Category: Covid-19

More than 150,000 new cases of the disease were reported on Thursday: the highest single daily total so far.

Most were in the Americas, though large numbers came from South Asia and the Middle East.

The world is in a new and dangerous phase. Many people are understandably fed up with being at home. Countries are understandably eager to open up their societies and economies, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists.

But the virus is still spreading fast, its still deadly, and most people are still susceptible.

Globally, there were nearly 3.4 million cases of COVID-19 as of Friday, including more than 450,000 deaths.

Tedros repeated his call for countries and people to remain vigilant against the disease, and to continue efforts focused on containing the disease, including though testing and contact tracing.

WHOs support and technical guidance has been invaluable in guarding against widespread COVID-19 infections in refugee camps, the UN High Commissioner has said.

Filippo Grandi was a guest at the briefing, held on the eve of World Refugee Day, marked on Saturday.

He revealed that humanitarians initially feared there would be catastrophic outbreaks in camps, where it is difficult to practice physical distancing, among other factors.

So far this has not occurred, he said, although cases of COVID-19 and small outbreaks have been reported.

I think this is also due to the fact that in many of these situations, we had time to prepare, and there is where our cooperation with WHO has been invaluable, he said.

Because it is WHOthat has provided us, throughout these difficult months, with leadership and technical guidance without which we would not have been able to achieve whatever we have been able to achieve.

Globally, nearly 80 million people have fled their homes due to conflict or persecution, according to the latest report by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which Mr. Grandi heads.

He told journalists that most refugees actually live in host communities, not camps, some of which have been devastated by the pandemic.

Im thinking of Latin America, where 17, 18 countries host more than four million Venezuelans on the move, he said.

Im thinking of many urban centres in Africa that are host to large refugee populations. Im thinking of Afghans in Pakistan and Iraq, that live - share facilities and accommodation - with communities that have been impacted very severely by COVID.

Continued here:

COVID-19: UN health agency warns of 'new and dangerous phase' as cases mount - UN News

LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron.(Photo: Jason Getz, USA TODAY Sports)

BATON ROUGE "It ain'tover, until it's over."

The late Yankee catcher great Yogi Berra was not talking about COVID-19 when he said that in the summer of 1973. He was talking baseball as the manager of the New York Mets, who proved him prophetic as they rallied from 12.5 games out of first in the National League East in July to win the division and later advance to the World Series.

Too bad Berra is not around today to deliver a public service message in whichhe could repeat perhaps the most famous of his multitude of Yogi-isms.

Someone needs to get that message across concerning the coronavirus pandemic that, yes, is still a pandemic.

Pandemic hits LSU:At least 30 football players quarantined

"People keep talking about a second wave," Dr. Anthony Fauci,the director of theNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the preeminent authority on COVID-19, told the Wall Street Journal last week.

"We're still in a first wave," said Fauci, who has served every United States president since Ronald Reagan in 1984 and helped createPresident George W. Bush's successful emergency plan for AIDS relief in2003.

"The reality is every Louisianan needs to do a gut check on whether he or shehas been slacking off on taking proper precautions," Gov.John Bel Edwards said on Thursday as the first wave rolled onward in Louisiana last week.

There were another 870 new cases and 20 deaths reported in the state on Saturday. Meanwhile, six states reported record increases in COVID-19 cases last week - Florida, Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Nevada.

More: Louisiana coronavirus cases continue week-long spike Saturday

More: Map: Where coronavirus has spread in Louisiana by parish

It is not a good idea to just say something is over because you want it to be over.

Maybe another bit of news on Saturday will get Louisianans and everyone hopefully to wake up and put on their masks and stop pretending it's over, or acting out over some sense of rebellion that is more juvenile than anything.

At least 30 LSU football players have recently been quarantined because they have tested positive for COVID-19 or have had contact with someone who did.

They are all young and in great shape, so they likely will be done with the virus in a couple of days if they have not already gotten over it. But that's not the point. What it is is more proof that the pandemic is not close to being over.

Maybe the fact that COVID-19 has now hit home in Louisiana at that most sacred part of the house LSU Football people will get it that it is not over.

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward said on ESPN's Paul Finebaum Show on Friday that people going to LSU football games at Tiger Stadium this fall may be required to wear a mask.

Rebuilding America: LSU football season ticket sales soar amid coronavirus pandemic

"This isn't a political statement," Woodward said. His comments echoed thoseof Fauci, who said this about his job:

"You stay completely apolitical and non-ideological. Im a scientist, and Im a physician. And thats it."

When Woodward wears a mask, he is not thinking of his health as much as those of others. He gets it.

"This is a health statement," he said. "We're trying to save lives here. I think about my parents. I think about elderly folks and people with immune systems that are compromised. We have to do these things to curtail this pandemic."

In an interview last week with USA TODAY-Louisiana, LSU associate athletic director for health and wellness Shelly Mullenix said she expected to see several LSU football players test positive for COVID-19.

LSU Plan: Help everyone not get sick

"Sure, there will be some, maybe many. It's a pandemic," she said as players were being tested. "We're prepared for every scenario. We want to keep our community healthy, not just us."

LSUmay not have expected30, but Mullenix and company were ready and swiftly quarantined everyone involved, which is sort of like applying one large mask over the football facility. The players will be fine, but they do not need to be out and about where they could infect others.

Meanwhile, the Tigerland bar circuit near campus should be off limits to all LSU football players and other student-athletes. In fact, for the time being it is not a good idea for anyone to go there.

State health officials on Friday said there was a cluster of COVID-19 outbreaks stemming from patrons at bars in and near the Tigerland area, which is where some of the LSU football players had been frequenting after just returning to campus June 9.

LSU is not unique in the rash of COVID-19 cases. At Clemson last week, 21 football players tested positive. Kansas State had 14 test positive, while Texas had 13.

The first wave continues, perhaps because people overreacted when Phase One of the prevention plan became Phase Two early this month in Louisiana. Suddenly, it was TGIPT Thank God It's Phase Two throughout the state.

I saw more unmasked people than I see masked people at Mardi Gras. They were everywhere. They were in large groups in backyards. They were not social distancing. There were fewer masks at grocery stories.They thought it was over or close to it.

Not a good strategy. Former LSU pass game coordinator Joe Brady would have kept his mask on and kept passing disinfectant.

It ain't over, until it's over. True. But forget that. We're not even at halftime yet.

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OPINION: Will Louisiana wake up now that COVID-19 has hit LSU football? - Daily Advertiser

A cheap, readily available steroid drug reduced deaths by a third in patients hospitalized with Covid-19 in a large study, the first time a therapy has been shown to possibly improve the odds of survival with the condition in the sickest patients.

Full data from the study have not been published or subjected to scientific scrutiny. But outside experts on Tuesday immediately embraced the top-line results. The drug, dexamethasone, is widely available and is used to treat conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and some cancers.

In a statement, Patrick Vallance, the U.K. governments chief scientific adviser, called the result tremendous news and a ground-breaking development in our fight against the disease. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, called it a very positive finding in an interview on CNBC. I think it needs to be validated, but it certainly suggests that this could be beneficial in this setting.

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Atul Gawande, the surgeon, writer and public health researcher, urged caution, tweeting, after all the retractions and walk backs, it is unacceptable to tout study results by press release without releasing the paper.

The study randomly assigned 2,104 patients to receive six milligrams of dexamethasone once a day, by mouth or intravenous injection. These were compared to 4,321 patients assigned to receive usual care alone.

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In patients who needed to be on a ventilator, dexamethasone reduced the death rate by 35%, meaning that doctors would prevent one death by treating eight ventilated patients. In those who needed oxygen but were not ventilated, the death rate was reduced 20%, meaning doctors would need to treat 25 patients to save one life. Both results were statistically significant.

There was no benefit in patients who didnt require any oxygen. The researchers running the study, called RECOVERY, decided to stop enrolling patients on dexamethasone on June 8 because they believed they had enough data to get a clear result.

Dexamethasone is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in COVID-19, Peter Horby, one of the lead investigators of the study and a professor in the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford, said in a statement. He added that the drug should now become the standard treatment for patients with Covid-19 who need oxygen. Dexamethasone is inexpensive, on the shelf, and can be used immediately to save lives worldwide.

A different arm of the same study showed on June 5 that hydroxychloroquine, widely touted as a potential Covid treatment, had no benefit in hospitalized patients. Yesterday, based in part on those results, the Food and Drug Administration revoked an Emergency Use Authorization for using hydroxychloroquine in those patients.

From the start of the pandemic in March, researchers have focused on two different stages of Covid-19, which will likely require very different interventions. Some drugs are designed to directly combat the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that causes the disease. The first medicine shown to have a benefit, remdesivir from the biotech firm Gilead Sciences, falls into this category, even though, because it must be given intravenously, it has been tested in hospitalized patients. Remdesivir shortens the course of infection, but has not been shown to save lives.

After patients have become profoundly sick, the problem starts to become not only the virus but their own immune system, which attacks the lungs, a condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. For these patients, doctors have believed, they would need to dampen patients immune response even as they fought the virus.

Initially, excitement in this area fell on new and expensive drugs, such as Actemra, a rheumatoid arthritis drug from Roche that is used to treat a similar condition caused by some cancer immunotherapies. But a study in patients who needed oxygen showed no benefit from a similar drug, although another arm in sicker patients is continuing. The National Institutes of Health is conducting a study of an Eli Lilly pill targeting rheumatoid arthritis, an extension of the study that showed remdesivir has a benefit.

Dexamethasone, which reached the market 59 years ago, seemed an unlikely candidate to help these patients; it was seen as too crude a way of tamping down the immune system. In guidelines for physicians treating the disease, the NIH doesnt even mention the therapy.

Studies that are testing other medicines may now need to incorporate the use of the drug, which could complicate analyzing the results. A spokesperson for Regeneron, which is testing Covid-19 drugs focused on both attacking the virus and dampening the immune system, said the companys studies are written so that when a new medicine becomes the standard of care, it becomes available to patients in the trial.Some studies have shown a benefit for using dexamethasone in acute respiratory distress syndrome not related to Covid-19, although the benefit was smaller than in RECOVERY.

The result, should it hold up to further scrutiny, shows the benefit of the strategy of Horby and Martin Landray, the Oxford researchers who designed the study, leveraging the U.K. health system to start a study of multiple inexpensive potential Covid-19 therapies including hydroxychloroquine, dexamethasone, and also some older HIV medicines. Several months into the Covid-19 pandemic, two of the most important results come from this single study.

Neither of those results, however, have been scrutinized or published.

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Major study finds steroid reduces deaths in patients with severe Covid-19 - STAT

Children of black, Asian and ethnic minority heritage are suffering much worse damage to their mental health as a result of the pandemic than their white peers, research has found.

The higher risk of BAME people dying from Covid-19 and inability to attend school over the last three months are behind large rises in anxiety and self-harm among non-white under-18s, experts say.

Data from one of the biggest providers of NHS-funded online mental health support shows that the mental wellbeing of children and young people of BAME origin has been affected disproportionately over the last three months compared with their white counterparts.

For example, the number of BAME under-18s seeking help for anxiety or stress from the Kooth digital support service increased by 11.4% during March, April and May compared with the same period last year, while it rose by much less 3% among white children that age.

The number of BAME under-18s contacting Kooth with suicidal thoughts went up by 26.6% over the same three months but by 18.1% among their white peers. It was the same with incidents of self-harm, where the BAME and white groups studied had respective increases of 29.5% and 24.9%.

About one in five of the 7,482 BAME young people in the study mentioned that they either had had suicidal thoughts or had self-harmed.

In addition, while the number of white under-18s reporting depression fell by 16.2% over the last three months, it rose among BAME children and young people by 9.2%, Kooth found.

Kooth is a form of online mental health support for children and young people provided by 85% of England and Waless local NHS clinical commissioning groups. Their new findings are based on requests for help from 51,321 under-18s in England, of whom 7,482 were from a BAME background.

These numbers tell us quite clearly that there has been a significant deterioration in children and young peoples mental health over recent months and as yet there is no indication that this is slowing down. This is a tremendous worry, said Dr Lynne Green, a consultant clinical psychologist who is also the chief clinical officer at XenZone, the firm that provides Kooth.

Of particular concern is the disparity we are seeing between BAME young people and their non-BAME counterparts. Sense of stability and control has been threatened for everyone during this pandemic. For our young people, whether in the middle of puberty or approaching adulthood, this is hitting hard. Depression and anxiety generally go hand in hand with feelings of hopelessness and dread of what might lie ahead.

Kooth has also seen big rises in the number of BAME under-18s seeking help this year compared with last year, with difficulty sleeping (up 200%), concerns related to school or college (up 159%), and issues involving their family relationships (up 27%). Overall, 44% more BAME children and young people sought advice from Kooth in March, April and May than in the same period last year.

Aisha Gordon-Hiles, a counsellor at XenZone, said the higher risk of people of BAME origin contracting and dying from Covid-19 was a key factor. Without there being much information on why this is or what can be done to prevent this increased risk it is understandable that this may further contribute to individuals from these communities feeling increased levels of stress, anxiety and depression, even if they are not consciously aware of the impact.

Andy Bell, the deputy chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health thinktank, said: These are worrying figures. There is growing evidence from multiple sources that children and young peoples mental health is being severely affected by Covid-19. And just as Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are disproportionately affected by the virus, the impacts on mental health may also be falling more heavily on young people from the same communities.

Originally posted here:

Covid-19 affects BAME youth mental health more than white peers study - The Guardian

Nick Watney became the first positive COVID-19 test on the PGA Tour on Friday. He found out while preparing for the second round of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina.

Watney left the practice area and then withdrew from the tournament. He was sharing a house this week with his caddie, Tony Navarro, as well as Brendon Todds caddie. All three are now in self-quarantine for the next 10-14 days, with follow up tests throughout.

Sergio Garcia, who flew privately to South Carolina with Watney on Tuesday, was also tested Friday. He texted Golfweek to say that his result was negative.

On Saturday, after his round, Garcia said he felt terrible for Watney, calling him one of the nicest guys on Tour.

Unfortunately, it had to happen to him, Garcia said, who then made an odd declaration.

Theres a lot of other people that probably deserved it a lot more than him, and hes the one that got it.

Garcia then continued with more praise for his friend.

Nick is unbelievable. Hes a good friend. He was very worried about me. He sent me several texts. I talked to him. He must have said sorry to me probably 25 times. I told him that its all good.

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Garcia then talked about how a positive test for himself wouldve kept him from making a second straight cut.

After missing the cut last week by one and this week finally playing nicely in the second round and being in the middle of the pack, if I would have given positive (COVID-19 test), then I wouldnt be able to play on the weekend, and I would have been very, very disappointed.

Fortunately for me, it was fine. Hopefully, his (Watney) is not bad, and we can have him back as soon as possible. Unfortunately, thats the way it is. I feel terrible about it. But unfortunately, its the way it is, and we all knew coming out here and playing that theres a possibility of catching it some way.

Were hoping that no one gets it, but Im sure that, unfortunately, he wont be the first and he wont be the last because theres a lot of things that can happen. Theres so many unknowns about this virus that we dont. we think we know a lot about it, but theres a lot of things we dont know. Hopefully, he recovers very soon and very quickly, and we can have him back.

Golfweeks Steve DiMeglio contributed to this article.

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Sergio Garcia says he feels bad for Nick Watney's positive COVID-19 test and that others 'deserved it a lot more than him' - USA TODAY

Brazos County health officials reported 62 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, capping a week with 444 new cases of the virus, including the countys first triple-digit daily increase.

Saturdays report from the Brazos County Health District also marks the 12th consecutive day of double-digit increases.

The 62 new cases reported Saturday brings the countys total number of cases to 1,225. Of those cases, 620 remain active, officials said.Brazos Countys first case was reported March 17.

County health officials reported a record 145 daily cases on Wednesday, more than double the previous daily high of 60 new cases on June 13.

Twenty-five Brazos County residents have died from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

Twenty-seven Brazos County residents remained hospitalized with the illness Saturday, officials said, down from the Fridays record of 29 hospitalizations. Health District officials only report the number of Brazos County residents in area hospitals.

Of nearly 500 hospital beds available in Brazos County and six surrounding counties, 140 were available on Saturday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services website. Fifteen intensive care unit beds and 43 ventilators were available in the region, according to the state figures.

The region, defined as Trauma Service Area N by the state, had 45 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Saturday, the website showed. The region includes Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Robertson, Washington, Madison and

In Texas, COVID-19 hospitalizations have more than doubled since Memorial Day, from 1,511 to 3,247 on Saturday. State health officials reported more than 13,700 hospital beds and nearly 6,000 ventilators available.

Across the state, 107,735 COVID-19 cases had been reported Saturday, with an estimated 38,474 cases remaining active. More than 2,160

COVID-19 fatalities have been reported in Texas since the pandemic began, according to state data.

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Brazos County adds 62 cases of COVID-19, bringing overall total to 1,225 - Bryan-College Station Eagle

That call would be the beginning of a 12-day journey that would end in tragedy.

"I can't tell you how a perfectly healthy 16-year-old boy can be making his own peanut butter sandwich late Wednesday night, getting his own tea out the fridge and head up to bed like any other teenager in the state or in the country is doing. And then within 24 hours is fighting for his life," Dawn said.

Andre, an easygoing sophomore at Lawrence North High School, loved YouTube and knew everything about video games; for his birthday in April, he asked for a game that wasn't set to be released until December, and his parents planned on getting it for him when it was released. He also loved photography and annoying his siblings and excelled at basketball and bowling.

Born prematurely at 25 weeks, he and twin sister Abby spent months in the hospital before they were brought home and later adopted by Dawn and her husband, Johnny. Though Andre was diagnosed with moderate autism, his parents were fierce advocates and he thrived with a positive attitude and a smile on his face. "He always just flew through," said Dawn.

In fact, Andre was the only family member who did not leave the house at all. But the virus has proven to be a wily foe, circulating in some communities before public health officials realized it was there. It found vulnerable people like Andre Guest despite all recommended precautions.

After Dawn left for work that morning, Andre normally self-sufficient asked his dad for help getting a drink. Odd. At 1:30 p.m., when Johnny went to check on Andre, the teen said he was tired, but, Johnny said, "his speech was really slurred. He could still understand me and answer me." A short time later, when Andre fell down in the bathroom, Johnny called his wife.

By the time Dawn got home, Andre had lost the ability to grip objects, he had trouble standing, his head and eyes were rolling, he could not hold his body weight up, and he appeared confused. She called an ambulance, which rushed Andre to the nearest emergency room, which transferred the critically ill teen to Riley Hospital for Children.

Although Andre had no underlying medical conditions, the first thing doctors discovered was that he had developed Type 1 diabetes his blood sugar was a dangerous 1,500 milligrams per deciliter, more than 10 times normal. Type 1 diabetes frequently comes to light for the first time in the setting of an infection.

Because he had a fever and cough and was breathing hard, he was tested for Covid-19. Negative. But the doctors were having trouble controlling the teen's blood sugar usually fairly straightforward with an insulin infusion in a first episode of diabetes. At the same time, his temperature kept rising and his breathing deteriorated even with increasing supplements of oxygen. A second Covid test came back positive and he was moved to a Covid unit.

Johnny and Andre's two sisters were subsequently swabbed, and they, too, were positive, though they had only mild fevers and fatigue. Dawn, who was at the hospital with Andre, decided not to get tested because, according to Riley's policy, if she tested positive she would not be allowed back into the hospital until she tested negative twice.

A few days later, Andre was on a ventilator, and doctors, trying to understand and treat his quickly changing illness, even tried "proning" placing him on his stomach to improve lung capacity.

Still, his mother thought he'd survive. He was getting superb care, and his blood sugar was finally at normal levels suggesting the worst of the infection had passed. He was young and had always been resilient.

On the morning of April 27, that hope quickly evaporated. His blood sugar spiked. His arterial line began to clot, suggesting coagulation problems that have been a hallmark of the disease. He went into cardiac arrest and, despite chest compressions, succumbed.

Andre is among the small number of children who have died of Covid-19 and Indiana's first recorded victim under age 18.

"They were wonderful there," Dawn said. "Every nurse and every doctor. I can't complain. We just didn't get the results that we wanted."

Despite stay-at-home restrictions, Andre's death resulted in an outpouring of support from the community. Letters and cards arrived from teachers recollecting their favorite encounters with the teen.

More than 70 cars drove by the Guests' house to express their condolences in a memorial organized by Lawrence Township where Andre attended school.

Marion County Northeast Special Olympics retired Andre's team basketball jersey No. 54 and sent it to the family's home.

With this virus, "you are taking care of your community, as much as you're taking care of yourself. You have no idea if you're a carrier or if you've touched something that has it on there," said Dawn.

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

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Healthy teenager who took precautions died suddenly of Covid-19 - CNN

Medical professionals escort a patient into the the COVID-19 ward at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital in New Delhi on June 15. Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images hide caption

Medical professionals escort a patient into the the COVID-19 ward at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital in New Delhi on June 15.

India reported a record spike in coronavirus cases Thursday, even as the prime minister ruled out a new nationwide lockdown.

With 12,881 new infections registered, it's the first time India's daily tally has exceeded 12,000. For most of this week, only the United States and Brazil have been adding more new cases daily.

The Health Ministry confirmed a total of 160,384 active cases Thursday, and 12,237 deaths since the pandemic began in a population of nearly 1.4 billion. But testing rates are very low.

Hospitals in the biggest cities, Mumbai and New Delhi, are overflowing. Social media is flooded with desperate pleas from families searching for COVID-19 tests and hospital beds. Patients, unable to get admitted, have died in parking lots outside clinics and hospitals.

India has about one doctor per 1,500 citizens. In rural areas, where two-thirds of Indians live and rely almost solely on government hospitals, the ratio is one doctor to more than 10,000 people. The World Health Organization's standard is one doctor per 1,000 residents.

While government hospitals are overcrowded, some of India's elite private clinics are charging up to $950 a day for intensive care with a ventilator.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rejected media reports that his government is considering another nationwide lockdown, and told a gathering of chief ministers that they should be looking to minimize restrictions in their states.

Despite Modi's stance, individual states maintain their own restrictions. The southern state of Tamil Nadu imposed a fresh 12-day lockdown on Monday.

Nationwide, schools remain closed and international air travel is halted. Local restrictions on shopping and traffic remain in containment zones neighborhoods with high concentrations of COVID-19 cases.

On March 25, India imposed the biggest coronavirus lockdown in the world, a move that left tens of millions of migrant workers unemployed and stranded in urban centers or industrial zones, far from home. Many starved to death as they set out on foot to their villages, often hundreds of miles away.

Last month, the government allocated special interstate trains to ferry migrant workers to safety, but many were already so weak, they died en route. In late May, a video went viral on social media, showing a toddler trying to wake up his dead mother on the floor of a train station.

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India Reports Record Spike In COVID-19 Cases, But Nixes Another Nationwide Lockdown - NPR

As fears of a second wave of Covid-19 weigh on stocks, heres some potentially good news: A vaccine may be approved before the November election, according to a major biotechnology investing research firm.

The prediction is a big deal for investors for three reasons.

1. Its credible because it comes from Jefferies, a high-profile brokerage in biotech and pharma thats wired in to literally hundreds of companies in the group, including the major vaccine developers. Jefferies has nine analysts covering the industry.

2. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a vaccine ahead of voting could have an impact on the elections, possibly swaying the outcome in favor of President Trump.

3. For investors, early vaccine approval would be bullish for biotech stocks, cyclical stocks, travel stocks, the economy and the market overall. The S&P 500 Index SPX, -0.56% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.80% have recovered most of their March losses, and the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.03% recently hit new highs. Theyll need some good news to support further advances.

Ironically, early vaccine approvals probably wont mean much for investors who have already enjoyed good runs in vaccine developers. It might not mean much for most people worried about contracting the virus, either. Weird, right? Well get to that later in this column.

We hear time and again that vaccines take 10 to 15 years to research and bring to market. So given the limited timeline of Covid-19 vaccine safety and efficacy studies to date, the following is a bold projection.

We believe the FDA will likely approve at least one vaccine prior to the November election, Jefferies health-care strategist Jared Holz said in an interview. Perhaps multiple vaccines could get the go-ahead at some point early in the fourth quarter and quell fears of a second wave of Covid-19.

But this isnt too off the wall, even if Covid-19 vaccines have only been investigated for under a year. Thats because Holz is basing his prediction, in part, on signals from vaccine-development companies.

He says New York-based Jefferies has heard from several vaccine developers including Moderna MRNA, +2.15% and AstraZeneca AZN, +0.68% that an emergency authorization may happen before the elections. And just as important, theyll be close to having the capacity to produce millions of doses.

That sets a very high bar, which no one is asking them to set, says Holz.

Efficacy studies will continue. Moderna is moving into Phase II Covid-19 vaccine trials now, and it will start a larger Phase III clinical study at the beginning of July, the company has said. Both trials look at efficacy, and they will continue to examine safety. Many other vaccine companies are on a similar timeline.

Here are three other reasons we may well see Covid-19 vaccine approval before early November.

1. President Trump has a penchant for timing policy decisions (such as China trade negotiation breakthroughs) to influence the markets and the electorate at key tactical turning points. So it wont be surprising if he exerts behind-the-scenes pressure to get vaccine approval to boost ratings and his odds against the Democrats, says Holz. Sounds Machiavellian. But welcome to politics.

2. The federal government is directly funding many of the vaccine-development programs. This raises the odds of near-term approval, given the inherent bias, says Holz.

3. Initial approval would be for emergency use only, which lowers the research hurdles for efficacy. The efficacy bar will be fairly low considering the toll Covid-19 has taken on the world over the past four to six months from a health and an economic standpoint, says Holz.

Emergency-use approval seems like a letdown because it would take a lot of potential beneficiaries, including you and me, out of the equation. Health-care workers would be first in line. But limited-use approval would still be important for investors and the economy.

Heres why.

It would help the health-care system. Our leaders shut down much of the economy when Covid-19 struck because they had failed to prepare the health-care system for a pandemic. Having vaccines that might keep more front-line health care workers on the job and healthy boosting their morale and numbers would take some of the pressure off politicians to reimpose fresh lockdowns to flatten the curve in a resurgence.

Will we get a resurgence? Probably, but not right now. I think the current resurgence data are just noise. The case-count data are based on non-random samples, which renders them meaningless, statistically. Florida tested more and found more, in lockstep. Exactly what you would expect. The Florida data do not show a resurgence in Covid-19, only more testing.

But I do expect a meaningful resurgence starting in early October when the flu season begins. This is what happened with the swine flu in 2010 and the Spanish flu a century ago. However, the October resurgence wont be as scary as round one, because a lot of people will already have been exposed, and we will have better testing and tracking capabilities to support selective rather than blanket lockdowns. And we might even have a vaccine.

Early approval of vaccines before the elections probably wouldnt help investors in the companies developing them, including Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer PFE, +0.54%, Johnson & Johnson JNJ, +0.29%, Sanofi SNY, +1.73%, Inovio Pharmaceuticals INO, -0.48%, Novavax NVAX, +9.24% and Arcturus Therapeutics ARCT, +2.92%, among others.

Thats because many of the stocks have already risen a lot, especially those closer to being pure plays because they are smaller.

Next, it would be bad PR for vaccine producers to be seen making a lot of profits off a global pandemic health crisis. (The same goes for Covid-19 therapy developers including Gilead GILD, +4.63%, which is researching remdesivir as a treatment.) Given the governments role in funding research, it would likewise also pressure vaccine makers to cap pricing.

But many other investors would benefit from vaccine approvals. Biotech and pharma investors would get a boost if the public and politicians view them as having saved the day in the Covid-19 crisis. That would mean there would be less pressure for them to rein in drug pricing.

That would support biotech and pharma companies and exchange traded funds including iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index IBB, +3.26% and SPDR S&P Biotech XBI, +2.83%. They have been plagued for years by worries the government will regulate drug prices.

In the end, a vaccine likely does more for the sector as whole from a sentiment standpoint, says Jefferies Holz.

Vaccine approval would also help cyclical and travel stocks because it would lower the odds of another full lockdown. It would also benefit a group I call public-gathering-place stocks.

A portfolio of eight public gathering place stocks I suggested in my stock letter, Brush Up on Stocks, on March 17 was already up 71% by the close June 15, compared with 26.3% gains for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, -0.57%. I wrote about this topic in MarketWatch last month.

I expect further gains from those stocks when vaccines are approved. My portfolio includes Churchill Downs CHDN, -1.92%, Royal Caribbean Cruises RCL, -6.87%, Carnival CCL, -5.26%, Planet Fitness PLNT, -0.33% and Cedar Fair FUN, -3.99% in amusement parks.

At the time of publication, Michael Brush owned CHDN and CCL. Brush has suggested PFE, JNJ, SNY, INO, NVAX, IBB, XBI, CHDN, RCL, CCL, PLNT and FUN in his stock newsletter, Brush Up on Stocks. Brush is a Manhattan-based financial writer who has covered business for the New York Times and The Economist Group, and he attended Columbia Business School. Follow Brush on Twitter: @mbrushstocks.

Read more:

Heres why the FDA may approve a Covid-19 vaccine before the November elections, according to Jefferies biotech-research team - MarketWatch

The latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) reported 362 new cases of COVID-19 and 17 additional deaths across the state on Friday.

That brings the statewide totals to 32,031 cases and 1,361 deaths. Of those deaths, 1,077 happened in long-term care or assisted living.

The 362 new cases reported Friday are down from 387 cases reported Thursday.

Hospitalizations are slowly trending downward with 339 patients hospitalized as of Thursday and 168 of them in the ICU.

MDH reported that 14,216 tests were completed Thursday.

People ages 30-39 have the highest number of cases in the state with6,483 and 10 deaths.

People ages 80-89 have the highest number of deaths with 465 out of1,480 cases.

As he will do for the 19th of every month in 2020, Gov. Tim Walz instructed all flags across state and federal buildings to be flown at half staff from sunrise to sunset in memory of those lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thousands of Minnesotans have lost dear friends and close family members in the fight against COVID-19. Each life taken has been a heartbreaking tragedy for our state. In these challenging times, we must work together to slow the spread of this pandemic," the governor said in a Thursday statement.

Businesses, individuals and other organizations across the state are also encouraged to do the same, in a show of support not only for those lost, but also the loved ones they've left behind.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) issued new guidance Thursday for long-term care (LTC) facilities looking for safe ways to allow friends and family members to visit residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

For outdoor visits, MDH makes the following recommendations for long-term care residents:

MDH also lists recommended visitor criteria for outdoor visits at a long-term care facility:

The Minnesota Department of Education released a 100-page guide for public schools to prepare for three potential schooling scenarios in the upcoming academic year.

A final decision for the schooling scenario that will be used is expected to be made July 27.

The three scenarios outlined in the guide are: in-person learning, hybrid learning and distance only learning.

MDE said in their guidance that it is possible that all three scenarios could be used in the 2020-21 school year.

KARE 11s coverage of the coronavirus is rooted in Facts, not Fear. Visit kare11.com/coronavirus for comprehensive coverage, find outwhat you need to know about the Midwest specifically, learn more about thesymptoms, and see what businesses are open as the state slowly lifts restrictions. Have a question? Text it to us at 763-797-7215. And get the latest coronavirus updates sent right to your inbox every morning. Subscribe to the KARE 11 Sunrise newsletter here. Help local families in need: http://www.kare11.com/give11.

The state of Minnesota has set up a hotline for general questions about coronavirus at 651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903, available 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is also a data portal online at mn.gov/covid19.

Read more:

Live updates: COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota trending downward - KARE11.com