The people with hidden immunity against Covid-19

‘While the latest research suggests that antibodies against Covid-19 could be lost in just three months, a new hope has appeared on the horizon: the enigmatic T cell... T cells are a kind of immune cell, whose main purpose is to identify and kill invading pathogens or infected cells. It does this using proteins on its surface, which can bind to proteins on the surface of these imposters... Several studies have shown that people infected with Covid-19 tend to have T cells that can target the virus, regardless of whether they have experienced symptoms...

‘Most bizarrely of all, when researchers tested blood samples taken years before the pandemic started, they found T cells which were specifically tailored to detect proteins on the surface of Covid-19. This suggests that some people already had a pre-existing degree of resistance against the virus before it ever infected a human. And it appears to be surprisingly prevalent: 40-60% of unexposed individuals had these cells.’

Read here (BBC, July 20, 2020)

Protein treatment trial ‘a breakthrough’

‘The preliminary results of a clinical trial suggest a new treatment for Covid-19 dramatically reduces the number of patients needing intensive care, according to the UK company that developed it. The treatment from Southampton-based biotech Synairgen uses a protein called interferon beta which the body produces when it gets a viral infection... The initial findings suggest the treatment cut the odds of a Covid-19 patient in hospital developing severe disease - such as requiring ventilation - by 79%.’

Read here (BBC, July 20, 2020

Scathing Covid-19 book from Lancet editor — rushed but useful

‘Now [Richard] Horton has a book of his own. The COVID-19 Catastrophe is a sort of history, diagnosis and prescription, in real time. It is wide ranging, querying the changing role of international cooperation and the fallout of austerity economics, and taking a deeper dive into China’s scientific and political response to the crisis than most Western media have offered. But the book returns again and again to the catastrophe in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It is haunted by the question: how did two of the richest, most powerful and most scientifically advanced countries in the world get it so wrong, and cause such ongoing pain for their citizens?’

Read here (Nature, June 18, 2020)

UN makes record $10.3bn appeal for pandemic fight: Up to 265m people could face starvation by end-2020

‘The United Nations is making an appeal for $10.3 billion (£8.2 billion) to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, its largest ever fundraising call. The UN says up to 265 million people could face starvation by the end of the year because of the impact of Covid-19. The money will be for used for low income and fragile countries.’

Read here (BBC, July 17, 2020)

Press releases by RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of Covid-19 Therapy) Trial, University of Oxford

This UK national clinical trial, conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford in concert with other relevant institutions, aims to identify treatments that may be beneficial for people hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19... A range of potential treatments have been suggested for COVID-19 but nobody knows if any of them will turn out to be more effective in helping people recover than the usual standard of hospital care which all patients will receive. The RECOVERY Trial is aimed at evaluating the efficacy of such treatments. It has made a series of press statements from end-March 2020. This link takes you to them.

Read here (RECOVERY Trial website)

The new stability

‘I look for hope and find none, but I am not allowed to admit to total free fall. “Stronger together” say the screen savers on every screen in the hospital, the banners on the sides of the shuttle bus. What I’ll see in the coming weeks is just how much this isn’t true, how so many of our sickest patients are Black or Brown like you, “essential” and yet unprotected. I will see a 46-year-old Black man, infected with SARS-CoV-2, die instead from having a police officer kneel on his neck. I will see those who protest police brutality, though masked and mostly peaceful, tear-gassed and shot with rubber bullets. I will see unregulated corporate bailouts, record unemployment, record housing insecurity. I will see political polarization recast common-sense public health policy as liberal propaganda. I will see your death multiplied by 10,000, by 100,000, all those bodies, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. I wish I could tell you how sorry I am, for my fear, for our nation, for what happens next.’

Read here (New England Journal of Medicine, July 17, 2020)

Anger in Japan as US army bases report mounting Covid-19 outbreak

‘An escalating Covid-19 outbreak at American bases in Okinawa has seen 136 US military personnel and dependents infected so far, with the governor of the southern Japanese island complaining that United States officials have refused to provide details of infections among service members...

‘The question of quarantine regulations for US troops and their family members is a particularly contentious one, with local media reporting that Tokyo has little control over the US nationals who fly into Japan, even if they are arriving at commercial airports. The SOFA [Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the US] permits service personnel to sidestep testing that is presently mandatory for all other arrivals from overseas.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, July 16, 2020)

Vulnerable: The law, policy and ethics of Covid-19

The contents of this 649-page book ‘confronts the vulnerabilities that have been revealed by the pandemic and its consequences. It examines vulnerabilities for people who have been harmed or will be harmed by the virus directly and those harmed by measures taken to slow its relentless march; vulnerabilities exposed in our institutions, governance, and legal structures; and vulnerabilities in other countries and at the global level where persistent injustices affect us all. Covid-19 has forced us to not only reflect on how we govern and how we set policy priorities, but also to ensure that pandemic preparedness, precautions, and recovery include all individuals, not just some.’

Most of its contents are focussed on Canada, however, there are articles about other places. The last 100 pages e.g. is on “Global health and governance”. Even while being Canada-centric, many of the issues are relevant to other countries albeit developed ones.

Download here (uO Research, University of Ottawa, 2020)

Swiftly waning Covid-19 immunity poses vaccination challenge

‘Emerging evidence that the body's immune defence against Covid-19 may be short-lived makes it even harder for vaccine developers to come up with shots fully able to protect people in future waves of infection, scientists said on Tuesday.

‘Preliminary studies in China, Germany, Britain and elsewhere have found that patients infected with the novel coronavirus make protective antibodies as part of their immune system's defences, but these appear to last only a few months.’

Read here (Malaysiakini, July 15, 2020)

COVAX: Ensuring global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines

‘The WHO and other international groups, such as CEPI and GAVI, have established the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility to encourage and coordinate donations from high-income countries in order to support the distribution of vaccine doses to lower-income countries. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) may not be able to purchase sufficient vaccine on their own or compete against wealthier countries to secure access to early doses without external support...

According to a GAVI press release of July 15: ‘Seventy-five countries submit expressions of interest to COVAX Facility, joining up to 90 further countries which could be supported by the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC). The COVAX Facility, and the AMC within it, is designed to guarantee rapid, fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world, rich and poor, to make rapid progress towards slowing the pandemic. Interest from governments representing more than 60% of the world’s population offers ‘tremendous vote of confidence’ in the effort to ensure truly global access to COVID-19 vaccines, once developed.’

Read here (GAVI, July 15, 2020) and here

Ignoring effects of Covid-19 on women could cost $5tn, warns Melinda Gates

‘The failure of leaders to take into account the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women, and their roles in lessening its harm, will mean a long, slow recovery that could cost the world economy trillions of dollars, Melinda Gates has warned. Even a four-year delay in programmes that promote gender equality, such as advancing women’s digital and financial inclusion, would wipe a potential $5tn (£4tn) from global GDP by 2030. “As policymakers work to protect and rebuild economies, their response must account for the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women, and the unique roles women will have to play in mitigating the pandemic’s harm,” Gates said in a paper published on Wednesday.’

Read here (The Guardian, July 15, 2020)

Training for the pandemic economy

‘But we can learn from the failure of earlier programs. Their record reveals that training works best when it is closely connected to a real job or occupation. Program design should be informed by detailed government forecasts of the types of jobs that are coming and which skills they will require. Similarly, training works best when firms and industries collaborate on program design, because employers are a source of information about the skills that will be needed. At the implementation stage, on-the-job training – apprenticeships, in other words – is essential, and not only for blue-collar jobs. Although we think of apprentices as machinists and plumbers, increasingly they are nursing assistants and insurance underwriters.

‘Here, Europe has a leg up, owing to strong trade unions that can cooperate with employers’ associations in organizing apprenticeships, and because worker-firm attachments are relatively strong. In the US, progress will be harder...’

Read here (Project Syndicate, July 13, 2020)

A new understanding of herd immunity

‘Gabriela Gomes studies chaos. Specifically, patterns in nonlinear dynamics... So with all its apparently chaotic eccentricities, the coronavirus was an ideal challenge for Gomes, a professor at the University of Strathclyde, in Glasgow, Scotland... Based on data from several countries in Europe, she said, her results show a herd-immunity threshold much lower than that of other models. “We just keep running the models, and it keeps coming back at less than 20 percent,” Gomes said. “It’s very striking.”

‘If that proves correct, it would be life-altering news. It wouldn’t mean that the virus is gone. But by Gomes’s estimates, if roughly one out of every five people in a given population is immune to the virus, that seems to be enough to slow its spread to a level where each infectious person is infecting an average of less than one other person. The number of infections would steadily decline...

There are two more arguments in the story, citing levels from 20 to 70 percent... The conclusion, as stated in the subhead: ‘The portion of the population that needs to get sick is not fixed. We can change it.’

Read here (The Atlantic, July 13, 2020)

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Theoretical considerations and available evidence

‘All told, current understanding about SARS-CoV-2 transmission is still limited. There are no perfect experimental data proving or disproving droplet vs aerosol-based transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The balance of evidence, however, seems inconsistent with aerosol-based transmission of SARS-CoV-2 particularly in well-ventilated spaces. What this means in practice is that keeping 6-feet apart from other people and wearing medical masks, high-quality cloth masks, or face shields when it is not possible to be 6-feet apart (for both source control and respiratory protection) should be adequate to minimize the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (in addition to frequent hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, and optimizing indoor ventilation).’

Read here (JAMA Network, July 13, 2020)

Health workers silenced, exposed and attacked

‘Governments must be held accountable for the deaths of health and essential workers who they have failed to protect from COVID-19, Amnesty International said today, as it released a new report documenting the experiences of health workers around the world.

‘The organization’s analysis of available data has revealed that more than 3000 health workers are known to have died from COVID-19 worldwide - a figure which is likely to be a significant underestimate.

‘Alarmingly, Amnesty International documented cases where health workers who raise safety concerns in the context of the COVID-19 response have faced retaliation, ranging from arrest and detention to threats and dismissal.’

Read here (Amnesty International, July 13, 2020)

Russian university completes clinical trials of Covid-19 vaccine

Russia has become the first country to have completed clinical trials of a Covid-19 vaccine candidate, after Sechenov University said that it had concluded its study. According to Sechenov University Center for Clinical Research on Medications head and chief researcher Elena Smolyarchuk, study data showed the vaccine candidate’s effectiveness, reported Russian news agency TASS. Smolyarchuk was quoted by the news agency as saying: “The research has been completed and it proved that the vaccine is safe. The volunteers will be discharged on 15 July and 20 July.”

Read here (Clinical Trials Arena, July 13, 2020)

Merck CEO Ken Frazier discusses a Covid cure, racism, and why leaders need to walk the talk

‘As chairman and CEO of the leading vaccine producer in the world, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Ken Frazier has one of the highest-profile positions in global business.

‘But Frazier, who is leading one of the firms on a charge to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, is unique in another way: He is just one of four Black CEOs leading a Fortune 500 company. Frazier is also outspoken, having resigned from President Trump’s American Manufacturing Council to make a clear statement against “hatred, bigotry and group supremacy” that surfaced in protests at Charlottesville, Virginia.

‘In the video [with transcript] below, Frazier provides insights into this turbulent period of American history with Tsedal Neeley (@tsedal), the Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Topics ranged from corporate America’s role in hiring more African Americans to the experience of being raised just one generation away from slavery.’

View/read here (Harvard Business School, July 13, 2020)

China and Kazakhstan try to smooth over ‘deadly pneumonia’ row

‘Chinese ambassador reaffirms ties in phone call to Kazakh health minister. WHO says many cases in the Central Asian nation were likely Covid-19 but just not diagnosed correctly.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, July 11, 2020)

Why steroids are a Covid-19 game changer

This video provides clear information on how Covid-19 affects our bodies adversely, e.g. via inflammation and over-reaction of the immune system (cytokine storm); why anti-viral remdesivir and drug hydroxychloroquine have been found to be relatively ineffective; and how a low-cost steroid dexamethasone produced quite dramatic positive results in severely affected patients. Although well-produced, this video is a means by the producers Real Science to advertise services like Nebula and CuriosityStream.

View here (Real Science, July 11, 2020)

Why has the pandemic spared the Buddhist parts of South-East Asia?

‘Vietnam is the standout: with 97m people, it claims no deaths from covid-19. Thailand, with 70m, has seen just 58 fatalities and no local transmission in over 40 days. Impoverished Myanmar claims just six deaths from 317 cases, while Cambodia (141 confirmed cases) and tiny Laos (19 cases) also have no deaths apiece and no local transmission since April. Compare that with the nearby archipelagic nations of Indonesia (some 68,100 cases and 3,400 deaths) and the Philippines (50,400 cases and 1,300 deaths), where the pandemic still rages.’

Read here (The Economist, July 11, 2020)

WHO’s Covid-19 inquiry is a shrewd move in a sea of disinformation

‘In the week in which the US formally announced its intention to quit the WHO, the organisation’s announcement of the two figures who will lead its review of the pandemic and its response feels significant.

‘Given Trump’s record of denigrating female leaders, and of racist dog-whistles, it is striking that the review will be chaired by two highly regarded and independent-minded women leaders, one of them from Africa – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Nobel laureate and the former president of Liberia, and Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand.’

Read here (The Guardian, July 10, 2020)

Covid-19: Are we being misled again by Big Pharma?

This Third World Network article examines the parallels between the production, marketing and distribution strategies of (1) antiviral medicine oseltamivir (Tamiflu) by Roche for H1N1 in the years 2005 and 2009 and (2) remdesivir by Gilead Sciences for Covid-19 during this pandemic.

Read here (Third World Network, July 10, 2020)

WHO promises ‘honest evaluation’ of how world handled COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was setting up an independent panel to review its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the response by governments. The announcement follows strong criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration of the global agency’s role in the crisis - though the WHO said the review was not linked to the United States. Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark and former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf have agreed to head the panel, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

Read here (Reuters, July 9, 2020)

Will medical tourism survive Covid-19?

‘Treatment in Asia is up to 90% cheaper than private healthcare in the US. According to the MHTC [Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council], a coronary artery bypass graft that would cost $92 000 in the US, costs less than $10 000 in India, for example. Coupled with a steep reduction in the cost of long haul air travel, the region has successfully broadened the appeal of medical tourism beyond just the most affluent customers.

‘But all that was before the pandemic. The uncertainty of covid-19, lockdowns, border restrictions, and social distancing has stalled international travel. The UN World Tourism Organisation estimates that the travel industry could decline by 60% to 80% by the end of 2020, calling it the “worst crisis that international tourism has faced since records began.” It says Asia and the Pacific have been the regions hardest hit, with a loss of 33 million tourists.’

Read here (BMJ, July 10, 2020)

Coronavirus: Sweden has become the world's cautionary tale

‘Sweden's grim result - more death and nearly equal economic damage - suggests that the supposed choice between lives and pay cheques is a false one: A failure to impose social distancing can cost lives and jobs at the same time.’

Read here (Straits Times, July 8, 2020)

School openings across globe suggest ways to keep coronavirus at bay, despite outbreaks

“Outbreaks in schools are inevitable,” says Otto Helve, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. “But there is good news.” So far, with some changes to schools’ daily routines, he says, the benefits of attending school seem to outweigh the risks—at least where community infection rates are low and officials are standing by to identify and isolate cases and close contacts.

This article discusses the following:

• How likely are children to catch and transmit the virus?
• Should children play together?
• Should kids wear masks?
• What should schools do when someone tests positive?
• Do schools spread the virus to the wider community?
• What lies ahead?

Read here (Science Magazine, July 7, 2020)

Once-model states suffer response fatigue as Covid-19 surges in India

‘The city of Bangalore... was a model for the response to Covid-19 in India just last week. But infections have doubled in the first six days of July, crossing 10,000. With about 1,000 new infections a day, the famed tech city is now gripped by confusion about bed availability, disappearing medical staff, and falling rates of testing...

‘The neighbouring state of Kerala, which received international praise for its early and rigorous response to the pandemic that began with its - and India's - first case on January 30, is also showing signs of response fatigue.’

Read here (Straits Times, July 7, 2020)

This is not a normal mental-health disaster

‘The full extent of the fallout will not come into focus for some time. Psychological disorders can be slow to develop, and as a result, the Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry, which Morganstein helped write, warns that demand for mental-health care may spike even as a pandemic subsides. “If history is any indicator,” Morganstein says of COVID-19, “we should expect a significant tail of mental-health effects, and those could be extraordinary.” Taylor worries that the virus will cause significant upticks in obsessive-compulsive disorder, agoraphobia, and germaphobia, not to mention possible neuropsychiatric effects, such as chronic fatigue syndrome...

‘In 2013, reflecting on the tenth anniversary of the SARS pandemic, newspapers in Hong Kong described a city scarred by plague. When COVID-19 arrived there seven years later, they did so again. SARS had traumatized that city, but it had also prepared it. Face masks had become commonplace. People used tissues to press elevator buttons. Public spaces were sanitized and resanitized. In New York City, COVID-19 has killed more than 22,600 people; in Hong Kong, a metropolis of nearly the same size, it has killed seven. The city has learned from its scars.’

[Joshua Morganstein is the chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disaster; Steven Taylor is a psychiatrist at the University of British Columbia and the author of The Psychology of Pandemics]

Read here (The Atlantic, July 7, 2020)

Will universities learn from lockdowns?

‘Like many businesses, universities are struggling with how to reopen and are adopting a range of strategies. For example, the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom has announced that its lectures will be online-only until at least the summer of 2021. Others, including Stanford University, are offering a mix of in-person and online classes, as well as spreading out their academic year so that fewer students will be on campus at any time.

‘Make no mistake: COVID-19 represents a massive economic hit to higher education. Dorm rooms are unoccupied, sports stadiums remain empty, and students push back against paying full tuition fees. For many colleges and universities, the drop in revenue from foreign students, especially Chinese, is likely to be painful; numerous smaller and less-endowed schools may close.’

Read here (Project Syndicate, July 6, 2020)

The coronavirus may not have originated in China, says Oxford professor

‘The coronavirus may have been lying dormant across the world until emerging under favourable environmental conditions, rather than originating in China, an expert has claimed.

‘Dr Tom Jefferson, from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) at Oxford University, has pointed to a string of recent discoveries of the virus’s presence around the world before it emerged in Asia as growing evidence of its true origin as a global organism that was waiting for favourable conditions to finally emerge.

‘Traces of COVID-19 have been found in sewage samples from Spain, Italy and Brazil which pre-date its discovery in China. A preprint study, which has not been peer reviewed, claims to have found the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genomes in a Barcelona sewage sample from 12 March 2019.’

Read here (BBC Science Focus, July 6, 2020)

Lessons for Covid-19 from the early days of AIDS

‘Thirty-six years ago, we were, like today, in the midst of a new and still somewhat mysterious global pandemic. In the U.S. alone, more than one million people were infected with HIV, and 12,000 had already died of AIDS. At the time, we were just beginning to understand how the virus worked. But that didn’t stop some leaders from making wildly optimistic claims about an AIDS vaccine being delivered within two years.

‘Now, with COVID-19, we are in a remarkably similar spot: 2.7 million people have been infected across the U.S., and 128,000 have died of the disease. Despite our limited understanding of how the novel coronavirus works and what it does to the human body, many are putting what I consider a disproportionate amount of faith in the possibility of a COVID-19 vaccine by 2021. My feelings today echo my feelings a third of a century ago: yes, a vaccine may be possible, but it is by no means a certainty.’

Read here (Scientific American, July 6, 2020)

239 experts with 1 big claim: The coronavirus is airborne

‘The World Health Organization has long held that the coronavirus is spread primarily by large respiratory droplets that, once expelled by infected people in coughs and sneezes, fall quickly to the floor. But in an open letter to the WHO, 239 scientists in 32 countries have outlined the evidence showing that smaller particles can infect people, and are calling for the agency to revise its recommendations. The researchers plan to publish their letter in a scientific journal next week.’

Read here (New York Times, July 4, 2020)

The national humiliation we need

‘What’s the core problem? Damon Linker is on to a piece of it: “It amounts to a refusal on the part of lots of Americans to think in terms of the social whole — of what’s best for the community, of the common or public good. Each of us thinks we know what’s best for ourselves.”

‘I’d add that this individualism, atomism and selfishness is downstream from a deeper crisis of legitimacy. In 1970, in a moment like our own, Irving Kristol wrote, “In the same way as men cannot for long tolerate a sense of spiritual meaninglessness in their individual lives, so they cannot for long accept a society in which power, privilege, and property are not distributed according to some morally meaningful criteria”.’

Read here (New York Times, July 2, 2020)

Rethink food security and nutrition following Covid-19 pandemic

‘The Covid-19 crisis has had several unexpected effects, including renewed attention to food security concerns. Earlier understandings of food security in terms of production self-sufficiency have given way to importing supplies since late 20th century promotion of trade liberalization.

‘Food systems need to be repurposed to better produce and supply safe and nutritious food. Ensuring that food systems improve nutrition is not just a matter of increasing production. The entire ‘nutrition value chain’ — from farm to fork, from production to consumption — needs to be considered to ensure the food system better feeds the population.

‘Food systems have to improve production practices, post-harvest processing and consumption behaviour. Resource use and abuse as well as environmental damage due to food production and consumption need to be addressed to ensure sustainable food systems.’

Read here (IPS News, July 2, 2020)

Coronavirus autopsies: A story of 38 brains, 87 lungs and 42 hearts

‘Given widespread reports about neurological symptoms related to the coronavirus, Fowkes [an associate professor of pathology who is part of a team at Mount Sinai Health that has performed autopsies on 67 covid-19 patients] said, she expected to find virus or inflammation — or both — in the brain. But there was very little. When it comes to the heart, many physicians warned for months about a cardiac complication they suspected was myocarditis, an inflammation or hardening of the heart muscle walls — but autopsy investigators were stunned that they could find no evidence of the condition.

‘Another unexpected finding, pathologists said, is that oxygen deprivation of the brain and the formation of blood clots may start early in the disease process. That could have major implications for how people with covid-19 are treated at home, even if they never need to be hospitalized.’

Read here (Washington Post, July 2, 2020)

Microbiologist shows how well masks work in gross but effective demonstration

Dr Davis's conclusion is a simple one: "Masks as a political / social litmus test or used to shame those who won't (or disabled folks who truly can't!) wear them is a travesty. We wash hands after using the bathroom and wipe noses on tissues. Masks / face shields need to be just another normalized act of hygiene.

Read here (Distractify, July 1, 2020)

Priorities for the Covid-19 economy: Joseph Stiglitz

‘Because Covid-19 looks likely to remain with us for the long term, we have time to ensure that our spending reflects our priorities. When the pandemic arrived, American society was riven by racial and economic inequities, declining health standards, and a destructive dependence on fossil fuels. Now that government spending is being unleashed on a massive scale, the public has a right to demand that companies receiving help contribute to social and racial justice, improved health, and the shift to a greener, more knowledge-based economy. These values should be reflected not only in how we allocate public money, but also in the conditions that we impose on its recipients.’

Read here (Project Syndicate, July 1, 2020)

US buys up world stock of key Covid-19 drug remdesivir

‘The US has bought up virtually all the stocks for the next three months of one of the two drugs proven to work against Covid-19, leaving none for the UK, Europe or most of the rest of the world. Experts and campaigners are alarmed both by the US unilateral action on remdesivir and the wider implications, for instance in the event of a vaccine becoming available. The Trump administration has already shown that it is prepared to outbid and outmanoeuvre all other countries to secure the medical supplies it needs for the US.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 30, 2020)

Stealth infections

‘From the Black Death to polio, the most dangerous pathogens have moved silently, transmitted by apparently healthy people...

‘It isn’t ‘pandemics’ per se that we need to fear. The concept of being ‘overdue for a pandemic’ actually makes little sense. Pandemics aren’t cyclical, nor are they necessary products of global warming. We are vulnerable to pandemic outbreaks because of our interconnected world, not because there is some mysterious mechanism in the world that’s going to produce them. It takes precise conditions, what we can call ‘disease factories’, to produce pandemics, and these conditions don’t exist until we create them. The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic was the product of a disease factory: it most likely sprang out of a giant pig farm in the Mexican state of Veracruz, owned in part by Smithfield Foods, a giant US pig-raising and meat-packing conglomerate.’

Read here (Aeon, June 30, 2020)

The vaccine race

’Rarely has the fate of the world depended on an international competition like the one for a Covid-19 vaccine. It's a race against time, it's a race to save lives, it's a race for glory. Trials are underway. Who develops a vaccine first? Who gets to take it first? How much will vaccines cost? And will they be effective enough, or safe enough?’

Read here (Politico, June 30, 2020)

‘You have to take action’: One hospital cleaner’s journey through the pandemic

‘Two years ago, Ernesta decided she wanted to improve things for the cleaners at Lewisham hospital. She believed they deserved better pay and better treatment. She joined the union, persuaded her colleagues to join, too, and they began to organise themselves. In a long campaign to improve their working lives – a campaign that has persevered through a pandemic – the cleaners have won various battles, but they still have more to fight. In the past three months, their vulnerability has also been made distressingly clear. Cleaners from all over the country have died from Covid-19 – two of those who died worked down the road from Lewisham at St George’s hospital in Tooting. The pandemic has revealed what was always obvious to Ernesta: a hospital can’t function without its cleaners. They are as vital to its purpose as any of the other frontline staff, and equally at risk.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 30, 2020)

Remdesivir, the first coronavirus drug, gets a price tag

‘Remdesivir will be sold for US$520 (S$724) per vial, or US$3,120 per treatment course, to hospitals for treatment of patients with private insurance, according to the Department of Health and Human Services and Gilead Sciences, the drug's manufacturer.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 30, 2020)

New rules: Malaysians to pay RM30-RM150 for Covid-19 test upon return abroad; foreigners pay RM60-RM250

‘Malaysians returning from overseas will have to pay a range of RM30 to RM150 to be tested for Covid-19 upon entering the country from today onwards, while non-citizens will pay higher fees depending on the type of tests conducted, new rules issued by the government said.

‘In the regulations made on June 26 by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, any Malaysian or foreigner entering Malaysia will be required to pay the specified fee depending on the type of Covid-19 detection tests taken "before proceeding for immigration clearance at any point of entry", with the type of tests used to be decided by the health director-general.’

Read here (The Malay Mail, June 29, 2020)

Coronavirus traces found in March 2019 sewage sample, Spanish study shows

‘Spanish virologists have found traces of the novel coronavirus in a sample of Barcelona waste water collected in March 2019, nine months before the Covid-19 disease was identified in China, the University of Barcelona said on Friday (June 26). The discovery of virus genome presence so early in Spain, if confirmed, would imply the disease may have appeared much earlier than the scientific community thought.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 27, 2020)

India's female Corona-warriors: Underpaid and unappreciated

‘Asha workers connect their communities with the public health system. While technically volunteers, they perform crucial tasks, including recording data about births, deaths, marriages and child immunisations; providing information about nutrition, sanitation, maternal and child health; accompanying pregnant women and sick children to health care centres; and helping treat diarrhoea, fevers and tuberculosis.

‘The Covid-19 outbreak added to their duties. Ashas are now expected to educate people about precautions against infection, monitor quarantined households, trace contacts of infected people and help with testing. They have no holidays.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 27, 2020)

Covid-19 vaccines: EU prioritises preferential access, paying lip-service to global solidarity

‘The European Commission has released an “EU Strategy for COVID-19 vaccines” that is premised on sealing advance purchase agreements with vaccine producers to secure production of vaccines in the European Union and sufficient supplies for its Member States. Launched on 17th June 2020, the EU Strategy marks a major shift from earlier calls for global collaboration and solidarity in ensuring affordable equitable access to vaccines globally.’

Read here (Third World Network, June 26, 2020)

Persuasive words are not enough

‘The scientific community is losing the battle against this digital leviathan of misinformation. A well-reasoned and highly placed op-ed on this topic is not going to move the needle, no matter how well it is crafted to adhere to the best practices in science communication. Neither is a perfect trade book, television appearance, or speaking tour by a scientific leader. The only way to win this fight is to harness the same sophisticated tools in the name of science that are being used to tear science down.’

Read here (Science Magazine, June 26, 2020)

Care homes and Covid-19 deaths: An opportunity to cut down mortality rates

‘The impact of COVID-19 on care home residents has been very different internationally, with some countries reporting no deaths (or infections) in care homes, such as Hong Kong, Jordan and Malta, and two countries reporting that over 80% of COVID-19 deaths were of care home residents. Without including the three countries with zero deaths, and with the caveat that the definitions used vary, on average the share of all COVID-19 deaths that were care home residents is 47% (based on 26 countries).’

Read here (International Long-term Care Policy Network, June 26, 2020)

Seamen struck by cruel waves of Covid-19

‘During this Covid-19 pandemic, the performance of healthcare workers, the police, soldiers and e-hailing drivers has been really outstanding. The people appreciate their sacrifices and would always remember their courage for standing at the front lines in the fight against the pandemic. But there is another group of people who have also been working tirelessly, moving cargo safely from one country to another while people stayed at home to stay safe. Sadly, not many people are aware of their plight. That’s because we are at sea. That’s right, there are thousands of sailors stranded onboard vessels now.’

Read here (The Star, June 25, 2020)

How the coronavirus may deliver a shock to the US dollar: Stephen Roach

‘America is leading the charge into protectionism, deglobalisation and decoupling. Its share of world foreign-exchange reserves has fallen from a little over 70 per cent in 2000 to a little less than 60 per cent today. Its Covid-19 containment has been an abysmal failure. And its history of systemic racism and police violence has sparked a transformative wave of civil unrest.

‘Against this background, especially when compared with other major economies, it seems reasonable to conclude that hyperextended saving and current-account imbalances will finally have actionable consequences for the dollar and/or US interest rates.

‘To the extent that the inflation response lags, and the Federal Reserve maintains its extraordinarily accommodative monetary-policy stance, the bulk of the concession should occur through the currency rather than interest rates. Hence, I foresee a 35 per cent drop in the broad dollar index over the next two to three years.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 25, 2020)

Vaccine alliance finds manufacturing capacity for 4 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines

‘An influential foundation focused on preparation and response to epidemics that is backing nine potential coronavirus vaccines has identified manufacturers with capacity to produce four billion doses a year, the group's top manufacturing expert told Reuters. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) plans to have two or three manufacturing plants for each vaccine, James Robinson, a long-time biopharma executive leading CEPI'S vast manufacturing push, said in an interview. "Right now, we know we can do the two billion doses that we have as kind of our minimum target" by the end of 2021, he said.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 25, 2020)

CDC head estimates US coronavirus cases might be 10 times higher than data show

‘In a press briefing on June 25, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that the current official count of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may actually be a drastic underestimate.

‘Redfield said the new, much-higher estimate, is based on growing data from antibody testing, which picks up the presence of immune cells that react to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. People will test positive for antibodies to the virus if they have been infected—whether or not they ever got sick or even developed symptoms.’

Read here (Time Magazine, June 25, 2020)

Australia calls military in after virus surge

‘Australia's military was called in Wednesday to help tackle a coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne -- a surge in infections that has rattled the country's second-most populous city. Victoria has recorded double-digit increases in new daily cases for more than a week -- mostly in the state capital Melbourne -- representing a sizeable spike in cases in a country that has otherwise successfully curbed Covid-19.’

Read here (Today Online, June 24, 2020)

What’s at risk: An 18-month view of a post-Covid world

 ‘As the world continues to grapple with the effects of COVID-19, no part of society seems to be left unscathed. Fears are surmounting around the economy’s health, and dramatic changes in life as we know it are also underway.

‘In today’s graphic, we use data from a World Economic Forum survey of 347 risk analysts on how they rank the likelihood of major risks we face in the aftermath of the pandemic. What are the most likely risks for the world over the next year and a half?’

Read here (Visual Capitalist, June 24, 2020)

Human challenge trials with live coronavirus aren’t the answer to a Covid-19 vaccine

‘With vaccines already a target of widespread misinformation campaigns, the death of a single volunteer would likely cause even greater damage. From a public health perspective, it would be especially disastrous if it both slowed the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine and fueled the anti-vaccination movement. There are other ethical considerations. An important principle in human challenge studies is that subjects must give their informed consent in order to take part. That means they should be provided with all the relevant information about the risk they are considering. But that is impossible for such a new disease.’

Read here (STAT News, June 23, 2020)

To date (July 19, 2020), the 1DaySooner campaign has attracted nearly 33,000 volunteers from 140 countries. Read here

The long-term effects of Covid-19 infection

‘Some scientists suspect that Covid-19 causes respiratory failure and death not through damage to the lungs, but the brain – and other symptoms include headaches, strokes and seizures... For Julie Helms, it started with a handful of patients admitted to her intensive care unit at Strasbourg University Hospital in northeast France in early March 2020. Within days, every single patient in the ICU had Covid-19 – and it was not just their breathing difficulties that alarmed her. “They were extremely agitated, and many had neurological problems – mainly confusion and delirium,” she says. “We are used to having some patients in the ICU who are agitated and require sedation, but this was completely abnormal. It has been very scary, especially because many of the people we treated were very young – many in their 30s and 40s, even an 18-year-old.”

‘Helms and her colleagues published a small study in the New England Journal of Medicine documenting the neurological symptoms in their Covid-19 patients, ranging from cognitive difficulties to confusion. All are signs of “encephalopathy” (the general term for damage to the brain) – a trend that researchers in Wuhan had noticed in coronavirus patients there in February.’

Read here (BBC, June 23, 2020)

Fauci: Coronavirus vaccine could be available by end of 2020

‘Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told Congress Tuesday that he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the development of a coronavirus vaccine, saying that he believes one could be available as soon as the end of this year, or the beginning of 2021.’

Read here (Vox, June 23, 2020)

People have stopped going to the doctor. Most seem just fine

‘As stay-at-home orders ease and cities reopen for business, many doctors and hospital administrators are calling for a quick return of health care to pre-pandemic levels. For months now, routine care has been postponed. Elective procedures — big moneymakers — were halted so that hospitals could divert resources to treating Covid-19 patients. Routine clinic visits were canceled or replaced by online sessions. This has resulted in grievous financial losses for hospitals and clinics. Medical practices have closed. Hospitals have been forced to furlough employees or cut pay.

‘Most patients, on the other hand, at least those with stable chronic conditions, seem to have done OK. In a recent survey, only one in 10 respondents said their health or a family member’s health had worsened as a result of delayed care. Eighty-six percent said their health had stayed about the same.’

Read here (New York Times, June 22, 2020)

The politics of the mask

‘The years since Donald Trump’s election have been marked by a resurgence of violent street-level political confrontations. Fascists and their opponents have squared off in numerous cities, while recent protests against racist police violence have grown into a powerful movement. Cities across the country are now in open rebellion.

‘This new political instability coincides with the tenth anniversary of the publication of critical theorist AK Thompson’s Black Bloc, White Riot: Anti-Globalization and the Genealogy of Dissent (2010), which advanced a provocative thesis regarding the intimate bond between political violence and the white middle class. In Thompson’s account, the black bloc – a demonstration tactic in which masks and sartorial uniformity are used to facilitate participation in confrontational skirmishes – was both seductive and disquieting to white middle-class audiences because it forced them to confront the limits of their own political efficacy. Today, as activists confront the question of violence once again – and COVID-19 universally necessitates the wearing of masks in public – the polarizing debates that inspired the book have reignited, and Thompson’s analysis has implications that reach far beyond the case study that prompted it.

‘In this interview, the writer pushes Thompson to clarify his positions and extend his analysis to consider the forms of street-level political violence we confront today.’

https://socialistproject.ca/2020/06/the-politics-of-the-mask/

Read here (The Bullet, June 22, 2020)

Gilead to start testing an inhaled version of remdesivir, making it available to vastly more patients

‘The biotech giant that developed the first effective coronavirus treatment is now looking to expand its impact. Gilead Sciences CEO Daniel O'Day said Monday that the company would start testing an inhaled version of the antiviral drug remdesivir in August. Currently, the drug is given as an intravenous infusion. If remdesivir is effective when given through a nebulizer, that "could have significant implications in helping to stem the tide of the pandemic," O'Day wrote in an open letter.’

Read here (Business Insider, June 22, 2020)

Antibody levels in recovered COVID-19 patients decline quickly, Chinese study finds

‘Levels of an antibody found in recovered COVID-19 patients fell sharply in two to three months after infection for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, according to a Chinese study, raising questions about the length of any immunity against the novel coronavirus. The research, published in Nature Medicine on Jun 18, highlights the risks of using COVID-19 "immunity passports" and supports the prolonged use of public health interventions such as social distancing and isolating high-risk groups, researchers said.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, June 22, 2020)

Asymptomatic patients may shed virus for longer than others, study says

‘Asymptomatic coronavirus patients could shed the virus for longer than those with symptoms, according to a new study in southwest China. “The emergence of these silent spreaders … has caused difficulties in the control of the epidemic,” the researchers led by Huang Ailong, from Chongqing Medical University, wrote in a peer-reviewed paper in Nature Medicine on Thursday. Huang’s team found that the median duration of viral shedding among the 37 asymptomatic patients in the Chongqing study was 19 days – a third longer than the patients with mild symptoms.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 22, 2020)

Fearing second Covid-19 wave, Europe aims to train ‘army’ of medics

‘Europeans are enjoying the gradual easing of coronavirus lockdown measures, but in hospitals, they are already preparing for the next wave of infections. Some intensive care specialists are trying to hire more permanent staff. Others want to create a reservist "army" of medical professionals ready to be deployed wherever needed to work in wards with seriously ill patients. European countries have been giving medics crash courses in how to deal with Covid-19 patients, and are now looking at ways to retrain staff to avoid shortages of key workers if there is a second wave of the novel coronavirus.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 22, 2020)

Trust in governments surges during pandemic, survey shows

‘Trust in governments surges during pandemic, survey shows Times of uncertainty often drive people to governments. And during the Covid-19 pandemic, many governments seem to be delivering. Trust in governments surged to an all-time high around the world, according to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer Spring Update report released last week.’

Read here (Straits Tines, June 22, 2020)

Thailand had the world's first coronavirus case outside China. Here's how it avoided disaster

‘James Wise, a former Australian ambassador to the country and author of Thailand: History, Politics and the Rule of Law, said the Village Health volunteers were "enormously important". "The key factor is they were well prepared for it," Mr Wise said... "[The volunteers] work closely with the local communities and then once coronavirus comes along you've got an army of foot soldiers who can be quickly briefed on the coronavirus and then can go out into the communities, spread information, dispel misinformation and check people's symptoms. And that's what they did".’

Read here (ABC News, June 22, 2020)

Covid-19 has led to a pandemic of plastic pollution

‘Whether on the foreshore of the Thames or the deserted beaches of Soko, the planet is awash with pandemic plastic. Data are hard to come by but, for example, consumption of single-use plastic may have grown by 250-300% in America since the coronavirus took hold, says Antonis Mavropoulos of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), which represents recycling bodies in 102 countries. Much of that increase is down to demand for products designed to keep covid-19 at bay, including masks, visors and gloves. According to a forecast from Grand View Research, the global disposable-mask market will grow from an estimated $800m in 2019 to $166bn in 2020.’

Read here (The Economist, June 22, 2020)

A plague of willful ignorance

‘We aren’t a nation of know-nothings; many, probably most Americans are willing to listen to experts and act responsibly. But there’s a belligerent faction within our society that refuses to acknowledge inconvenient or uncomfortable facts, preferring to believe that experts are somehow conspiring against them... Trump hasn’t just failed to rise to the policy challenge posed by Covid-19. He has, with his words and actions — notably his refusal to wear a mask — encouraged and empowered America’s anti-rational streak.’

Read here (New York Times, June 22, 2020)

The essential but invisible trade: TRAFFIC sounds alarm over sustainability of wild plants used to treat Covid-19

‘Wild plant species used in herbal treatments of Covid-19 are set to come under heightened harvesting pressure, both as a result of increased demand and because of more people turning to wild harvesting as an alternative source of income during times of high unemployment and economic crisis. The future availability of plant ingredients to support human health—through medicines, food and well-being products—is dependent on prioritising the conservation and sustainable use of their source species in the long-term.’

Read here (Traffic, June 18, 2020)

New Covid-19 tracing tool appears on smartphones

‘A Covid-19 tracing software tool has appeared in the settings of both Android phones and iPhones as part of an update of their operating systems. The "exposure notification" tool is switched off by default, and is not a tracing app itself. It enables an app to run in the background while still using Bluetooth. This lets the app measure the distance between two handsets - and then alert the phone owner if someone near them later tests positive for Covid-19.’

Read here (BBC, June 20, 2020)

How Uruguay has coped with Covid-19

‘By June 18th Uruguay had reported 849 confirmed cases and 24 deaths from covid-19, the lowest number as a share of population of any country in South America. Uruguay has administered 55,215 tests, a regional record... Luis Lacalle Pou, the centre-right president, was swift but not strict. On March 13th he declared an emergency and shut the borders. Like the populist leaders of Brazil and Mexico, he is at pains to shield the economy. Unlike them, he does not make light of the disease...

‘The government calls its policy libertad responsable (responsible liberty). It shut down schools, cinemas and shopping malls. It urged people to work from home, wear face masks and keep their distance from each other, but did not confine them to their houses. Mr Lacalle Pou “was not going to imprison people”, says an adviser.’

Read here (The Economist, June 20, 2020)

Coronavirus: China’s belt and road partners call for more cooperation on public health

‘Senior officials from 25 nations involved with China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative have issued a joint statement calling for great cooperation on public health as the world continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic. Ensuring fair access to health products and services should be the world’s top priority, the minister-level officials said in a communique released by China’s foreign ministry on Friday following an international videoconference. They also called for greater investment in “sound and resilient” health infrastructure – including the construction of regional storage centres for medical supplies – and committed to improving the availability and affordability of “products of reliable quality”, especially vaccines, drugs and other essential items.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 20, 2020)

Coronavirus antibody tests have a mathematical pitfall

‘...such [antibody] tests have been proposed as a way for individuals to find out if they have already been infected with the novel coronavirus. But a mathematical wrinkle makes these tests—and in fact, all screening tests—hard to interpret: even with a very accurate test, the fewer people in a population who have a condition, the more likely it is that an individual's positive result is wrong. If it is, people might think they have the antibodies (and thus may have immunity), when in fact they do not.

‘A positive screening test result for other diseases usually prompts follow-up testing to confirm a diagnosis. But for COVID-19 screening, such follow-up has been rare because testing resources are scarce or because other testing methods are prioritized for the sickest patients. Here's a look at the massive impact infection rates can have on the predictive value of these tests for individuals.’

Read here (Scientific American, July 2020, pre-published in June 19, 2020)

World in ‘new and dangerous phase’ of Covid-19 pandemic: WHO

‘The coronavirus pandemic is now in a “new and dangerous phase”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday (June 19), with the disease accelerating at the same time as people tire of lockdowns. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged nations and citizens to remain extremely vigilant, as the number of cases reported to the UN health agency hit a new peak. “The pandemic is accelerating. More than 150,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported to WHO yesterday – the most in a single day so far,” Tedros told a virtual press conference.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 19, 2020)

In this coronavirus wave, China tries something new: Restraint

‘The city of Beijing has tested 1.1 million people in less than a week and has halted many flights, but has not imposed the citywide lockdowns used in provincial outbreaks...

‘The brunt of the government’s measures has been borne by food traders at markets that were sealed off after cases were found, and by the residents of more than four dozen apartment complexes placed under lockdown. But in many other Beijing neighborhoods, the shops, restaurants and even hair salons are still operating. Traffic is a little lighter than usual, but plenty of cars are still on the road. City sidewalks remain busy.’

Read here (New York Times, June 19, 2020)

US Department of Homeland Security develops DIY method to decontaminate masks with a multicooker

‘A household appliance, which may be sitting inside your kitchen cabinet, can now be used as a powerful tool in the fight to control COVID-19. Researchers with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) developed a do-it-yourself solution to decontaminate personal protective equipment (PPE) using a programmable multicooker...

‘Moist heat decontamination is achieved by treating masks with 149°F steam for 30 minutes. Key steps include placing the mask(s) in a paper bag, filling the multicooker with a half inch of water and setting the bag on a rack inside of it. S&T verified these conditions inactivate the virus below detectable limits in culture media and simulated saliva, while the masks still meet performance specifications after five treatments...

Read here (US DHS, June 19, 2020)

Full instructions, a video, fact sheet and FAQ about the process are available on the HHS S&T website. View video and download PDFs here

What is the true death toll of the pandemic?

‘At least another 130,000 people worldwide have died during the coronavirus pandemic on top of 440,000 officially recorded deaths from the virus, according to BBC research. A review of preliminary mortality data from 27 countries shows that in many places the number of overall deaths during the pandemic has been higher than normal, even when accounting for the virus.’

Read here (BBC, June 19, 2020)

Race for virus vaccine could leave poor countries behind

‘As the race for a vaccine against the new coronavirus intensifies, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunised first, leaving significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccine before the pandemic ends.

‘Earlier this month, the United Nations, International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a "moral imperative" that everyone have access to a "people's vaccine". But such grand declarations are unenforceable and without a detailed strategy, the allocation of vaccines could be messy.’

Read here (Aljazeera, June 18, 2020)

Beijing's partial coronavirus lockdown a sign of the world's new normal

‘Party officials in charge of Beijing, including the city's party secretary, Mr Cai Qi, have sounded chagrined about the flare-up. "The lessons run very deep, the situation for epidemic control is very grim, and this has sounded a warning to us," said an official summary of a city leaders' meeting carried by The Beijing Daily on Wednesday.

‘Most Beijing streets flowed with traffic on Wednesday, though less than usual, and the public mood appeared resigned rather than panicked. Restaurants still opened, though the government has ordered them to disinfect and check employees.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 18, 2020)

The end of tourism?

‘Coronavirus has also revealed the danger of overreliance on tourism, demonstrating in brutal fashion what happens when the industry supporting an entire community, at the expense of any other more sustainable activity, collapses. On 7 May, the UN World Tourism Organisation estimated that earnings from international tourism might be down 80% this year against last year’s figure of $1.7tn, and that 120m jobs could be lost. Since tourism relies on the same human mobility that spreads disease, and will be subject to the most stringent and lasting restrictions, it is likely to suffer more than almost any other economic activity.’

Read here (Guardian, June 18, 2020)

An analysis of three Covid-19 outbreaks: How they happened and how they can be avoided

‘A crowded restaurant to celebrate the Chinese New Year; 100 workers infected inside a 19-story building; a group of devout Buddhists travelling by bus for a religious ceremony. These were the scenarios for three outbreaks of Covid-19 that have been carefully documented by the authorities. What happened in each one? What were the risk factors? What lessons can be learned, now that we are trying to get back to normal and return to restaurants, offices and other shared spaces?’

Read here (El Pais, June 18, 2020)

Scathing Covid-19 book from Lancet editor — rushed but useful

‘Since the coronavirus crisis began, Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of leading medical journal The Lancet, has been tearing across the British public sphere. Here he is on the BBC, the national broadcaster, there in the pages of The Guardian newspaper — taking the government to task for failures that have left the United Kingdom with the world’s second-highest per capita COVID-19 death toll so far (Belgium is top). Horton has never shied away from controversy (his journal published the retracted, fraudulent paper by Andrew Wakefield that alleged a non-existent link between vaccines with autism) or crusades (against the Iraq war and for political action on climate change). In coronavirus, he has found a cause that matches his energy: the Lancet journals are pumping out both the latest research and his pointed critiques of government policy; and last month, he reviewed a new book by the Slovenian Marxist philosopher Slavoj Žižek that imagines economic and social worlds after COVID-19.

‘Now Horton has a book of his own. The COVID-19 Catastrophe is a sort of history, diagnosis and prescription, in real time. It is wide ranging, querying the changing role of international cooperation and the fallout of austerity economics, and taking a deeper dive into China’s scientific and political response to the crisis than most Western media have offered. But the book returns again and again to the catastrophe in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It is haunted by the question: how did two of the richest, most powerful and most scientifically advanced countries in the world get it so wrong, and cause such ongoing pain for their citizens?’

Read here (Nature, June 18, 2020)

What to expect when flying now (and in the future)

Air travel is full of opportunities for coronavirus transmission. Touchless check-in, plexiglass shields, temperature checks, back-to-front boarding and planes with empty middle seats are all now part of the flying experience, and the future may bring even more changes. Illustration: Alex Kuzoian

Watch here (Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2020)

Antibody tests don't mean a ton right now. But that could change soon

‘In the study published in medRxiv, a preprint server for posting studies before they are peer-reviewed, a team at the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute of the New York Blood Center and Rockefeller University analyzed 370 plasma samples donated from people who recovered from COVID-19 and found some surprising results...

‘Overall, around 88% of the people generated varying levels of antibodies to the virus. But only about 10% of them had high levels that were able to neutralize the lab-based version of the COVID-19 virus—and, on the other side of the spectrum, 17% had almost no antibody response to their infection.’

Read here (Time Magazine, June 16, 2020)

The pandemic broke end-of-life care

‘The first day the palliative-care doctors walked into the ICUs, Thomas [Jane deLima Thomas, the director of palliative care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute] says, “we felt like tourists.” They were dressed in business casual, while their ICU colleagues raced around in scrubs and masks. But the palliative-care team—which includes physicians, nurses, chaplains, and social workers—found ways to integrate themselves. In the early days of the pandemic, when protective gear was scarce, no visitors were allowed. Palliative caregivers, along with ICU nurses, held iPads cocooned in plastic bags so families could say goodbye on Zoom. They were sometimes the only one in the room when a patient died, otherwise alone. I interviewed several members of the Boston-based palliative-care team, and their stories, which have been condensed and edited for clarity, are below...’

Read here (The Atlantic, June 16, 2020)

Hadassah doctors crack the cause of fatal corona blood clots

‘A research team at Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem discovered that patients who form fatal blood clots have an increased level of alpha defensin protein in their blood... They also say they have a way to treat the cause before it’s too late... At least 30% of patients with coronavirus develop blood clots that block the flow of blood to their kidneys, heart and brain, as well as the lungs, according to international research...

‘Dr. Abd Alrauf Higavi said his team are en route to a solution: administering the drug colchicine to coronavirus patients. Colchicine is an approved drug used in the prevention and treatment of gout attacks, caused by too much uric acid in the blood. Higavi said they have completed testing colchicine on mice and found that it successfully inhibited the release of alpha defensin. Now, they are waiting for the necessary approvals to test it on human coronavirus patients.’

Read here (Jerusalem Post, June 16, 2020)

Dexamethasone proves to be life-saving drug

‘A cheap and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus. The low-dose steroid treatment dexamethasone is a major breakthrough in the fight against the deadly virus, UK experts say...

‘It cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators. For those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth. Had the drug had been used to treat patients in the UK from the start of the pandemic, up to 5,000 lives could have been saved, researchers say. And it could be of huge benefit in poorer countries with high numbers of Covid-19 patients.’

Read here (BBC, June 16, 2020)

US in the spring of the pandemic

‘The gnawing anger beneath the pandemic is that democracy itself is being rewired in our absence. The system has failed us, the system is guaranteed to go on failing us, but while we the people are out of the picture, others are making grand, world-altering decisions. The powerful are rewriting the social contract while we watch TV and console ourselves with booze and simple chores.’

Read here (Le Monde Diplomatique, June 2020)

Volunteers sign up to put their lives on the line for a coronavirus vaccine

‘Lehua Gray, a 32-year-old product manager in Austin, wants to risk her life for a coronavirus vaccine. A cloud of potentially deadly microbes would be spritzed up her nose — if she’s allowed to a participate in what’s called a human challenge trial.

‘It’s built on a deceptively simple premise: Researchers inject healthy volunteers with an experimental vaccine and then expose them to a pathogen. If the vaccine prevents volunteers from getting sick, the study can accelerate development of a promising formula.’

Read here (Washington Post, June 15, 2020)

Fact-checking claims coronavirus might have started in August 2019

‘There's been criticism of a study from the US suggesting that the coronavirus could have been present in the Chinese city of Wuhan as early as August last year. The study by Harvard University, which gained significant publicity when it was released earlier this month, has been dismissed by China and had its methodology challenged by independent scientists...

‘The Harvard study has gained a lot of traction in the media, with President Trump, who has been highly critical of China's pandemic response, tweeting a Fox News item highlighting the researchers' findings. The tweet has been viewed more than three million times.’

Read here (BBC, June 15, 2020)

UK readers find the government’s COVID-19 messages more misleading than actual fake news

‘Our research suggests broadcasters may have helped people become fairly confident in spotting egregious examples of fake news. But many participants were confused by more routine political decisions, most strikingly the lockdown measures that can affect people in England differently to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

‘For broadcasters to more effectively counter misinformation, our research tells us it is not only about boldly questioning what politicians say and holding the government to account. It is about identifying what people are most confused about and finding ways to raise their level of understanding about complex and contentious issues.’

Read here (Nieman Lab, June 15, 2020)

To understand who’s dying of Covid-19, look to social factors like race more than preexisting diseases

‘The Sutter and MIT studies cast doubt on whether individual risk factors are as important as social determinants of health in affecting someone’s chances of contracting severe and even fatal Covid-19. “It should cause us to ask a different set of questions about what puts you at risk of hospitalization or death,” Schwalbe said.

‘More and more evidence is pointing to social determinants of risk, which puts the role of underlying health conditions in a new light. “Comorbidities are still used to blame people for how hard they are hit by Covid-19,” said Philip Alberti, senior director for health equity research at the AAMC. To reduce the U.S. death toll now that many states are seeing a new surge in cases, he said, “our response to this disease” must look beyond the strictly medical.’

Read here (STAT News, June 15, 2020)

A visual guide to the SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

‘In the graphics that follow, Scientific American presents detailed explanations, current as of mid-May, into how SARS-CoV-2 sneaks inside human cells, makes copies of itself and bursts out to infiltrate many more cells, widening infection. We show how the immune system would normally attempt to neutralize virus particles and how CoV-2 can block that effort. We explain some of the virus's surprising abilities, such as its capacity to proofread new virus copies as they are being made to prevent mutations that could destroy them. And we show how drugs and vaccines might still be able to overcome the intruders.’

Read here (Scientific American, June 15 web story for July 2020)

Tale of Covid-19 in two Indian cities: Dharavi, Mumbai, a rare success, and Delhi which was “messed up”

‘Asia's largest slum Dharavi was being seen as a 'Covid-engine' that will drive Mumbai in the wrong direction. But with conscious efforts, the slum's Covid doubling rate has come down to 44 days, twice as good as Mumbai’s 22. Delhi sadly is a study in contrast with India’s highest test positivity rates. In episode 496 of ThePrint's #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta talks about the lessons from Dharavi & new plan for Delhi.’

Watch here (Youtube, June 14, 2020)

Sinovac says early data show its Covid-19 vaccine generated immune responses

‘Sinovac Biotech announced preliminary study results on Saturday showing its experimental Covid-19 vaccine generated immune responses in patients and was safe — early data that suggest it might protect people against infections with the novel coronavirus. The Beijing-based drug maker’s vaccine, called CoronaVac, induced neutralizing antibodies in “above 90%” of people who were tested 14 days after receiving two injections, two weeks apart. There were no severe side effects reported, the company said in a statement. The preliminary results were from a 600-patient, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study. Sinovac is also conducting a 143-patient, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study.’

Read here (STAT News, June 14, 2020)

Fears of second wave as new cases emerge at Beijing market

‘A wholesale food market in south-west Beijing is in the spotlight after being linked to a spate of new Covid-19 cases, sparking fears of a second wave of infections... Officials said at a news briefing yesterday that six cases were reported on Friday, all related to the market, which sells meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables. Another man who had shopped there was also reported as a confirmed case on Thursday. In addition, 45 people tested positive from among 517 samples collected at the market, although none showed symptoms of the coronavirus infection.

‘Chinese news outlet Beijing News reported that the virus was detected at Xinfadi market on a chopping board for imported salmon, which had come from Jingshen seafood market, one of the markets ordered shut on Friday. Large supermarket chains such as Carrefour and Japanese restaurants have pulled salmon off the shelves and menus after news that supplies could be contaminated sparked worries across the city.’

Read here (Straits Times, June 14, 2020)

Why is it hard to do what is right?

‘In the fight to contain the spread of coronavirus, Malaysians have split into two camps: the risk-takers and the rule-followers. On one side are carefree people who ignore public health measures; on the other are the anxious ones coming to grips with the reality of life with Covid-19. What a depressing spectacle has been the effect of the recovery movement control order involving public transport and eating out.’

Read here (Free Malaysia Today, June 14, 2020)

Lancet editor spills the beans and the unfolding of a pharmaceutical scandal

‘In a videotaped interview on May 24, 2020, Dr [Philippe] Douste-Blazy provided insight into how a series of negative hydroxychloroquine studies got published in prestigious medical journals. He revealed that at a recent Chatham House top secret, closed door meeting attended by experts only, the editors of both, The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine expressed their exasperation citing the pressures put on them by pharmaceutical companies... [Douste-Blazy is a cardiologist and former French Health Minister who served as Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. He was a candidate in 2017 for Director of the World Health Organization]

‘The alarming findings and serious negative impact of the Lancet report led numerous scientists around the globe to scrutinise the report in detail. That scrutiny by legitimate, independent scientists has led to many serious questions about the integrity of the study, the authenticity of the data, and the validity of the methods the authors used... [many details are provided in this story]

Demonisation of favourable HCQ-AZ treatment studies: ‘Since publishing favourable reports about a treatment combination of two cheap, widely prescribed medicines: hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, as a treatment of choice against Covid-19, Dr [Didier] Raoult has become the subject of intense demonisation by the corporate-influenced medical establishment, the media, and the [sic] who resort to this tactic whenever they lack evidence or legitimate grounds to support public health policies that cause people harm.’

Read here (Health Impact News, received on June 13, 2020)

Understanding Covid-19 risks and vulnerabilities among black communities in America: The lethal force of syndemics

‘Black communities in the United States are bearing the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic and the underlying conditions that exacerbate its negative consequences. Syndemic theory provides a useful framework for understanding how such interacting epidemics develop under conditions of health and social disparity. Multiple historical and present-day factors have created the syndemic conditions within which black Americans experience the lethal force of Covid-19. These factors include racism and its manifestations (e.g., chattel slavery, mortgage redlining, political gerrymandering, lack of Medicaid expansion, employment discrimination, and health care provider bias). Improving racial disparities in Covid-19 will require that we implement policies that address structural racism at the root of these disparities.’

Read here (Annals of Epidemiology, Volume 47, July 2020, Pages 1-3, via Science Direct)

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says ‘we can’t shut down the economy again’

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says ‘we can’t shut down the economy again’

‘[US] Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that shutting down the economy for a second time to slow Covid-19 isn’t a viable option. The Treasury secretary’s comments came as Wall Street grew more concerned about a second wave of coronavirus cases in the US. Mnuchin also said he’s prepared to return to Congress to request additional fiscal spending to help juice the economy if needed.’

Read here (CNBC, June 11, 2020)

Religion and science in a time of Covid-19: Allies or adversaries?

‘The current zeitgeist tells us that we must pick a side, as we do in sports or politics; one cannot be an adherent of both. Either choose secular science, which is rational and rigorous; or religion, a matter of personal belief.

‘But perhaps this narrative represents a false dichotomy. Does the tension between science and religion really exist? And in the context of COVID-19, is it inconceivable that a scientist can wholeheartedly pray for a cure for a loved one whilst also working to develop a vaccine?’

Read here (Scientific American, June 11, 2020)

Immunity to the coronavirus remains a mystery. Scientists are trying to crack the case

‘With Covid-19, immunity — whether from an infection or a vaccine — is expected to wane over perhaps a few years; that is what happens with the four human coronaviruses that cause colds. If that pattern extends to this virus, people will gradually become more susceptible to the virus after some amount of time (though they may be less likely to get a severe case). Tracking the levels of the different correlates could provide clues to how long immunity lasts, and when a person becomes vulnerable again. It could also indicate when people might need another dose of the vaccine.’

Read here (STAT News, June 11, 2020)

I'm an ICU doctor treating coronavirus patients. But somehow I'm not angry

‘Sometimes I wonder if my lack of anger means I don’t care enough; if I’ve been worn down by ventilators being turned off, patients dying, families asking for a final call. Perhaps emotions overwhelm and suffocate each other in such a situation, leaving no air for something as indulgent as anger. Perhaps my anger couldn’t compete with the humility of knowing that until early March, I and every doctor I knew had predicted that this virus posed little threat beyond a bad seasonal flu. Like my better judgment, perhaps my anger had lost.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 11, 2020)

Unsung heroines: Who cares for the carers?

Even before Covid-19, the world was facing a care crisis. The plight of often neglected, under-appreciated, under-protected and poorly equipped ‘frontline’ health personnel working to contain the pandemic has drawn attention to the tip of the care crisis iceberg. Oxfam’s annual early 2020 Davos report, Time to Care, estimates that 2.3 billion people will need care by 2030, 200 million more than in 2015, including 100 million more older people and an additional 100 million children aged 6 to 14 years.

Read here (IPS News, June 11, 2020)

How to avoid the virus as the world reopens

‘Three key factors determine risk of exposure: proximity to people; duration of exposure; and how confined the environment is. The greatest peril lies where the three overlap. “The biggest risk is being in close proximity to someone in an indoor space for any extended period of time,” said Jeremy Rossman, honorary senior lecturer in virology at the University of Kent. The perception of risk and the actual scientific risk have sometimes diverged, he noted. “I don’t think that’s been very clearly communicated”.’

Read here (Financial Times, June 10, 2020)

Pandemic exposes systemic staffing problems at US nursing homes - Special report by Reuters

‘In the United States, longstanding problems with staffing shortages and chronic turnover have left nursing homes especially exposed. An estimated 40% of the country’s more than 100,000 COVID-19 deaths are connected to long-term care facilities such as nursing homes or assisted-living centers, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation tally.

‘About a quarter of nursing homes responding to a recent federal survey reported shortages of direct-care staff during at least one of the last two weeks in May, according to a Reuters analysis of survey data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.’

Read here (Reuters, June 10, 2020)

Widespread mask-wearing could prevent COVID-19 second waves: Study

‘Population-wide face mask use could push COVID-19 transmission down to controllable levels for national epidemics, and could prevent further waves of the pandemic disease when combined with lockdowns, according to a British study on Wednesday. The research, led by scientists at the Britain’s Cambridge and Greenwich Universities, suggests lockdowns alone will not stop the resurgence of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but that even homemade masks can dramatically reduce transmission rates if enough people wear them in public.’

Read here (Reuters, June 10, 2020)

Should we aim for herd immunity like Sweden?

‘One thing is to decide against a Hammer. That’s fine. It happened. We can’t change the past. A very different thing is to know you can Dance to reduce your epidemic dramatically and for quite cheap, but actively decide not to do it. The UK’s government has acknowledged its mistakes and changed course. Pressure is mounting for Sweden to do the same. Tens of thousands of lives are at stake. If the government doesn’t decide to acknowledge its mistakes and correct its course, bodies will keep piling up for nothing.

Summary of the article: ‘Sweden is suffering tremendously in cases and deaths. Yet few people have been infected yet. They are a long way from Herd Immunity. Between 0.5% to 1.5% of infected die from the coronavirus. Left uncontrolled, it can kill between 0.4% and 1% of the entire population. Many more suffer conditions we don’t yet understand. Unfortunately, that death and sickness toll is far from having bought us Herd Immunity anywhere in the world. Only protecting those most at risk sounds great. It’s a fantasy today. Even if Sweden’s economy has remained mostly open, it has still suffered as much as others. From now on, it might start doing worse. Sweden now has regrets. But not enough. It can control the virus without a lockdown if it acknowledges its mistakes and takes the right measures. Other countries, like the US or the Netherlands, are toying with a Herd Immunity strategy. It will only cause more economic loss and death.’

Read here (Medium, June 10, 2020)

‘Epidemic stopped’: Results in from second Chinese city to do mass coronavirus tests

‘In all, 19 asymptomatic cases found among the 650,000 people tested in Mudanjiang, authorities say. Viral cultures reveal low level of infectiousness among those carriers.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 10, 2020)

How Singapore’s Covid-19 contact tracing app drew inspiration from a US high school project

‘Two US students developed a prototype app called kTrace in 2014, at the height of the Ebola epidemic. They won a prize but found no backers. But Singapore’s GovTech agency found it and the students shared code and advice to speed up the development of the city state’s TraceTogether app.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 10, 2020)

The WHO stumbles, and some scientists see a pattern

‘Even as the World Health Organisation leads the worldwide response to the coronavirus pandemic, the agency is failing to take stock of rapidly evolving research findings and to communicate clearly about them, several scientists warned on Tuesday (June 9). In a news briefing on Monday, a WHO official asserted that transmission of the coronavirus by people without symptoms is "very rare". Following concerted pushback from researchers, officials on Tuesday walked back the claim, saying it was a "misunderstanding".’

Read here (Straits Times, June 10, 2020)

‘Are you immune?’ The new class system that could shape the Covid-19 world

‘...experts predict that if survivors are found to be immune, they could perform a range of jobs and services – such as volunteering in hospitals and nursing homes, caring for coronavirus patients and working in shops and food processing plants – risk-free. And, depending on how authorities, business and society at large respond, they could also be entitled to greater freedoms.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 10, 2020)

How the coronavirus compares with 100 years of deadly events (United States)

‘Only the worst disasters completely upend normal patterns of death, overshadowing, if only briefly, everyday causes like cancer, heart disease and car accidents. Here’s how the devastation brought by the pandemic in 25 cities and regions compares with historical events.’

Read here (New York Times, June 10, 2020)

Economic ghosts block post-lockdown recovery

‘As governments the world over struggle to revive their economies after the debilitating lockdowns they imposed following their failure to undertake adequate precautionary containment measures to curb Covid-19 contagion, neoliberal naysayers are already warning against needed deficit financing for relief and recovery.’

Read here (IPS News, June 9, 2020)

America fails the marshmallow test

Paul Krugman: ‘Why are we failing the test? It’s easy to blame Donald Trump, a man-child who would surely gobble down that first marshmallow, then try to steal marshmallows from other kids. But America’s impatience, its unwillingness to do what it takes to deal with a threat that can’t be beaten with threats of violence, runs much deeper than one man.’

Read here (New York Times, June 9, 2020)

The role of vitamin D in reducing risk of COVID-19: A brief survey of the literature

‘The evidence that higher vitamin D status is causally linked to lower risk of COVID-19 incidence, severity, and death continues to increase. This brief report outlines what has been learned through early June 2020 and provides links to some of the key references.

‘It should be noted that acceptance of the role of vitamin D supplementation will probably not be achieved before reports are published that demonstrate randomized controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced COVID-19 incidence or death. Several RCTs and observational studies regarding vitamin D supplementation and COVID-19 incidence and outcomes are either in the planning stage or in progress. The obvious groups to study are those at highest risk: dark-skinned people living at high latitudes, people in nursing homes or health care facilities; prisoners; factory workers such as in meat-packing facilities in the U.S.; health care workers. A major problem is that the powers that be see vitamin D as a threat to income and profit, so use the Disinformation Playbook to suppress positive information on vitamin D...

‘In a review published in early April, it was proposed that vitamin D supplementation could reduce the risk of COVID-19. Two mechanisms were identified: 1, reduced survival and replication of viruses through vitamin D-stimulated release of cathelicidin and defensins, and 2, reduced risk of the cytokine storm by reducing production of pro-inflammatory cytokines...’

Read here (Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, June 9, 2020)

The effect of large-scale anti-contagion policies on the Covid-19 pandemic

‘...we compile new data on 1,717 local, regional, and national non-pharmaceutical interventions deployed in the ongoing pandemic across localities in China, South Korea, Italy, Iran, France, and the United States (US)... We estimate that across these six countries, interventions prevented or delayed on the order of 62 million confirmed cases, corresponding to averting roughly 530 million total infections. These findings may help inform whether or when these policies should be deployed, intensified, or lifted, and they can support decision-making in the other 180+ countries where COVID-19 has been reported.

Read here (Nature, June 8, 2020)

Asymptomatic spread of coronavirus is ‘very rare,’ WHO says

‘Government responses should focus on detecting and isolating infected people with symptoms, the World Health Organization said. Preliminary evidence from the earliest outbreaks indicated the virus could spread even if people didn’t have symptoms. But the WHO says that while asymptomatic spread can occur, it is “very rare.”

Read here (CNBC, June 8, 2020)

China plans to overhaul health system, but better communication with public is off the radar

Ma Xiaowei, director of the National Health Commission, ‘identified five areas for improvement, including more investment in the public health system, giving the Centres for Disease Control more powers, a public health network to link hospitals to the CDC, a better epidemic monitoring and warning system and fostering medical talent...But Li Dun, a professor and the head of the experts network at Tsinghua University’s Centre for the Study of Contemporary China, said better communication should also be included in the proposed reforms. “Without information disclosure and public participation, the warning system won’t work effectively,” he said.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 8, 2020)

Half of Singapore’s coronavirus cases show no symptoms, joint head of task force says

‘Based on our experience, for every symptomatic case you would have at least one asymptomatic case,’ Lawrence Wong said. Wong was explaining the city state’s cautious approach to reopening following a two-month lockdown to curb infections.

Read here (South China Morning Post, June 8, 2020)

From drug dealers to loan sharks: how coronavirus empowers organised crime

‘At the outset, Covid-19 and the lockdown disoriented organised crime and its activities as much as the rest of us. But organised crime is not only adapting to the present, it is preparing to carve a lucrative future out of the crisis... Disruption to supplies, diversion of police resources and collapsing businesses all create opportunities.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 7, 2020)

The coronavirus' next victim? Capitalism

‘The pandemic has deftly illustrated two lessons that we, as a civilization, must learn in order to survive: (1) Science does not care about your political ideology. (2) The economic status quo — namely, free market capitalism — is fatally flawed, in ways that the coronavirus pandemic has brought to light.’

Read here (Salon, June 7, 2020)

‘Fighting Covid-19: China in action’

China's State Council Information Office published on June 7, 2020, a 65-page white paper to ‘keep a record of China’s efforts in its own fight against the virus, to share its experience with the rest of the world, and to clarify its ideas on the global battle.’

Read here (XinHua, June 7, 2020)

Are we underestimating how many people are resistant to Covid-19?

‘One thing seems clear: there are many reasons why one population is more protected than another. Theoretical epidemiologist Sunetra Gupta of the University of Oxford thinks that a key one is immunity that was built up prior to this pandemic. “It’s been my hunch for a very long time that there is a lot of cross-protection from severe disease and death conferred by other circulating, related bugs,” she says...

‘Socioeconomic status, climate, culture and genetic makeup could also shape vulnerability, as could certain childhood vaccines and vitamin D levels. And all of these factors can vary between countries.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 7, 2020)