Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
COVID Yields Some Answers On Disease Severity
The New York Times: Scientists Uncover Biological Signatures Of The Worst Covid-19 Cases
Scientists are beginning to untangle one of the most complex biological mysteries of the coronavirus pandemic: Why do some people get severely sick, whereas others quickly recover? In certain patients, according to a flurry of recent studies, the virus appears to make the immune system go haywire. (Wu, 8/4)
Yahoo News: Women Who Take The Contraceptive Pill Are Less Likely To Develop Serious Coronavirus, Study Finds
Women who take the pill are less likely to develop serious coronavirus, a major new study has found, helping explain why men have suffered worse from the disease. Analysis of more than half a million women by King's College London during May and June has identified the crucial role of oestrogen in protecting against Covid-19. (Bodkin, 8/4)
CIDRAP: Those With Milder COVID-19 May Not Shed Live Virus As Long
Hong Kong researchers who tested 68 respiratory specimens from 35 COVID-19 patients, of whom 32 had mild illness, found that live virus and evidence of viral replication were rarely detectable beyond 8 days after symptom onset but that viral RNA was detectable for many weeks using RT-PCR. The study, published today in Emerging Infectious Diseases, involved isolating viable coronavirus in culture, detecting viral replication on subgenomic RNA (sgRNA), and identifying COVID-19 RNA on RT-PCR. The researchers isolated live virus from 16 specimens from 16 patients with high median viral loads, while specimens with low viral loads tended to culture negative. (Van Beusekom, 8/4)
CIDRAP: COVID-19 RNA Found On Surfaces After Asymptomatic Patients' Eye Exams
COVID-19 genetic material—not necessarily live virus—was found on surfaces in a 1-meter (3.3-foot) diameter circle where asymptomatic patients who had passed coronavirus triage had eye exams, according to a small study published yesterday in JAMA Ophthalmology. The quality-improvement study was performed on Mar 20, 1 week after the first confirmed COVID-19 case was identified at Tepecik Training and Research Hospital in Izmir, Turkey. Seven samples were taken for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing from eye exam devices and door handles both before and after 22 ophthalmologic patients and nine companions had been in the exam room. Mean exam time was 9 minutes. (8/4)
In developments on the use of plasma —
The Wall Street Journal: Convalescent Plasma Reduced Death Rate Among Covid-19 Patients, Study Data Signals
Hospitalized Covid-19 patients who received transfusions of blood plasma rich with antibodies from recovered patients reduced their mortality rate by about 50%, according to researchers running a large national study. The researchers presented their data analysis Saturday in a webinar for physicians interested in learning about so-called convalescent plasma, with data slides that were reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The researchers said they saw signs that the treatment might be working in patients who received high levels of antibodies in plasma early in the course of their illness. They based their conclusions on an analysis of about 3,000 patients. (Dockser Marcus, 8/4)
The New York Times: As Trump Praises Plasma, Researchers Struggle To Finish Critical Studies
An American Airlines flight took off from La Guardia Airport in New York last Wednesday morning, carrying 100 pouches of blood plasma donated by Covid-19 survivors for delivery to Rio de Janeiro. American scientists are hoping Covid-19 patients in Brazil will help them answer a century-old question: Can this golden serum, loaded with antibodies against a pathogen, actually heal the sick? The truth is that no one knows if it works. (Thomas and Weiland, 8/4)
