limit the protesting?" Jordan pressed.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Fauci said.

"Should government limit the protesting?"

"I don't think that's relevant," Fauci said, adding: "I'm not in a position to determine what the government can do in a forceful way."

"Well, you make all kinds of recommendations. You've made comments on dating, on baseball, on everything you can imagine," Jordan said.

The back and forth lasted for several minutes as Fauci repeatedly declined to discuss which specific activities should be limited. "I'm not going to opine on limiting anything, I'm telling you what ... is the danger. And you can make your own conclusion about that. You should stay away from crowds no matter where the crowds are."

"Any crowd in which you have people close together without masks is a risk," Fauci said later in response to accusations by Jordan that he had changed his position several times on many things. "And I'll stick by that statement. It's a public health statement. It's not a judgment on why you're there in the crowd; it's a judgment related to the fact that you're in the crowd."

Democratic lawmakers defended the protests. "I'm sitting here as the result of a protest," said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., who was chairing the hearing.

He met the late Rep. John Lewis from Georgia years ago while protesting, Clyburn said. "Trying to get off the back of the bus. Trying to integrate schools. Trying to be able to shop in a 5- and 10-cent store and not be arrested for trespassing."

"I'm glad the government did not limit our protests," Clyburn said, adding that the protesters on the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., were peaceful.

Republican lawmakers expressed a desire to get students back in school as soon as possible. It's not just about education, said ranking Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Schools perform several other important functions, he said, including detecting thousands of cases of child abuse every year.

CDC Director Robert Redfield said he agrees that getting K-12 students back to school for face-to-face learning is in the public health interest. In-person school attendance helps children's mental health, contributes to good nutrition and lets counselors detect child abuse, he said.

"As a grandfather of 11 grandkids, I want these kids back in school," Redfield said.

There was also a question from Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., on the widely discredited theory that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment of COVID-19.

A Henry Ford Health System study finding it effective was flawed, Fauci said, calling it "a noncontrolled, retrospective cohort study that was confounded by a number of issues." No randomized, placebo-controlled study has shown the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine, he said.

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Fauci: US Preparing For Quick Distribution Of Vaccine Once It Is Approved : Coronavirus Live Updates - NPR

Physicians at Mount Desert Island hospital believe at least 35 out-of-staters carrying COVID-19 have been on the island this summer and could have spread the disease in the community.

The Bar Harbor hospital sounded a public warning about the situation Friday, but had not said how many people it thought were involved. The estimate from the hospitals front-line medical personnel includes people with positive test results and people presumed positive because they were in the same traveling party as an infected person. Because the affected people took tests in their home states, all 35 have been essentially invisible to state and local authorities through official channels.

Because of crippling one-to-two-week delays at the major national test processors, the people involved didnt learn they had tested positive until they were already traveling in Maine. The hospital learned of their presence only when the infected individuals phoned it for advice.

Our physicians and care practitioners on the front lines of our COVID-19 testing and counseling efforts estimate that there are 35 individuals and families or more who are potential spreaders either because one of the family members is positive and they all traveled together or because they met family or friends on MDI before receiving a positive result, spokesperson Oka Hutchins said by email.

Dr. Julius Krevans Jr., the hospitals chair of infection prevention, said Monday that the situation presents a real threat.

Persons with out-of-state addresses with (the coronavirus) are a particular concern of mine. The failure to acknowledge, track and trace these individuals has both direct and indirect public health fallout, Krevans said by email. Maine, by virtue of both its geography and excellent state leadership, has done very well so far, but this situation represents a clear and present danger that should be addressed.

The problem has apparently been building for weeks, and the hospital has been trying to establish a partnership with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to organize timely contact tracing using local resources. The official U.S. practice is for public health officials in an infected persons home state to organize the tracing of their contacts, even if most of those contacts took place hundreds or thousands of miles away in Downeast Maine.

Hutchins said the hospital recognizes that the Maine CDC is managing multiple challenges and because of that has been offering local resources to partner with the agency to contact trace. The hospital also wants the agency to register the infected individuals in the Sara Alert system, a tool used by Maine and several other states to allow COVID-19-positive individuals to report their symptoms and help medical providers contact trace among their own staff.

To address this, we need the support of the Maine CDC and their network of contract tracers to follow these individuals and enroll them into the Sara Alert system, Hutchins said. One of the ideas that we floated earlier this summer is potentially asking retired clinicians regionally and statewide to help call and trace.

Asked about the Maine CDCs response to the situation, agency spokesman Robert Long said via email that MDI Hospital has log-in credentials to the Sara Alert system and could add contact information on the individuals themselves, regardless of place of primary residence. As of Monday morning, he said, there is no indication that anyone from MDI Hospital had completed the training to use the Sara Alert system.

Asked about this, Hutchins said: Our understanding of the Sara Alert system is that it would not provide what we need to address this issue, but we will seek guidance from the CDC on potential opportunities to do so.

Long also said the Maine CDC has worked since March to help health care providers and hospitals prepare for such situations, and would continue to do so. Communication among all parties is essential in all aspects of the states pandemic response, he wrote.

He also noted that nonresidents are supposed to quarantine upon arrival in Maine until they receive their test results though this is not true of residents of Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Vermont, whom Gov. Janet Mills exempted because of the low prevalence of the disease in those states.

Maine CDC encourages people from other states who receive delayed positive test results from their home states to continue checking in with medical providers in Maine as a way of helping to ensure that local health care systems have the most complete information on potential transmission in their communities, Long said.

Thats exactly how the Bar Harbor hospital learned of the presence of the nonresidents infected with COVID-19: They called for advice after receiving their test results. In a statement on its Facebook page Friday, the hospital encouraged out-of-state visitors in the same situation to contact them, and said it was providing counseling and contact tracing assistance for those it heard from. (The number for this is 207-801-5900.)

The hospital has been at the center of acommunity-wide effort to regularly test hundreds of front-line tourism workers such as cashiers, hotel clerks and servers, as well as tourists, and provide them with masks. Last week it processed three positive COVID-19 tests, all from people who reside outside of Hancock County after having had no positives since May 16.

Our community and our state have done a very good job of keeping COVID-19 precautions in place, and because of this, the incidence of COVID-19 in our community has remained low, the hospital said in its statement. We urge all residents and visitors to remain vigilant in their COVID-19 precautions masking, physical distancing and handwashing continue to be the best tools we have to slow the spread of COVID-19.

As of Wednesday, no residents of Bar Harbor had tested positive, according to the Maine CDCs zip-code-level data, and the towns of Mount Desert and Southwest Harbor each had between one and five cases. As of Sunday, Hancock County as a whole had 34 resident cases, 15 of them added after July 28, a period when outbreaks were confirmed at blueberry businesses in the towns of Ellsworth and Hancock.

The proportion of COVID-19 tests from out-of-staters that are coming back positive in Maine has increased throughout July, with nonresidents now testing positive in Maine at a rate more than four times that of residents. For the month as a whole, there were 57 positive tests of non-residents reported to the CDC out of the 1,773 taken, a positivity rate of 3.2 percent, though the rate has been over 4 percent since July 19.

It isnt clear whether the challenge affecting MDI is happening elsewhere in the state. Spokespeople for the two largest hospital networks in the state, Maine Health and Northern Light Health, said they dont routinely compile such information and were not aware of any specific instances, though they said it was possible they had occurred.

York Hospital, which serves tourism-intensive York County, doesnt track it either, but one of their infectious disease physicians, Dr. Evangeline Thibodeau, said Friday via email that anecdotally, she had heard of such scenarios many times.

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Bar Harbor hospital says at least 35 potential COVID-19 spreaders from other states have been in area - Press Herald

U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly & Co. said on Monday it is beginning a late-stage trial to study whether one of its experimental COVID-19 antibody treatments can prevent the virus' spread in residents and staff in U.S. nursing homes.

The phase 3 trial will test LY-CoV555, a treatment developed in partnership with Canadian biotech AbCellera, is expected to enroll up to 2,400 participants who live or work at a facility that have had a recently diagnosed case of COVID-19.

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"COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on nursing home residents," Lilly's chief scientific officer Daniel Skovronsky said in a statement. "Were working as fast as we can to create medicines that might stop the spread of the virus to these vulnerable individuals."

Lilly is already testing the drug in hospitals to study whether it can work as a treatment in patients who have the disease. This trial will test whether it works prophylactically.

It is launching the phase 3 trial in partnership with several long-term care facility networks across the country as well as the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Lilly said in order to speed the study it has created mobile research units including retrofitted recreational vehicles that can be deployed in response to outbreaks of the virus at nursing homes across the U.S.

LY-CoV555 belongs to a class of treatments known as monoclonal antibodies that are among the most widely used biotechnology medicines. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., and other drugmakers are testing similar treatments against COVID-19.

Last week Lilly told investors that LY-CoV555 had moved into mid-stage trials as a treatment and would start late stage-trials in the coming weeks. It expects efficacy data from the mid-stage trial in the fourth quarter.

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Lilly begins nursing home trials with antibody drug for COVID-19 prevention - NBC News

A Grand Traverse County woman is speaking out about her own exposure to COVID-19. 9&10s Bill Froehlich sat down with her one-on-one, to talk about how she caught the virus, what her symptoms were, and what she wants others to know.

A month ago, nurse Hannah Borsvold was focused on planning for the birth of her sisters baby. But she was exposed to the Coronavirus at work, so she got tested simply for peace of mind. She waited six days for test results. I kind of figured that my risk was pretty low, but with my sisters baby coming I wanted to be sure that Id test negative and be safe around the baby.

DAY ONE: Ill come right out and say it be brutally honest. I have COVID-19.

Hannah says she was surprised by the diagnosis. I was pretty positive I was going to have a negative screen based on the limited time I was around this person. Were all wearing a mask at work, were washing hands, were sanitizing. I got tested for peace of mind for myself and also for my sister and her husband.

Hannah started a daily video journal and shared it to Facebook. She says she wanted to document the experience. I myself am curious about how this virus progression is going to go. Id be lying if I said I wasnt nervous or scared.

DAY TWO: Hannah says she had a sore throat, headache, congestion, muscle aches, and loss of taste and smell. My throat hurts a little more today. All of the symptoms I had yesterday are progressing I still cant taste or smell anything. But she never had a fever, and her symptoms didnt last.

DAY THREE: I feel good today. Whatever Im doing is working, at least I hope. Im hoping this isnt a calm before the storm type of thing.

DAY FOUR: My grocery delivery was awesome. Im eating a lot of food. I have no problems with food intake, its just a big bummer that I cant taste anything.

DAY FIVE: Today I woke up feeling pretty darn good. I can feel every day a difference.

DAY SIX: And then the best day of isolation- meeting her niece through the window. Oh, hi! Hi baby!

DAY SEVEN: Halfway through quarantine she says symptoms disappeared and she was feeling good. Its day seven of COVID Chronicles which means Im halfway done with isolation.

The emotional and mental toll, she says, was the toughest. The 14 days of quarantine, the hardest part is life being put on pause, I think. You see and hear about everybody continuing on or not being able to hug people or theyre just within reach. Especially when you have big family moments that are passing you by. And the time is just ticking until you can be there and be a part of that. That got really tough.

Hannah kept up with the videos, as friends were concerned when she wouldnt check in with updates. I had good days and then really tough days. But the whole world is passing you by and theres nothing you can do about it because you have to protect everyone else around you.

And there was the fear which she tried to hide. I was pretty scared with how this virus was going to progress for me. I didnt tell people that I did pack a hospital bag and I was prepared if it got to that point for me. I think that was the scariest thing that I wasnt quite ready to share and scare people, because I wasnt sure how scared I needed to be.Ultimately, Hannah says her symptoms improved fairly quickly, and she spent most of isolation symptom-free. Im very thankful that my symptoms were so mild and I do try to remind people that its not like that for everybody.

Meeting her niece was Hannahs biggest priority but after two weeks stuck at home shes venturing out into the world slowly. Im just trying to get back to normal. Obviously I visited my sister. I went to a gas station to fill up my gas station, and I went to a beach.

Hannah says shes still being safe, and believes strongly in wearing a mask. I still feel the responsibility to be really cautious. Now, isolation is over and Hannah is free. Shes even hugged her brand new niece, and also added another item to her to-do list. Ive applied to be a plasma donor. Recovered COVID patients can donate their plasma, they assume my plasma has antibodies that can fight off the disease for really sick patients.

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Grand Traverse County Woman Shares Her COVID-19 Story - 9 & 10 News - 9&10 News

The two sides will further investigated the possible animal source, intermediate host and transmission route of the coronavirus.

BEIJING, China China and the World Health Organization are discussing plans to trace the origin of the coronavirus outbreak following a visit to the country by two experts from the U.N. agency, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters the experts conducted preparatory consultations on scientific research cooperation on virus tracing during their two-week stay, which ended Sunday.

Their talks touched on research in the areas of population, environment, molecules, animal traceability and transmission routes of the coronavirus, as well as plans for further scientific research, Wang said.

The two sides also further investigated the possible animal source, intermediate host and transmission route of the coronavirus to more effectively prevent and control the epidemic, Wang said.

Wang said the two sides worked on formulating a plan for Chinas contribution to the global tracing effort under a resolution passed by the World Health Assembly under WHO. No word was given on when that effort will begin in earnest.

The virus was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and has been linked to a wholesale food market where wild animals were sold. Scientists think it likely jumped from a wild animal such as a bat to humans via an intermediary species, possibly the anteater-like pangolin.

However, China says a full investigation may have to wait until the pandemic is under control and has rejected accusations that it delayed releasing information to WHO at the start of the outbreak.

For most people, the new coronaviruscauses mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

The United States has more than 4.7 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.

Just after 7 a.m. EDT Tuesday, the U.S. more than 155,000 deaths from the virus. Worldwide, there are more than 18 million confirmed cases with nearly 700,000 deaths.

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China, WHO in talks on plans to trace coronavirus origin - WLTX.com

George Washington University is among the test sites for leading coronavirus vaccine candidate  Washington Business Journal

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George Washington University is among the test sites for leading coronavirus vaccine candidate - Washington Business Journal

More than 63 percent of U.S. residents are waiting longer than one to two days to get their coronavirus test resultsdelays that undermine the contact tracing that could identify individuals who are contagious but show no symptoms, according to results of a new survey by researchers from Northeastern, Harvard, Northwestern, and Rutgers universities.

Overall, the average wait was four days, but in some cases grew to as long as ten days or more for about 10 percent of respondents in a study. The discovery is significant in that health authorities consider rapid turnarounds essential to containing the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far resulted in the deaths of more than 150,000 in the United States.

David Lazer is university distinguished professor of political science and computer and information sciences with joint appointments in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Northeastern University

Even more worrisome is that wait times do not seem to be diminishing across the country.

Given the timing of how quickly and how long someone is infectious, speed in producing reliable enough results is of the essence for COVID-19, researchers wrote.

A delay of even a day is critical given that the peak of contagiousness lasts about one week. In that time, scores more could be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, if they come in contact with someone who may seem healthy, making a positive test virtually useless.

This is definitely a case of closing the barn doors after the horses have escaped, says David Lazer, university distinguished professor of political science and computer and information sciences at Northeastern, and one of the researchers who conducted the study.

Its too slow for contact tracing and isolation to be effective.

The study of 19,058 people across all 50 states and the District of Columbia was conducted between July 10 and July 26, 2020. It asked residents if they had been tested for COVID-19 and how long they waited to get the results back.

It found that 37 percent of those who had been tested by nasal swab received results within two days, with 31 percent taking more than 4 days. For individuals who responded that their last test had been in April, they had waited on average 4.2 days to get results; for those who were tested in July, it was 4.1 days.

Transmission by people who are infected but have no symptoms (either because they will never develop significant symptoms or are presymptomatic) is a key driver behind the spread of COVID-19 because such people are more likely to go about their lives without adopting measures such as quarantining to stem transmission to others.

If individuals with COVID-19 simply manifested with a purple nose before they were contagious, the disease would be easier to contain and would quickly disappear, the researchers wrote. Testing is the functional equivalent of that purple nose.

Reasons for delays in getting test results out faster invariably point to a bottleneck in national testing labs, says Lazer. They are simply overwhelmed.

One solution to the challenge could be at-home tests, which have yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They have greater false negative rates but appear to perform better for individuals who are shedding more virus, says the study.

In terms of demographics, researchers found that Black and Hispanic people are waiting five days for their test results compared to four days for white respondents, a difference that could be explained by resources and local conditions in their communities, according to Lazer.

In separate, COVID-19-related studies, the universities researchers reported that the pandemic is resulting in higher support for voting by mail among likely voters.

The July study found 64 percent are in favor of making it easier to cast ballots by mail, and an even larger number (66 percent) say they would support giving every American the universal right to vote by mail in November, an effort opposed by President Donald Trump because of the potential for fraud.

Approval of the presidents handling of the pandemic is down 10 points since April, the latest findings show. Some Republican governors of states that reopened earlyand that have faced surges in COVID-19 infectionscontinue to see declining approval numbers, mirroring the presidents pandemic-related approval in those states.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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More rapid COVID-19 test results could drop new infections to almost zero, recent findings show - News@Northeastern

A patient of mine has worked for the same company for seven years and has three children under 5. After the birth of each, her employer offered 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. She returned to work each time feeling conflicted and depressed over leaving her babies; in one instance, she needed antidepressants. She couldnt quit because she was the familys main breadwinner, and her employer turned down her requests to work from home part-time on grounds that she wouldnt be productive and it would set a precedent for other employees.

Because...

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Covid-19 Hastens the Work-at-Home Revolution - The Wall Street Journal