From Sept. 22 to Sept. 28, our Student Opinion column will be devoted to the issues well be discussing in our Civil Conversation Challenge, but, as always, any teenager is invited to respond. We hope youll not only post your own thoughts, but also reply to the comments of others.
Should masks be worn by all Americans? Should schools reopen with in-person classes? Have state and local governments been too quick or too slow to lift restrictions on public activity? Should we rush to make and distribute a coronavirus vaccine, even if it means skipping or shortening trials?
These are just some of the questions we hope you will explore in this Student Opinion forum, part of our Civil Conversation Challenge.
Some background on the issue:
As of Sept. 23, there have been over 6.8 million cases of coronavirus and over 200,000 deaths in the United States. The country represents only 4 percent of the worlds population yet accounts for roughly 20 percent of all confirmed deaths.
The economic effect on the United States has been devastating as well. Over 40 million people have lost their jobs since March 2020 and the countrys G.D.P. fell 9.5 percent from April to June the biggest contraction in U.S. history.
But these numbers only scratch the surface. The virus has upended our lives in ways that would have been unimaginable one year ago from how we work and play, to how we go to school, see our families and friends, cook, greet each other and exercise.
President Trump, who declared himself a wartime president, has talked about his travel ban on China in late January, declaration of national emergency in mid-March, and push for vaccines and treatments as major achievements. He has declared his handling of the pandemic as phenomenal, and stated We have done a job, the likes of which nobody has ever done.
However, critics charge that Mr. Trump misled the public by downplaying the virus, comparing it to the flu and saying that it would go away. He resisted masks, sidelined experts, held large rallies, denounced lockdowns and failed to get tests and protective equipment ready.
And now, only weeks away from the presidential election, the choice between Democrats and Republicans has become, in many ways, a referendum on President Trumps handling of the pandemic.
Do you think President Trump has provided effective leadership during the pandemic? How might a Biden administration handle the crisis differently? What would a second term for President Trump mean for our ongoing fight against the pandemic? Do you think Republicans or Democrats have better ideas on how to combat the coronavirus and revitalize the economy?
Where to learn more:
To keep this list manageable, were focusing on the candidates positions and New York Times resources, but we encourage you to consult a variety of reliable sources to learn about this topic.
_________
Possible questions to address:
Why does this topic interest you? How have your experiences shaped your opinions? What questions or concerns does this topic raise for you?
How has the pandemic affected you, your family or your community? In what ways has it disrupted or changed your education? How has it changed who you are and how you view the world?
Do you think our leaders have served us well during this crisis? How would you rate President Trumps response? Congresss? How well have your state and local leaders responded? What policies and actions have been effective, in your opinion? Which ones have been ineffective, or even harmful? Why?
How should the government support the economy, workers and families during the pandemic? The pandemic has devastated the American economy. Some sectors, like restaurants, travel and live entertainment, have been hit hard and millions have lost their jobs. Others, like online shopping and home renovations, have been booming. The federal government has provided some relief for suffering businesses and people who have lost their jobs, including direct payments to taxpayers, increased unemployment benefits and loans to small businesses. Many argue that more relief is needed, though Democrats and Republicans are struggling to agree on what kind and how much. In addition, many public health experts argue that the best way to stabilize the economy and get people back to work is to get the pandemic under control, which the United States has failed to do on the whole. What measures do you think are most important to support the economy? To support workers and families?
How do you think existing inequalities in our society have shaped the pandemics physical, social and economic toll? An Op-Ed from April argues:
The pandemic may have reminded Americans that they were all still bound together. But it also began demonstrating, day by day, how dangerously far apart they were.
Sick people, lacking paid leave, couldnt afford to stop working. Others who lost their jobs lost their health insurance, too. White-collar workers on lockdown discovered they were counting on people without health care to endanger themselves by delivering food. Poor children began falling behind in school because their parents couldnt afford internet access. African-Americans in states like Louisiana began dying in numbers out of all proportion to their share of the population.
What weaknesses in our society have been exposed by the pandemic? And what can we do to address those inequalities to strengthen our society?
What should education look like as we navigate this pandemic? The New York Times Magazine asks, Will this be a lost year for Americas children? The pandemic has disrupted traditional schooling for millions of children, with cities and suburbs across the country switching to remote-only or hybrid models of instruction. How can leaders on local, state and federal levels better support the nations most vulnerable students: homeless students, those who do not have access to computers, laptops or the internet and students with special needs? What role should the president play to support students, teachers, parents and schools during the pandemic?
What should be our countrys approach to masks? In our increasingly polarized country, even mask wearing has become a deeply politicized issue. Most public health experts believe that wearing masks in public helps to slow the transmission of the coronavirus. Mr. Biden has said every American should wear a mask while outside for at least the near term and that all governors should mandate mask wearing. President Trump, on the other hand, has ridiculed mask wearing at times and mocked Mr. Biden for his mask wearing at a campaign rally. Is this political divide about wearing masks, that has sometimes even turned violent, inevitable? How should we balance individual freedom and liberty and the needs of the larger community?
How should we balance safety and urgency in developing a coronavirus vaccine? Researchers across the world are racing to produce a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine. Currently, 37 vaccines are being tested in clinical trials on humans, and at least 91 vaccines are in the preclinical phase. Mr. Trump has made optimistic assertions that a vaccine could be ready before the Nov. 3 election, but many scientists, regulators and public health experts are concerned that the rush to distribute a vaccine before it has been fully tested for safety and efficacy is potentially dangerous. Mr. Biden has accused the president of trying to rush out a vaccine for electoral gain. Are you concerned that politics and the United States election might affect the vaccine approval process? Should drug manufacturers push ahead to make and distribute a coronavirus vaccine, even if it means skipping or shortening trials?
What does the future look like? How should we prepare? What steps should our government leaders take? In the Opinion essay What the Fall and Winter of the Pandemic Will Look Like, Jeneen Interlandi, a member of the Times editorial board, writes:
Its safe to assume that case counts will rise in the coming months, as colder weather forces more people indoors (in the North, at least) and as more students and teachers return to in-person schooling. Colleges are already grappling with outbreaks, and infected students are already returning home to seed a further spread in their own communities.
Are you optimistic about the next phase of the pandemic? Will countries like the United States see the virus slow in the months ahead? Or is a new surge on the way? Do you think new restrictions and lockdowns are coming? Can businesses, workers and the nation survive another round of shutdowns and closures?
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
The horseshoe crab, with its blue blood and helmet-like shell, is like a real-life dinosaur. Their blood is widely used for research. Fort Myers News-Press
The horseshoe crab's fluorescent blue blood is its best line of defense against toxins. For 40 years, humans have harnessed that same power to help keep us safe.
GREENVILLE, S.C. Allen Burgenson had a job, his father explained as they stood on the sand.
This was Allen's first fishing trip, but he wasn't going to take anything from the bay. Hewas to return the water's gifts to the deep, where they'd belonged for hundreds of millions of years.
If he spotted a horseshoe crab on its back, his father said as he held Allen's hand, that meant it was in trouble and needed Allen's help to get home. Allen just had to flip it over. Its10legs could make it the rest of the way back to the crashing waves.
Allen did just that on that day in 1963 in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, when he was 3years old. That's what he still does today. Whenever Burgenson enjoys a stroll along the East Coast, he is still a lookout for the stranded sea creature that's unlike anything else on the planet.
In 1963, Burgensondidn't know that inside each of those ancient animals he saved was something that would help save millions of us during his lifetime.
In 2020, the horseshoe crab is poised to assume a vital role in a drug the whole world awaits, a COVID-19 vaccine.
Without masks and a vaccine, we could reach Herd Immunity from COVID-19, but deaths would skyrocket. We break down the science of it. USA TODAY
Around the same time Burgenson was a boy on a beach,Jack Levin and Frederik Bang collaborated on horseshoe crab blood experiments. Their work led to a process that channels the almost magical force of the horseshoe crab's immune system, one that's helped the animal survive longer than most of the species that ever roamed the Earth or scurried across the ocean floor.
Since the late 1970s,horseshoe crab blood has been approved to make what's called the Limulus amebocyte lysate test, or the LAL test an alarm system triggered by a type ofbacteria that can cause fever, and in some cases,death.
It works like this: A mixtureof lysate is made from the horseshoe crab's amebocyte or blood cells. That fluid is added to whatever material a researcher is testing for safety. Depending on the test, the fluid willeither clot or change color to signal the presence of a dangerous toxin.
John Dubczak, an executive director with Charles RiverLaboratories, one of the companies licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to produce the LAL test, said it"has unequivocally elevated the quality and safety of injectable pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices, and that includes all of vaccines that protect us."
The crab usually no bigger than about 19 inches across, has a significance that outsizes its foot or claw print.The Limulus polyphemus, or Atlantic horseshoe crab, lives only up and down the East Coast and a small part of Central America. Less than half a million horseshoe crabs were brought to biomedical facilities in 2018, according to the most recently published data from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
"The world's health care can thank the horseshoe crab," Burgenson said.
Autoplay
Show Thumbnails
Show Captions
On Sept. 16, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told a Senate panel that a vaccine might not be ready until next year. On thesame day he testified, the novel coronavirus cases totaled about 30 million globally, and there were about 942,000 associated deaths.
No matter what vaccine in trial wins the race to market, LAL will be the standard to test the safety of any materials that go into the medication, as well as the final product itself. All of that LAL will come from four production facilities in South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia.
The demand of 5 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses won't be a burden, said Burgenson, chair of the Horseshoe Crabs Advisory Panel to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. He estimated that at most,the facilities would need about three days of normal production to provide the material needed to test the vaccine's safety, and one of those days of productionto test the vaccine itself.
This gift will be given by an animal that's been long misunderstood and maligned, said Burgenson, a microbiologist with almost 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.
The horseshoe crab has long been overlooked and overfished. Humans are the biggest threat to theinvertebrate whose ancestry traces to the age before the dinosaurs, more than400 millionyears before humans walked the Earth.
And when we did finally meet them, we didn'teven get the thing's name right. Turns out, the horseshoe crab is not even a crab.
Tampa officials closed Ben T. Davis beach in July 2008 after dead fish and horseshoe crabs washed up on shore.(Photo: Chris O'Meara, AP)
Horseshoe crabs are more closely related to the spider than the crab, saidDaniel Sasson, assistant marine scientist at South Carolina's Department of Natural Resources. Like the spider, it has a lot of legs and eyes and pincer claws they use to feed.
That's not to say they don't have anything in common with the crab. Like a crustacean, theyshed an exoskeleton as they grow. You might have seen one washed ashore, especially after a storm.
It's got something that looks like a tail called atelson used to flip over the body, which can weigh 10 pounds. It's not poisonous. It's not a weapon, even though it looks scary enough to show up in a sci-fi scene.
All these attributes add up to one rugged, hardened tank-looking thing.Asteroids and volcanoes haven't even been able to take them out.
The blue blood is its best line of defense. Cells essentially builda fortress in seconds.
Amoebocytes, a type of blood cell, can "detect any outside particle," Sasson said, and once they do, they spring into action, whether the enemy invader is in the bloodstream or a wound outside of the body.
"How quickly the blood coagulated around the wound was amazing," he said. "Say you break off a piece of a claw. You'd see a little bit of blood for, you know, 10,15 seconds. And then it would stop because it would already have coagulated completely where the wound was."
Each year, the horseshoe crab crawls to the beaches to reproduce, and this ritual provides a rich and unusual opportunity for up-close study on beaches from Mexico to Florida, Georgia to Maine.
The peak is typically during evening high tides under a full or new moon. Females will lay about 4,000 greenish eggs, each about the size of the head of a pin. She might lay several clusters over the course of the season, up to 100,000 in all.
Some males arrive on land attached to the female's back. Others join them to compete to mate. They will huddle together, often in clusters of five or six. In Delaware Bay, the clusters are big enough to call galaxies.
Sasson saw the spectacle once. He heard it first.
"You could hear the clacking of their shells from, you know, way before you got to the beach," he said. Hundreds of thousands will swarm the beaches, he said. A dozen to 20 might pile up on top of each other within a few feet.
Horseshoe crabs, which mate year-round but more frequently in March and April, hook up in April 2019 on the south side of the Titusville Causeway east of the Max Brewer Bridge in Florida. Citizen scientists Laurilee Thompson and Bill Klein counted 5,000 crabs.(Photo: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)
South Carolina has some of the strictest and earliest horseshoe crab protections in the country. Since the early 1990s, state law prohibits anyone from even holding a horseshoe crab without a permit.
The horseshoe crab populationhas been stable or growing for many years. The state keeps count, doing a random survey by trawling annually.
Other regions don't fare as well. New York's stock assessment is poor. Factors that contribute to marine animal population decline range from pollution to loss of coastal habitat from development or the rising seas.
Concern for the horseshoe crab's future spiked in the late 1990s. The red knot shorebird population was declining, signaling trouble on the horseshoe crab front. The migratory birds relyon the horseshoe crab eggs for fuel to fly about 20,000 miles each year.
In Delaware Bay, as many as a million of thebirds will stop to gorge themselves during spawning, often doubling their weight.
Subsequent regulations and other protections have helped both the red knot and horseshoe crab numbers bounce back. That's not been the case on the other side of the globe.
The Atlantic horseshoe crab's Asian cousins have been decimated in some places, Burgenson said.They do not enjoy the same legal protections. In Asia, the horseshoe crab is used for medical purposes, bait and food.
When it comes to the conservation effort, the horseshoe crab does have a bit of an image problem. All the things that make it a survivor the hard covering, the spiky tail, the bright, blue blood make it not cute and cuddly.
Burgenson does what he can to change people's perspective. He even gave his grand-niece a plush toy version of the horseshoe crab for her crib collection.
He leads educationallectures as the chair of the horseshoe advisory panel. This month,he's doing a Zoom talk about the role of the horseshoe crab in the COVID-19 vaccine.
And he still flips upside-down horseshoe crabs when he sees them.
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/09/22/how-horseshoe-crab-holds-key-covid-19-south-carolina/5855940002/
WHO, the UN, UNICEF, UNAIDS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNESCO, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN Global Pulse initiative and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), together with the governments of Indonesia, Thailand and Uruguay held a webinar on the margins of the 75th UN General Assembly to draw attention to the harm being done by the spread of misinformation and disinformation, the latter being deliberate misinformation to advance an agenda.
As soon as the virus spread across the globe, inaccurate and even dangerous messages proliferated wildly over social media, leaving people confused, misled and ill-advised, said UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres. Our initiative, called Verified, is fighting misinformation with truth. We work with media partners, individuals, influencers and social media platforms to spread content that promotes science, offers solutions and inspires solidarity. This will be especially critical as we work to build public confidence in the safety and efficacy of future COVID-19 vaccines. We need a peoples vaccine that is affordable and available to all.
Misinformation and disinformation put health and lives at risk, and undermine trust in science, in institutions and in health systems, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. To fight the pandemic we need trust and solidarity and when there is mistrust, there is much less solidarity. False information is hindering the response to the pandemic so we must join forces to fight it and to promote science-based public health advice. The same principles that apply to responding to COVID-19 apply to managing the infodemic. We need to prevent, detect and respond to it, together and in solidarity.
On top of the immediate impact on pandemic responses, disinformation is undermining public trust in democratic processes and institutions and exacerbating social divides, said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. Its one of the most concerning governance challenges of our time. UNDP is actively collaborating with Member States, fellow UN agencies, and other partners to find holistic responses which respect human rights.
Misinformation is one of the fastest growing challenges facing children today, said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. It takes advantage of the cracks in trust in societies and institutions and deepens them further, undermines confidence in science and medicine, and divides communities. In its most pernicious forms, such as when it convinces parents not to vaccinate their children, it can even be fatal. Because misinformation is more a symptom than a sickness, countering it requires more than just providing truth. It also requires trust between leaders, communities and individuals.
We can beat COVID-19 only with facts, science and community solidarity, said Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima. Misinformation is perpetuating stigma and discrimination and must not come in the way of ensuring that human rights are protected and people at risk and those marginalized have access to health and social protection services.
Since the start of the pandemic, UNESCO has mobilised its international networks of media partners, journalists, fact-checkers, community radio stations, and experts, to give citizens the means to fight against false information and rumours phenomena that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, said Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO Director-General. Collective mobilisation to promote quality and reliable information, while strictly ensuring respect for freedom of expression, is essential. A free, independent and pluralistic press is more necessary than ever.
Trust is a cornerstone of our digital world, said Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union. Building on the long-standing WHO-ITU BeHe@lthy BeMobile initiative, ITU has been working with national ministries of telecommunications and health and mobile network operators since the beginning of this crisis to text people who may not have access to the internet, providing them with science- and evidence-based COVID-19 health advice directly on their mobile phones.
WHO and partners urged countries to engage and listen to their communities as they develop their national action plans, and to empower communities to build trust and resilience against false information.
Engaging communities on how they perceive the disease and response is critical to building trust and ending outbreaks, said Jagan Chapagain, IFRC Secretary General. If our response does not reflect the communities concerns and perceptions, we will not be seen as relevant or trusted by affected populations, and the epidemic response risks failure. More than ever, local responders are at the forefront of this crisis. We need to recognize the incredible role they play in understanding and acting on local knowledge and community feedback.
The co-hosts also called on the media, social media platforms, civil society leaders and influencers to strengthen their actions to disseminate accurate information and prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation. Access to accurate information and the free exchange of ideas online and offline are key to enabling effective and credible public health responses.
"UN Global Pulse was set up a decade ago inside the UN System to pioneer the use of real-time and predictive insights to protect vulnerable communities in times of crisis, said Robert Kirkpatrick, Director of UN Global Pulse, the United Nations Secretary-Generals initiative on big data and artificial intelligence (AI). During this pandemic we have seen a tremendous increase in requests for advanced analytics from across the UN System and Member States. We will continue to work with WHO and other partners to help identify and combat mis- and disinformation.
Note to Editors
WHO defines an infodemic as an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It includes accurate information as well as mis- and disinformation.
In May 2020, WHO Member States passed Resolution WHA73.1 on the COVID-19 response at the World Health Assembly. The Resolution recognises that managing the infodemic is a critical part of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic: it calls on Member States to provide reliable COVID-19 content, take measures to counter mis- and disinformation and leverage digital technologies across the response. The Resolution also called on international organisations to address mis- and disinformation in the digital sphere, work to prevent harmful cyber activities undermining the health response and support the provision of science-based data to the public.
The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the first pandemic in history in which technology and social media are being used on a massive scale to keep people safe, informed, productive and connected.At the same time, the technology we rely on to keep connected and informed is enabling and amplifying an infodemic that continues to undermine the global response and jeopardizes measures to control the pandemic.
An infodemic is an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It includes deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information to undermine the public health response and advance alternative agendas of groups or individuals. Mis- and disinformation can be harmful to peoples physical and mental health; increase stigmatization; threaten precious health gains; and lead to poor observance of public health measures, thus reducing their effectiveness and endangering countries ability to stop the pandemic.
Misinformation costs lives. Without the appropriate trust and correct information, diagnostic tests go unused, immunization campaigns (or campaigns to promote effective vaccines) will not meet their targets, and the virus will continue to thrive.
Furthermore, disinformation is polarizing public debate on topics related to COVID-19; amplifying hate speech; heightening the risk of conflict, violence and human rights violations; and threatening long-terms prospects for advancing democracy, human rights and social cohesion.
In this context, the UN Secretary- General launched the United Nations Communications Response initiative to combat the spread of mis- and disinformation in April 2020. The UN also issued a Guidance Note on Addressing and Countering COVID-19 related Hate Speech (11 May 2020).
At the World Health Assembly in May 2020, WHO Member States passed Resolution WHA73.1 on the COVID-19 response. The Resolution recognizes that managing the infodemic is a critical part of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic: it calls on Member States to provide reliable COVID-19 content, take measures to counter mis- and disinformation and leverage digital technologies across the response. The Resolution also calls on international organizations to address mis- and disinformation in the digital sphere, work to prevent harmful cyber activities undermining the health response and support the provision of science-based data to the public.
The UN system and civil society organizations are using their collective expertise and knowledge to respond to the infodemic. At the same time, as the pandemic continues to create uncertainty and anxiety, there is an urgent need for stronger action to manage the infodemic, and for a coordinated approach among states, multi-lateral organizations, civil society and all other actors who have a clear role and responsibility in combatting mis- and disinformation.
We call on Member States to develop and implement action plans to manage the infodemic by promoting the timely dissemination of accurate information, based on science and evidence, to all communities, and in particular high-risk groups; and preventing the spread, and combating, mis- and disinformation while respecting freedom of expression.
We urge Member States to engage and listen to their communities as they develop their national action plans, and to empower communities to develop solutions and resilience against mis- and disinformation.
We further call on all other stakeholders - including the media and social media platforms through which mis- and disinformation are disseminated, researchers and technologists who can design and build effective strategies and tools to respond to the infodemic, civil society leaders and influencers - to collaborate with the UN system, with Member States and with each other, and to further strengthen their actions to disseminate accurate information and prevent the spread of mis- and disinformation.
As pharmaceutical companies race to manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine, many people are wary of a shot that is working its way through the approval process at record speed duringa highly politicized pandemic, NBC News reports. While some professions could require employees to get the vaccine, experts say schools almost certainly will require students to potentially setting the stage for a showdown between reluctant parents and education officials.
"We want to make sure kids return to in-person learning as quickly as possible, and we do see a vaccine playing a huge part in the process," said school law attorney Brian Schwartz, an adjunct professor of education law at the University of Illinois Springfield. "This is going to be a huge issue, and I don't think most people understand that yet."
It is an especially delicate time for parents to hesitate about vaccinating their children. Vaccines have long been a hot button issue, particularly as a small but vociferous group has spread false information, such as the debunked myth that themeasles-mumps-rubella shotcauses autism.
Full coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak and how it impacts you
As with other vaccines, the decision whether to require one for COVID-19 in schools will be made at the state and school district levels. While all 50 states require student vaccinations, a patchwork of laws allows for parental objections: All states allow for exemptions for children with medical reasons, and 45 states plus Washington, D.C., grant exemptions on the basis of religious objections,according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. On top of that, 15 states allow for philosophical exemptions for people who object to immunizations on the basis of personal, moral or other grounds.
Read the full story on NBCNews.com
So far the animals havent shown any ill effects from the vaccine that weve given them, so thats good. If we can show that we can protect the animals against infection, that would be really good, Dr. Steven Zeichner, a professor of pediatrics at UVA, said.
TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., September 23,2020, there have been 525,236 total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 14,504 totalcases and 319 deaths.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of a 91-year old female from KanawhaCounty and an 80-yearold male from Kanawha County. The continued loss of West Virginia livesweighs heavily on all of us, with the greatest sadness borne by family andfriends, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary.
CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour(48), Berkeley (952), Boone (203), Braxton (13), Brooke (111), Cabell (741),Calhoun (25), Clay (36), Doddridge (18), Fayette (580), Gilmer (33), Grant(152), Greenbrier (124), Hampshire (103), Hancock (142), Hardy (82), Harrison(344), Jackson (252), Jefferson (425), Kanawha (2,415), Lewis (38), Lincoln(157), Logan (588), Marion (259), Marshall (163), Mason (138), McDowell (80),Mercer (404), Mineral (171), Mingo (367), Monongalia (1,948), Monroe (147),Morgan (53), Nicholas (96), Ohio (359), Pendleton (52), Pleasants (16),Pocahontas (59), Preston (150), Putnam (522), Raleigh (487), Randolph (237),Ritchie (11), Roane (49), Summers (46), Taylor (120), Tucker (17), Tyler (15),Upshur (63), Wayne (367), Webster (7), Wetzel (50), Wirt (12), Wood (354),Wyoming (103).
Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the localhealth department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain countymay not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual inquestion may have crossed the state border to be tested.Suchis the case of Brooke and Hancock counties in this report.
Pleasevisit the dashboard located at www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.
Free COVID-19 testing locations areavailable today in Boone, Logan, Mingo, Monongalia, Putnam and Wayne counties:
Boone County, September23, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Whitesville Fire Department, 1190 Raleigh Street,Whitesville, WV
Logan County, September23, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Old 84 Lumber Building, 100 Recovery Road, Peach Creek,WV
Mingo County, September23, 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Larry Joe Harless Center, 202 Larry Joe Harless Drive,Gilbert, WV
Monongalia County,September 23, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, West Virginia University, Student RecreationCenter, 2001 Rec Center Drive, Morgantown, WV
Putnam County, September23, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Winfield High School, 3022 Winfield Road, Winfield, WV
Wayne County, September23, 9:00 AM 1:00 PM, Wayne County Health Department, 217 Kenova Avenue,Wayne, WV
Testingis available to everyone, including asymptomatic individuals. Upcoming testingevents will be held this week in Cabell, Jackson, Marion, Summers, and Wyomingcounties. For more testing locations, pleasevisit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
When COVID-19 claimed its first 100,000 lives in the U.S., Hidalgo County, Texas, seemed to have avoided the worst of it. The county, which sits on the border with Mexico, had just 10 deaths when the U.S. crossed that tragic milestone on May 27.
But the U.S. has now doubled its death count to top 200,000 victims, and Hidalgo County has become one of the deadliest hot spots for COVID-19. Despite the lack of dense urban areas there its largest city, McAllen, has fewer than 150,000 residents the disease has killed more than 1,500 people across the county.
"We knew we were going to see an increase, but we could not foresee the increase we got," says Eduardo Olivarez, the chief administrative officer of the county health department.
This summer, COVID-19 hit hospitals in McAllen, Texas, hard. With the U.S. exceeding 200,000 deaths from COVID-19, the share of deaths occurring in rural places and small cities is rising. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
This summer, COVID-19 hit hospitals in McAllen, Texas, hard. With the U.S. exceeding 200,000 deaths from COVID-19, the share of deaths occurring in rural places and small cities is rising.
"Once we started seeing a sharp increase in fatalities, and the community started reflecting that it was their parents, friends, grandparents once that started impacting them the community really started sensing, 'Oh, my God, this is really extremely serious. We need to take heed.' "
Hidalgo County is one of the most extreme examples of how the coronavirus has shifted from dealing its heaviest blows to northeastern urban areas to now reaching all corners of the country. As the death count grows, smaller towns and rural communities bear a growing share of the burden of COVID-19.
An NPR analysis finds that the share of COVID-19 deaths outside places considered large metro areas by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has grown dramatically since the country passed its first 100,000 deaths. Then, about a fifth of deaths came from places outside large metro areas. In the second 100,000 deaths, that share jumped to nearly half.
The largest growth occurred in small towns and rural areas, where the share of deaths nearly tripled.
Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, likened the disease's progression to HIV, which he says also took hold first in large cities before spreading to smaller cities and towns.
In rural areas, he says, people didn't expect the coronavirus. "They let down their guard early in the pandemic. The first months ... it gave the rural communities false sense of security that it wasn't going to get to us."
For COVID-19, much of that change came as the outbreak reached its crescendo and then tapered off in New York City in April. The state of New York made up 30,000 of the first 100,000 deaths in the country.
But new hot spots have since emerged in other large states: Arizona, California, Florida and Texas. There, the disease has not stayed contained in the largest cities.
Counties outside major metros have had some of the highest death tolls over the past several months, like Broward and Palm Beach counties in Florida both north of Miami and San Bernardino County, Calif., which is east of Los Angeles. Medium-size metro areas like those in Hidalgo County and nearby Cameron County, Texas, also sit near the top of the list.
And the virus has taken nearly 100 lives in Val Verde County, Texas, and more than 75 lives in Jackson County, Fla. both of which have populations under 50,000. These places have, per capita, suffered as many deaths as parts of the New York City area did.
Other areas, particularly some in the southeast, were hit harder by deaths on a per capita basis. Mississippi and Georgia light up on a map of per capita deaths during the second half of the pandemic. This indicates that these areas saw a higher percentage of their residents killed by the virus even if the actual number of people who died was smaller than in other places.
All of this underlines the virus's implacable reach, a silent threat that continues to spread.
"None of us live in a bubble. We're going to interact with each other rural, urban, whatever," Mokdad says. "People live far apart, are less likely to see each other, but we have events that bring us together. And the cases follow that."
LA JOLLA, Calif., Sept. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MediciNova, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company traded on the NASDAQ Global Market (NASDAQ:MNOV) and the JASDAQ Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code Number: 4875), today announced that its intranasal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prototype for COVID-19, using BC-PIV technology, successfully induced systemic serum IgG and mucosal IgA neutralizing antibodies against the S1 antigen (Ag) of SARS-CoV-2 in mice.
A mouse model study was conducted to assess systemic IgG and mucosal IgA antibody production against S1 Ag after intranasal vaccination with MediciNovas BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prototype. We confirmed a high IgA antibody titer against S1 Ag in the nasal lavage fluid from mice given intranasal BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. We also confirmed that a high IgG antibody titer against S1 Ag was induced in mice serum.
Yuichi Iwaki, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MediciNova, Inc., commented, "We are very encouraged that our intranasal BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine induced high titers of systemic serum IgG and mucosal IgA neutralizing antibodies in a mouse model study. These successful results support the scientific and technical rationale of our intranasal vaccine in addition to similar success with BioComos BC-PIV RSV vaccine prototype. We look forward to reporting additional progress on our intranasal COVID-19 vaccine in the near future.
About the BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine for COVID-19
BC-PIV, an innovative non-transmissible viral vector co-developed by BioComo and Mie University, is derived from the recombinant human parainfluenza virus type 2 (hPIV2). It is highly efficient in its ability to transfer multiple foreign proteins to recipients and has a strong safety profile as no secondary infectious virus is produced. BC-PIV is designed to display not only the gene but also the foreign protein itself on the surface and inside of the viral membrane. Therefore, it can carry the large membrane proteins of viruses and signal transduction receptors/ligand proteins on the viral surface. BC-PIV is able to carry the proteins that require a proper three-dimensional structure or multimeric structure while maintaining the structure. BC-PIV elicits good immunogenicity against antigen proteins without adjuvants. The BC-PIV SARS-CoV-2 vaccine prototype has been developed to include the specific SARS-CoV-2 antigen protein in order to express maximum antigenicity. The BC-PIV SARS-COV-2 vaccine can be developed as an intranasal vaccine in addition to an intramuscular injection because of its high affinity to nasal and upper respiratory tract mucosa, which is the same route of the natural infection of SARS-CoV-2. An intranasal vaccine is expected to induce local mucosal immunity. To date, BioComo has succeeded in producing a recombinant Ebola virus vaccine (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49579-y) and a Respiratory Syncytial virus prefusion F vaccine (unpublished data) using this BC-PIV platform technology.
About BioComo
BioComo, a biotech company founded at Mie Prefecture Japan in May 2008, is developing cutting-edge technology platforms for creating the novel and predominant vaccine carriers and adjuvants to enhance immunity in collaboration with the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department of Mie University. They have already succeeded in the development of a highly efficacious and state-of-the art vaccine carrier and novel adjuvant candidates. Their technology will be applied to the production of the next generation vaccines for the prevention of infections such as RS virus, Ebola virus, Influenza virus, and SARS-CoV-2. It will also enable faster and more cost-effective production of those vaccines. BC-PIV is the core platform technology which carries the corporate namesake, BioComo, and the leading vaccine carrier that is derived from the recombinant human parainfluenza virus 2 (hPIV2) vectors. BioComo is dedicated to inventing new vaccines for both global infection threats as well as malignant tumors.
About MediciNovaMediciNova, Inc. is a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company founded upon acquiring and developing novel, small-molecule therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with unmet medical needs with a primary commercial focus on the U.S. market. MediciNova's current strategy is to focus on BC-PIV SARS-COV-2 vaccine for COVID-19, MN-166 (ibudilast) for neurological disorders such as progressive multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and substance dependence (e.g., alcohol use disorder, methamphetamine dependence, opioid dependence) and glioblastoma, as well as prevention of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by COVID-19, and MN-001 (tipelukast) for fibrotic diseases such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). MediciNovas pipeline also includes MN-221 (bedoradrine) for the treatment of acute exacerbations of asthma and MN-029 (denibulin) for solid tumor cancers. MediciNova is engaged in strategic partnering and other potential funding discussions to support further development of its programs. For more information on MediciNova, Inc., please visit www.medicinova.com.
Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future development and efficacy of BC-PIV SARS-COV-2 vaccine, MN-166, MN-001, MN-221, and MN-029. These forward-looking statements may be preceded by, followed by or otherwise include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "can," "could," "may," "will," "would," considering, planning or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks of obtaining future partner or grant funding for development of BC-PIV SARS-COV-2 vaccine, MN-166, MN-001, MN-221, and MN-029 and risks of raising sufficient capital when needed to fund MediciNova's operations and contribution to clinical development, risks and uncertainties inherent in clinical trials, including the potential cost, expected timing and risks associated with clinical trials designed to meet FDA guidance and the viability of further development considering these factors, product development and commercialization risks, the uncertainty of whether the results of clinical trials will be predictive of results in later stages of product development, the risk of delays or failure to obtain or maintain regulatory approval, risks associated with the reliance on third parties to sponsor and fund clinical trials, risks regarding intellectual property rights in product candidates and the ability to defend and enforce such intellectual property rights, the risk of failure of the third parties upon whom MediciNova relies to conduct its clinical trials and manufacture its product candidates to perform as expected, the risk of increased cost and delays due to delays in the commencement, enrollment, completion or analysis of clinical trials or significant issues regarding the adequacy of clinical trial designs or the execution of clinical trials, and the timing of expected filings with the regulatory authorities, MediciNova's collaborations with third parties, the availability of funds to complete product development plans and MediciNova's ability to obtain third party funding for programs and raise sufficient capital when needed, and the other risks and uncertainties described in MediciNova's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and its subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MediciNova disclaims any intent or obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements.
INVESTOR CONTACT: Geoff O'BrienVice PresidentMediciNova, Inc.info@medicinova.com
TheWest Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of 10:00 a.m., September 22,2020, there have been 522,329 total confirmatorylaboratory results received for COVID-19, with 14,384 totalcases and 317 deaths.
DHHR has confirmed the deaths of an 89-year old male from HarrisonCounty, a 50-yearold female from Fayette County, a 66-year old male from Mercer County, an 82-yearold female from Kanawha County, and a 72-year old male from Kanawha County. Wemourn with all families suffering the loss of loved ones during this horriblepandemic, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary.
CASESPER COUNTY: Barbour(48), Berkeley (948), Boone (200), Braxton (10), Brooke (112), Cabell (737),Calhoun (24), Clay (35), Doddridge (18), Fayette (577), Gilmer (32), Grant(152), Greenbrier (120), Hampshire (102), Hancock (144), Hardy (82), Harrison(342), Jackson (252), Jefferson (422), Kanawha (2,377), Lewis (38), Lincoln(156), Logan (585), Marion (258), Marshall (160), Mason (138), McDowell (80),Mercer (404), Mineral (165), Mingo (366), Monongalia (1,936), Monroe (147),Morgan (53), Nicholas (92), Ohio (358), Pendleton (52), Pleasants (16),Pocahontas (59), Preston (149), Putnam (521), Raleigh (479), Randolph (237),Ritchie (10), Roane (48), Summers (46), Taylor (119), Tucker (17), Tyler (15),Upshur (61), Wayne (361), Webster (7), Wetzel (50), Wirt (12), Wood (352),Wyoming (103).
Pleasenote that delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from thelocal health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the localhealth department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain countymay not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual inquestion may have crossed the state border to be tested.Suchis the case of Monroe and Pleasants counties in this report.
Pleasevisit the dashboard located at www.coronavirus.wv.gov for more information.
Free COVID-19 testing locations areavailable today in Cabell, Fayette, Kanawha, and Putnam counties:
Cabell County, September22, 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM, YMCA Kennedy Center, 5800 Ohio River Road, Huntington,WV
Fayette County, September22, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM, J.W. and Hazel Ruby WV Welcome Center, 55 Hazel RubyLane, Mt. Hope, WV
Fayette County, September22, 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Midland Trail High School, 26719 Midland Trail, Hico,WV
Kanawha County, September22, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM, A More Excellent Way Life Center Church, 504 VirginiaStreet West, Charleston, WV (flu shots offered)
Putnam County, September22, 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Teays Valley Baptist Church, 3926 Teays Valley Road, Hurricane,WV
Testing is available to everyone, including asymptomatic individuals. Upcoming testing events will be held this week in Boone, Cabell, Jackson, Logan, Marion, Mingo, Monongalia, Putnam, Summers, Wayne, and Wyoming counties. For more testing locations, please visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/COVID-19/pages/testing.aspx.
