Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Ferrets, Nasal Sprays Seem To Prevent COVID Infection
The New York Times: Nasal Spray Prevents Covid Infection In Ferrets, Study Finds
A nasal spray that blocks the absorption of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has completely protected ferrets it was tested on, according to a small study released on Thursday by an international team of scientists. The study, which was limited to animals and has not yet been peer-reviewed, was assessed by several health experts at the request of The New York Times. If the spray, which the scientists described as nontoxic and stable, is proved to work in humans, it could provide a new way of fighting the pandemic. A daily spritz up the nose would act like a vaccine. (McNeil Jr., 11/5)
The New York Times: Children Produce Weaker Coronavirus Antibodies, Study Finds
Children infected with the coronavirus produce weaker antibodies and fewer types of them than adults do, suggesting they clear their infection much faster, according to a new study published Thursday. Other studies have suggested that an overly strong immune response may be to blame in people who get severely ill or die from Covid-19. A weaker immune response in children may paradoxically indicate that they vanquish the virus before it has had a chance to wreak havoc in the body, and may help explain why children are mostly spared severe symptoms of Covid, the disease caused by the coronavirus. It may also show why they are less likely to spread the virus to others. (Mandavilli, 11/5)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Llama 'Nanobodies’ May Yield COVID-19 Treatment, Pitt Scientists Say
Could Wally the llama hold the key to COVID-19? The immune system of the black-coated animal, who lives on a farm in Massachusetts, was coaxed into producing “nanobodies” — smaller cousins of antibodies — that neutralized the coronavirus in laboratory experiments, University of Pittsburgh scientists reported Thursday. The potent proteins still are being tested in other animals to gauge their ability to ward off COVID-19, and the Pitt research team had no firm time frame on when they might be tested in humans. (Avril, 11/5)
NPR: Clots, Strokes And Rashes. Is COVID-19 A Disease Of The Blood Vessels?
Whether it's strange rashes on the toes or blood clots in the brain, the widespread ravages of COVID-19 have increasingly led researchers to focus on how the novel coronavirus sabotages the body's blood vessels. As scientists have come to know the disease better, they have homed in on the vascular system — the body's network of arteries, veins and capillaries, stretching more than 60,000 miles — to understand this wide-ranging disease and to find treatments that can stymie its most pernicious effects. (Stone, 11/5)
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The Washington Post: Smell Loss From Covid May Distort Odors And Taste
Jennifer Spicer thought her days of feeling the effects of covid-19 were over. The fever, chills and severe fatigue that racked her body back in July had long dissipated. And much to the excitement of the self-described “foodie,” her senses of smell and taste were slowly returning. “I thought I had recovered,” said Spicer, 35, an infectious-disease physician at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, who was exposed to the novel coronavirus through a patient. Although her senses hadn’t fully come back, she was eating and drinking “completely normally” again. “I felt a lot of relief,” she said. But that relief lasted only until a Friday night in late October when she took a sip from a freshly poured glass of red wine. “It tasted like gasoline,” Spicer said. (Chiu, 11/5)
NBC News: Covid-19 May Make People's Tinnitus Worse
Rebecca Edgar, 29, struggles to hear her toddler when he talks to her from the backseat of her car. Most nights, she struggles to fall asleep, caught in a cycle of worry that the ringing in her ear is getting louder and recognizing that this very stress is worsening her symptoms. "I've had a constant high-pitched buzzing in my ear for the past 20 years, but there is no doubt that this is the worst my tinnitus has ever been," said Edgar, of Essex County in southeast England. "I'm deaf in one ear, and I'm so scared that catching Covid-19 could destroy what's left of my hearing." (Sullivan, 11/5)
ABC News: Working In An Office Instead Of Remotely May Double COVID Risk: CDC
Employees in office settings may be more likely to become infected with the novel coronavirus if they regularly commute to work rather than work from home, according to a new report. Public health investigators who examined possible exposures to COVID-19 among employed adults found that workers who tested positive for COVID-19 were almost twice as likely to report regularly commuting to work, compared with the employees studied who tested negative, according to research published Thursday as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. (Schumaker, 11/5)
