Category: Covid-19

48 Million Americans live in poverty. What will happen to them during the coronavirus pandemic?

The coronavirus pandemic has ushered in a new phraseWe are all in this together. The first time I saw the phrase I thought about the 48 million Americans living below the poverty line and tens of millions more who are one paycheck away from it. I thought about underserved black and brown communities that perpetually face health inequities and higher rates of chronic health conditions. And what about the grocery store clerks, truck drivers and others who keep the essentials of society humming while the rest of the world is hunkered down staying home? Is Were all in this together really a moment of togetherness or is it just a nice, supportive sentiment?

Interviews with three leaders of health and social service-related organizations for the underserved highlight how we are not quite all in this together. Pandemic policies do not give full consideration to the unique needs of underserved communities, particularly the homeless. Consequently, they are unintentionally omitted from our moment of national COVID-19 solidarity.

When asked why we so often forget about the needs of underserved communities,Dionne Reeder, the CEO ofFar Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative, a family support agency in Washington, DCsaid, Its not that we forget about the poor. The problem is we dont plan for the poor.

The impact of this failure to plan is tangible in the stories Reeder shared about the challenges they are seeing on the ground. She says her staff spends most of their time helping people navigate the financial impact of the pandemic which leads to other health consequences like anxiety, depression and frustration with the drastic change in daily routines. Last week a working mother, forced to be home with children, reached a breaking point and asked for their support to help cope with her new way of living. As with many other working parents experiencing a sudden cultural shift in their way of living, shed never been in this situation before with children home all day and was not equipped for home schooling. Reeders organization helped her navigate the situation emotionally and psychologically.

Reeder recalled a news story that for her, highlighted the disconnect between how the mainstream media portrays and discusses the pandemic and the realities her clients face. The news story advised people to quarantine in a room with a private bathroom. Reeder noted this is an impossibility for millions of people not just the poor. She also believes culturally the idea of social distancing is different among her clients because so many live in social environments in which social distancing is not feasible.

Christy Respress, the Executive Director ofPathways to Housing DCagrees with Reeder and highlighted a range of social issues impacting the homeless that are probably not top of mind for most Americans. She says, It is difficult to tell clients to stay home, socially isolate and wash their hands throughout the day when many of them live in shelters and have no home. When they hear those things, they may feel its impossible for them to stay safe from the virus. Some of Pathways clients housed in shelters feel its safer to sleep outside because it is impossible to practice social distancing in a shelter. There is also a concern social distancing and stay home orders exacerbate the baseline social isolation experienced by many homeless people.

Respress says closing non-essential businesses led to an unintended domino effect that collapsed the informal support infrastructure for their clients. When social distancing and stay home orders were implemented, the social safety net gradually disappeared. Many homeless people rely on the unspoken social cooperation sustained by neighborhood activity like people shopping and going to and from work. Altruistic gestures from strangers passing by each day whether buying a meal or offering pocket change, weave a thread of support that doesnt exist right now.When people dont shop and dont go to work, no one is around to help. Respress also worries this decrease in support may destabilize some emotionally and result in spikes in substance use. In addition, bathroom access, something most take for granted, becomes a challenge when the usual sources at retail establishments and restaurants are no longer available.

Another challenge related to pandemic mitigation efforts is adhering to advice to stock up on food. People on fixed incomes cannot stock up on food and for many the food supply will be depleted by months end.

Luckily, organizations likeMarthas Tablehave been able to help address food scarcity during the pandemic. Since the pandemic onset, the organization has seen a 300% increase in the need for food support.Kim Ford, Marthas Table CEO says, COVID-19 has hit the underserved very hard because this community has no cushion to absorb an economic downturn. Ford says most of their clients are not as concerned about infection from coronavirus as they are about job loss resulting in unexpected loss of financial security.

Having agencies like these on the frontlines is a gift for those with little means to protect themselves from coronavirus. As this pandemic rages on with unknown speed and devastation, we cant forget the most vulnerable who need even more support. Being in this pandemic together means leaving no one behind and acknowledging the slightest twist of fate could shift the financial and social circumstances for any one of us. So if we are all in this together, this cant be just a slogan. We must include, plan for and protect our most vulnerable too.

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Covid-19 And The Underserved: We Are Not All In This Together - Forbes

Welcome to the first of what will be regular chapters of a living oral history of the Covid-19 pandemic, an attempt to capture in real time the stories playing out across our country, in the words of those who are experiencing the crisis. This installment focuses on people who are ill right now (or suspect they are sick) because of the virus, along with the voices of doctors and health care workers taking care of them.

The project grows out of my work writing and researching an oral history of September 11th, a world-changing disaster that rewrote our geopolitics, our economy, and our society. Now, of course, were all living through another once-in-a-century crisisone that appears to have the potential to rewrite even more of our geopolitics, our economy, and our society.

Capturing the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemichow this crisis unfolds and how our thinking about it changesis critical both to understanding it now as well as to the stories we someday will tell about it. Each Friday, WIRED will publish a new chapter, weaving together as many stories as we can from across the country about living through this Covid Spring, trying to capture the story of American government, American business, and American life, and the titanic task ahead for our health care system.

Share Your Stories

Some fine print, required by WIRED: By submitting your Covid Spring story you are agreeing to WIRED's User Agreement and Privacy Policy found at WIRED.com. All submissions become the property of WIRED, must be original and not violate the rights of any other person or entity. Submissions and any other materials, including your name or social media handle, may be published, illustrated, edited, or otherwise used in any medium.

To tell this story, though, I need your help. Please write in and share your own storiestell me how your life has been affected, how your family is handling this moment, how your work has changed, tell me what youre seeing in your home, on the streets, at the grocery stores, in the parks where youre walking or runningat an appropriate social distance, of course.

Email your stories to me at covid@wired.com, write as much or as little as you wish, and stay tuned each week for additional chapters of our series: Covid Springan oral history of a pandemic. None of us knows how many chapters it may take until were out of this.

Editors note: The following oral history has been compiled from original interviews, social media posts, and online essays. Quotes have been lightly edited, copy-edited, and condensed for clarity.

I: Living With Covid-19

As of Thursday afternoon, the United States overtook China as the country with the most confirmed Covid-19 cases in the world, more than 85,000 total. Yet that number still represents what is almost surely a fraction of the actual number of cases in the US, as testing has lagged nationwide and many who are ill and wish to be tested dont meet the strict criteria to receive a test still in place across much of the country. The scale of the nations epidemic also means that public health officials have quickly abandoned attempts to trace the contacts of those infected, leaving those sickened by the virusor those who think theyve been sickened by the viruswondering not only if they have it, but how they caught it.

Amee Vanderpool, writer and lawyer, Washington, DC: People are in total denial about this. I even did that for the first three days. The 21st was a Saturday. Saturday is when I came out of denial. I definitely had something that Id never had before. I could get really sick.

Anne Kornblut, director, news and new initiatives, Facebook, Palo Alto, California, via Facebook: I tested positive for Covid-19 [last week]. Im relatively fine; lucky, even. Around here, officials have been preparing, so much so that I was able to get a test when I needed it. Facebook sent us home many days ago, so its unlikely I affected a big group of colleagues. I went supply shopping weeks ago. Heres what I didnt prepare for: telling my kids to back away from me, while informing them that this scary thing upending the entire planet is now inside our house. Inside their mom. My daughter cried and asked if I will get better. I couldnt hug her. My son wrote an account of it for our home newspaper. Anne Kornblut has the coronavirus but do not worry it is not the bad kind, he wrote on the front page. Please note that you should not be within 10 feet of Anne.

Morgan Madison, age 18, Chandler, Arizona: I really wasnt paying attention at allI didnt really care [about the virus]. Trump told us it was never going to hit the United States. He said there were like three cases. I thought I definitely wouldn't get itif there are just a handful of cases, why would I be one? I work at a car dealership, and my GM got back from a seven-country tour, and four or five days after he got back I had a sore throat. Our receptionist got a horrible cough too. She just stopped coming to work. Last Monday, I got to my desk and just started hacking up a lung. My GM came in and said, Clorox wipe your office and go home. I woke up the next day and felt like trash. I felt I had inhaled glue. My throat was sticky. I was coughing. Lots of migraines. Horrible migraines. It just went from feeling great to taking a five-hour nap in the afternoon. There was dizziness and confusion. Sometimes I feel fine, then the coughing up a lung came back. There were a couple of times Ill just be sitting on the floor hitting my inhaler.

Howard Yoon, literary agent, Washington DC: A week prior to getting a fever, Id developed a sore throat and a runny nose. That was the seventh of March. The idea of the coronavirus was creeping into everyones minds when they got sore throats. Out of an abundance of caution, I stayed home. I felt fine the next day. That might have just been a cold or maybe that was the onset of the virus? Since I felt fine after that first day, I went to New York that Wednesday. I tried to take some precautionsavoided the subway, walked most places. That night, I had drinks with some friends and colleagues. I knew I had it [four days later] on Sunday the 15th. All the days leading up, I dont know whether I had it and was developing all week or it came on full-blown after catching it in New York. One of the people I had drinks with, she has tested positive for the coronavirus. I dont know if I gave it to her or she gave it to me.

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First Denial, Then Fear: Covid-19 Patients in Their Own Words - WIRED

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) If the state of South Dakota is working with a COVID-19 spread and response model, why would Sioux Falls want one?

It can be valuable for cities to have a COVID-19 model specific to it, said Kurt Cogswell, a data science professor at South Dakota State University in Brookings.

The growth and peaks of COVID-19 infection levels depend on key factors such as population density, age distribution, and travel patterns that will be different in Sioux Falls, New York, and Minneapolis, Cogswell said in an email interview with KELOLAND News. These key factors are important parts of the mathematical and statistical models used to predict infection growth and peaks, leading to different predictions for these cities.

Based on news conferences conducted Thursday by the city of Sioux Falls and Gov. Kristi Noems office, the COVID-19 peak periods could vary within the state.

Gov. Kristi Noem said Thursday afternoon the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Dakota may not happen until the end of June or into July and said the situation can change rapidly. On Wednesday, Noem said the peak could be July into August.

A Sioux Falls doctor from Sanford responded to a question as to what the medical professionals expected the surge to look like during a city of Sioux Falls news conference.

Dr. Mike Wilde of Sanford Health said, The surge, thanks to the cooperation of all of us in the community, (and) based on the modeling, looks to still be a ways off. By that I mean around another two to four weeks, Wilde said.

The surge will not a rapid peak but a flatter, sustained influx of patients, Wilde said.

Dr. Mike Elliot of Avera Health said the models vary some in terms of peak times and duration. Avera and Sanford continue to work with local officials on a peak/surge model, he said.

Cogswell said it wouldnt be unusual for areas to have a different surge or peak time.

Just as key factors impacting infection growth and peaks differ between Sioux Falls and New York, they differ between Sioux Falls and a more rural region of the state, Cogswell said. For example, greater population density generally means greater rates of people interacting and thus more rapid infection spread. That would result in an earlier peak in a metro area than a rural region in the same state.

Sanford and Avera Health are among the partners the city is working with to develop a local surge model, Jill Franken, the director of Sioux Falls Public Health said in Thursdays city news briefing and at the April 1 Sioux Falls Council meeting.

Franken said at the April 1 meeting the city wants a model specific to the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Area so the city can better determine surge or peak rates and actions the city may need to take. The U.S. Commerce, U.S Census Bureau include McCook, Turner, Minnehaha and Lincoln in the Sioux Fall Metro Area with an estimated 2018 population of about 266,000.

Noem said Thursday a one size fits all approach statewide wont work in South Dakota. Communities may need specific measures that fit their communities, Noem said.

If I tell everyone to go into their homes and dont come out for two weeks (it wouldnt stop the virus), Noem said. COVID-19 cant be stopped but the spread can be slowed so that infected patients wont overwhelm hospitals and that fewer people get it, Noem said.

Also, measures that are taken must be sustainable, Noem said. So far, the states measures have helped slow the COVID-19 spread and make it possible for medical workers to better respond when there is a peak, Noem said.

The city of Sioux Falls may possibly consider a shelter in place regulation. City officials mentioned the possibility of shelter in place regulation at the April 1 meeting but Mayor Paul Ten Haken said that possibility could not be legally discussed at that time. That possible measure could be addressed if added to next weeks council meeting or at a special meeting. More information related to additional measures such as shelter in place would also soon be available, Ten Haken said.

Franken said at the meeting, the local DOH continues to gather information for the city including for the COVID-19 peak or surge model.

Franken said one source of data and information is cities in a position similar to Sioux Falls. Franken said officials are examining data and measures from cities including Fargo, North Dakota; Des Moines, Iowa; Tallahassee, Florida, and others.

Those examples have similar populations, demographics, COVID-19 case timing and other features similar to Sioux Falls, Franken said.

The point Im trying to make is we are trying to utilize data in another way and not just looking at our community, Franken said on April 1.

Tallahassee for example had its first case of COVID-19 about the same time as Sioux Falls but has fewer COVID-19 cases, Franken said. Tallahassee also enacted more restrictive measures sooner than the state of South Dakota or Sioux Falls, she said.

Read the rest here:

City of Sioux Falls working on its own COVID-19 peak model - KELOLAND.com

Paul Conway, a professor of psychology at Florida State University, argued that evidence from history and the psychological literature suggests that under times of stress and uncertainty, there are a number of different effects.

On the plus side, he wrote by email, people pull together and support one another more, adding that when people endure shared fight against a common enemy, their interests are aligned and theyre more likely to see a bond of camaraderie that can blossom into reduced prejudice.

There is, however, another side of the coin, Conway said:

When times are more uncertain and threatening, then strangers and outsiders and people different from oneself feel more threatening on an intuitive, gut level.

Extensive research, he wrote,

shows that fear of infection increases prejudice and distrust of outsiders. Hence, this pandemic also has potential to increase friction between social groups, thickening boundaries. We have already seen reinforcement of borders on a global scale not seen since the Second World War.

Along parallel lines, Conway argued,

the times were living in exacerbate economic tensions leading to greater pressure for left-wing policies, while at the same time exacerbating fear of contamination from others who seem different, which exacerbates support for right-wing policies.

The severe economic recession in Weimar Germany in the early 1930s led not only to an increase in support for the Nazi Party but also for the Communist Party, Conway wrote, just as the economic collapse in Greece at the start of the last decade increased support for both Communist and National Socialist parties there.

With this history in mind, Conway predicted that

for the next decade or so in America and around the world, there will be even more intense partisan division, including, on the right, increased support for some authoritarian policies.

Jonathan Haidt, a professor of psychology at N.Y.U., argued by email that

If we had good leadership a president who could unify the country and turn our shared adversity into social solidarity, trust, and cooperation, then we could look to past national crises such as World War II and the boost it gave to social capital.

But, he continued,

We dont have that. In fact, a marker of our political sickness is that taking the virus seriously has become itself a marker of tribal identity.

Along similarly pessimistic lines, Marc Hetherington, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina, told me by email that there were two reasons that this moment holds the potential to resuscitate negative feelings that Americans have about government.

First:

If the government actually succeeds in keeping the carnage to a minimum, it is unlikely to change much. Americans already think government can do this. If, however, the government doesnt succeed and I think there is every reason to think it will struggle with these problems it has the potential to further undermine trust in government. People already dont trust it to redistribute money and provide certain services, which is bad. If they come to think it is not competent to keep us safe, it will be even worse, much worse.

And second:

Republicans have internalized what used to be just a political strategy, which increases the chances that government will fail.

Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush used to run against government, but they still took staffing it seriously. The Reagan and Bush 41 White Houses were full of excellent professionals, Hetherington wrote.

Since then, however:

That cynical approach to campaigning seems to have infected their approach to governing. In 2016, the party nominated a complete political amateur, pointing up just how little governance means to the party. And, of course, Trump has failed to fill vacancies in key areas like the C.D.C., disbanded the pandemic task force in the N.S.C., and all sorts of other stuff.

The result, Hetherington wrote, is a government characterized by poor leadership at the cabinet level and hollowed out expertise at the department level, sharply increasing the chance that government simply cant come through right now.

This assessment is, in large part, shared by David Autor, an economist at M.I.T. Under different circumstances, Autor wrote me, it would be

easy to tell a story in which this episode causes Americans to remember that their government is indispensable for marshaling expertise, coordinating emergency measures, guarding public safety, serving as an insurer of last resort, calming financial markets, and generally shepherding its citizens through an extraordinarily challenging time.

But these are very different circumstances:

After four decades of successful Republican effort to starve the U.S. government of resources and demonize its experts, our government is in fact less competent, less well prepared, and less agile than it used to be. Perhaps this event would have restored our faith in government were the government deserving of that faith. The picture is mixed at best, so far.

Autor argued that the monetary and fiscal responses have been quite amazing, but

the public health response has been a disaster a poisonous cocktail of denial, incompetence, and failed leadership. There are still some great civil servants in U.S. agencies. But the foundation is shaky.

Most shaky of all is Trumps vacillating stance toward the pandemic. He has lurched from complete denial (One day, its like a miracle, it will disappear) to I am not responsible to Were doing a great job to Its going to disappear to It will go away to awarding himself a 10 out of 10 to calling the unavailable tests PERFECT to claiming We have it very well under control to setting Easter, April 12, as the date to reopen the country a beautiful time, a beautiful timeline to boasting of high ratings as death projections soared. On Tuesday, Trump seemed to have come to his senses, at least for now: This is going to be a very painful, very, very painful two weeks.

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Opinion | Covid-19 Is Twisting 2020 Beyond All Recognition - The New York Times

The extremely secluded resort island of Wakaya, Fiji, has confirmed at least five cases of COVID-19. Torsten Blackwood/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

The extremely secluded resort island of Wakaya, Fiji, has confirmed at least five cases of COVID-19.

As COVID-19 cases in the remote Pacific climb, it turns out that even natural isolation is no match against this pandemic.

The novel coronavirus has been confirmed in Papua New Guinea, Fiji as well as in the French territories of French Polynesia and New Caledonia. The U.S. territory of Guam has had one death from the disease and 51 confirmed cases of infection, believed to be the highest total of the small Pacific island jurisdictions.

In an effort to keep to the virus at bay, the authorities have put a range of policies into place from Palau to Tahiti, including travel restrictions, school closings, lockdowns and states of emergency.

Tonga, which currently has no confirmed cases, has banned public gatherings and foreign nationals. Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa said on March 23 that COVID-19 is an imminent threat and "requires a significant and coordinated response."

These countries are trying to turn what are typically their weaknesses isolation and remoteness into strengths, says Jonathan Pryke, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute, an Australia-based think tank.

"Because the health systems are so fragile, so stretched, they just would not be able to cope with a major outbreak," he tells NPR.

Yet in throwing up these barriers, Pacific island nations are also expected to decimate their economies in the process as they are all highly dependent on the outside world. Whether it's tourism, foreign aid, imports or immigration all of these things are going to be highly curtailed, Pryke says.

Tourism brings billions of dollars into the region and is the chief driver of job creation.

Fiji, for example, is the most-visited Pacific island nation, according to the South Pacific Tourism Organization. Last year, tourism made up nearly half of Fiji's gross domestic product, with an all-time high of nearly 900,000 tourists. But most of the visitors come from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Europe all places now dealing with the new coronavirus pandemic.

The Pacific islands have a combined population of about 2.3 million, according to the World Bank. They don't have the economic firepower to stimulate the economy, Pryke says, so "they're going to need support to just hold these countries together."

Which means letting the outside world in eventually.

But Pryke also holds some optimism for the region:

"Most of the people of the Pacific are not dependent on the government," Pryke says. "They are resilient."

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Small, Far-Flung Pacific Islands Are Combating COVID-19 Just Like The Rest Of Us - NPR

Alain Mrieux, founder of BioMrieux.

Latest update: April 2, 2020, at 7:14 pm ET.

Businesses around the world are shifting into overdrive to help battle the coronavirus, providing everything from rubber gloves and ventilators to diagnostic tools and, hopefully soon, vaccines. While the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, large corporations and small businesses are developing creative solutions to halt the spread of the virus.

Just as automakers famously shifted to make tanks and planes during World War II, todays global giants LVMH, Ford and GE to name a few are retooling their production lines to help make everything from hand sanitizers to respirators. On the medical front, there are more than three dozen COVID-19 vaccines under development, a smart move considering that two out of every three vaccines for infectious diseases fail, according to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Forbes will continue to update this list of private companies and how they are stepping up to fight the COVID-19 pandemic:

Testing:

Abbott Laboratories: Abbott Park, Illinois healthcare firm obtained emergency FDA authorization for its 5-minute coronavirus testing kit on March 27, with plans to start manufacturing 50,000 kits a day.

Alphabet: Through its healthcare arm Verily, Googles parent company launched a website where users can find nearby testing sites in four California counties.

Jeff Bezos.

Amazon: Jeff Bezos retail behemoth invested $20 million in the Amazon Web Services Diagnostic Initiative, which aims to speed up delivery of COVID-19 tests to the market.

BioMrieux: French biotech company, founded by billionaire Alain Mrieux,received emergency FDA approval for its subsidiarys new testing kit, which cuts testing times for the virus down to 45 minutes.

Carbon: California-based 3D printing unicorn backed by Russian tech investor Yuri Milner will soon be distributing testing swabs and face shields to hospitals in the Bay Area.

Cellex: North Carolina biopharma firms antibody-based test for COVID-19 received emergency approval from the FDA.

Cepheid: Sunnyvale, California molecular diagnostics company gained emergency FDA authorization for its new 45-minute COVID-19 testing kit.

Copan Diagnostics: Family-owned company located at the heart of Italys hard-hit Lombardy region makes diagnostic swabs for testing, airlifting 500,000 swabs to the U.S.

DiaSorin: Italian biotech company owned by billionaire Gustavo Denegri obtained emergency authorization from the FDA for its new 60-minute testing kit for COVID-19.

Ipsum Diagnostics: Sandy Springs, Georgia diagnostic company gained emergency FDA authorization for its COVID-19 testing kit.

Mammoth Biosciences: South San Francisco-based biotech startup, founded by three 30 Under 30 alums, prototyped a rapid test by using the gene-editing tool Crispr to detect the disease.

Mesa Biotech: San Diego biotech business obtained FDA approval for its new 30-minute testing kit for COVID-19.

Puritan Medical Products: Maine-based diagnostic maker, one of the worlds largest makers of diagnostic swabs along with Italys Copan Diagnostics, is reportedly increasing production to make one million COVID-19 testing swabs a week.

QIAGEN: Hilden, Germany-based molecular diagnostics firm received emergency approval from the FDA for its new COVID-19 testing kit.

Siemens Healthineers: The German conglomerates healthcare unit received FDA clearance for its blood gas analyzer, which helps doctors monitor the conditions of critical COVID-19 patients in ICUs; the firm is also applying for emergency FDA and WHO approval for its rapid testing kit.

Treatments:

AbbVie: North Chicago-based, publicly traded pharma firm is collaborating with authorities in the EU, the U.S. and China on experimental use of its HIV drug lopinavir/ritonavir to treat COVID-19.

AIM Immunotech: Florida-based pharmaceutical company announced on March 9 it would begin experimental testing of its chronic fatigue syndrome drug rintatolimod as a treatment for COVID-19 in Japan, at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and the University of Tokyo.

Algernon Pharmaceuticals: Vancouver-based pharmaceutical firm is requesting FDA approval to begin trials of its chronic cough medication ifenprodil as a treatment for COVID-19.

AlloVir: Houston-based cell and gene therapy company is collaborating with Baylor College of Medicine to discover and develop T-cell therapies to fight COVID-19.

Apeiron Biologics: Vienna-based biotech firm announced it would begin a trial of its immunotherapy treatment on 200 COVID-19 patients in Austria, Germany and Denmark.

Ascletis: Hangzhou, China pharmaceutical company announced results of clinical trials of its antiviral drug danoprevir on COVID-19 patients in China; the small-scale study found that danoprevir combined with ritonavir is safe and well tolerated in all patients.

Bioxytran: Boston-based biotech outfit is developing a viral inhibitor to treat COVID-19.

Celltrion: South Korean healthcare firm is developing an antiviral treatment for COVID-19 as well as rapid self-testing kits that would provide results within fifteen to twenty minutes.

Celularity: New Jersey-based therapeutics startup obtained FDA clearance to begin trials of a potential stem cell treatment against COVID-19.

Cocrystal Pharma: Bothell, Washington pharma outfit is developing antivirals to treat COVID-19 using patents it recently acquired from the Kansas State University Research Foundation.

CytoDyn: Vancouver, Washington biotech firm announced preliminary results from three days of testing its antiviral drug leronlimab on COVID-19 patients in New York; the company stated in a press release that test results from the first four patients suggests immunological benefit within three days following treatment with leronlimab.

Eli Lilly: Indianapolis pharma company is partnering with Vancouver-based biotech outfit AbCellera to develop antibody-based treatments for COVID-19.

Emergent BioSolutions: Maryland drugmaker is developing treatments derived from the antibodies found in the blood of people who tested positive for the disease.

EUSA Pharma: British pharmaceutical firm initiated trials of its siltuximab antibody treatment on COVID-19 patients at the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital in Bergamo, Italy; the company released initial data on April 1 showing that one third of patients experienced clinical improvement with reduced need for oxygen support and a further 43% saw their disease stabilise.

Fujifilm Toyama Chemical: Tokyo-based conglomerates flu drug favipiravir has shown promising results in early clinical trials on COVID-19 patients in China, and the company is investing $83 million in its biological manufacturing capabilities.

Gilead: The Californian biotech giant initiated clinical trials in March for its antiviral drug remdesivir on patients in the U.S.

Harbour BioMed: Cambridge, Massachusetts biomedical firm announced a collaboration with New Yorks Mount Sinai Health System to develop new human antibodies to treat COVID-19.

I-Mab Biopharma: Shanghai-based biopharma outfit announced it would begin clinical trials of its TJM2 antibody treatment on COVID-19 patients in the United States, with plans to expand to other countries affected by the pandemic.

ImmunoPrecise: Canadian life sciences company is teaming up with New York-based AI startup EVQLV Inc on researching antibody-based therapies and a vaccine for COVID-19.

Innovation Pharmaceuticals: Wakefield, Massachusetts biopharma firm is researching the use of its drug brilacidin part of a category of investigational new drugs called defensin mimetics, which could have antimicrobial effects as both a treatment and a vaccine for COVID-19, in separate efforts with a major U.S. university and with the Department of Health and Human Services.

ISR Immune System Regulation: Swedish immunotherapy firms subsidiary, ISR HBV, is conducting toxicological studies to determine whether its Immunolid ISR50 treatment could be used against COVID-19.

Kamada: Israeli pharmaceutical company is working on an antibody-based treatment for COVID-19 using the blood plasma of patients who recovered from the disease.

Mateon Therapeutics: Californian biopharma firm is testing a number of antiviral drugs as potential treatments for COVID-19 and is preparing to submit an application to the FDA in order to begin clinical trials on patients.

Merck KGaA: Darmstadt, Germany-based pharma multinational donated a supply of its multiple sclerosis drug interferon beta-1a to the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris for clinical trials on COVID-19 patients. The companys North American life sciences arm, MilliporeSigma, is supplying several vaccine efforts with reagents and other essential raw products for vaccine development.

Mesoblast: Australian medical firm is working with authorities in the U.S., Australia, China and Europe to evaluate the use of its remestemcel-L drug to treat COVID-19.

Mylan: Pennsylvania-based pharmaceutical firm restarted production of hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to fight lupus, malaria and arthritis, at its West Virginia factory; the drug is being tested as a treatment for COVID-19 in human trials in New York.

Pluristem Therapeutics: Haifa, Israel-based medical company is developing a cell-based therapy to treat COVID-19, announcing on March 30 it had dosed three Israeli patients under a compassionate use program, with plans to enroll more.

Leonard Schleifer.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals: Westchester, New York biotech outfit, run by billionaires Leonard Schleifer and George Yancopoulos, is conducting clinical trials of its rheumatoid arthritis drug sarilumab, developed with French firm Sanofi, on patients in New York.

Roche: Swiss pharma titan, part-owned by billionaire Maja Oeri, is testing its arthritis drug tocilizumab to treat patients in China and received FDA approval to begin U.S. trials.

Roivant Sciences: Swiss pharma company is working with U.S. authorities to begin trials of its antibody treatment, gimsilumab, on COVID-19 patients.

Takeda: Japanese medical firm is working on hyperimmune therapy using blood plasma from previously infected patients.

Vir Biotechnology: The San Francisco-based firm is collaborating with Biogen and Chinese medical firm WuXi Biologics to manufacture antibodies that could treat the virus.

Vaccines:

AJ Vaccines: Danish vaccine developer is working on a COVID-19 vaccine that could hit the market in 2021.

Altimmune: The company is developing a novel intranasal vaccine for the coronavirus, making it one of three firms based in Gaithersburg, Maryland along with Emergent Biosolutions and Novavax thats working on treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

Arcturus Therapeutics: San Diego-based vaccine maker is developing a COVID-19 vaccine with researchers at the Duke-National University of Singapore medical school in Singapore.

Biocad: Russian drug developer is researching a COVID-19 vaccine, with animal trials scheduled for late April.

Thomas and Andreas Struengmann.

BioNTech: German biotech firm backed by billionaire twins Thomas and Andreas Struengmann is working to develop a coronavirus vaccine in partnership with Pfizer and Fosun Pharma, chaired by billionaire Guo Guangchang.

CanSino Biologics: Tianjin, China-based pharma company isstarting clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine, using the vaccine technology deployed to develop the Ebola vaccine.

Codagenix: Melville, New York biotech firm is teaming up with the Serum Institute of India to develop a live-attenuated COVID-19 vaccine, which uses a live but weakened form of the virus.

Dietmar Hopp.

CureVac: German firm, funded by billionaire Dietmar Hopp and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, received $87 million from the European Commission to scale up development of its coronavirus vaccine.

Dyadic: Jupiter, Florida company is collaborating with the Israel Institute for Biological Research on both treatment and a vaccine against COVID-19, using the firms gene expression platform.

Dynavax: Emeryville, California vaccine maker is working with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the University of Queensland to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.

EpiVax: Providence-based immunology firm is working with the University of Georgia and Miramar, Florida biotech outfit Generex on separate COVID-19 vaccine efforts.

ExpreS2ion: Danish biotech company received a grant of nearly $1 million from the European Union to develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

GeoVax: Atlanta-based medical company is collaborating with Wuhan-based BioVax to jointly produce a COVID-19 vaccine.

GlaxoSmithKline: British pharma titan is partnering with CEPI and Chengdu, China-based Clover Pharmaceuticals to use its pandemic vaccine adjuvant platform which boosts the immune response in patients receiving a shot to speed up development of COVID-19 vaccines.

Greffex: Houston-based genetic engineering firm is preparing to begin animal trials for its COVID-19 vaccine.

Heat Biologics: North Carolina biopharma company is developing a COVID-19 vaccine with the University of Miami.

iBio: Newark, Delaware biotech upstart is collaborating with Beijing-based CC-Pharming on the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Inovio: Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania biotech business received $11.9 million in funding from the Department of Defense to rapidly produce a DNA vaccine for COVID-19 with drugmaker Ology Bioservices.

Johnson & Johnson: The companys pharma unit, Janssen, will start manufacturing its vaccine developed with the Department of Health and Human Services this month, with human trials set to begin by September and a public rollout hoped for early 2021. The company and the federal government are investing more than $1 billion in the vaccine effort.

Medicago: Quebec City-based biotech company received more than $7 million from the Canadian and Quebec governments to fund development of its COVID-19 vaccine.

Moderna: Massachusetts biotech company was the first tobegin human trials of its vaccine on March 16 in Seattle and could deploy it to health workers for emergency use by the fall.

Novavax: Maryland-based vaccine maker received $4 million in funding from CEPI to accelerate development of its vaccine candidates, with clinical trials expected in the late spring.

Sanofi: French medical firm is working with the federal government and Massachusetts-based Translate Bio to expedite its coronavirus vaccine, using technology previously used to develop one for SARS.

Sorrento Therapeutics: San Diego-based biotech firm is teaming up with Cambridge, MA gene therapy company SmartPharm Therapeutics to develop a gene-encoded COVID-19 vaccine; its also working with Chinese drugmaker Mabpharm on a fusion protein treatment for the disease.

Takis Biotech: Italian startup with just 25 employees is developing a vaccine with Stony Brook-based Applied DNA Sciences, with plans to begin human trials before the end of the year.

Themis Bioscience: Austrian biotech firm is part of a group, with the Institut Pasteur and the University of Pittsburgh, which received $4.9 million in initial funding from CEPI to build a COVID-19 vaccine modeled on the vaccine for measles.

Tonix Pharmaceuticals: New York-based pharma outfit is researching a potential COVID-19 vaccine based on the virus that causes horsepox.

Vaxart: San Francisco vaccine manufacturer Vaxart is working with Emergent Biosolutions to develop and manufacture an oral vaccine that can be taken as a tablet.

Vaxil: Israeli biotech startup began preclinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

Zydus Cadila: Indian pharma company announced it would fast-track development of a COVID-19 vaccine in February.

Protective Equipment And Sanitizer:

Anheuser-Busch InBev: The worlds largest beer company is making more than one million bottles of hand sanitizer from surplus alcohol at its breweries around the world.

Giorgio Armani.

Armani: Billionaire Giorgio Armanis luxury fashion brand converted all production at its Italian factories to manufacture single-use medical overalls on March 26.

Bacardi: The Bermuda-based spirits giant converted production at nine production facilities in Mexico, France, England, Italy, Scotland, Puerto Rico and the continental U.S. to make hand sanitizer.

BrewDog: Independent beermaker is making hand sanitizer at its distillery in Scotland.

Bulgari: The Italian luxury jeweler is manufacturing hand sanitizer with its fragrances partner, ICR, with plans to make hundreds of thousands of bottles by May.

Sandro Veronesi.

Calzedonia Group: Italian retail clothing group, owned by billionaire Sandro Veronesi, converted production at several plants in Italy and Croatia to manufacture masks and medical gowns, with initial production of 10,000 masks a day.

Cantabria Labs: Spanish health products and cosmetics firm converted production at one of its factories to make hand sanitizer.

Consomed: Tunisian mask and medical equipment maker put all of its workers, more than 70% of which are reportedly women, on quarantine inside the companys Kairouan factory to maximize production of protective gear.

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Coronavirus Business Tracker: How The Private Sector Is Fighting The COVID-19 Pandemic - Forbes

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Coronavirus/COVID-19 Updates - asha.org

Some patients with COVID-19 experience gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly diarrhea, as the first sign of illness, according to a new study.

Among this subset of patients who have mild disease overall respiratory symptoms show up only later in the illness, and some never develop respiratory symptoms at all, the authors said.

The findings are important because those without classic symptoms of COVID-19 such as cough, shortness of breath and fever may go undiagnosed and could potentially spread the illness to others, the researchers said.

Still, they note that digestive problems are common overall and don't necessarily mean that a person has COVID-19. But doctors should recognize that sudden digestive symptoms in people with a possible COVID-19 contact "should at least prompt consideration of the illness," the authors wrote in their paper, published ahead of print Monday (March 30) in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. "Failure to recognize these patients early and often may lead to unwitting spread of the disease."

The study is not the first to report digestive symptoms as a sign of COVID-19. For example, a study posted March 18 in the same journal found that, among about 200 COVID-19 patients at three hospitals in Wuhan, China, around 50% reported at least one digestive symptom, and 18% reported diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal pain. However, that study and others have tended to focus on patients with severe illness, rather than those with mild disease.

In the new study, the researchers analyzed information from 206 patients at Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College in Wuhan, which was designated as a hospital for COVID-19 patients. To be included in the study, patients needed to have a mild illness, without difficulty breathing or low blood oxygen levels.

Overall, 48 patients (23%) were admitted with digestive symptoms only, 89 (43%) with respiratory symptoms only and 69 (33%) with both respiratory and digestive symptoms.

Among all patients with digestive symptoms (117 patients), about 67 (58%) had diarrhea, and of these, 13 (20%) experienced diarrhea as the first symptom of their illness. Patients' diarrhea lasted from one to 14 days, with an average duration of five days, the report said. About one-third of patients with digestive symptoms never experienced a fever.

Patients with digestive symptoms tended to seek health care later than those with respiratory symptoms, an average of 16 days from the start of their symptoms, compared with 11 days for those with respiratory symptoms, the study found. Those with digestive symptoms also took longer to clear the virus from their body (test negative for COVID-19), taking about 41 days on average, compared with 33 days for those with respiratory symptoms only.

Finally, those with digestive symptoms were much more likely to have the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, detected in their stool, with about 73% having positive stool samples, compared with 14% of those with respiratory symptoms only. This finding suggests, but does not definitely confirm, that that virus infects the gastrointestinal tract, the authors said.

Overall, "these data emphasize that patients with new-onset diarrhea after a possible COVID-19 contact should be suspected for the illness, even in the absence of cough, shortness of breath, sore throat or even fever," the authors concluded. "Optimally, testing for COVID-19 should be performed using both respiratory and stool samples, if available."

The authors note that their study was relatively small, and larger studies are needed to further describe digestive symptoms in patients with mild COVID-19.

Originally published onLive Science.

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Diarrhea is first sign of illness for some COVID-19 patients - Live Science

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New York University (NYU) professor Paul Romer speaks at a news conference after being named a winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics with professor William D. Nordhaus of Yale University. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

New York University (NYU) professor Paul Romer speaks at a news conference after being named a winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics with professor William D. Nordhaus of Yale University.

We just got off the phone with Paul Romer, the NYU economist who won a Nobel Prize in 2018 for his research on economic growth. We thought it might be a good time to talk about the future of the economy. He scared us. But he also had a plan.

He described the current national conversation over what to do about the coronavirus as a choice between health and wealth, between either shuttering the economy and saving lives; or opening the economy and endangering millions.

But Romer believes that if the federal government pursues a new strategy, where it coordinates industry, sets up and staffs testing sites, and buys virus-fighting equipment at massive scale, we can have a way better option within a month or two.

The way he sees it, the current two choices aren't nearly as good. One is continued social distancing until scientists deliver us a vaccine available for widespread use, which could take two years. Waiting that long, Romer says, would mean "the end of the economy and life as we know it."

The other choice is returning to normal before we get a vaccine, with everybody reintegrating into work and social life at the risk of hundreds of thousands of deaths. "We're either gonna keep destroying the economy or we're gonna start killing people," he says.

Romer and Alan Garber, an economist, physician, and the Provost of Harvard University, published their alternate plan last week in the New York Times. (We reached out to Garber as well, but he's currently got a lot on his plate running Harvard because the university's president recently caught COVID-19).

Romer and Garber advocate that the federal government mobilize the nation like it's a war and implement measures that might allow us to reenter a somewhat normally functioning economy without massive loss of life.

As others have been advocating, they want the government to make COVID-19 tests universally available, done frequently, and used as a green light for each of us to reenter economic and social life. The problem, Romer says, is there are only about a hundred testing machines in the U.S. and we need at least 5,000 of them. And that "isn't going to happen if we just sit around and pray and hope," he says. He thinks it's going to require massive government funding and centralized direction. He envisions government-sponsored testing sites throughout the country.

Romer and Garber also want mass production of face masks, gloves, full-body suits, hand sanitizer, ventilators, and everything it takes to make it safer for social interaction. "It's just a tragedy that we don't have enough masks and face shields and god help us we may not even have enough gloves soon for people to do their work at the hospital," Romer says.

Economists usually like it when the market provides solutions. But building factories, buying machines, training workers, and doing everything else it takes to produce massive quantities of medical equipment on an aggressively short timeline will cost a lot. And, Romer says, without government intervention, companies won't do this on their own.

That's because corporate America naturally worries that demand for this equipment will evaporate once the crisis recedes and that even during the crisis, they might not be able to charge much for it. With historically high demand and limited supply, the market's natural response is sky-high prices. Everybody hates them, but high prices provide an incentive for manufacturers to produce. Yet, Romer says, "the reality is our political system, our emotions, will not let companies charge like ten times as much for the masks right now as we're trying to get a surge in production. So that's why the market can't do its job. We won't let prices do what they have to do."

With corporate America caught between a short demand spike and price controls, Romer and Garber want the federal government to step in and do whatever it takes to increase the production of testing machines and protective equipment. Romer compares it to what the government did after Pearl Harbor.

But he's frustrated by what he sees as a lack of aggressiveness in tackling the threat. Washington recently passed a $2 trillion coronavirus response package aimed primarily at helping Americans as COVID-19 and social distancing shut down our economy. The bill includes about $180 billion for health-related efforts, including $16 billion for more medical equipment. It's not enough, Romer says. He wants the government to spend about $100 billion on medical equipment and allocate additional funds for testing sites and staff.

"I mean, the investments we're advocating here, they're not inconceivable," Romer says. "This isn't like John Kennedy saying, 'We're gonna go to the moon.'"

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The Case For More Federal Action To Combat COVID-19 - NPR

Executive Summary

It is likely that managers will have an employee tell you they have tested positive for Covid-19. Not only does the moment call for sensitivity and humanity, but it also requires you to act quickly as a manager. First, express sympathy. Ask the employee which other employees they have been in close contact with. Connect with your HR partner for guidance and inform those close contacts by phone or video if possible. While your employees will likely have questions, dont speculate. Encourage them to talk to their doctor. Respect the confidentiality of the employee who tested positive, as well as the close contacts. And encourage senior leaders to check in with any affected employees it is a gesture that will be universally appreciated.

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All leaders are trying to find their footing right now. You are probably shoring up your business plan, situating your team, and juggling your own constellation of remote working arrangements possibly alongside your spouse and children. On top of that, you will face a test you probably couldnt have imagined a few weeks ago:When one of your employees tells you they have tested positive for Covid-19. If you havent dealt with that already, youalmostcertainly will.

This is a particularly complexchallenge. Not only does the moment call for sensitivity and humanity, but it also requires you to act quickly as a manager. As an executive coach, I have coached many senior leaders on high-stakes topics that, like this, require both decisive action and emotional intelligence. Here are my recommendations for how to approach this situation, whether your employees are currently working from home or continuing to go into a workplace:

First, when the employee brings you the news, express sympathy. Even if the persons symptoms are mild, they are likely tobe anxious about what might happen or whether they might have spread the virus to their family or coworkers. Let the employee share their feelings. As you talk with them, clearly communicate that they can count on you and the team to be supportive.You could say, for example: I know that this is a scary thing to deal with. I am here for you if you need to talk, and certainly I understand that you may not be able to work for a little while or that your productivity may go down. Dont worry about that, I understand what youre dealing with.

Next, connect with your HR partner. You need to act quickly to minimize the risk of the disease spreading. At this point, most HR departments should have some protocols in place, and you will want to utilize their support and guidance.

Minimally, you will need to ask the employee which coworkers they have been in close contact with within the prior two weeks. (The CDC defines close contact as a person that has been within six feet of the infected employee for a prolonged period of time.) If everyone in your company has been working from home during the last two weeks, this may be unlikely, but you should still ask if the infected person had contact with any coworkers. You should alert those who have been in close contact with the employee as soon as possible, repeat the advice given on the CDC site for their situation and, of course, direct them to their own doctors. The law is clear about confidentiality here: You should tell everyone who was possibly exposed at work to the positive employee without revealing that employees identity.

Then, decide whether you or the HR partner should connect with any close contacts the employee has had. Since this is a sensitive topic, its ideal to alertthe coworkers by video or phone. But time matters here if you cant reach them personally, email them with important action required in the subject heading.

Either way, your message is the same: Someone in our workplace has tested positive for Covid-19, and they have identified you as a close contact according to the CDC definition. We are here to support you. If you are at work, please prepare to leave as quickly as you can. Once you get home or if you are already working from there find a place to self-isolate, monitor yourself for any symptoms, and talk to your doctors. How can I support you in doing all this?

You can expect people in the close contact group to be nervous and ask a lot of questions, especially if its the first time they are receiving such news. Since several days have passed between their exposure to the Covid-positive colleague, they may ask you if their family is at risk. Dont speculate. You are not a doctor, Instead, refer them to their own physician and to the CDC website. What you can do is reassure them that the company, and you, will be supportive.

Follow up this conversation by email. Its likely that the person you were talking to was feeling overwhelmed and did not catch everything you said. A written follow-up is always good practice, if only to help keep track of this process inside of your company.

Once you have spoken with both the employee who tested positive and their close contacts, consider alerting others in the workplace. The message you send here will showcase how your company treats people, so its important to be transparent and calming.

The ways you communicate this can vary. If the company is a startup with a few hundred employees, it may be appropriate tocommunicate the news to everyone in an all-hands meeting. If your company is much larger, its most important to communicate to the affected department or division. Respect the confidentiality of both the positive-tested employee and anyone in the close-contact group. Then simply give them the facts: The person tested positive on a certain date and is now self-isolating. The close contacts have been told and were asked to leave the workplace and self-isolate. If you were not already told you were a close contact, then you are not one. If you have questions about Covid-19 or your situation please call your doctor and look at the CDC website. The company is here to support everyone during this difficult time, and we all send our best wishes to the people affected.

Finally, it is helpful for a senior leader, including the CEO, to check in on an employee affected by the coronavirus. In the past week, a CEO I coach has called every one of their employees who tested positive and their close contacts even if they were showing no symptoms just to check in, a gesture they universally appreciated. If the cases at your company start to increase dramatically, it will not be realistic for the CEO to call all these people. However senior leaders can and should step in to make as many calls as possible so employees who are affected feel cared for during a difficult time.

These are not easy times for anyone, and it is a crucial job of leaders to reassure their employees and keep up their spirits. An employee who reports a positive Covid-19 test requires a sensitive and rapid response. That will help everyone who works for you feel more secure and be more able to focus on the important work at your company right now.

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Your Employee Tested Positive for Covid-19. What Do You Do? - Harvard Business Review