Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Some Resistance To Remdesivir Found
Bloomberg: Resistance To Antiviral Remdesivir Found In Samples From Covid Patient
Resistance to Gilead Sciences Inc.’s antiviral remdesivir was found in coronavirus samples collected from an immune-compromised patient treated with the drug for a persistent Covid-19 infection, researchers said. Similar mutations causing resistance have been generated in lab studies, but haven’t been previously reported in patients treated with the injectable medicine, Shiv Gandhi, Akiko Iwasaki and colleagues at the Yale University School of Medicine said. The patient, a woman in her 70s who had been treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, caught Covid in May 2020. Remdesivir helped alleviate symptoms, but wasn’t able to completely clear the infection. It persisted for several months, affecting her sense of smell. (Gale, 11/11)
Reuters: UK Researchers Identify T-Cell Targets For Future COVID Vaccines
British researchers said on Wednesday they had identified proteins in the coronavirus that are recognised by T-cells of people who are exposed to the virus but resist infection, possibly providing a new target for vaccine developers. Immunity against COVID-19 is a complex picture, and while there is evidence of waning antibody levels six months after vaccination, T-cells are also believed to play a vital role in providing protection. The University College London (UCL) researchers examined 731 health workers in two London hospitals during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and found that many had not tested positive despite likely exposure to the original coronavirus. (Smout, 11/10)
CIDRAP: Dexamethasone Tied To Lower Risk Of Death, Severe COVID-19
The corticosteroid dexamethasone was associated with a 56% lower risk of death and intensive care unit (ICU) admission among hospitalized COVID-19 patients and is safe to use in monitored diabetes patients, according to research presented at this week's Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. The unpublished observational study involved data from 1,372 COVID-19 patients admitted to Imperial College NHS Trust hospitals during the second pandemic wave (Nov 1, 2020, to Jan 31, 2021), when dexamethasone was routinely used in COVID-19 patients, and 889 patients admitted during the first wave (Mar 9 to Apr 22, 2020), before the anti-inflammatory drug was used in these patients. (11/10)
In news on sleep disorders and covid —
CIDRAP: Some Sleep Disorders May Lead To Worse COVID-19 Outcomes
Adult COVID-19 patients with sleep-disordered breathing and related low oxygen levels had a higher risk of hospitalization and death, finds a study today in JAMA Network Open. A team led by Cleveland Clinic researchers conducted a case-control study of 5,402 patients who had a sleep study record and were tested for COVID-19 in health system sites in Ohio and Florida from Mar 8 to Nov 30, 2020. Average patient age was 56.4 years, 55.6% were women, 60.3% were White, 31.4% were Black, 15.2% were of other races, and 35.8% tested positive for COVID-19. The study backdrop was controversy over whether to continue positive-airway pressure (PAP) treatment for sleep-disordered breathing because of concern over virus aerosols. (Van Beusekom, 11/10)
Reuters: Sleep Apnea Severity Linked To COVID-19 Outcomes
The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is higher in people with obstructive sleep apnea and other breathing problems that cause oxygen levels to drop during sleep, researchers say. They tracked 5,402 adults with these problems and found that roughly a third of them eventually tested posted for the coronavirus. While the chance of being infected did not increase with the severity of their problems, people with higher scores on the "apnea-hypopnia index" - a measure of the severity of their sleep-related breathing problems - had higher odds of needing to be hospitalized or dying from COVID-19, Drs. Cinthya Pena Orbea and Reena Mehra of the Cleveland Clinic and colleagues reported on Wednesday in JAMA Network Open. It is not clear if treatments that improve sleep apnea, such as CPAP machines that push air into patients' airways during sleep, would also reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, said Pene Orbea and Mehra. (Lapid, 11/10)
Also —
CIDRAP: Previous SARS Experience Does Not Assuage Healthcare COVID-19 Stress
A study today in PLOS One shows that healthcare workers' (HCWs') previous experience with the 2003 SARS outbreak neither prevented them from experiencing emotional distress nor increased their distress during the COVID-19 pandemick. The study was based on an online survey from May to July 2020 of 3,852 HCWs in the greater Toronto area, including 1,256 nurses, 345 physicians, 1,034 allied health staff, and 1,243 non-clinical staff. Almost 30% had worked in healthcare during the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in Canada. (11/10)
NPR: How SARS-CoV-2 in American Deer Could Alter the Course of the Global Pandemic
Scientists have evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spreads explosively in white-tailed deer, and the virus is widespread in this deer population across the U.S. Researchers say the findings are quite concerning and could have vast implications for the long-term course of the global pandemic. (Doucleff, 11/10)
