Category: Covid-19

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Researchers develop chip that improves testing and tracing for COVID-19 – UNM Newsroom

April 22, 2021

Jeremy Edwards, director of the Computational Genomics and Technology (CGaT) Laboratory at The University of New Mexico, and his colleagues at Centrillion Technologies in Palo Alto, Calif. and West Virginia University, have developed a chip that provides a simpler and more rapid method of genome sequencing for viruses like COVID-19.

SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequence

Their research, titled, Highly Accurate Chip-Based Resequencing of SARS-CoV-2 Clinical Samples was published recently in the American Chemical Societys Langmuir. As part of the research, scientists created a tiled genome array they developed for rapid and inexpensive full viral genome resequencing and applied their SARS-CoV-2-specific genome tiling array to rapidly and accurately resequenced the viral genome from eight clinical samples acquired from patients in Wyoming that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Ultimately, they were able to sequence 95 percent of the genome of each sample with greater than 99.9 percent accuracy.

This new technology allows for faster and more accurate tracing of COVID and other respiratory viruses, including the appearance of new variants, said Edwards, who is a professor in the UNM Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.With this simple and rapid testing procedure, scientists will be able to more accurately track the progression and better prevent the onset of the next pandemic.

With more than 142 million people worldwide having contracted the virus, vigilant testing and contact tracing are the most effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19. Traditional methods of clinical testing often produce false positives or negatives, and traditional methods of sequencing are time-consuming and expensive. This new technology will virtually eliminate all of these barriers.

"Since the submission of the paper, the technology has further evolved with improved accuracy and sensitivity, said Edwards. The chip technology is the best available technology for large-scale viral genome surveillance and monitoring viral variants. This technology could not only help control this pandemic and also prevent future pandemics."

The mission of the Computational Genomics and Technology (CGaT) Laboratory is to provide training in bioinformatics research for undergraduate, master's and Ph.D. students, as well as postdoctoral fellows; provide collaborative research interactions to utilize bioinformatics computing tools for researchers at UNM, and to conduct state-of-the-art and innovative bioinformatics and genomics research within the center.

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Researchers develop chip that improves testing and tracing for COVID-19 - UNM Newsroom

Veteran infielder JT Riddle added to the COVID-19 injured list by Minnesota Twins during road trip – ESPN

April 22, 2021

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Infielder JT Riddle was placed on the COVID-19 injured list by the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.

Riddle, in his fifth season, appeared in four games for the Twins this season, going 2-for-6 (.333) with a run scored.

2 Related

"JT did not test positive for COVID. There are a lot of different COVID protocols. JT falls within one of them," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "He'll be also traveling on his own back to Minneapolis where he'll quarantine there for a period of time, and then hopefully by the end of the week, we'll have this resolved with him."

To replace Riddle on the 26-man roster, the Twins selected the contract of catcher Tomas Telis from the taxi squad.

Telis, who spent the 2020 season at the alternate training site in St. Paul, Minnesota, has appeared in 122 career major league games, hitting .230 (58-for-252) with eight doubles, three triples, one home run and 24 RBIs over parts of five seasons with Texas and Miami (2014-18).

The Twins lost Wednesday in 10 innings to the Oakland Athletics 13-12, falling to 0-3 since their return from a COVID-19-related pause.

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Veteran infielder JT Riddle added to the COVID-19 injured list by Minnesota Twins during road trip - ESPN

Yields on 10-year JGBs fall on worries around COVID-19 surge – Reuters

April 22, 2021

TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - Yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGBs) fell on Thursday as some investors remained cautious about the impact of a resurgence of COVID-19, although risk appetite improved overall and stock markets rebounded.

* The 10-year JGB yield fell 0.5 basis points to 0.065%.

* The 20-year JGB yield was unchanged at 0.430%.

* The 30-year JGB yield rose one basis point to 0.635%.

* The two-year JGB yield was flat at minus 0.135%.

* The five-year yield fell 0.5 basis points to minus 0.110%.

* The 40-year JGB yield rose 0.5 basis points to 0.670%.

* Benchmark 10-year JGB futures rose 0.04 points to 151.59, with a trading volume of 21,582 lots. (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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Yields on 10-year JGBs fall on worries around COVID-19 surge - Reuters

2021 Indianapolis 500 set to be biggest event since COVID-19 pandemic began with 135,000 fans – Yahoo Sports

April 22, 2021

Over 100,000 fans will be at the 2021 Indianapolis 500.

A year after the historic race was moved to August and held without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Wednesday that the May 30 race would be held with 135,000 fans in attendance. That six-figure number will make it far and away the most-attended sporting event since the pandemic began.

Alabama's April 18 football spring game is currently the highest-attended post-pandemic event with over 47,000 fans.

The number-one thing fans can do to ensure a great race day is get vaccinated as quickly as possible, Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said in a statement. We continue to offer vaccinations at IMS and will be extending our mass vaccination clinic throughout the month of May. This is all part of the effort to continue getting Indiana back on track.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been a mass vaccination site since April 1. Fans will be required to wear masks at the race and will also have their temperatures taken as they enter and the track isn't selling general admission tickets.

Thought 135,000 is still a fraction of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway capacity 40% to be exact the track has 250,000 grandstand seats and there is ample room for more fans to camp and spread out through the infield. While official attendance is not typically announced for Indy 500s in normal times, there have been races with an estimated 300,000 people in attendance.

That number of people routinely made the Indianapolis 500 the most-attended sporting event in pre-pandemic North America.

Our fans mean everything to us, and we cant wait to welcome them Back Home Again for this years Indy 500, track president Doug Boles said. The city and state have worked with us to identify the appropriate health and safety precautions so that we can successfully host a limited but very enthusiastic crowd."

The 2021 Indy 500 is the sixth race of the IndyCar season. The 2021 season began on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama and continues this upcoming weekend in St. Petersburg.

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2021 Indianapolis 500 set to be biggest event since COVID-19 pandemic began with 135,000 fans - Yahoo Sports

COVID-19 Daily Update 4-20-2021 – West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

April 22, 2021

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of April 20, 2021, there have been 2,623,160 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 149,462 total cases and 2,789 total deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 71-year old male from Raleigh County, an 88-year old male from Raleigh County, a 72-year old female from Kanawha County, and a 61-year old female from Jackson County.

Our hearts go out to these West Virginians and their families, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. Lets continue taking every precaution we can to slow the spread of this disease.

CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (1,352), Berkeley (11,667), Boone (1,886), Braxton (872), Brooke (2,124), Cabell (8,631), Calhoun (271), Clay (459), Doddridge (551), Fayette (3,284), Gilmer (738), Grant (1,239), Greenbrier (2,628), Hampshire (1,716), Hancock (2,714), Hardy (1,443), Harrison (5,449), Jackson (1,921), Jefferson (4,361), Kanawha (14,145), Lewis (1,138), Lincoln (1,399), Logan (3,007), Marion (4,169), Marshall (3,287), Mason (1,937), McDowell (1,490), Mercer (4,580), Mineral (2,775), Mingo (2,434), Monongalia (8,964), Monroe (1,077), Morgan (1,090), Nicholas (1,519), Ohio (4,050), Pendleton (690), Pleasants (833), Pocahontas (647), Preston (2,814), Putnam (4,833), Raleigh (6,181), Randolph (2,497), Ritchie (663), Roane (581), Summers (769), Taylor (1,199), Tucker (523), Tyler (673), Upshur (1,824), Wayne (2,821), Webster (456), Wetzel (1,213), Wirt (381), Wood (7,580), Wyoming (1,917).

Delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from the local health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in question may have crossed the state border to be tested. Such is the case of Grant and McDowell counties in this report.

Free pop-up COVID-19 testing is available today in Barbour, Berkeley, Boone, Brooke, Clay, Fayette, Grant, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mason, Mineral, Mingo, Morgan, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh, and Wyoming counties.

Barbour County

9:00 AM 11:00 AM, Barbour County Health Department, 109 Wabash Avenue, Philippi, WV

3:00 PM 7:00 PM, Junior Volunteer Fire Department, 331 Row Avenue, Junior, WV

Berkeley County

1:00 PM 5:00 PM, Shenandoah Community Health, 99 Tavern Road, Martinsburg, WV

4:30 PM 8:00 PM, Dorothy McCormack Building, 2000 Foundation Way, Martinsburg, WV

10:00 AM 5:00 PM, 891 Auto Parts Place, Martinsburg, WV

10:00 AM 5:00 PM, Ambrose Park, 25404 Mall Drive, Martinsburg, WV

Boone County

Brooke County

Clay County

1:00 PM 3:00 PM, Clay County Health Department, 452 Main Street, Clay, WV

Fayette County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, J.W. & Hazel Ruby West Virginia Welcome Center, 55 Hazel Lane, Mount Hope, WV

Grant County

Jefferson County

10:00 AM 6:00 PM, Hollywood Casino, 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV

12:00 PM 5:00 PM, Shepherd University Wellness Center Parking Lot, 164 University Drive, Shepherdstown, WV

Lincoln County

Logan County

Marshall County

Mason County

Mineral County

10:00 AM 6:00 PM, Mineral County Health Department, 541 Harley O. Staggers Drive, Keyser, WV

Mingo County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Kermit Fire Department, 49 Main Street, Kermit, WV

Morgan County

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Valley Health War Memorial Hospital, 1 Health Way, Berkeley Springs, WV

Nicholas County

Putnam County

Raleigh County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, FMRS Health Systems, 102 South Eisenhower Drive, Beckley, WV

2:15 PM 4:00 PM, FMRS Health Systems, 216 South Vance Drive, Beckley, WV

Wyoming County

11:00 AM 3:00 PM, Wyoming County Fire Department, 12 Park Street, Pineville, WV

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COVID-19 Daily Update 4-20-2021 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

DHEC: SC still far from relaxing COVID precautions – Index-Journal

April 22, 2021

As the weather warms up and more people get eager to return to public life, state health officials are worried not enough people are getting the COVID-19 vaccine while spread of the virus doesnt seem to be slowing.

Theres been a lull in vaccination rates throughout the country, said Assistant South Carolina Epidemiologist Dr. Jane Kelly, and while other states have seen a rise in COVID case numbers, South Carolinas cases have seemingly plateaued. While the state might have avoided a post-Easter case surge that health officials worried about, Kelly said another surge might still come since case numbers arent dropping significantly.

Spring is here, Summer is approaching, people are getting together, she said. Were far from being able to relax public health recommendations.

Kelly urged people to get vaccinated and to share their experiences with others to promote vaccination. Even people who have had COVID should get vaccinated, as she said studies have shown COVID vaccines produce more antibodies than the natural immunity developed by being sick.

Vaccination will help control the spread of COVID-19, but Kelly said the virus cant be eliminated such as polio because of the way coronaviruses transmit. She also said its likely COVID-19 will become endemic an ever-present virus not unlike the common cold. Even in the 155 cases statewide of vaccinated people still contracting COVID-19, theyve gone either asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, Kelly said.

The more we delay, the more opportunity there is for new variants to develop, she said.

Many people are still hesitant to get vaccinated, and Kelly said doubts crop up for a variety of reasons. Sometimes people need more information about the vaccines, and she said DHEC is working to get accurate information out through multiple community sources. In other cases, she said some people have been hesitant because they cant afford to take a day off from work to recover from the side effects, which can include flu-like symptoms, aches and fatigue.

Kelly recently heard about a social media claim that the vaccine contained aborted fetal DNA, which she said is completely false. She said faith-based communities have helped in fighting misinformation, and even suggested a podcast by the National Association of Evangelicals, available online at nae.net/collinspodcast, that features Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health.

In some ways, the regional Community Assessment Review and Equity Panels have helped shape the future of public health in South Carolina, Kelly said. These are groups of regional health officials and community stakeholders that are working to identify gaps in vaccine utilization in their region and offer recommendations on how to provide for underserved communities.

This gives us the opportunity to draw together a diverse range of partners, Kelly said.

The Upstate CARE Panel met Wednesday morning and discussed the data they need to make informed recommendations for getting vaccines to underserved populations. They asked DHEC officials if they could have vaccination rates for each ZIP code in the Upstate, broken down by demographics, along with a map of vaccine clinics and events, so they can see where services are already being provided.

Chairperson Sue Veer said the panel members also needed to compile a list of current efforts and outreach programs available from the organizations the panel members represent. Knowing whats already being done could help them better collaborate and save resources through strategic cooperation.

We have a real army here to address this problem, but we dont know what were doing, she said.

The panel talked about reaching out to radio stations that have programming geared toward Black and Latino audiences, to have medical professionals talk about vaccines and combat misinformation, along with explaining why people should get vaccinated. The panel also talked about seeking partnerships with historically Black sororities and fraternities.

Veer, president and CEO of Carolina Health Centers, said putting out factual information through population-specific channels could be a boon in trying to convince more people to get vaccinated.

We surveyed our employees a few weeks ago and Whats the point if theres going to be variants, was mind-blowing to me, she said.

While this was only the panels second meeting, Veer and others said it seems like the start of something bigger than the COVID-19 response. This coalition of regional health care professionals, working in tandem with DHEC, could be the groundwork of a larger movement for broader public health collaboration.

Contact staff writer Damian Dominguez at 864-634-7548 or follow on Twitter @IJDDOMINGUEZ.

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DHEC: SC still far from relaxing COVID precautions - Index-Journal

Large clinical trial to study repurposed drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms – National Institutes of Health

April 22, 2021

News Release

Monday, April 19, 2021

Using an ACTIV master protocol, the trial will focus on potential interventions for mild-to-moderate illness.

The National Institutes of Health will fund a large, randomized, placebocontrolled Phase 3 clinical trial to test several existing prescription and over-the-counter medications for people to self-administer to treat symptoms of COVID-19. Part of the Accelerating COVID19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) publicprivate partnership, the ACTIV-6 trial aims to provide evidence-based treatment options for the majority of adult patients with COVID-19 who have mild-to-moderate symptoms and are not sick enough to be hospitalized. NIH will provide an initial investment of $155 million in funding for the trial.

While were doing a good job with treating hospitalized patients with severe disease, we dont currently have an approved medication that can be self-administered to ease symptoms of people suffering from mild disease at home, and reduce the chance of their needing hospitalization, said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. ACTIV-6 will evaluate whether certain drugs showing promise in small trials can pass the rigor of a larger trial.

Several drugs currently are recommended for the treatment of hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19, including the antiviral drug remdesivir, the anti-inflammatory baricitinib, and corticosteroids. Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of intravenous monoclonal antibodies in non-hospitalized patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for severe disease. However, medications that can be self-administered at home to reduce COVID-19 symptoms are critically needed.

The ACTIV-6 protocol will explore a pool of up to seven drugs approved by FDA for other conditions an approach called drug repurposing and test their safety and effectiveness in treating mild to moderate COVID-19. Because the drugs under consideration already have been tested in humans, repurposing could deliver COVID-19 treatment options sooner. Drugs will be administered orally or by inhaler and will be easy for participants to take at home. Participants will be assigned randomly to receive either a placebo or one of the treatments, which will be sent to them by mail.

Enrollment is expected to open in a few weeks to up to 13,500 participants who are at least 30 years old, have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection and have experienced two or more mild-to-moderate symptoms of COVID-19 for no more than seven days. Researchers plan to assess changes in patients symptoms over a 14-day period, as well as hospitalizations and deaths over a 28-day period. They also will assess long-term COVID-19-related symptoms at 90 days after treatment begins. The list of drugs that will be added to the study arms is still being finalized. All the drugs will have established safety records and early indications from smaller or less controlled studies of effectiveness against COVID-19.

The trial will focus on enrollment of people within minority, rural and other communities that are significantly affected by COVID-19 but lack access to major academic medical centers, where large clinical trials usually take place.

With funding provided by the American Rescue Plan Act, NIHs National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) will oversee the trial. The Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, North Carolina, an NCATS-funded Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program hub, will serve as the clinical coordinating center, and the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research CTSA Program hub at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, will serve as the trials data coordinating center.

To expedite enrollment in ACTIV-6, NCATS and its Duke-Vanderbilt Trial Innovation Center will partner with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), an independent nonprofit research funding organization. PCORnet, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, which is funded by PCORI, will support the ACTIV-6 governance and operations. In addition, PCORnet sites will enroll participants from a broad range of communities.

Getting approval for a new drug to come to market usually takes years, said Joni Rutter, Ph.D., NCATS acting director. By leveraging drug repurposing and existing national clinical trial networks, ACTIV-6 aims to speed the delivery of definitive answers about available drugs that could help people manage COVID-19 symptoms at home.

About the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS):NCATS conducts and supports research on the science and operation of translation the process by which interventions to improve health are developed and implemented to allow more treatments to get to more patients more quickly. For more information about how NCATS helps shorten the journey from scientific observation to clinical intervention, visithttps://ncats.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIHTurning Discovery Into Health

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Large clinical trial to study repurposed drugs to treat COVID-19 symptoms - National Institutes of Health

About a third of service members have taken the COVID-19 vaccine – Military Times

April 22, 2021

Roughly 740,000 troops are partially or fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Defense Department numbers released Wednesday, which are now published online.

The vast majority of those doses have gone to service members in phase 1, including those working in clinics and hospitals, as first responders, deploying to or redeploying from overseas and those with pre-existing conditions. As of April 19, along with the rest of the United States, all DoD personnel and beneficiaries are eligible to receive a vaccine.

We are encouraging everyone to get vaccinated, because these vaccines are effective and safe, and are a critical part of us getting back to normal, Dr. Terry Adirim, the acting defense secretary for health affairs, told reporters Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, 459,921 troops are fully vaccinated, and an additional 280,667 have received a first dose. They represent 28 percent of 2,603,081 doses DoD has administered, out of 3,226,290 delivered to 350 sites around the world.

The Army has administered the most doses, and the Marine Corps the least, which is in line with their statuses as the largest and smallest services.

The Marine Corps, however, shows a higher vaccination rate: 35 percent of its total force, both active and Reserve, versus the Armys 25 percent across the active, Reserve and National Guard components. The Air Force, which also has three components, shows a 35 percent vaccination rate.

The Navy has by far the highest rate, at 53 percent.

There could be several explanations for those varying rates. DoD has been moving through a tiered vaccination scheme that prioritizes certain kinds of personnel and units, and the services have been able to make their own policies in terms of how they move through those tiers once they have offered doses to those eligible.

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There is also the factor of vaccine refusal, which the Pentagon is not tracking centrally. The Marine Corps has said that nearly 40 percent of its troops have opted not to get vaccinated.

Now that all service members are eligible to receive the vaccine, including the predominantly young demographic with no preexisting conditions, those rates could fluctuate.

Vaccination rates have been higher overseas than stateside, with officials pegging the rate at 10-to-15 percent higher. A majority of troops, families and civilians have gotten vaccinated in Indo-Pacific Command and Central Command, the director of the Defense Health Agency told Military Times.

The only geographical combatant command that doesnt have more than 50 percent of their assigned family members, contractors, etc., vaccinated is [European Command], Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place said, though he declined to speculate as to why.

According to feedback, Adirim said, some younger service members feel that they are less vulnerable to COVID-19 than they would be to vaccine side effects Which, of course, we know not to be true, she said while others are holding off until more vulnerable populations have a chance to be inoculated.

Though there are no department-wide incentives for vaccination, policies have started to shift to reflect Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.

For instance, earlier this month, DoD lifted two-week quarantine requirements before or after deployments, temporary duty travel and permanent change-of-station moves for troops who have been vaccinated.

As of Wednesday, more than 185,000 troops have tested positive for COVID-19, 8 percent of the population, while the U.S. in general is at nearly 10 percent.

Of those troops, roughly 1,600 have been hospitalized with serious complications, and 24 have died.

Certainly, if more people get vaccinated, and the lower the transmission within the United States...if at some point in time the virus is not transmittable, then we could get much closer to normal, Adirim said, in terms of lifting physical distancing and mask mandates.

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About a third of service members have taken the COVID-19 vaccine - Military Times

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