Here is what the editors at Physician’s Briefing chose as the most important COVID-19 developments for you and your practice for the week of Sept. 14 to 18, 2020. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal studies and other trusted sources that is most likely to affect clinical practice.
Details Emerge on Unexplained Illness in AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — New details surfaced on Thursday on an unexplained neurological condition that struck a volunteer who was participating in AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine trial.
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Drug May Reduce Need for Ventilators in COVID-19 Patients
FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — An inflammation-fighting medicine was associated with reduced use of ventilators among COVID-19 patients, according to a study that included mainly Hispanics and Blacks.
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CDC: Adult Obesity Increasing, Tied to Worse COVID-19 Outcomes
FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Adult obesity is increasing, with considerable racial and ethnic disparities, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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More Than Half of Pregnant Women With COVID-19 Asymptomatic
FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — More than half of hospitalized pregnant women with COVID-19 are asymptomatic at admission, while pregnant women hospitalized for COVID-19-related illness have a higher prevalence of prepregnancy obesity and gestational diabetes, according to two studies published in the Sept. 16 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Lower Proportion of Inpatients With COVID-19 Wear Glasses
FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The proportion of inpatients with COVID-19 who wear eyeglasses for extended daily periods is lower than in the general population, according to a study published online Sept. 16 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
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Lung Cancer Treatment Plans Changed Due to Pandemic
FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — More than half of patients have experienced changes in their lung cancer treatment plan as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a research letter published online Sept. 17 in JAMA Oncology.
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Older Adults Experiencing More Loneliness During Pandemic
FRIDAY, Sept. 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Older adults are feeling more isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published online Sept. 14 based on the results of the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.
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Moderna May Know by November Whether COVID-19 Vaccine Is Effective
THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Moderna says it should know by sometime in November whether its COVID-19 vaccine is effective, its CEO said Thursday.
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COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Would Begin Within 24 Hours After Approval
THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine in the United States would begin within 24 hours of its approval or emergency use authorization, and the plan is that no American will have to “pay a single dime” out of their own pocket for the vaccine, federal officials said Thursday.
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Flu Activity Low in Southern Hemisphere in June to August 2020
THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — There was very low influenza activity during June to August 2020 in the Southern Hemisphere, according to research published in the Sept. 18 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Elderly Social Isolation, Loneliness in COVID-19 May Lead to Cognitive Decline
THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Social isolation and loneliness can increase the risk for cognitive decline in seniors, according to Carla Perissinotto, M.D., geriatrician and associate chief for geriatrics clinical programs at the University of California in San Francisco, who recently spoke with HD Live! about the current challenges facing seniors in assisted living or nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Substance Use Disorder Linked to Increased Risk for COVID-19
THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Substance use disorder is associated with a higher risk for COVID-19 than that seen in the general population, as well as worse outcomes, according to a study published online Sept. 14 in Molecular Psychiatry.
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Survey: About Seven in 10 Adults Interested in COVID-19 Vaccine
THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Nearly seven in 10 U.S. adults are “definitely” or “probably” willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, according to research published online Aug. 20 in Vaccine.
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Vaccine Campaign Would Take Six to Nine Months to Curb COVID-19
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) — When a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 becomes available, it is likely to take six to nine months for enough Americans to get vaccinated to have a significant impact on the pandemic, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, M.D., said Wednesday.
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New Drug Shows Promise in Preventing Severe COVID-19
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A single infusion of an experimental drug dramatically lowers levels of coronavirus in the bodies of newly infected patients and cuts their chances of hospitalization, the drug’s maker reported Wednesday.
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Characteristics ID’d for Under 21s With SARS-CoV-2-Linked Deaths
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Of those aged younger than 21 years with deaths associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, most are aged 10 to 20 years, and 75 percent of deaths occur in those with an underlying medical condition, according to research published in the Sept. 15 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Portable Low-Field MRI Allows Brain Imaging in ICU Patients
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 16, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Portable, low-field magnetic resonance imaging is feasible for obtaining neuroimaging in intensive care unit patients, according to a study published online Sept. 8 in JAMA Neurology.
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Poll: Most Americans Do Not Trust Trump’s COVID-19 Vaccine Comments
TUESDAY, Sept. 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) — In a sign that Americans are becoming more wary about the safety of a COVID-19 vaccine, a new poll shows a majority of adults do not trust what President Donald Trump has said on vaccine development.
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Factor V Activity Significantly Increased in Severe COVID-19
TUESDAY, Sept. 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Factor V activity is significantly increased in patients with severe COVID-19, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in the American Journal of Hematology.
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Pediatric Ophthalmologists Hit Hard Financially by COVID-19
TUESDAY, Sept. 15, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Pediatric ophthalmologists are financially struggling as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to research recently published in the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.
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Baricitinib May Shorten Recovery Time in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients
MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Using an anti-inflammatory medicine along with the antiviral drug remdesivir appears to shorten COVID-19 patients’ recovery time, according to drug company Eli Lilly.
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Effectiveness of Inhaled COVID-19 Vaccines to Be Studied
MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — A study to assess the effectiveness of two experimental COVID-19 vaccines when they are inhaled, rather than injected, has been announced by researchers.
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AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Restarts
MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Oxford University has announced that final-stage testing of a COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with drug maker AstraZeneca will restart following a pause last week after a serious side effect showed up in a volunteer.
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Canada Reports No New COVID-19 Deaths for First Time in Six Months
MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For the first time in six months, Canada on Friday reported no new COVID-19 deaths.
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Among Hospital Patients, Children Less Likely to Carry SARS-CoV-2
MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Among hospitalized patients without any severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-associated symptoms, children are less likely than adults to test positive for the infection, according to a research letter published online Sept. 14 in JAMA Pediatrics.
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NIH Launches Clinical Trials of Antithrombotics for COVID-19
MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Two of three planned adaptive phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the safety and effectiveness of varying types of blood thinners to treat adults diagnosed with COVID-19 have launched, according to an announcement by the National Institutes of Health.
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24.4 Percent of U.K. Health Care Workers Positive for SARS-CoV-2
MONDAY, Sept. 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The overall prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 antibodies is 24.4 percent in a cohort of asymptomatic health care workers, according to a study published online Sept. 11 in Thorax.
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