Another 20 cases of the new coronavirus have been detected in Maine, health officials said Friday.
Fridays report brings the total coronavirus cases in Maine to 4,014. Of those, 3,599 have been confirmed positive, while 415 were classified as probable cases, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
New cases were reported in Androscoggin (10), Cumberland (6), Kennebec (1) and York (3) counties, state data show.
The agency revised Thursdays cumulative total to 3,994, down from 3,997, meaning there was a net increase of 17 over the previous days report, state data show. As the Maine CDC continues to investigate previously reported cases, some are determined to have not been the coronavirus, or coronavirus cases not involving Mainers. Those are removed from the states cumulative total.
No new deaths were reported Friday, leaving the statewide death toll at 124. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.
So far, 393 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 10 are currently hospitalized, with five in critical care and one on a ventilator.
Meanwhile, four more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 3,479. That means there are 411 active and probable cases in the state, which is up from 398 on Thursday.
A majority of the cases 2,236 have been in Mainers under age 50, while more cases have been reported in women than men, according to the Maine CDC.
As of Friday, there have been 186,632 negative test results out of 192,323 overall. Just over 2.5 percent of all tests have come back positive, Maine CDC data show.
The coronavirus has hit hardest in Cumberland County, where 2,075 cases have been reported and where the bulk of virus deaths 69 have been concentrated. It is one of four counties the others are Androscoggin, Penobscot and York, with 558, 152 and 668 cases, respectively where community transmission has been confirmed, according to the Maine CDC.
There are two criteria for establishing community transmission: at least 10 confirmed cases and that at least 25 percent of those are not connected to either known cases or travel. That second condition has not yet been satisfied in other counties.
Other cases have been reported in Aroostook (33), Franklin (45), Hancock (35), Kennebec (170), Knox (27), Lincoln (34), Oxford (53), Piscataquis (3), Sagadahoc (54), Somerset (33), Waldo (62) and Washington (12) counties.
As of Friday morning, the coronavirus has sickened 4,888,070 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 160,157 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
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The only Texas prison that hasnt had any staff or inmates test positive for the new coronavirus is the same one where inmates make soap and package hand sanitizer for the states lockups. Prisoners arent allowed to use the latter.
How this one unit seemingly remains untouched by a virus that has ravaged the states prison system, however, has been credited not to its soap factory, but to the prisons location and the wardens strict enforcement of the Texas Department of Criminal Justices coronavirus policy. Meanwhile, those inside prisons with hundreds of infected inmates have long reported dangerous practices. In lawsuits and letters, they have described officers without face masks, forced intermingling between infected and healthy prisoners, and limits to soap and cleaning supplies.
Texas leads the nation in prison deaths connected to the coronavirus, with a higher death toll than the federal lockups or any other state prison system. At least 112 Texas prisoners and 16 people who worked in prison units have died with the virus.
The Roach Unit is one of Texas more than 100 state-run prisons and jails, housing about 1,300 incarcerated men in the rural town of Childress in the Texas Panhandle. But none of the more than 17,700 state inmates who have tested positive for the virus were housed at Roach, according to a prison spokesperson. Nor have any of the nearly 3,700 infected prison employees worked at the unit.
Weve been lucky so far that here in the community of Childress there hasnt been a big number of coronavirus cases, said Ricardo Gutierrez, a 36-year-old inmate at the Roach Unit, in response to questions sent by The Texas Tribune. I think that helps out a lot to not get the staff infected.
After inmate visitation was canceled statewide, and most prison system transfers and all intake from county jails were temporarily halted in March and April, epidemiologists said most new prison infections were likely coming in through prison employees who contracted the virus in their communities. Childress County, with a population of about 7,000, has had only 37 people test positive for the coronavirus, according to data from the state health department.
TDCJ spokesperson Jeremy Desel said being geographically isolated helps protect the unit from the virus, but he added there is still significant traffic there for distribution of materials they produce.
In a March promotional video, TDCJ highlighted the Roach Units soap and detergent factory as an essential tool to protect against the coronavirus, showing factory machines and some of the 84 inmates who work without pay to produce things like bar soap, laundry detergent, dish soap and bleach to distribute throughout the Texas prison system and sell. Soap? We have plenty! the video title boasted.
The top way to help stop COVID-19 is simple! Wash your hands!The Centers for Disease Control says to vigorously wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds often. Soap? We have plenty!Not just a stock pile, TDCJ produces soap that is made at the Roach Unit daily. #tdcj #washhands #RoachUnit
The next month, inmates in the factory also began repackaging hand sanitizer for prison employees to use, Desel said. TDCJ has steadfastly refused to allow inmates access to hand sanitizer, part of what prompted a federal lawsuit and four-week trial scrutinizing TDCJs handling of the pandemic. Prison attorneys have argued inmates could get drunk from the hand sanitizer or use it as an accelerant to set fires. Inmates attorneys have rejected those premises, saying such abuses are rare in lockups that allow it.
Aside from its location, though, Desel said Roach is doing the same things that all units are doing to stop COVID. But prisoners tell a different story.
Since March, inmates at numerous other prisons have told their loved ones and the Tribune that staff members have only partially enforced the policies put in place by prison officials to wear masks, regularly sanitize, and stay a safe distance apart in places like dorms, showers and hallways. Many inmates have reported that officers wore masks pulled down to their chins, prisoners were taken to the showers in large groups, and inmates who tested positive for the virus were sometimes housed with those who tested negative.
But at Roach, Gutierrez said the staff are not messing around. He said in a few instances where coronavirus was suspected, the sick inmate would be promptly removed and tested, and the men on the wing the inmate lived in would be quarantined for a few days until the tests came back negative, with nurses in protective gear regularly checking them for symptoms.
Theyre doing everything that the government has mandated: social distancing, the masks, sanitizing everything, he said. This warden has gone above and beyond to make sure that everything is being done right.
Gutierrez said he gets the typical weekly amount of soap five small bars stuffed into a toilet paper roll on Friday. But since the pandemic hit the state, he said Roach inmates also get more soap and a surface cleaner every Tuesday, and more is available at lunch in the dining hall. He said inmates also were still able to go to recreation and go to common rooms, but in much smaller groups.
Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer and prison conditions expert at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs and law school, said Gutierrezs description could make the Roach Unit a powerful example of the ways in which following TDCJ policies can help prevent an outbreak. On Thursday, 20 TDCJ lockups each had more than 300 inmates who had tested positive for the virus, with active infections often reported in large clusters of hundreds of people at once. Three units housed more than 700 inmates who had tested positive.
The official protocols may be the same throughout the system, but ultimately there are huge differences in the degree to which particular facilities are following those protocols, she said. If they are taking the steps that they should be taking, they can reduce the spread of it within the facility if it does come in it doesnt have to become like a spread of wildfire.
The University of Texas at Austin's LBJ School of Public Affairs has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Will a "sanitizing mist" really protect the Denver Broncos against the Covid-19 coronavirus? (Photo ... [+] by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
You may have mist it. But a video went viral on social media, showing Denver Broncos players walking through a sanitizing mist before going to practice. Here is the tweet from the Broncos complete with what appears to be a snort emoji:
Hopefully that emoji isnt snorting out the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Presumably the mist is supposed to protect against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) and is not just some kind of fragrance nectar mist to help everyone smell nice before practice. But how much protection will it really offer and whats the scientific evidence that it works and is safe?
Well, according to Lorenzo Reyes, reporting for USA TODAY, this mist was manufactured by the company SKN BioPharma. The companys website has a Science section that says, Our MicroSure products use fast-acting nano-particulate silica that prevents bacteria and virus particles from attaching to surfaces. It claims that their methods can create a chemically inert solution that can be applied harmlessly to almost any surface. The website says that the solution when sprayed on something can form a layer of crystalline structures- let's call them spikes- that penetrate the cell wall of biologically dangerous organisms, resulting in a process we call a mechanical kill.
OK, lets call them spikes then. Regardless, the website doesnt offer much verifiable scientific data to back these claims. The website offers a link to a document entitled Human Safety and The Nanotechnology Utilized by Microsure and Microbioshield Antimicrobial Solutions. However, the document appears to be written by the company. It mentions that their products were also tested by researchers at The University of Liverpool, but doesnt specify who exactly these researchers were or what their qualifications may be. For example, an English romantic novel researcher at the University of Liverpool would not be quite the same as an infectious disease researcher. A researcher with one year of experience would not the same as someone with ten years. After all, if someone had told you, a football player from Denver will be quarterbacking your team, you would want to know if that person were Broncos quarterback Drew Lock or just some person who happened to throw a toy football at a Denver-area Dave and Busters.
The website doesnt provide any documents specifically from the researchers either. There also arent any references to peer-reviewed scientific publications that include the results of any testing. It would also be helpful to see peer-reviewed scientific publications that describe how the technology was developed in the first place and scientific evidence of its mechanisms and safety.
Regarding the safety of the product, the document mentions that the following animal tests were performed, but does not specify the types of animals. This is kind of important because all animals arent the same. If your significant other told you, I brought an animal home with me, youd probably want to know if the animal were a gerbil or a rhinoceros. Plus, results from testing in other animals may not necessarily hold for humans.
The document offered very scant details about how exactly these animal safety studies were performed. For example, it says that there was no eye irritation and no skin irritation, but does not specify what and how many animals were used or who performed these experiments under what conditions. Also, how specifically was skin irritation measured? A gerbil isnt going to say, dude, my back itches.
Also how long might this layer of lets call them spikes stay on surfaces and still be able to do its mechanical kill thing? Can the layer survive the sunlight, the wind, and other outdoors conditions? How about sweat and dirt? So right now the scientific evidence behind the safety and effectiveness of this mist is dare we say mistifying. It would be helpful to see more verifiable scientific evidence thats been reviewed by reputable third parties. Im reaching out to the company to see if additional information is available and will update accordingly.
Even if this technology were to work and be safe, it isnt clear whether it would make that big a difference. After all, the lets call them spikes would only be on the players skin and not over their nostrils and mouths. They can still cough, sneeze, pant, talk, and breathe out the virus if they are infected. Such viruses can then get into other peoples nostrils and mouths since the lets call them spikes cant really block their entry.
Such a mist would not eliminate or even reduce the need for social distancing, face masks/coverings, and active cleaning of surfaces with disinfectants that appear on the Environmental Protection Agencys (EPAs) List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Dont make the mist-ake of trusting a disnfectant thats not on List N.
Tom Brady (12) of the Buccaneers talks with Mike Evans (13) during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training ... [+] Camp on August 04, 2020 at the AdventHealth Training Center in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It seems like social distancing could be a challenge in football. Defensive players cant quite coax a running back or quarterback to drop the the ground while staying at least six feet away. Saying excuse me, you with the ball, kindly lay down doesnt quite work. Remember Denzel Washington is about six feet tall. So, tackling a person at least one Denzel away would be tough, unless you had a really loud voice.
In general, if you are going to be able to maintain a Denzel distance from someone else, both of you need to remain in a social bubble. A social bubble is a group of people who have agreed to only mix with other and maintain behaviors that wont introduce the virus into the bubble. That means no close mixing with anyone outside the bubble, washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, and keeping everything disinfected. Choose your bubble mates carefully, because one misstep could pop the bubble and lead to an outbreak.
There are a lot of people out there making claims about products, suggesting that they can protect you against the SARS-CoV2. In all cases, check the science and the details. Is there real verifiable evidence that the product actually works and is safe to use. Who exactly did the testing and are they independent of the company? Where are the results and have they been published in peer-reviewed scientific publications? Without seeing this evidence, claims can remain quite foggy.
Some party organizers have tried to respond to public concern: Covid-19 measure been taken, said a message in the WhatsApp group about Fridays event. A station at the entry will be at your disposition with facial mask and hydro alcoholic gel, it added. These were not in evidence on arrival, and only a dozen or so attendees wore masks. For most, the coronavirus seemed far from their minds.
Dancers were packed tightly in front of a D.J. In the middle of the improvised dance floor, a tall man stood with his eyes closed, moving his arms like a birds wings, transported by the music. People chatted to each other for a moment, then hugged, instant friends. Occasionally a balloon drifted above the dance floor, filled with nitrous oxide, the partys drug of choice.
One attendee, a 25-year-old architect who asked not to be named in case he was thrown out of the WhatsApp group, said hed been going to illegal raves for a couple of years. Last year, it was smaller, he said. Everybody just wants to get out now, I suppose.
Pubs and restaurants in Britain had reopened, he added, but no one in authority was thinking about dance-music culture. He would have thought twice about going to an indoor or boat party, he said, but outdoor ones seemed fine.
As the night went on, more people arrived, even a man on crutches. Someone climbed a tree at one point, and the music stopped while a security guard ordered him down. That was the closest the event came to an incident until, around 4 a.m., three police officers turned up, shining flashlights across the crowd.
They left as quickly as they arrived, but their presence was enough to send some home.
About 20 minutes later, the police returned 20 officers this time and stood in the path to the clearing. One officer said theyd agreed with the D.J. that he could keep playing until 4:30 a.m.
Muslims were caught off guard last week, when the UK government suddenly announced local lockdowns in a slew of areas in northern England where cases have spiked. The announcement came just hours before Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest festivals in Islam.
The restrictions -- published late last Thursday evening -- banned people in the named areas from mixing with other households.
Local politicians and Muslim leaders criticized the timing of the announcement.
"The timing ... it focused people's minds [on Muslims]," Rabnawaz Akbar, a Labour Party councilor in Manchester, told CNN.
The government "have done it on the eve of Eid," leading people to think "it must be the Muslim community's fault," Akbar said. "You see how people would have come to the assumption. [The government] have done it without thinking but of course, they're highlighting a particular demographic. And people are angry and now that anger is focused on a particular community."
A Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement to CNN: "Decisions on lockdowns are based solely on scientific advice and the latest data. Where there are local outbreaks, our priority will remain taking whatever steps are necessary to protect people."
Akbar also criticized Craig Whittaker, a Conservative MP who suggested that England's ethnic minorities were not adhering to pandemic guidelines.
"What I have seen in my constituency is that we have areas of our community ... that are just not taking the pandemic seriously enough," Whittaker said Friday, when asked about the local lockdowns during an interview with LBC radio.
When asked if he was talking about the Muslim population, Whittaker replied: "Of course."
"If you look at the areas where we've seen rises and cases the vast majority -- not, by any stretch of the imagination, all areas -- but it is the BAME [Black, Asian, and minority ethnic] communities that are not taking it seriously enough," he added.
Whittaker's comments were met with an outcry and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked about them at a press briefing on Friday.
The British leader did not condemn the MP, and said: "Well, I think it's up to all of us in government to make sure that the message is being heard loud and clear by everybody across the country, and to make sure that everybody is complying with the guidance."
This week, the Downing Street spokesperson told CNN: "At Friday's press conference the Prime Minister apologized to all those who could not celebrate Eid in the way they had wished, and thanked the work of mosques and imams in getting the message out about the importance of following safety guidance.
"And he set out in his Eid message that he is hugely grateful to the Muslim community for their efforts and sacrifices throughout this pandemic."
"To single out one community this way is wholly wrong, stigmatizing and unbecoming of an MP," the group said in a statement.
Following the controversy, Whittaker said his evidence was based on data from local officials at Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire.
"In an age where authenticity is a behaviour scarcely exhibited by public figures, I am glad that I have chosen open, honest and frank discussion over political expediency and ... I make no apology for my comments," he added.
Tell MAMA director Iman Atta told CNN that far-right extremists had been blaming Muslims for the pandemic since the beginning of the UK's lockdown in March.
"In March, April, May, we saw a lot of conspiracy theories floating around," she said. "The far right were sharing photos of Muslims congregating and flouting the rules at mosques which were, in reality, shut down and not functioning. The photos were from last year," she said.
"And they have spread rumors online about how BAME communities are the ones spreading the virus, so [people] should not be interacting with them."
Atta's findings are echoed by those of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which represents several UK mosques and Muslim organizations.
Earlier in the lockdown "there were theories spreading that Muslims would gather secretly during Ramadan, that mosques were secretly open -- none of that was true and there was no evidence," Zainab Gulamali, a spokesperson for the organization, told CNN.
Gulamali added that she was disappointed that Johnson and his Conservative Party colleagues had failed to condemn Whittaker's comments on BAME people.
Johnson himself has repeatedly been accused of Islamophobia. He drew sharp rebukes from Muslim communities in 2018 over an article he wrote about Muslim women wearing burqas. The politician said women who wore the veil resembled "letter boxes" and "bank robbers."
He later offered a partial apology, saying: "In so far as my words have given offense over the last twenty or thirty years when I've been a journalist and people have taken those words out of my articles and escalated them, of course, I am sorry for the offense they have caused."
Crime figures suggest that the UK has become a more hostile place for Muslims in recent years. Despite accounting for less than 5% of the UK's 66 million-strong population, 52% of religious hate crime offenses committed in England and Wales between 2017 and 2018 targeted Muslims.
Much of the recent blame placed on Muslims appears to be driven by the fact that Covid-19 has hit the country's ethnic minorities hard.
"There is extensive racist commentary on social media," the researchers wrote. "Videos have also been circulated on social media showing the South Asian community flouting social distancing in an attempt to stir conflict."
"We don't want to sweep under the carpet the issues that [Muslim communities] do face," Rabnawaz Akbar said.
"A lot of people live in densely-populated terraced housing," he said, explaining that many Muslims "live with their parents or their grandparents, so you have multigenerational households. A lot of people work in low income and frontline jobs -- they're taxi drivers or health care [workers] ... they're inevitably going to be at risk of catching the virus."
"But rather than blame them, the solution is that local and central government should work with the communities to take extra precautions," he said.
Muslims are far from alone in shouldering increased racial resentment during the Covid-19 crisis.
For many minorities the new threat of the pandemic has only intensified the age-old danger of bigotry.
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For the first time in nearly five months, visitors will be allowed in Texas nursing homes on a limited basis, state health officials announced Thursday evening, reversing a policy intended to keep the states most vulnerable populations safe from a pandemic that has proved especially deadly for older people.
Residents of Texas long-term care facilities have been separated from their family and friends for more than 140 days, since Gov. Greg Abbott shut down visitation in mid-March.
At assisted-living facilities, some indoor visits will be permitted, provided there are plexiglass barriers, there are no active cases of the novel coronavirus among residents and there are no confirmed cases among staff in the last two weeks. Physical contact between residents and visitors will not be permitted, state officials said.
The restrictions are tighter on nursing facilities, which must test staff members weekly and can offer only outdoor visits.
This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are constantly assessing what actions are necessary to keep residents and staff safe in these facilities, said Phil Wilson, the acting executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services Commission. By following these procedures and rules, facilities can more effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help us achieve our shared goal of reuniting residents with their families and friends.
The dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases across Texas in June and July led to another surge in long-term care facilities, with 57% of nursing homes still reporting at least one active case Thursday. Deaths in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities account for more than a third of Texas death toll.
Despite the need to protect a high-risk population, families and advocates have been urging the state to allow for limited visitation.
Families are just desperate right now to be able to see their loved ones, Alexa Schoeman, deputy state ombudsman in HHSCs office of the long-term care ombudsman, said in an interview last week.
Kevin Warren, president and CEO of the Texas Health Care Association, called Thursdays announcement a great step forward. In an interview last week, he said reconnecting families with their loved ones was a priority and that it should be done as quickly as we can.
Some Texas lawmakers had been agitating for a policy change for weeks. Last month, state Rep. Scott Sanford, R-McKinney, and state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, along with dozens of other signatories, asked state health officials to loosen restrictions on visitations for patients with memory difficulties and mental disabilities.
We will not stand to let these Texans fall through the cracks, they wrote.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story said inside visits would be allowed at long-term care facilities. Inside visits will only be allowed at assisted-living facilities, but not nursing homes. Both are considered long-term care facilities.
Texas Health Care Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Dr. Eric Coe jumped at the chance to help test a COVID-19 vaccine.
At his urging, so did his girlfriend, his son and his daughter-in-law. All received shots last week at a clinical research site in central Florida.
My main purpose in doing this was so I could spend more time with my family and grandchildren, Coe said, noting that hes seen them only outside and from a distance since March.
Theres a lot less risk to getting the vaccine than contracting the virus, said Coe, 74, a retired cardiologist. The worst thing that can happen is if I get the placebo.
The Coes eagerness to offer up their bodies to science reflects the widespread public interest in participating in the pivotal, late-stage clinical trials of the first two COVID vaccine candidates in the United States.
Those trials began rolling out July 27. During the next two months, vaccine makers hope to recruit 60,000 Americans to roll up their sleeves to test the two vaccines, one made by Pfizer and BioNTech, a German company, and the other by biotech startup Moderna. While small tests earlier this year showed the preventives were safe and led to participants developing antibodies against the virus, the final phase 3 testing is designed to prove whether the vaccine reduces the risk of infection.
Amid a pandemic that in the U.S. has caused roughly 5 million infections and nearly 160,000 deaths while decimating the economy, the vaccine trials have drawn far more interest than is typical for a clinical trial, organizers said.
Also, the test sites pay volunteers as much as $2,000 for completing the two-year study.
We have no shortage of volunteers and we have thousands of people interested in participating, said Dr. Ella Grach, CEO of M3-Wake Research of Raleigh, North Carolina, which is conducting vaccine trials at sixsites.
Paul Evans, president of Velocity Clinical Research in Durham, North Carolina, said his company plans to recruit more than 10,000 volunteers in seven states to test COVID vaccines. At least four of Velocitys sites in Ohio, California and Oregon have already started injecting volunteers with the Moderna vaccine.
Its been phenomenal, he said. Patient recruitment is one of the biggest challenges to running trials, but this time patients have been eager to sign up.
Ive been working in this business for 30 years, said Evans. Outside of a COVID study, you might have to reach out to four or five, up to 10 people to find [one person] who is suitable.
Other vaccine candidatesare being tested abroadand more tests will be launched in the U.S. later this year.
People 18 and older are eligible to participate in the trials, and Moderna and Pfizer are pushing to include high-risk individuals such as health workers, the elderly and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and asthma. Organizers are also seeking to enroll Blacks and Hispanics, groups hit hard by the virus.
The vaccine makers have contracted with dozens of clinical research sites across the country. About 15 have started inoculating, and it will likely take until September for all volunteers to get their first shot. The participants will get a booster shot about a month later. They are asked to keep an electronic diary to record any symptoms. Because the virus is widespread across the country, the studies are expected to be able to note differences between infection rates in those who got the vaccine and those who received a placebo.
Government health experts say they hope to know if the vaccines are working by this fall. If the trials are successful, it would likely take until early next year before a vaccine could gain federal approval to start widespread distribution.
To determine effectiveness, half of the trial participants will receive the vaccine and half a placebo.
Coe, of Leesburg, Florida, said that several hours after getting his shot on Saturday he developed chills and was tired, symptoms that lasted until Sunday afternoon. Im virtually certain that I did not get a placebo because normal saline would not do that, he said. His daughter-in-law, Lisa Coe, 46, said she did not have any reaction other than soreness at the injection site.
We are eager to get the vaccine and get on with the normal course of our lives, she said. Im not too worried about my own health, but I am worried about unknowingly transmitting it to anyone at risk.
Dr. Bruce Rankin, a physician investigator atAccel Research Sitesin DeLand, Florida, where the Coes got their shots, said more than 1,000 adults have volunteered there already.
Accel recruits on social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram. It prescreens volunteers to make sure they understand whats expected, to learn their basic health history and get other demographic information such as race.
I thought the opportunity to be part of something like this would be very cool, said Ginny Capiot, 45, of Fayetteville, North Carolina. I believe its pretty safe and there wasnt much to lose.
Capiot works in the marketing department at a hospital, where her diabetes puts her at increased risk of serious complications from the coronavirus.
Her visit to the test site last week lasted about three hours. After she filled out paperwork, health workers registered her temperature and other vital signs, gave her a COVID-19 test via a nasal swab and then took some blood. After Capiot was inoculated, she had to wait in a room in case she had any reaction. She did not.
My arm is not even sore, she said a couple of days after the vaccination.
Volunteers in DeLand are paid as much as $1,200 over the course of the two-year trial. Participants in the Velocity-run trials will each receive $1,962 in compensation for time and travel. But Evans said many are motivated by altruism.
They understand a couple of things, he said. This has to happen for us to get a resolution or a solution to the pandemic. They also understand that theres a chance if they get the active vaccine and it works, they will benefit.
Not everyone is excited to test the unproven vaccine.
Dr. Atoya Adams, principal investigator for AB Clinical Trials, which is testing the Moderna vaccine in Las Vegas, said recruiting efforts there found that some people were confused or skeptical. They mistakenly worried they could contract COVID-19 from the vaccine.
The vaccines do not include any live virus. Earlier, smaller studies showed few major safety issues.
Adams has spent a lot of time on the phone, explaining that the vaccine appears safe and that volunteers are needed to see whether its effective. Ive literally had to tell patients in prescreening, its something I would feel safe giving to myself or my family, she said.
George Washington University in Washington, D.C., hopes to enroll 500 people at its testing site, and it received inquiries from at least that many in just the first week of recruitment.
Its been overwhelming and really highlights that everyone understands the need for a vaccine, said Dr. David Diemert, professor of medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
To gain an ethnically and racially diverse group, the university reached out to food banks, senior living communities and churches looking for volunteers. Participants can get paid nearly $1,100.
In Mississippi, the Hattiesburg Clinic has generated strong interest among potential volunteers, especially among health care personnel.
People who care for these COVID patients have a very healthy fear of this illness, said Rambod Rouhbakhsh, chief investigator with MediSync Clinical Research, whose Moderna vaccine trial site is the only one in Mississippi.
He expects no trouble reaching people who would be at high risk of COVID complications, including those who are obese or have diabetes or heart disease. In southern Mississippi, there are plenty of people who meet the high-risk categories, he said.
KHN(Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program ofKFF (Kaiser Family Foundation)that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific Americanhere. And read coverage from our international network of magazineshere.
A coronavirus vaccine will be available to poorer countries for less than $3 a dose under a new partnership between the Gates Foundation and the Serum Institute of India, the worlds largest vaccine maker.
The collaboration is meant to ensure up to 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine will be available for distribution quickly to low- and middle-income countries. The arrangement also provides an option to secure additional doses if needed.
The movecomes as other governments around the world, especially in the U.S., are moving to quickly secure vaccine production and distribution rights with pharmaceutical companies.
The Gates Foundation partnership, which also includes Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance an organizationthat helps negotiate and finance vaccines for poor countries will provide upfront capital to the Serum Institute to help them increase manufacturing capacity now.
The goal is that, once a vaccine, or vaccines, gains regulatory approval, doses can be produced at scale for distribution for low-income countries as early as the first half of 2021. They will be priced at no more than $3 a dose.
Serum Institute of India is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world by volume. It already has contracts with vaccine candidates developed by Novavax and Oxford University, in partnership with AstraZeneca.
The groups said the collaboration is meant to ensure that developing countries have access to a coronavirus vaccine and aren't left behind.
Researchers are making good progress on developing safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19, Bill Gates said in a statement. But making sure everyone has access to them, as soon as possible, will require tremendous manufacturing capacity and a global distribution network. This collaboration gives the world some of both: the power of Indias manufacturing sector and Gavis supply chain."
Both products from Novavax and Oxford-AstraZeneca have shown promise in initial trials. Novavax is set to begin phase three testing in the fall, while the late-stage Oxford trial has already begun.
Both companies have received more than $1 billion each from the Trump administration as part of its effort to secure a vaccine for the U.S.
Drugmakers have already begun signaling how much they will charge for a potential vaccine, and the prices vary considerably.
Oxford has pledged its vaccine will be available globally "at cost" for about $3 a dose, while Johnson & Johnson predicted its vaccine will cost about $10 a dose for 100 million doses. Moderna this week said it will price a two-dose regimen at as much as $74 for small-batch customers.
Last month, the U.S. agreed to payPfizerand Germanys BioNTech $1.95 billion for 100 million doses, which is about $19.50 a dose, and $39 for a two-dose regimen.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker indefinitely postponed the state's reopening plan and decreased the limits on gatherings after a "slight uptick in positive cases," he said Friday.
He also authorized state and local police to enforce shutdown orders.
Baker said contact tracers have documented several pool parties, house parties and holiday celebrations withpeople not adhering to state guidance. "Wecannot move forward at this time, or anytime soon in the near future," he said.
Additionally, Baker will sign an executive order that will reduce the limit on outdoor gatherings from 100 to 50 people starting Tuesday, he said.
The governor updated state restaurant guidance "to make absolutely clear that alcoholic beverages may only be served for on-site consumption if accompanied by food prepared on site," Baker said.
"Bars masquerading as restaurants also need to be closed," he said.
To execute the orders, a covert enforcement and intervention team has been created to ramp up enforcement in key communities, Baker said.
The state added 162 positive cases Friday and the seven-day positivity average saw a 0.4% increase, it currently stands at 2.1%, state health officials said.
More details:Baker saidtheAlcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) and local government officials are cracking down on bars serving chips in an attempt to comply with food service requirements.
"One of the things that's come up a number of times, is that pretzels and potato chips meets the food service requirement. It clearly doesn't," Baker said.
"What we tried to do with the amendment of the order is make absolutely clear.You need to be serving food that's prepared on site and the people who are in your venue need to order and eat food if they'regonnaorder a drink," Baker said."That is clearly not consistent with the spirit or the intent of what we put in place when we authorized outdoor dining and indoor dinning."
MOSCOW (AP) Russia boasts that its about to become the first country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, with mass vaccinations planned as early as October using shots that are yet to complete clinical trials and scientists worldwide are sounding the alarm that the headlong rush could backfire.
Moscow sees a Sputnik-like propaganda victory, recalling the Soviet Unions launch of the worlds first satellite in 1957. But the experimental COVID-19 shots began first-in-human testing on a few dozen people less than two months ago, and theres no published scientific evidence yet backing Russias late entry to the global vaccine race, much less explaining why it should be considered a front-runner.
Im worried that Russia is cutting corners so that the vaccine that will come out may be not just ineffective, but also unsafe, said Lawrence Gostin, a global public health law expert at Georgetown University. It doesnt work that way. ... Trials come first. Thats really important.
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According to Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russias Direct Investment Fund that bankrolled the effort, a vaccine developed by the Gamaleya research institute in Moscow may be approved in days, before scientists complete whats called a Phase 3 study. That final-stage study, usually involving tens of thousands of people, is the only way to prove if an experimental vaccine is safe and really works.
Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said members of risk groups, such as medical workers, may be offered the vaccine this month. He didnt clarify whether they would be part of the Phase 3 study that is said to be completed after the vaccine receives conditional approval.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova promised to start industrial production in September, and Murashko said mass vaccination may begin as early as October.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist, questioned the fast-track approach last week. I do hope that the Chinese and the Russians are actually testing a vaccine before they are administering the vaccine to anyone, because claims of having a vaccine ready to distribute before you do testing I think is problematic at best, he said.
Questions about this vaccine candidate come after the U.S., Britain and Canada last month accused Russia of using hackers to steal vaccine research from Western labs.
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Delivering a vaccine first is a matter of national prestige for the Kremlin as it tries to assert the image of Russia as a global power capable of competing with the U.S. and China. The notion of being the first in the world dominated state news coverage of the effort, with government officials praising reports of the first-step testing.
In April, President Vladimir Putin ordered state officials to shorten the time of clinical trials for a variety of drugs, including potential coronavirus vaccines.
According to Russias Association of Clinical Trials Organizations, the order set an unattainable bar for scientists who, as a result, joined in on the mad race, hoping to please those at power.
The association first raised concern in late May, when professor Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya institute, said he and other researchers tried the vaccine on themselves.
The move was a crude violation of the very foundations of clinical research, Russian law and universally accepted international regulations, the group said in an open letter to the government, urging scientists and health officials to adhere to clinical research standards.
But a month later, the Health Ministry authorized clinical trials of the Gamaleya product, with what appeared to be another ethical issue.
Human studies started June 17 among 76 volunteers. Half were injected with a vaccine in liquid form and the other half with a vaccine that came as soluble powder. Some in the first half were recruited from the military, which raised concerns that servicemen may have been pressured to participate.
Some experts said their desire to perform well would affect the findings. Its no coincidence media reports we see about the trials among the military said no one had any side effects, while the [other group] reported some, said Vasily Vlassov, a public health expert with Moscows Higher School of Economics.
As the trials were declared completed and looming regulatory approval was announced last week, questions arose about the vaccines safety and effectiveness. Government assurances the drug produced the desired immune response and caused no significant side effects were hardly convincing without published scientific data describing the findings.
The World Health Organization said all vaccine candidates should go through full stages of testing before being rolled out. There are established practices and there are guidelines out, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said Tuesday. Between finding or having a clue of maybe having a vaccine that works, and having gone through all the stages, is a big difference.
Offering an unsafe compound to medical workers on the front lines of the outbreak could make things worse, Georgetowns Gostin said, adding: What if the vaccine started killing them or making them very ill?
Vaccines that are not properly tested can cause harm in many ways from a negative impact on health to creating a false sense of security or undermining trust in vaccinations, said Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations.
It takes several years to develop any drug, said Svetlana Zavidova, executive director of Russias Association of Clinical Trials Organizations. Selling something the Gamaleya [institute] tested on 76 volunteers during Phase 1-2 trials as a finished product is just not serious.
Russia has not yet published any scientific data from its first clinical trials. The WHOs list of vaccine candidates in human testing still lists the Gamaleya product as in Phase 1 trials.
It uses a different virus the common-cold-causing adenovirus thats been modified to carry genes for the spike protein that coats the coronavirus, as a way to prime the body to recognize if a real COVID-19 infection comes along. Thats similar to vaccines being developed by Chinas CanSino Biologics and Britains Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
Its not the first controversial vaccine Russia developed. Putin mentioned earlier this year that Russian scientists delivered an Ebola vaccine that proved to be the most effective in the world and made a real contribution to fighting the Ebola fever in Africa.
Russias Health Ministry authorized two Ebola vaccines for domestic use -- one in 2015 and another one in 2018 -- but there is little evidence either was widely used in Africa.
In 2019, the WHO considered the 2015 vaccine along with several others for use in Congo, but didnt pick it. It pointed out that it had been approved for emergency use after Phase 1 and 2 trials, but not Phase 3. According to ClinicalTrials.Gov, a website maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, a study among 2,000 people in Guinea and Russia was still ongoing last month.
The 2018 Ebola vaccine, according to the WHO, was tested on 300 volunteers in Russia and completed all three phases. The Associated Press couldnt find any records of the studies in the Health Ministrys registry of approved clinical trials. As of 2019, both Ebola vaccines were listed by the WHO as candidate vaccines.
Russias Health Ministry did not respond to numerous requests for comment, and the Gamaleya institute referred an interview request to the ministry.
It remains unclear whether Phase 3 trials, said to be carried out after the COVID-19 vaccine receives conditional approval, will wrap up by October, when health officials plan to start mass vaccinations, and how trustworthy the results will be. The study will supposedly involve 1,600 participants 800 for each of the two forms of the vaccine; in comparison, a similar Phase 3 trial in the U.S. includes 30,000 people.
According to Dmitriev, countries including Brazil and India have expressed interest in the vaccine.
For Lawrence Gostin, this is another cause for concern.
There may be many people in the world who dont care about the ethics and just want the vaccine, he said.
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