Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

SALT LAKE CITY Utahs ongoing surge in COVID-19 cases doesnt appear to be slowing down as the state reported 553 new positive cases on Tuesday.

A higher-than-average number of new test results were reported 6,848, with a positive rate of 8.1%.

Now 22,217 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Utah since the pandemic began out of 340,753 tests, a positive rate of 6.5%, according to the Utah Department of Health.

Four more deaths were also reported Tuesday. Health officials identified them as a Salt Lake County woman between ages of 65-84; a Washington County man between 18-44; a Weber County woman between 45-64; and a San Juan County man between 51-65.

All four were hospitalized when they died. They bring the states death toll to 172.

The rising cases and increase in hospitalizations prompted state officials to continue urging Utahns to wear face masks. Salt Lake County and Summit County remain the only areas in the state with mask mandates.

COVID-19 cases threaten our economy and our ability to ensure hospital care to people who need it. Everyone should wear a mask to protect those around you, practice physical distancing, stay home if theyre sick, and wash their hands regularly, the Utah COVID-19 Community Task Force, which has been making recommendations to state leaders in the pandemic, said Monday afternoon on Twitter.

A systemwide face mask requirement will go into effect Wednesday on all Utah Transit Authority trains, buses and other public spaces. Masks will soon become available on transit vehicles to those who dont have them, UTA officials said in a statement. They are now available for pickup at UTA Customer Service locations, or riders can also call customer service at 801-743-3882 and request a mask by mail.

Just under 12,400 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus in Utah after passing the three-week point since their diagnoses.

Due to the spike in cases, TestUtah added a new testing location Tuesday at Kearns Oquirrh Park for underserved communities, officials said.

In Utah, 27 more people required hospitalization for the disease since Mondays report. Current hospitalizations with the novel coronavirus now stand at 205 83 of whom are in intensive care units. ICUs throughout the state are 62.4% full, but non-ICU use has risen more than 10% within the past three days.

Now, 65.3% of non-ICU hospital beds are in use compared to 53.6% on Saturday.

Of the states nearly 1,300 ventilators, 184 are being used by COVID-19 patients and others.

Eleven of the new hospitalizations Tuesday occurred in Salt Lake County; eight in Utah County; five in southwest Utah; and one each in the Bear River health district, San Juan County, Summit County and the Weber-Morgan health district.

As more people get back into the office after Utah loosened its restrictions in mid-May, workplace outbreaks have drastically risen. On June 15, outbreaks of the novel coronavirus at 226 workplaces accounted for 1,776 cases and 10 deaths.

Now, 296 workplaces have seen spread of the disease leading to 2,324 cases. The number of deaths linked to workplaces still stands at 10. The median age of patients who contracted COVID-19 at work is 39.

Meanwhile, 518 residents and 454 health care workers at long-term care facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus. Nineteen facilities have active cases, most of which are in Salt Lake and Utah counties.

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Nearly 23 of Utah hospital beds full as state reports another 553 COVID-19 cases - Deseret News

Republican Florida governor Ron DeSantiss faltering response to soaring new coronavirus numbers in his state is descending into acrimony, after an accusation his administration is cooking the books in an effort to hide the true impact of the devastating pandemic.

The claim from the states former leading Covid-19 data scientist comes as Florida records a second successive day of new cases of the disease above 5,000 the highest figures since the pandemic began.

The situation in Florida is part of a widespread surge of infections across broad swathes of the US, especially in states often run by Republicans which have rushed to reopen their economies.

So far this month, Florida has seen confirmed cases more than double from 56,000 to above 114,000, and set daily records on seven of the last 13 days. Meanwhile, the number of deaths among Florida residents has climbed to almost 3,400.

Rebekah Jones, who says she was fired from her job in charge of the states official Covid-19 database in May for refusing to manipulate its figures, claimed on social media to have evidence that employees at Floridas department of health have been instructed this week to change the numbers and begin slowly deleting deaths and cases so it looks like Florida is improving next week in the lead-up to July 4, like theyve made it over the hump.

Theyre only reporting all these cases now so they can restrict reporting next week to make everyone think its over, she said.

DeSantis, a Donald Trump loyalist who has refused to slow Floridas reopening or implement a statewide mask mandate, angrily dismissed the claim, calling a reporter from the Miami Herald who asked him about it embarrassing.

You guys have been on the conspiracy bandwagon for months, he snapped at a press conference on Thursday, without addressing the specifics of Joness assertion. You need to move on.

By any standards, it has been a rough week for DeSantis, who is standing firm against mounting pressure from public health officials and even some political allies for tighter measures to counter the viruss steep resurgence in his state, with its large population of vulnerable elderly retirees.

A month after berating reporters whom he said waxed poetically for weeks and weeks about how Florida was going to be just like New York, that scenario has been realized, with New York joining New Jersey and Connecticut this week in ordering visitors from Florida among other badly affected states to quarantine.

Hospital systems around Florida are reporting steep drops in the availability in intensive care and other beds, even as the department of health changes how it records such figures.

Perhaps more wounding is veiled criticism from fellow elected Republicans.

While DeSantis resists calls for a statewide mandate on masks, municipalities including Miami have enacted the requirement; Miamis mayor Francis Suarez is proposing $250 fines for those who refuse.

Suarez has also debunked DeSantiss often-repeated claim that increased testing accounts for Floridas coronavirus surge. It has really nothing to do with an increased amount of testing. It has to do with more people that are getting tested coming out positive, he said.

In Miami-Dade county this week, the rate of positivity of those tested reached 27 percent, almost three times greater than the countys average 14-day target of 10 percent.

The masks issue has become a political battle in Florida, with Palm Beach county passing a mandate in the face of furious resistance from some residents, one of whom declared at an extraordinary commission meeting this week that the move would throw Gods wonderful breathing system out the door.

Even Marco Rubio, Floridas senior Republican US senator, weighed in. Everyone should just wear a damn mask, he said.

But DeSantis, like the president, has refused to advocate for the wearing of masks, despite incontrovertible scientific evidence they help curtail the spread of the disease.

Ron DeSantis has followed Donald Trumps erratic leadership for three and a half months, and it clearly has not worked out for Floridians, said Terrie Rizzo, chair of the Florida Democratic party. Their eagerness to declare victory before the job was done has led us to this moment.

Data scientist Jones, meanwhile, continues to be one of the biggest thorns in the governors side. After her dismissal, for insubordination according to DeSantiss staff, the geospatial science graduate created her own privately-funded rival Covid-19 database for Florida.

Based on official state figures, Joness platform expands them in several key areas, notably increased numbers of cases and deaths. Those figures are higher, she says, because Florida reports only statistics for residents, and does not include out-of-state visitors.

Additionally, the Jones database features statistics that the state site does not, including the number of ICU beds available across Florida, and whether any of its 67 counties meets current state criteria for reopening. As of Thursday, only three did.

The Florida department of health did not respond to a request from the Guardian for comment about Joness allegations of data deletion, or the discrepancies between her database and the state figures.

Public health experts say that accurate data is essential for responding to the pandemic.

That data is clearly indicating we have a problem. Testing data, symptom data, hospitalisation data, its all been clearly going up, said Dr Mary Jo Trepka, professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at Florida International Universitys Robert Stempel College of public health.

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Florida governor under fire over claims state is 'cooking the books' on Covid-19 - The Guardian

Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies before Congress on coronavirus testing, treatment and vaccine development. FOX Business Edward Lawrence with more.

Companies based in the U.S. and abroad are competing for funds to develop a coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.

MELINDA GATES: THESE PEOPLE DESERVE TO GET CORONAVIRUS VACCINE FIRST

Experts say developing such a vaccine can take years and billions of dollars, but already vaccine testing is underwayin countries includingthe United States andSouth Korea.

Billionaire Bill Gates, who has contributed millions to the fights against the virus,saidin Junethat he's most encouraged by the three vaccine candidates made by Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Gates believes it is possible to scale up to 10 billion doses of a successful vaccine in two years in order to achieve global herd immunity, he said according to Forbes.

A researcher at Protein Sciences moves a vial in a lab, Thursday, March 12, 2020, in Meriden, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

There are 172 COVID-19 vaccines in development and 13 in clinical testing, according to tracking by the Milken Institute.

Here are some of the companies furthest ahead inpursuing coronavirus prevention:

Massachusetts-basedModerna Therapeuticswas the first U.S. company to get acoronavirusvaccine ready for human testing. Its CEO said the company would put the vaccine at thesame price pointas similar existing vaccines.

Moderna is set to test its vaccine on 30,000 volunteers starting in July.

United Kingdom-based AstraZeneca is partnering with Oxford University to deliver a coronavirus vaccine to European countries including France and Germany should the vaccine be proven effective.

Testing began in April.

WHY IS BILL GATES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CORONAVIRUS?

Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical company Janssen worked with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, part of Harvard Medical School, to test and select its lead coronavirus vaccine candidate in March.

Johnson & Johnson plans to start human clinical studies in July.

The company has partnered with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which is part of theDepartment of Health and Human Services, to commit to investing more than $1 billion infighting the coronavirus.

Jennifer Haller, left, receives the first shot in the first-stage safety study for a potential COVID-19 vaccine for at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Inovio Pharmaceuticals is a Pennsylvania-based biotech company that received a$71 million grantfrom the Department of Defense on June 23to scale up its Cellectra intradermal DNA vaccine delivery device.

Inovio already received $10 million from billionaire Bill Gates'Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovationsto accelerate testing of the device.

Inoviosaidit created a coronavirus vaccinehours after getting access to thegenetic sequence in mid-January.

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China-based CanSino received the go-ahead to begin human clinical testing inChina.CanSino is known for creating the first Ebola vaccine to gain approval anywhere in the world.

The company releaseddata from its first round of testing, which it said warranted "further investigation,"in late May, BioSpace reported.

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Which companies are leading the coronavirus vaccine race? - Fox Business

To prevent a dangerous new virus from having its way with humankind, you might take a page from the Chinese warrior king Sun Tzu, and think like the enemy.

Imagine you are a coronavirus, in a form never before seen by humans. Your goal is simple but wildly ambitious: invade and hijack the cells of a new host and multiply for as long it takes to establish your spawn in at least one other new host.

Repeat until there are no humans left to infect.

Since its emergence in Sun Tzus homeland, the coronavirus known to scientists as SARS-CoV-2 has gone about its task with vigor and success. It has jumped national borders with ease, infecting more than 9 million people around the world and killing at least 470,000 in about seven months. The roughly 7.7 billion people who have evaded infection so far seem to be squarely in its sights.

But humankind has a few tricks of its own.

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In fits and starts, public health officials have mustered their citizens to shun the kinds of gatherings that provide a virus rich opportunities to spread. Scientists have peered into the coronavirus genome to unlock secrets about where it came from, how it has evolved and what it will take to thwart it.

Now its a race to see which side gains the upper hand.

Viruses are not as smart as humans, but they are much more patient, said Harvard University epidemiologist William Hanage. And this virus track record does not bode well for a strategy of ignoring it in hopes it will burn itself out, he added.

That would be waiting for the virus to help us, Hanage said. Thats not a good idea.

Bernie Erwig, 84, is wheeled out of a nursing home in Riverside after a test showed he had COVID-19.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The imperatives of survival make a successful virus an unpredictable guest cruel to some, kinder to others, and capable of evolving new strategies as its pool of potential targets thins.

Theres no reward for a virus lineage to be easy on its host, said Frederick M. Cohan, an evolutionary biologist at Wesleyan University.

It must not kill him immediately, as many early forms of the Ebola virus did to their victims. Such outbreaks are destined to fizzle.

But a successful virus is fine with leaving its victim a depleted shell, Cohan said: As long as it has succeeded in making him sick enough to draw others to his bedside where theyre exposed to his bodily fluids or respiratory droplets, it will live to infect another victim.

It need not be choosy about its victims, at least initially. It can spare the young and healthy and go after the weak and infirm first, as the coronavirus appears to be doing.

But experts believe that a virus that stands the test of time will ease up as its potential hosts dwindle and public health precautions take hold.

To continue to spread under such circumstances, a virus must leave many of its victims in good enough shape to move around. It could attack younger hosts, who may not get as sick but will be better spreaders. It could be transmitted by people who dont even realize theyre infected. The coronavirus has done all of these, to great effect.

Many viruses have an inherently uphill battle to climb: As they make their way through a population, the victims they infect will either die or recover. And those who recover will typically emerge with some immunity.

So after its initial romp through a target-rich environment, a novel virus finds its potential victims have dwindled. People vulnerable to infection are not so close together anymore. Thats a problem for a respiratory virus like SARS-CoV-2 that can only spread if potential hosts are clustered together. (Many other viruses spread in water, or in the bellies of mosquitoes, fleas and birds, so social distancing doesnt counter those as well.)

An overly aggressive virus may become a victim of its own success, infecting so many people so fast that it creates what epidemiologists call herd immunity. In that scenario, the uninfected targets that remain are just too far apart for the pathogen to keep spreading.

Of the seven coronaviruses known to make humans sick, at least four have found a way to circumvent herd immunity and sustain themselves for the long haul. These viruses, all which cause variations on the common cold, leave most of their victims with immunity that wanes in little more than a year. The pool of people who are susceptible to becoming hosts is continuously renewed as infected peoples immune defenses forget the virus that has made them ill before.

No one knows if the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 shares that trait. But a welter of studies suggests that, in many who were infected, immunity is either weak or transient.

As a matter of evolutionary biology, theres another way to maintain an inexhaustible supply of potential hosts: If a virus can mutate fast enough, and in specific ways, it can elude recognition by an immune system it has encountered it before.

The new coronavirus mutates steadily because its genetic instructions are encoded in RNA. Compared to a DNA virus like the one that causes measles, an RNA virus is simpler, and less likely to correct the mistakes that accrue each time it replicates.

Most of the mutations are tiny substitutions of nucleotides that have no effect on the virus behavior. But over time, those accumulated errors can change the way it looks to an immune system, or how it interacts with its environment or its hosts. And every once in a while, a mutation (or series of them) hands the virus a sudden advantage.

Red Cross members remove patients from a house during the 1918 influenza pandemic. By the time the third and final wave was over, an estimated one-third of the worlds population had been infected.

(St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

The 1918 influenza pandemic took off after a chance mutation turbocharged its reproductive machinery. Patients got sicker more quickly, and with their immune systems fully mobilized, they expelled more virus when they coughed and sneezed infecting more of the people around them.

Scientists have watched the new coronavirus genetic makeup change, prompting some to assert that more virulent and transmissible strains are circulating. Those claims have been fiercely debated. But SARS-CoV-2s knack for shape-shifting is what transformed it from a virus that thrived in bats and possibly pangolins into one capable of infecting humans.

Additional mutations could bring new challenges for humans or new opportunities. If were lucky, a mutation could make the virus less infectious, or less lethal.

But humans, too, have appropriated some tricks to counter viral strategies like these.

Long before our ancestors understood that germs spread disease, they realized that creating distance between people resulted in fewer of them getting sick. During an outbreak, those with means fled cities for their homes in the country. Those who stayed avoided the marketplace. Public spectacles were canceled. It was the beginning of the public health strategy we now call social distancing.

The coronavirus needs people to jostle close to each other and touch common surfaces in order to spread from person to person. Social distancing alters the environment to mimic the effects of herd immunity.

The other way to deny a virus new hosts is to put more people in the recovered category a status that more than 4.6 million people now have.

You do that by letting the pandemic run its course, assuming that immunity will last. Or you can make a vaccine.

Allowing the coronavirus to have its way with humanity would be a disaster on a scale somewhere between disastrous and unimaginable: Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch has estimated that with minimal human intervention, SARS-CoV-2 would plausibly infect 20% to 60% of all adults between 1.5 billion and 4.5 billion people. Even if it ends up being no more deadly than the seasonal flu a highly optimistic assumption between 1.5 million and 4.5 million would die.

A widely deployed vaccine could provide herd immunity, stopping the virus in its tracks and resulting in far fewer deaths. But that will take time. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said that parallel efforts to design, test and produce many vaccines will probably yield at least one by years end.

Until then, this wily foe has time on its side and some proven tricks to sustain itself.

While the coronavirus may not touch every person on the planet, it appears to have gained the foothold it needs to keep trying, said Columbia University virologist Angela Rasmussen. Like many flu viruses, it could mutate just enough from year to year to seem new to our immune systems each time it comes around. It could also change in ways that make it more like the four other coronaviruses that have infected humans for eons: killing few while making most people just sick enough to pass it on.

From a virus point of view, the definition of success is to become the common cold, Cohan said. Along with many microbiologists, he suspects this virus has what it takes to go the distance. Humans could outsmart it with a good vaccine, though the immunity it offers may be only temporary. And many who do not fear catching the virus would probably skip it anyway.

He hopes his suspicions are wrong. But a career of studying disease-causing microbes has been chastening, he said.

Were not smart enough to know what theyre going to do, Cohan said. And if we think we know, theyll just surprise us.

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How will the COVID-19 pandemic end? - Los Angeles Times

At present, big-name pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms around the globe are in an intense race to develop the worlds first vaccine for the novel coronavirus which would potentially lead to national bragging rights and huge profits for successful companies as countries hope to put their economy back on track earlier than other nations.

A total of 142 vaccines were being developed as of Monday, of which 13 are were clinical evaluation, according to the World Health Organization. British drugmaker AstraZeneca PLC and U.S. biotech firm Moderna Inc. are considered two of the leading candidates to put the worlds first vaccine on the market as early as by the end of this year. At home, AnGes Inc., which has teamed up with Takara Bio Inc. and Osaka University, is considered the front-runner, aiming to launch the vaccine as early as next spring, followed closely by Shionogi & Co. among other domestic efforts.

But at the same time, questions arise. Is there a possibility that the safety or efficacy of the vaccine may be overlooked so as to prioritize the speed of the development? If Japan is lagging behind other countries in vaccine development, how would that affect the country when it tries to import them?

Dr. Tetsuo Nakayama, a project professor at Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences and director of the Japanese Society of Clinical Virology, spoke to The Japan Times to help shed some light on the current development of vaccines at home and abroad and the risk of the heated competition.

Which companies are leading the global race in developing the vaccine?

U.S. firm Moderna looks to be making the most progress.

It has announced its messenger RNA vaccine has generated antibodies in people in a phase one trial (designed to assess its safety and tolerance), but theres no detailed data to show that it would protect them against infection.

Simply put, an influenza shot injects a protein into the body. Messenger RNA and DNA vaccines, meanwhile, force production of proteins that resemble the pathogen, so in that sense the most we can expect may be about the same as the influenza vaccine in terms of reducing the most severe effects of the disease, and it may not have the ability to put the disease under control.

The most important thing is whether the use of DNA or messenger RNA vaccines stimulate the production of protective neutralizing antibodies and induce the cellular immune response. At this point, it remains unclear whether the DNA vaccine under development by AnGes or messenger RNA vaccine by Moderna would induce the cellular immune response.

But in a worst-case scenario, some antibodies may worsen the disease by essentially helping increase the virus inside the cell in a phenomenon called antibody dependent enhancement (ADE).

We dont know whether there are concerns for ADE at this point after (getting the vaccine and being) infected with the novel coronavirus.

There are lots of unknowns, but I dont think the vaccine would be ready by the end of the year. Osaka University has been working with Takara Bio Inc. and AnGes Inc. on a DNA vaccine similar to messenger RNA.

So is ADE a cause for concern for the general public?

If the vaccine is only to curb the occurrence of severe symptoms, the subjects for vaccination would likely be limited to older people or people with pre-existing conditions, and its too early to tell whether its a vaccine to be administered to children or adults in general.

Are there promising vaccine candidates worldwide?

There are two objectives of vaccines.

One is to prevent infection and another is aimed at not necessarily protecting against the disease but preventing severe symptoms.

Everybody is talking about developing a vaccine to halt the spread of infections, but thats not something that can typically be achieved without a live vaccine. For example, the measles vaccine is a live vaccine, curbs the infection and prevents the risk of a serious disease for people.

But influenza, like the coronavirus, causes a respiratory tract infection, so its difficult to prevent the infection via vaccination through intramuscular injection. The vaccines under development could be similar in terms of efficacy to the influenza vaccine.

The West and China are leading the vaccine development. Will there be a delay for Japan to introduce the vaccines to its own people?

Yes, I acknowledge that theres going to be a delay because those countries would prioritize the vaccinations of their own people.

I have seen no reports that the Japanese government has been providing funds to overseas manufacturers of vaccines, though the Trump administration in the U.S. has been funding various projects overseas to secure vaccinations for its citizens in case the domestic efforts fall through.

The European Union and the U.S. have the Mutual Recognition Agreement, which allows the drugs to be used within each others borders by avoiding the duplication of clinical trials.

But Japan still requires additional clinical trials, making it one of the very few jurisdictions that still requires that in the world.

During the swine influenza pandemic in 2009, Japan imported vaccines, but by the time Japan finished clinical trials on the imported vaccines, Japanese manufacturers had already supplied tens of millions of domestically produced vaccines and the epidemic was over, so the vast majority of the imported vaccines were not used in the end.

Is it possible that the same thing could happen this time around?

Its hard to say for certain. But Japan has to undergo an additional clinical trial even if it wants to import a vaccine that has cleared regulatory approval overseas. So, under current rules, theres going to be a delay.

Japan approved remdesivir for treatment of severe COVID-19 cases last month, soon after it gained approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. So it will be different when Japan imports a vaccine made overseas, wont it?

That is because dozens of clinical trials on remdesivir had been conducted in Japan.

It doesnt mean that Japan does not have to go through a trial. But while were waiting for Japanese approval to be able to use the overseas vaccines, Japanese manufacturers should start producing home-made vaccines.

I have often said this, but a vaccine is a weapon to protect ones own citizens, so we should not rely on overseas manufacturers.

Because people can get re-infected with the virus, is the vaccination essential for the general public?

Its the same thing with influenza. You can contract it many times.

Because the novel coronavirus is also a respiratory tract infection, normally a vaccination would not protect against infection itself. So even if a person contracts the virus, it doesnt necessarily mean that the person doesnt get infected again.

So in a nutshell, are people supposed to take the vaccination every year, for instance?

We still dont know that for sure if thats going to be necessary if the novel coronavirus keeps changing its genetic mutations.

There are different types of the coronavirus confirmed across the globe. If a person gets vaccinated, does the person have an antibody against all types?

The person would have some degree of protection but its still too early to tell whether the vaccination would create cross-reactive antibodies in different subtypes of the virus.

With maybe too much focus globally on developing the vaccine as soon as possible, are there concerns that important issues like the vaccines efficacy, safety or side effects could be neglected?

Yes, those concerns are real, as weve seen a lot of failures in the vaccine development in the past. For example, a dengue fever vaccine made by Sanofi and based on a yellow fever vaccine embedded with the dengue virus appeared to be effective, but it caused the deaths of children who had been given the vaccination due to the phenomenon called ADE, explained earlier. There are always safety concerns, so the vaccination development must be conducted cautiously.

Are there concerns that Japanese vaccine manufacturers would turn a blind eye to certain aspects of safety, efficacy and side effects?

No. Japanese people are very sensitive and particular about adverse reactions such as fever or local reactions, so Japanese vaccines are among the best in the world and are considered extremely safe.

How long do you expect it to take for the vaccines to be available for all the general public?

I would expect as early as next year, but it would depend on the production capacity.

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The race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, and Japan's place in it - The Japan Times

Idaho did not meet the metrics to move forward to fewer restrictions, the governor said.

BOISE, Idaho Most of Idaho will remain in Stage 4 for at least two more weeks after the state failed to meet the benchmarks necessary to move forward, Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday.

The announcement came Thursday during a press conference Little called to address the state's Idaho Rebounds plan.

"The statewide approach to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 three months ago was the right thing to do. Three months ago, testing and contact tracing was limited, some areas of Idaho faced alarming healthcare capacity restraints, and there wasn't enough personal protective equipment on hand for businesses and healthcare workers," Little said. "But from the start, our plan was to eventually transition to a more regional approach in our response and that's what we've begun.

Stage 4 of coronavirus restrictions will be extended for those counties that were already in that stage. Ada County, however, has been moved back to Stage 3 by Central District Healthafter a spike of coronavirus cases.

"The goal all along has been to ensure our hospitals aren't overrun with people seriously ill from complications of this highly contagious respiratory disease," Little said. "You can engage in the economy, safely go back to work, and safely receive care from your medical provider, but you must do so while practicing the proven measures to fight the spread of coronavirus."

Health officials will reevaluate at the end of the two-week period to determine whether the state can move out of Stage 4. Little said it is crucial for every Idahoan to do their part to make sure that happens.

"We want businesses to reopen. We want our children back in school at the end of the summer," he said. "So please, do not let your guard down."

Watch Gov. Little's full news conference in the YouTube player below:

State Epidemiologist Dr. Christine Hahn said there is a rising trend in people going to the emergency room with "COVID-like" symptoms, as well as an increase in infections among healthcare workers.

Most of the health workers infected have been in Ada and Canyon counties, and are believed to have been exposed to the virus out in the community, rather than at their jobs.

"Our cases have been increasing pretty dramatically in the last two weeks, over the 14 days that we have measured here, you can see an increasing trend in cases," Hahn said.

Hahn added that Idaho has met the guidelines for healthcare capacity, meaning that hospitals have not yet become overtaxed by the number of patients. Currently, there are about 100 ICU beds and 400 ventilators still available, she said.

"Right now we are not using crisis standards of care in the hospitals," she said. "They are able to manage patients, they have enough ICU beds, they have enough ventilators - we're all good for now."

By Thursday morning, Idaho had reached 4,645 confirmed and probable cases statewide, with 215 new cases reported on Wednesday - the single largest one-day spike in cases since the outbreak began in March.

Little said he believed holding at Stage 4 was the right response to the jump in cases, rather than moving backwards to a previous stage, like what happened in Ada County. Nine counties in Idaho have not yet had a single confirmed COVID-19 case, he noted.

The governor says he hopes delaying the move out of Stage 4 will push Idahoans to adhere to social distancing and face-covering guidelines, and allow the state to get the upward trend of infections under control.

"We're not slamming on the brakes, we're tapping on the brakes," he said.

However, the governor said he is not considering implementing mandatory face-covering rules the way some neighboring states have.

"Mandatory masks just don't make any sense for a lot of Idaho," he said.

Little urged residents to say vigilant, noting that life may not completely return to normal even if cases trend downward again.

"We're going to have to have capacity in the fall, and as the days get shorter and people are more inside, we're going to have to do more," he said. "Hopefully, we'll know more about it. Hopefully, we'll have more therapeutics. Hopefully, a vaccine will be on the horizon - but if it isn't, we're going to have to ramp up our practices going forward."

At KTVB, were focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: http://www.ktvb.com/coronavirus.

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'We're tapping on the brakes': Gov. Little extends Stage 4 restrictions as Idaho's COVID-19 cases continue to rise - KTVB.com

While many Americans still debate whether or not to wear face masks, a new study found that face mask use has prevented thousands coronavirus cases. The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, estimates between 230,000 and 450,000 COVID-19 cases were prevented in states that required face masks between April 8 and May 15. Researchers said wearing face masks in public reduced the daily number of coronavirus by as much as 2% in Washington, D.C. and the 15 states that mandated face mask use compared to states that did not. The longer face mask mandates were in place, the study found there was a higher reduction in COVID-19 cases. Researchers also looked at 20 states that enacted employee-only mandates instead of public face mask use, but did not find a significant impact on the spread in those locations. The study was unable to measure the actual use of face masks in specific communities and researchers were only able to measure confirmed cases of COVID-19, despite evidence that infection rates in some areas were higher. Researchers from the University of Washington say universal face mask use could reduce the death toll from COVID-19 by 33,000. The university's latest projection says more than 179,000 Americans will die from coronavirus by Oct. 1. "For pretty much every state that we've looked at, if we can get people to wear masks, we can not only save lives, but I sort of think of it as we can also save the economy because we can keep business going," said Dr. Chris Murray of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. More than half of the U.S. is now seeing an increase in week-to-week cases, with California, Florida and Texas setting records for single-day coronavirus case reports."You need to understand COVID-19 is still here, it's spreading faster than ever before," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.Health experts say progress is being made on a vaccine, but, in the meantime, erring on the side of caution is best."We have evidence, early evidence, that masks can reduce transmission even up to six-fold," said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. "I think it's clear that they can save lives."

While many Americans still debate whether or not to wear face masks, a new study found that face mask use has prevented thousands coronavirus cases.

The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, estimates between 230,000 and 450,000 COVID-19 cases were prevented in states that required face masks between April 8 and May 15.

Researchers said wearing face masks in public reduced the daily number of coronavirus by as much as 2% in Washington, D.C. and the 15 states that mandated face mask use compared to states that did not.

The longer face mask mandates were in place, the study found there was a higher reduction in COVID-19 cases.

Researchers also looked at 20 states that enacted employee-only mandates instead of public face mask use, but did not find a significant impact on the spread in those locations.

The study was unable to measure the actual use of face masks in specific communities and researchers were only able to measure confirmed cases of COVID-19, despite evidence that infection rates in some areas were higher.

Researchers from the University of Washington say universal face mask use could reduce the death toll from COVID-19 by 33,000.

The university's latest projection says more than 179,000 Americans will die from coronavirus by Oct. 1.

"For pretty much every state that we've looked at, if we can get people to wear masks, we can not only save lives, but I sort of think of it as we can also save the economy because we can keep business going," said Dr. Chris Murray of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

More than half of the U.S. is now seeing an increase in week-to-week cases, with California, Florida and Texas setting records for single-day coronavirus case reports.

"You need to understand COVID-19 is still here, it's spreading faster than ever before," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said.

Health experts say progress is being made on a vaccine, but, in the meantime, erring on the side of caution is best.

"We have evidence, early evidence, that masks can reduce transmission even up to six-fold," said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent. "I think it's clear that they can save lives."

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Study finds face masks prevented thousands of COVID-19 cases. Experts say you should keep wearing them. - KCRA Sacramento

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a separate executive order earlier Thursday to pause elective surgeries in four Texas counties: Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis.

DALLAS This story will be continuously updated.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday the pause of further reopening phases in the state due "to the recent increase in positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations."

"The last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses," he said in a news release. "This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business."

Businesses can continue to operate at occupancy levels set under current phases of reopening and should observe the minimum health protocols set by state health authorities, according to the governor.

Abbott said he doesn't want to revert to earlier business closures.

The governor began reopening the state with a series of orders that started in late April and continued into early June.

Abbott continued to call on residents to do their parts in stopping the spread.

"I ask all Texans to do their part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask, washing their hands regularly, and socially distancing from others," Abbott said in a statement. "The more that we all follow these guidelines, the safer our state will be, and the more we can open up Texas for business.

Earlier Thursday, Abbott announced he was pausing elective surgeries in four of the state's largest counties: Bexar, Dallas, Harris, and Travis.

Tarrant County was not included in Abbott's new order.

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Cornyn, Cruz send letter requesting continued federal support for COVID-19 testing sites

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn sent a letter to Health and Human Services and FEMA urging continued federal support for community-based COVID-19 testing sites in Texas.

The senators sent the letter Thursday addressed to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Pete Gaynor urging them to continue the federal support for sites in Texas as testing capacity remains a crucial component to defeating COVID-19, strengthening the economy, and safely getting Texans back to work.

Dallas County reports 403 new cases, 6 additional COVID-19 deaths

In Dallas County, health officials have noted the spread of the disease among child care facilities.

More than 31 cases reported since June 1 have been linked to 18 child care centers.

Health officials reported 403 new cases Thursday and six additional deaths due to COVID-19.

Among those who died are:

Denton County reports 77 new cases, Collin County reports 37 new cases

Denton County health officials reported 77 new cases Thursday, and Collin County officials reported 37 new cases of COVID-19.

Collin County also reported one new death from the disease.

Both counties have reported nearly 2,500 coronavirus cases since tracking began in March. The counties also each report more than 1,000 people have recovered from the disease.

Tarrant County reports 517 new coronavirus cases

Tarrant County health officials reported 517 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Thursday.

The county has reported 10,363 COVID-19 cases since tracking began in March. In the past seven days, the county has recorded 1,804 new cases.

There are more than 4,400 actives cases of the disease in Tarrant County, according to state data.

Texas Juvenile Justice Departments says 6 youths, 17 staff positive for COVID-19

Texas Juvenile Justice Department announced five more youths at its facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the total to seven positive cases.

The department says five juveniles at Giddings State School have been on medical quarantine since June 22, after an initial reported that one tested positive on that day.

One juvenile at Gainesville State School tested positive earlier this week.

The department also reported that 17 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at the following facilities:

Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will not be used as overflow hospital

In a tweet Thursday afternoon, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will not be used as an overflow hospital at this time.

Johnson said officials with Dallas County and the DFW Hospital Council told him they believe they are capable of handling COVID-19 hospitalizations with the current medical facilities available.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced in March that the convention center would serve as an overflow hospital if needed, but it has not been used during the pandemic.

Tarrant County issues mask mandate

Tarrant County officials announced Thursday they were issuing a mask order, saying business must require guests and employees to wear masks. That order goes into effect at 6 p.m. Friday.

Under the order, businesses in violation could face a $1,000 fine.

The Tarrant County announcement comes just one day after Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson led a news conference with a simple statement: "Wear a mask."

"This is the single most important thing that you can do to slow the spread of COVID-19," Johnson said, seated at Dallas City Hall, wearing a mask.

Prior to Johnson's statement, Abbott said Texas is facing a massive outbreak in the coronavirus pandemic. He says some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients.

On Saturday, a new order went into effect requiring businesses and people across Dallas County to wear a face covering.

Gov. Abbott issues orders suspending elective surgeries in four Texas counties

All hospitals in Harris, Bexar, Dallas, and Travis counties are directed to postpone all surgeries & procedures that aren't immediately, medically necessary to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

The goal of the executive order is to ensure hospital bed availability for COVID-19 patients as Texas faces an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

On Wednesday Abbott conceded thatTexas is facing a "massive outbreak" of COVID-19.

As Texas faces a rise in COVID-19 cases, we are focused on both slowing the spread of this virus and maintaining sufficient hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients, said Governor Abbott. These four counties have experienced significant increases in people being hospitalized due to COVID-19 and todays action is a precautionary step to help ensure that the hospitals in these counties continue to have ample supply of available beds to treat COVID-19 patients."

Main St. Fort Worth canceled for 2020

The 2020 Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival has been canceled, event organizers say.

The event, which was originally scheduled to take place April 16 to 19, had been rescheduled to September.

The decision to call off this year's event was made by the board of directors of Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. and the event organizers.

"Cancellation is due to increasing Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns and governmental recommendations for restricting large gatherings in order to prevent community spread," a release posted online read.

Event organizers said while the decision was difficult, the safety and well-being of everyone involved remains their top priority.

People are encouraged to support artists by visiting the online gallery.

Dallas Zoo to require face coverings for guests ages 10 and older

The Dallas Zoo announced Thursday that it would be updating its policy on face masks.

Beginning immediately, visitors ages 10 years and older would be required to wear a face mask. The zoo also said it strongly encouraged children under 10 years of age to wear masks as well.

Guests who do not comply will be asked to leave, according to zoo officials.

Guests can take off their masks while eating or drinking, if they have a health reason that prevents wearing one, or take a short break from wearing masks while outdoors, according to a release from the zoo.

5 Kaufman County courthouse employees test positive for COVID-19

Five Kaufman County courthouse employees have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week, Judge Hal Richards announced Thursday.

According to the courthouse, two employees tested positive last week and three tested positive this week.

Judge Richards said those who were in direct contact with the employees have been contacted and are encouraged to be tested.

Everyone who enters the Kaufman County courthouse is offered a mask, and those who enter are also urged to maintain six-foot social distancing.

Richards said additional cleaning of the courthouse has been completed following the positive test results. Anyone who has questions concerning COVID response efforts at the courthouse are asked to contact their department head or Richards office.

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COVID-19 updates: Gov. Abbott pauses new phases of reopening Texas due to increased cases, hospitalizations - WFAA.com

More than 25,000 people have volunteered so far to be infected with the novel coronavirus through 1DaySooner, an online recruitment organization, as an aid in testing vaccine candidates to prevent Covid-19. These volunteers know that Covid-19 can cause suffering and even death yet they are stepping forward, willing to risk their lives, because some researchers and academics contend that such experiments in humans could accelerate vaccine development.

As a physician and a scientist who has cared for patients and who has been involved in the development of vaccines, I feel the urgency to get a vaccine approved for global use. And I have deep admiration for the courageous volunteers who are willing to put themselves in danger.

In this situation, however, their sacrifice cannot be justified. Volunteers need to be protected from both known and unknown risks. The effort to develop a vaccine should not be jeopardized by this well-intentioned but unnecessary experiment.

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In the context of an ongoing pandemic, the conventional pace of vaccine development frustrates the public, the government, public health experts, vaccine creators, regulators, and others. It is understandable that many are seeking ways to accelerate the demonstration of safety and efficacy of vaccine candidates. The mumps vaccine, considered the fastest vaccine ever developed, took scientists four years to go from collecting viral samples to securing FDA approval in 1967. A decade or longer is more typical. Everyone is hoping that inventing, testing, obtaining approval and producing a Covid-19 vaccine might be on track to set a new record.

The practice of deliberately infecting people with disease, termed human challenge trials, has a long history. It is embedded in the origin of the very first vaccine in 1796, when Edward Jenner, an English physician, purposely infected his gardeners 8-year-old son with cowpox after observing that people previously infected with cowpox, a relatively mild disease, seemed protected from smallpox, one of the deadliest scourges of the time.

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Now, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, human challenge studies are being considered again.

In the June 1 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Nir Eyal, Marc Lipsitch, and Peter G. Smith argue that this approach could accelerate the development and approval of a Covid-19 vaccine by many months. That may sound tempting, but human challenge studies with live virus are unlikely to save time. Moreover, there are ethical and practical reasons for not undertaking human challenge studies with this virus. These authors, like 1DaySooners volunteers, are well-intentioned but wrong.

Those in favor of human challenge trials propose enrolling as subjects only healthy young adults, since the Covid-19 mortality rate in this group is low. Just 7% of all Covid-19-related deaths in the U.S. have occurred among those aged 25 to 54 years, compared to 80% in those over age 65. Yet the example of fatal infections in health care workers in the prime of life makes clear that even healthy non-elderly adults may succumb to the novel coronavirus.

Human challenge studies are generally contemplated only when rescue with a lifesaving treatment or intervention is available should a vaccine candidate not protect a volunteer from the disease. But there is no cure or treatment against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that can be deployed with confidence, making viral challenge particularly risky and ethically questionable.

Most people, likely including most of the volunteers, tend to think of vaccines as fully effective: They either work or dont. This belief generally stems from the success of vaccines for childhood diseases like measles and mumps. But some vaccines, especially those for adults, are much less effective: There are seasons when the flu vaccine is only 70% to 80% effective, or sometimes even less. Imagine, for a moment, that a vaccine candidate undergoing testing turns out to generate immunity in 80% of those who receive it. Then 20% will become infected with Covid-19.

An equally disturbing scenario is what if one of the first volunteers dies, either due to the play of chance, a problem with the vaccine, or the individuals genetic makeup? This is unlikely to happen but it can, and did, in another setting with consequences that stretched far beyond the single tragic death.

In 1999, Jesse Gelsinger volunteered for one of the first gene therapy trials. The 18-year-old had a rare metabolic genetic disorder, but his condition was managed with medication; he was basically healthy. He volunteered for a safety trial of a virus-based gene-therapy and died as a result. Missteps in the trial, and the subsequent controversy surrounding his death, set the field of gene therapy back by at least two decades. That hiatus deprived a generation of patients with genetic disorders of treatments.

With vaccines already a target of widespread misinformation campaigns, the death of a single volunteer would likely cause even greater damage. From a public health perspective, it would be especially disastrous if it both slowed the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine and fueled the anti-vaccination movement.

There are other ethical considerations. An important principle in human challenge studies is that subjects must give their informed consent in order to take part. That means they should be provided with all the relevant information about the risk they are considering. But that is impossible for such a new disease.

Covid-19 was initially thought to be mainly a respiratory ailment. We now know that it can damage the kidneys, circulatory system, and the heart. It was initially believed that children could not be sickened by SARS-CoV-2, but it now appears that dozens have developed a severe inflammatory syndrome. And we know nothing about potential long-term complications of Covid-19 because the disease has only been in humans for months. Taken together, this means that no volunteer is able to give true informed consent.

Given these risks, there might still be some justification for a human challenge trial if we knew for certain it would accelerate the development of an effective vaccine. But safer trials can get us to a vaccine in the same amount of time without taking on additional risk for volunteers, especially now that some vaccine candidates already have entered Phase 2 clinical trials and several others are close behind.

In a conventional trial, subjects are injected with either the experimental vaccine or placebo. They are then monitored to see if those who got the vaccine are less likely to contract the disease while going about their daily lives. In a human challenge study, things can theoretically happen more quickly, since volunteers are deliberately infected after getting the trial vaccine or placebo.

But human challenge trials take time, too. For Covid-19, subjects would likely have to receive two doses of vaccine (spaced by weeks), wait for potential immunity to develop, then be infected with the live virus and observed for weeks to months. Since the challenge trial would need to start small and be expanded only with great caution because of the risks involved, it would take months to deliver sufficient data. Safety data, in particular, would be lacking, even though this is one of the biggest issues confronting a new vaccine, because the size of the trial would be too small to garner robust safety data and data about adverse effects of the vaccine would be confounded by the administration of the live virus.

There is no short cut for determining safety.

A large-scale, conventional study could likely be conducted just as quickly. In addition, monitoring and interim analyses of conventional trials raise the possibility of some kind of conditional or emergency use approval while the trials continue. If that happened, a vaccine might be available for certain high-risk or vulnerable groups in record time, namely 12 to 18 months from laboratory to clinic.

A final issue is that the results of the proposed human challenge studies come exclusively from the experience of younger adults, and cannot be extrapolated to the elderly, who tend to have weaker immune responses and the highest Covid-19 mortality rate. The volunteers might end up having risked their own health without truly helping those who are in greatest need of vaccine protection.

The world is overwhelmed by the pandemic. It is imperative to expedite development and approval pathways without forgoing safety and effectiveness. Ascertaining the risks intrinsic to the disease versus those of a new vaccine in specific populations health care workers, first responders, the elderly, those with comorbidities, and the like is essential. But acceleration should not mean forsaking ethical concerns, putting well-intentioned volunteers at needless risk, or setting back global vaccine efforts.

Michael Rosenblatt, M.D., is the chief medical officer of Flagship Pioneering, a venture firm that creates life sciences companies. He is the former chief medical officer of Merck and former dean of Tufts University School of Medicine. He serves as an adviser to Moderna, which is developing a Covid-19 vaccine; he is not a Moderna employee or shareholder. The opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Flagship Pioneering or Moderna.

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Challenge trials aren't the answer to a speedy Covid-19 vaccine - STAT

From battles on the front lines to social distancing from friends and family, COVID-19 has caused a massive shake-up of our daily lives.

After second-guessing everything from hugging our loved ones to delaying travel, there is one big question that everyone is likely thinking about: will we ever get back to the status quo? The answer may not be very clear-cut.

Todays graphic uses data from New York Times interviews of 511 epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists from the U.S. and Canada, and visualizes their opinions on when they might expect to resume a range of typical activities.

When will life return to normal?

Image: Visual Capitalist

Life in the near future, according to experts

Specifically, this group of epidemiologists were asked when they might personally begin engaging in 20 common daily activities again.

The responses, based on the latest publicly available and scientifically-backed data, varied based on assumptions around local pandemic response plans. The experts also noted that their answers would change depending on potential treatments and testing rates in their local areas.

Here are the activities that a majority of professionals see starting up as soon as this summer, or within a years time:

The activities that the majority of professionals see starting up as soon as this summer, or within a years time.

Image: Visual Capitalist

The urge to be outdoors is pretty clear, with 56% of those surveyed hoping to take a road trip before the summer is over. Meanwhile, 31% felt that they would be able to go hiking or have a picnic with friends this summer, citing the need for fresh air, sun, socialization and a healthy activity to help keep on top of their physical and mental health during this time.

Public transport and travel of any form is one aspect that has been put on hold, whether its by plane, train, or automobile. Many of the surveyed epidemiologists also lamented the strain the pandemic has had on relationships, as evidenced by the social situations they hope to restart sooner rather than later.

The worst casualty of the epidemic is the loss of human contact.

On the other hand, there are certain activities that they considered too risky to engage in for the time-being. A large share are putting off attending celebrations such as weddings or concerts for at least a year or more, out of perceived social responsibility.

Fewer people are attending celebrations such as weddings, for at least a year or more, out of perceived social responsibility.

Image: Visual Capitalist

Perhaps the most surprising finding is that 6% of epidemiologists do not expect to ever hug or shake hands as a post-pandemic greeting. On top of this, over half consider masks necessary for at least the next year.

The virus sets the timeline

Of course, these estimates are not meant to represent every situation. The experts also practically considered whether certain activities were avoidable or notsuch as ones occupationwhich affects individual risk levels.

The answers [about resuming these activities] have nothing to do with calendar time.

While many places are trickling out of lockdown and re-opening to support the economy, some officials are still warning against prematurely lifting restrictions before we fully have a handle on the virus and its spread.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with our Terms of Use.

This article is published in collaboration with Visual Capitalist.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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Coronavirus: When will life return to normal? - World Economic Forum