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HealthDay Reports: COVID-19 Roundup for the Week of May 11-May 15

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 May 11-May 15.

NIH Launches Trial of Hydroxychloroquine, Azithromycin for COVID-19

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced it is sponsoring a phase 2b clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in preventing hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

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NIH: Large-Scale Testing of Some COVID-19 Vaccines Could Start in July

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A number of COVID-19 vaccines under development "look pretty promising" and one or two could be ready for large-scale testing by July, the director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health says.

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FDA: Abbott Rapid COVID-19 Test Could Miss Infections

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A rapid COVID-19 test being used across the United States could miss infections, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.

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COVID-19 Cases Increased More Rapidly With No Stay-at-Home Order in Iowa

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- COVID-19 cases increased more quickly in border counties in Iowa and more slowly in border counties in Illinois following enactment of a stay-at-home order in Illinois, according to a study published online May 15 in JAMA Network Open.

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ACP Advises Against Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a special article from the American College of Physicians, published online May 13 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, practice points are presented to guide the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine in the setting of COVID-19.

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Interferon-α2b May Shorten Viral Shedding Duration in COVID-19

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Interferon-α2b therapy seems to shorten the duration of viral shedding in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, according to a study published online May 15 in Frontiers in Immunology.

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Guidance Issued for Osteoporosis Management During COVID-19

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a joint guidance document issued by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, Endocrine Society, European Calcified Tissue Society, and National Osteoporosis Foundation, recommendations are presented for the management of osteoporosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Kawasaki-Like Disease Incidence Up After Start of SARS-CoV-2

THURSDAY, May 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of Kawasaki-like disease increased after the start of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic in the Bergamo province of Italy, according to a study published online May 13 in The Lancet.

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Abnormalities Detected on Brain MRI of COVID-19 Patients in ICU

THURSDAY, May 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in the intensive care unit with neurological symptoms, 44 percent of those undergoing magnetic resonance imaging have acute findings, according to a study published online May 8 in Radiology.

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COVID-19 Fatality Rate High for Heart Transplant Recipients

THURSDAY, May 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Heart transplant recipients with COVID-19 infection have a case fatality rate of 25 percent, according to a study published online May 13 in JAMA Cardiology.

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Meta-Analysis Links Smoking to COVID-19 Disease Progression

THURSDAY, May 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers have an increased likelihood of COVID-19 disease progression, according to research published online May 13 in Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

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Guidance Issued for Acute Large Vessel CVA During COVID-19 Pandemic

THURSDAY, May 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a guidance statement from the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology, published online April 29 in Stroke, recommendations are presented for the management of acute ischemic large vessel occlusion stroke during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Bowel Abnormalities Described in Inpatients With COVID-19

THURSDAY, May 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Bowel abnormalities have been identified on abdominal imaging of some inpatients with COVID-19, according to a study published online May 11 in Radiology.

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Plan in Place to Up Production of Prefilled Syringes for Future COVID-19 Vaccine

WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A deal for hundreds of millions of syringes that could be used to quickly administer a possible vaccine against COVID-19 has been reached between the U.S. government and a private company.

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Doctors Should Watch for Pediatric Inflammatory Syndrome With COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- American physicians should watch for a dangerous inflammatory syndrome in children that may be linked to COVID-19 infection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says in an alert.

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Addition of Zinc May Benefit Some Being Treated for COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For hospitalized patients with COVID-19, the addition of zinc sulfate to hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin may improve some outcomes, according to a study not yet peer reviewed and posted on medRxiv.org.

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Experts Discuss Strategy for Bariatric Surgery During COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a personal view article, published online May 7 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, recommendations are presented for the management of bariatric and metabolic surgery patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Deceased Donor Transplantation Has Dropped Since COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, May 13, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a reduction in deceased donor transplantations in France and the United States, according to a research letter published online May 11 in The Lancet.

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Doctors Without Borders Team Sent to Navajo Nation to Fight COVID-19

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors Without Borders has sent a nine-person team to the Navajo Nation in the Southwestern United States as it struggles with a COVID-19 crisis.

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Risk Score May Predict Critical Illness at COVID-19 Admission

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- A risk score based on 10 factors can predict the risk for developing critical illness at COVID-19 admission, according to a study published online May 12 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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Olfactory Dysfunction Most Often Occurs by Third Day of COVID-19

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Olfactory dysfunction occurs commonly, severely, and early in COVID-19 infection, according to a study published online May 5 in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

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Crude Link ID'd for Vitamin D Levels, COVID-19 Cases, Death

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- There is a crude correlation between vitamin D levels and the number of COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 mortality, according to a study published online May 6 in Aging Clinical and Experimental Research.

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Pediatric Vaccine Ordering Has Decreased During COVID-19

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- After the COVID-19 emergency declarations, there was a decrease in pediatric vaccine ordering, according to research published in the May 8 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Severe Illness Reported in Some Children With COVID-19

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Severe illness from COVID-19 infection occurs in some children, most of whom have significant preexisting comorbidities, according to a study published online May 11 in JAMA Pediatrics.

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For Those With Heart Failure, ACE2 Concentrations Up in Men

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Among patients with heart failure, men have higher plasma concentrations of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, while neither use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors nor angiotensin receptor blockers are associated with increased plasma ACE2 concentrations, according to a study published online May 10 in the European Heart Journal.

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Established ARDS Therapy Aids Many Critically Ill With COVID-19

TUESDAY, May 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Many critically ill patients with COVID-19 respiratory failure managed with mechanical ventilation and established acute respiratory distress syndrome protocols survive, according to a letter to the editor published online April 29 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Hydroxychloroquine Has No Impact on Outcomes in COVID-19

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Hydroxychloroquine is not associated with an increased or decreased risk for intubation or death among patients with COVID-19 admitted to the hospital, according to a study published online May 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Triple Antiviral Therapy Promising for Mild-to-Moderate COVID-19

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with COVID-19, early triple antiviral therapy (lopinavir-ritonavir, ribavirin, and interferon beta-1b) is better than lopinavir-ritonavir for reducing the time to providing a nasopharyngeal swab negative for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, according to a study published online May 8 in The Lancet.

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ACR Issues Statement on Return of Routine Radiology Services

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In an American College of Radiology statement, published online May 6 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, recommendations are presented for re-engagement of routine radiology care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Epidemic Growth of COVID-19 Not Linked to Latitude, Temperature

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- For COVID-19, epidemic growth is not associated with latitude and temperature or with absolute humidity, according to a study published online May 8 in CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association.

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Anakinra May Reduce Systemic Inflammation in COVID-19

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- High-dose anakinra, a recombinant interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, is associated with improved clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and hyperinflammation, according to a study published online May 7 in The Lancet Rheumatology.

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SARS-CoV-2 Spreads Rapidly Through Skilled Nursing Facilities

MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Rapid and widespread transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 can occur in skilled nursing facilities, according to a study published online April 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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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.