U.S. investing $3.2 billion to help develop COVID-19 antiviral; Japan easing restrictions ahead of Olympics: – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The federal government is investing in the development of antivirals designed to treat COVID-19, and Japan is easing some coronavirus restrictions ahead of next months Summer Olympics.

Cleveland.com is rounding up some of the most notable coronavirus news making headlines online. Heres what you need to know for Monday, June 21.

U.S. investing $3.2 billion in antiviral pill designed to combat COVID-19

The U.S. government announced Thursday that it will invest $3.2 billion in the development of an antiviral pill designed to treat COVID-19 in the early stages of infection.

The Department of Health and Human Services said it will use the money to help speed up clinical trials for a few promising drug candidates, with the goal of having a drug approved later this year, according to The New York Times.

The effort, known as the Antiviral Program for Pandemics, will also focus on researching drugs for other viruses.

The effort is similar to the U.S. governments backing of Operation Warp Speed, which focused on the development of COVID-19 vaccines. That effort helped three vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson obtain emergency use authorization in record time.

Japan easing coronavirus restrictions ahead of Olympics

Japan said Thursday that it will ease some COVID-19 restrictions before the Summer Olympics begin July 23.

Japan will keep some restrictions in place, including limiting spectators at large events like the Olympics. Japanese media has reported that the countrys government is considering a maximum of 10,000 spectators at stadiums, according to Reuters.

While the country is easing some restrictions, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga urged the Japanese public to watch the games on TV to avoid spreading the virus.

The Olympics were schedule to begin last summer, but they were postponed due to the pandemic. However, many experts have expressed concern over holding the games because Japan has vaccinated just 5% of its population.

Study links higher mortality of Black patients to unequal hospital quality

A new study estimates the COVID-19 death rate for Black patients would be 10% lower if they had access to the same hospitals as white patients.

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and OptumLabs based on the findings on data from 44,000 patients at 1,188 hospitals across the U.S. Roughly three-fourths of those patients were white.

The researchers found Black patients had a mortality rate of 13.5%, compared to 12.9% for white patients.

However, the researchers ran simulations to determine what would happen if the Black patients were admitted to the same hospitals as the white patients. That dropped the mortality rate for Black patients to 12.2%, the study found.

Eight infections delay one of first U.S. cruises since start of pandemic

A Royal Caribbean cruise scheduled to depart from Florida has been postponed nearly one month after eight crew members tested positive for COVID-19.

The Odyssey of the Seas was set to be one of the first cruise ships to depart from the U.S. since the start of the pandemic. It will now leave July 31 instead of July 3, according to ABC News.

Royal Caribbeans CEO said all 1,400 crew members on the Odyssey of the Seas were vaccinated June 4. Eight were infected before another two weeks had passed; experts have said it takes up to two weeks for the body to build immunity to the virus.

Cruise ships were docked for nearly 15 months during the pandemic. Another Royal Caribbean cruise scheduled to depart June 26 will be the first to sail from the U.S. since the shutdown.

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U.S. investing $3.2 billion to help develop COVID-19 antiviral; Japan easing restrictions ahead of Olympics: - cleveland.com