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HealthDay Reports: COVID-19 Roundup for the Week of July 13-July 17

Each week, HealthDay's Physician's Briefing division rounds up the most important COVID-19 developments in the medical field. See this week's edition below for July 13-July 17.

CDC Will Again Post COVID-19 Hospitalization Data

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a quick policy reversal, the Trump administration on Thursday told the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to once again post data about COVID-19 hospitalizations on its website.

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3M Sues Over Fake N95 Masks, Price Gouging

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- 3M says it has filed 18 lawsuits in relation to price gouging, counterfeiting, and fraud related to its N95 masks.

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Call for 'Challenge Trials' to Hasten COVID-19 Vaccine Development

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. government should make immediate preparations for clinical trials in which volunteers are exposed to the new coronavirus to speed development of a vaccine, more than 100 top scientists say in a letter to the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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Lack of Public Education for Using Face Masks Leads to Noncompliance, Experts Warn

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A nationwide, coordinated effort is needed to successfully implement widespread wearing of face masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19, according to Robert Brook, M.D., professor of medicine at UCLA and distinguished chair in the health care services program at the RAND Corporation, and May Chu, Ph.D., clinical professor of epidemiology with the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. They recently spoke with HD Live! about the impending consequences of nonmasking and possible strategies to improve compliance.

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Variety of Symptoms Reported for COVID-19 Patients

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all symptomatic COVID-19 patients experience fever, cough, or shortness of breath, and a wide variety of other symptoms are reported, according to research published July 17 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Masking of Health Care Workers Cuts SARS-CoV-2 Positivity

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Universal masking of health care workers is associated with a reduction in the rate of SARS-CoV-2 positivity, according to a study published online July 14 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Lopinavir/Ritonavir COVID-19 Treatment Linked to Bradycardia

FRIDAY, July 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Lopinavir/ritonavir treatment of COVID-19 is associated with an increased risk for bradycardia, according to a study published online July 9 in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.

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U.S. Must Spend $75 Billion to Improve COVID-19 Testing, Report Says

THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The United States faces "an impending disaster" from the coronavirus pandemic and should spend $75 billion to improve its diagnostic testing system for COVID-19, a Rockefeller Foundation report says.

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Younger Children Should Attend School When Possible: Expert Committee

THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Younger children and those with special needs should attend school in person whenever possible, because online learning is mostly ineffective for these children, according to a committee that advises the United States on science-related issues.

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Higher SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load Tied to Shorter Symptom Duration

THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Viral load of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is lower in hospitalized patients, and higher viral load is associated with a shorter duration of symptoms and hospital stay, according to a study published online July 2 in The American Journal of Pathology.

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SARS-CoV-2 mRNA-1273 Induces Immune Response

THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The candidate vaccine mRNA-1273, which encodes the stabilized prefusion severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 spike protein, induces immune responses in healthy participants, according to a phase 1 study published online July 14 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Physical Distancing Interventions Cut Incidence of COVID-19

THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Physical distancing interventions are associated with a reduced incidence of COVID-19 globally, according to a study published online July 15 in The BMJ.

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Impact of COVID-19 Estimated on HIV, TB, Malaria Services

THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Disruption to services for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria due to COVID-19 could lead to considerable loss of life in low- and middle-income countries, according to a study published online July 13 in The Lancet Global Health.

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Nonsmoking Young Adults Less Vulnerable to Severe COVID-19

THURSDAY, July 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Nonsmoking young adults have lower medical vulnerability to severe COVID-19 illness, according to a study published online July 13 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Initiative May Favor Rich Countries

WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A global COVID-19 vaccine initiative has been formed with the objective of ensuring fair distribution of vaccines worldwide, but it may benefit rich countries more than poor nations.

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Childhood Vaccinations Decline During COVID-19 Pandemic

WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- There has been a decrease in childhood vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations says.

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CDC Will No Longer Receive Hospitals' COVID-19 Data

WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. hospitals have been told by the Trump administration to send all COVID-19 information to a central database in Washington, D.C., instead of to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Survival Up With Tocilizumab in Ventilated COVID-19 Patients

WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation, tocilizumab is associated with improved survival, according to a study published online July 11 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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Lymphocytopenia May Predict Greater Severity in COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Lymphocytopenia may be predictive of disease severity in patients with COVID-19, according to a study published online July 10 in the International Journal of Laboratory Hematology.

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Most U.S. COVID-19-Related Deaths Occur in Medical Facility

WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Most COVID-19-related deaths in the United States occur in a medical facility, according to a study published online July 9 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

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Layoffs Cost 5.4 Million Americans Their Health Insurance

TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- About 5.4 million Americans lost their health insurance after being laid off between February and May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study shows.

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No COVID-19 Deaths Reported in NYC for First Time in Months

TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- New York City -- once the COVID-19 epicenter in the United States -- has marked a major achievement.

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Symptom-Based Testing Not Adequate for Detecting COVID-19

TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Using symptom-based testing alone is not adequate for identifying COVID-19 cases in long-term care facilities, according to a research letter published online July 14 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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Hyperglycemia Linked to Higher Mortality in COVID-19 Patients

TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For COVID-19 patients without a previous diagnosis of diabetes, fasting blood glucose ≥7.0 mmol/L is an independent predictor of 28-day mortality, according to a study published online July 10 in Diabetologia.

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Outcomes Worse for COVID-19-Linked Ischemic Strokes

TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19-associated ischemic strokes are more severe than non-COVID-19 ischemic strokes, with worse functional outcome and increased mortality, according to a study published online July 9 in Stroke.

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Shelter-in-Place Orders Cut Growth Rates of COVID-19 Deaths

TUESDAY, July 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Shelter-in-place orders reduced the daily growth rates of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations, according to a report published online July 9 in Health Affairs.

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Slow Test Results Hampering U.S. Fight Against COVID-19

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Test results for the new coronavirus are taking so long that they are doing little to help stop the spread of the virus in the United States, experts say.

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Some Hospitals in COVID-19 Hotspots Running Short of Remdesivir

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Some U.S. hospitals in COVID-19 hotspots are running short of the antiviral drug remdesivir -- the only drug authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the disease -- while hospitals in other regions have stocks of the drug that are going unused.

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Rise Seen in U.S. COVID-19 Deaths

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Led by states in the South and West, COVID-19 deaths in the United States have started a long-anticipated increase, data show.

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Black Individuals at Increased Risk for SARS-CoV-2 Infection

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Black individuals are at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and hospitalization, according to a letter to the editor published online July 9 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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COVID-19-Related Symptoms Persist After Recovery

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Most patients who have recovered from COVID-19 report persistence of at least one symptom, according to a research letter published online July 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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COVID-19 Case Rates, Deaths Considerably Higher in Prisons

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 case rates are substantially higher in prisons than in the U.S. population and are escalating rapidly, according to a research letter published online July 8 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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In our latest HealthDay Now interview, Mabel Jong spoke to Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, a professor at Johns Hopkins who served on the FDA advisory committee that nearly unanimously advised against approving Biogen's new Alzheimer's drug. Dr. Alexander shared his thoughts on the drug's highly uncertain efficacy and discussed whether the FDA's reputation has been permanently damaged by the controversial approval of the drug.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.

HD Live! Videos

Two world-renowned medical groups — the European Hematology Association (EHA) and the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) — conducted virtual meetings this month to share advances in the care of blood-based cancers.

In our latest HealthDay Now, Dr. Joshua Richter, assistant professor of medicine at the Tisch Cancer Institute, gave insights on the EHA meeting. Then, Dr. Anastasios Stathis, an oncologist and a member of this year's ICML organizing committee, joined us to discuss ICML.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.


In our latest HealthDay Now, Mabel Jong spoke with Dr. Lori Pierce, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and a cancer radiation specialist at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Pierce shared important takeaways from the recently concluded 2021 ASCO annual meeting and discussed why equity was the chosen theme this year.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.

In our latest HealthDay Now, Dr. Hina Talib, a pediatrician and adolescent health specialist at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, debunks myths and common concerns parents may have about giving their children Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which was recently approved for use in children and teens ages 12 and up.

HealthDay Now's Mabel Jong also speaks with Alan Santee, a high school freshman from Massachusetts, about why he didn't hesitate to get vaccinated, and Ethan Lindenberger, a 20-year-old vaccine advocate from Ohio, about his experience having a mom who is anti-vaccine and how kids and parents can approach these conversations.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.

Watch our latest HealthDay Now to hear about the state of mental health and why many people fear returning to their social and work lives.

HealthDay's Mabel Jong spoke to Dr. Vivian Pender, president of the American Psychiatric Association, and Sherry Amatenstein, a social worker and therapist who has been dealing with these anxieties herself.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.

Watch our latest HealthDay Now for a preview of the American College of Physicians Annual Meeting 2021, covering topics like the alarming shortage of primary care physicians, bringing basic health delivery needs to rural residents, and why the ACP will focus on privacy concerns at its conference.

HealthDay Now's Mabel Jong speaks with Dr. Jacqueline Fincher, president of the American College of Physicians and an internist in a rural community in Georgia.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.

Watch our latest HealthDay Now as we cover the latest on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine investigation. An independent advisory panel to the CDC is waiting on additional information before making recommendations on the use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine after reports about rare blood clots.

Mabel Jong from our liveblog team speaks with Lynn Bahta, a member of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and a clinical expert for vaccines at the Minnesota Department of Health.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.

Watch our latest HealthDay Now as we recap the highlights of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021.

Mabel Jong from our liveblog team speaks with Dr. Antoni Ribas, former president of the American Association for Cancer Research and professor of medicine at UCLA, and Anna Plym, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.

Watch our latest HealthDay Now as we dive into the latest details on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

Mabel Jong from our liveblog team speaks with Dr. Mary Beth Son, Program Director of Boston Children's Hospital's Rheumatology Program, and Brian Padla, father of James Padla, who has MIS-C.

Watch the in-depth discussion above, and see our past HealthDay Nows and other videos on our YouTube channel.