There are over 32 million global cases. There have been over 979,000 total deaths. Considering that about 5,000 people are dying per day, there will be 1 million dead by the end of the month. There are over 7.1 million cases in the US. There have been over 206,000 deaths in the US. Over 850 have died in the US since yesterday. India gained over 89,000 new cases in the last 24 hours.
The USPS was going to send 5 masks to every US household in April—until politics got in the way. 650 million masks were to be sent. Imagine how many people could have been spared if the plan had gone ahead. It would have been particularly useful at that time, too. I remember having difficulty finding masks to send to family around that time.
The CDC reversed its questionable guidelines on asymptomatic individuals and COVID-19 testing. Although the reversal is good and grounded in science, the agency is losing its credibility after allowing its messaging to become corrupted in the first place. Morale at the CDC is said to be quite low at the moment.
Global case growth is accelerating:
315,919 new cases of coronavirus worldwide, the biggest one-day increase so far, according to WHO. 6,037 new deaths pic.twitter.com/jow8UoHpFV
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) September 18, 2020
Eli Lily’s experimental monoclonal antibody treatment passed efficacy endpoints in a randomized, controlled trial. It reduced risk for hospitalization and lowered levels of the virus in infected patients. The trials showed no serious side effects. It’s a one-dose treatment. 100,000 doses have been made. The detailed data has not yet been released. The company is awaiting Emergency Use Authorization.
US Health Secretary asserted control over the FDA, and days later banned agencies including the CDC and the FDA from signing new rules on foods, medicines, devices, and certain products. This centralization of power is seen by many as a means of censoring science and stripping independence and decision-making by the agencies.
Lymphopenia (think T cell destruction or depletion) is prominent in patients with severe COVID-19:
Lymphopenia developed in up to 80% of adults w/ covid-19 but in less than 10% of children. On the other hand, children – particularly infants – were more likely to have elevated levels of cardiac enzymes that indicate heart injury. https://t.co/CGzKVBdlEf
— Liz Szabo (@LizSzabo) May 19, 2020
Transverse Myelitis rears its head again in vaccine trial:
NEW: AstraZeneca says 2nd volunteer in coronavirus vaccine trial suffering from unexplained neurological illness, but says there's insufficient evidence to say it's related to the vaccine pic.twitter.com/4mkFSCrd4j
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) September 20, 2020
1,600 people with active cases exposed 11,000 others on flights. The messaging on taking flights is mixed, though, with the CDC proclaiming that the virus doesn’t spread easily on flights. It’s clear that there is some risk, but we don’t know how much risk. We know of at least one super-spreader event on an airplane. Be cautious and avoid flying if you can. If you have to fly, wear an N95 and eye protection and practice meticulous hand hygiene.
There have been 266,000 excess deaths in the US compared to previous years. We appear to be vastly under-counting COVID-19 deaths. It’s possible that deaths of despair account for some of these numbers as well, and perhaps some from folks avoiding health care screenings that would catch new cancers, for example, but in general these numbers are COVID-19.
Evicting people? There’s a dystopian app for that! Dark times.
