1. "A potential vaccine passes its first human trial"
"A promising coronavirus vaccine candidate cleared a key hurdle this week, when Moderna Therapeutics entered phase two of clinical trials. The move signals that the company’s mRNA vaccine has passed its initial safety checks and has met an important milestone in bringing this drug closer to the public and commercial markets.
“The results are exciting, because they've got phase one data showing that the vaccine is safe, which is a big deal,” says Ali Salem, a drug developer and professor at the University of Iowa’s College of Pharmacy who is not involved in the Moderna trial.
The phase two trial will involve an estimated 600 participants spread across 10 sites and eight states. Those sites began screening for subjects this week, and if they qualify based on physical exams, some will receive immunizations starting this coming Monday. After this story initially published, Moderna confirmed via press release that the first participants in each age group of the trial—adults below and above age 55—have received doses of the company's candidate.
Whenever a germ infects a body, our immune systems scramble to recognize and mount a response. Traditional vaccines take advantage of that response by injecting whole but inactive viruses, or their whole proteins, into our bodies, triggering an immune reaction. These vaccines take time to develop, in part because scientists must grow and inactivate an entire germ or its proteins in a specific way.
Messenger RNA is genetic material made of nucleic acid—the same stuff as our DNA—that travels throughout our cells, giving final instructions on which proteins to build to form the body’s cellular architecture. In the early 1990s, scientists wondered what would happen if they manufactured pieces of viral DNA and mRNA and then injected them into human cells or lab animals. The hope was that the cells would take in the genetic snippets, make viral proteins, and trigger an immune response.
Read in Apple News Spotlight: https://apple.news/ABrBAwQvoRMzGZuw5ddhmxA
2. "People are accidentally throwing out their stimulus payments — because they look like junk mail
The latest round of stimulus checks was issued in the form of prepaid debit cards — in plain white envelopes that don't bear any federal markings."
"Some Americans may be unwittingly throwing their long-awaited stimulus payments in the trash. That's because, starting last week, the Treasury Department and the IRS started sending out economic impact payments in regular white envelopes that could be confused for junk mail.
That has prompted some recipients to complain that they look too similar to unwanted credit card offers, leading some to accidentally throw the cards — which could contain as much as $3,400 for a family of four — in the trash.
"I had not heard of this but I just got my covid stimulus money via a debit card? I was hella suspicious at first cause I knew nothing about this but I researched it and it's legit... and it actually has money on it," valerie flames tweeted.
Politico editor Zack Stanton tweeted: "I almost threw mine out with the junk mail: The return address was 'Money Network Cardholder Services,' no indication it's from the govt/U.S. Treasury. Inside that envelope? A debit card from the govt with $2,400 on it."
Read in NBC News: https://apple.news/AtwEeEm69Rrahm7iMlLLDuQ
3. "How New Zealand beat coronavirus: testing, tracing, trust in advice
New Zealand has reported zero new coronavirus cases over the last five days, and just discharged its last hospital patient.
The country naturally had things going for it - like being a sparsely populated collection of islands with obedient citizens - but also implemented key public health measures to control the spread. The country issued lockdowns early, implemented widespread testing and contact tracing. Trust is key: New Zealand benefited from a leader who communicated clearly and effectively"
What's more, the country's last hospitalized coronavirus patient was discharged, officials said during a press briefing on May 27, according to CBS. Now, only 21 people in the country have active COVID-19 cases.
Overall, the country confirmed about 1,500 cases and 21 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins' Coronavirus Resource Center.
"Experts say it's more than luck, but rather early lockdown efforts, citizen's adherence to the rules, widespread testing and contact tracing, and good communication that are the keys to its success.
New Zealand issued national lockdown efforts early
Beginning February 3, New Zealand began imposing restrictions on travel - even though it had no known cases, Insider's Rosie Perper previously reported.
It recorded its first case February 28 and less than a month later had 102 confirmed cases. At that point, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern raised the country's alert to Level 3 restrictions, which closed schools, canceled mass gatherings, and allowed people to speak to their doctors online.
Two days later, the country progressed to Level 4 restrictions, issuing stay-at-home orders country-wide and severely limiting travel.
"At least for New Zealand, it was relatively prompt action at an early stage to go for a strong lockdown," Nick Wilson, a professor and public health expert at the University of Otago in New Zealand, told Perper."
Read in Business Insider: https://apple.news/AuQF4m53NQRSC2Wh0WUAsXw
4. "These Surreal Pictures Show How Restaurants Are Adapting To The Pandemic
As some places around the world ease their coronavirus restrictions, restaurants and bars are finding innovative and at times humorous ways to bring their customers back safely.
[Open link and skim photos.]
Read in BuzzFeed News: https://apple.news/AJ8IbgwyGSqqwzBB8ABQljg
5. "Will a Hand Sanitizer Bottle Explode in Your Car? Probably Not, but Be Safe Anyway
Firefighters raise alarm that alcohol-containing sanitizer plus hot weather can equal trouble. How much trouble? Enough that you shouldn't leave it in the car."
[Yes, it can explode in direct sun/heat in cars.]
Read in Car and Driver: https://apple.news/AfGJQJtLbQFuFsATLxw8Uhw
6. "Only Half of Americans Want to Get a COVID-19 Vaccine: Poll
One in five Americans said they have absolutely no intention of getting a coronavirus vaccine."
"The dispiriting numbers, from the Associated Press and NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, show that 31 percent of Americans weren’t sure if they’d get vaccinated while 20 percent said they’d outright refuse. That means only 49 percent definitely want to get a vaccine if scientists can create one."
Among Americans who say they wouldn’t get vaccinated, 7 in 10 worry about safety."
Read in The Daily Beast: https://apple.news/AU3dom-hqTO6g6vj-qCChcg
7. "China's Bat Woman Says Viruses 'Tip of the Iceberg' in Threat Humans Face"
"A top Chinese virologist has warned that newly discovered viruses are "just the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to the potential threat humans face from infectious diseases.
Shi Zhengli, the deputy director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, who has been dubbed "bat woman" due to her team's work on SARS-like coronaviruses in these animals, made the remarks on Monday in an interview with Chinese state TV station CGTN. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is believed to have originated in bats, with another animal thought to have acted as an intermediary host.
Shi said her team's 15 years of work on these pathogens has shown other coronaviruses could pose a threat to humans. "The unknown viruses that we have discovered are actually just the tip of the iceberg," Shi said, according to a translation by CGTN. "If we want to protect humans from viruses or avoid a second outbreak of new infectious diseases, we must go in advance to learn of these unknown viruses carried by wild animals in nature and then give early warnings.
"These viruses exist in nature whether we admit it or not. If we don't study [them] there will be possibly another outbreak, and we wouldn't know them."
Asked about funding to the facility being suspended, Shi said: "I think now that science has been linked to the politics which makes science politicized. It's very regrettable. I believe scientists from around the world don't like to see this.
"Infectious disease research must be open and transparent. International cooperation can provide us with good technical support for these new infectious diseases, which serves all of mankind. So we feel very sorry."
Read in Newsweek: https://apple.news/AsEtURWy3Q9-FCpwk5LNgkg
8. "China Says A Coronavirus Vaccine May Be Ready This Year
China has five potential Covid-19 vaccines in the works."
"A Chinese Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by the end of the year, a government body has announced as nations race to be the first to come up with a defense against the virus that has infected nearly 6 million people and wrecked the world economy."
[The Chinese have 5 being tested on humans now. This a good article, but I had trouble copying from it.]
Read in Forbes: https://apple.news/AHuZdO0K2TJirDn5SgKAxyw
9. "Southwest Airlines CEO predicts a ‘brutal low-fare environment’ to lure passengers
Even with capacity cuts, the number of available airline seats will still far outnumber customers in the near term."
"Even with capacity cuts, the number of available airline seats will still far outnumber customers in the near term, the chief executive officer said in a video message to Southwest employees on Friday. Demand for airline travel is expected to return slowly as the country starts to reopen its businesses.
With a potential price war putting more pressure on already struggling airlines, Southwest is preparing contingency plans in case more radical changes are required for survival, the CEO said.
Read in FORTUNE: https://apple.news/A2_UGb72LSAKx6-_Bkv2xPQ
10. "DOJ backs lawsuit against Michigan governor's stay-at-home measures
The Justice Department said in a court statement Friday evening that it was supporting the seven businesses that had filed a lawsuit challenging Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's executive orders related to the novel coronavirus pandemic."
"In a statement of interest in the case, the department called the Democratic governor's coronavirus executive orders for her state, which has been hit hard by the pandemic, "arbitrary" and "irrational."
"In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state and federal governments have a shared interest in promoting the best possible public health strategies to combat the virus to protect the people of the United States from harm," the court statement said.
"But that interest does not justify government restrictions imposed upon its citizens without legal authority."
The lawsuit the Justice Department is supporting claims Whitmer's orders discriminate against the seven businesses, which include a real estate brokerage and a lawn and property maintenance company. The suit is just one of multiple challenges to Whitmer's orders.
Read in CNN Politics: https://apple.news/AqoAQtzrOQVCbpV8U807l8w
11. "Pangolins may have incubated the novel coronavirus, gene study shows
A deep dive into the genetics of the novel coronavirus shows it seems to have spent some time infecting both bats and pangolins before it jumped into humans, researchers said Friday."
[I posted a study a few weeks ago that concluded the opposite.]
"But they said it's too soon to blame pangolins for the pandemic and say a third species of animal may have played host to the virus before it spilled over to people.
What is clear is that the coronavirus has swapped genes repeatedly with similar strains infecting bats, pangolins and a possible third species, a team of researchers from Duke University, Los Alamos National Laboratory and elsewhere reported in the journal Science Advances."
Read in CNN: https://apple.news/AQuQZIaA7Tru3ZsSu
12. "More Democrats Than Republicans Think Coronavirus Coverage Accurate: Poll"
"Results from Friday's poll about news coverage of the virus fell along partisan lines. More than half of the Republicans polled disagreed, with 52 percent of those surveyed calling coronavirus news inaccurate.
Overall, 63 percent of those who participated in the survey said news about the coronavirus was mostly to somewhat accurate while 37 percent said the news had only been mostly to somewhat inaccurate.
Friday's poll seems to reflect a partisan bias concerning the effects of the virus on the American population. An Axios poll released in May showed a divide between Republicans and Democrats over the reported U.S. coronavirus death toll numbers.
Roughly 40 percent of Republicans polled think fewer people have died as a result of the virus than what has been reported. However, 63 percent of Democrats think the number is actually higher than published reports would indicate.
Some of the confusion concerning the coronavirus can be placed on social media posts passing themselves off as actual news."
Read in Newsweek: https://apple.news/AFbKntiMxTg-P31InN6Hj6w
13. "One in 10 Covid-19 patients with diabetes die within a week, study finds
One in 10 coronavirus patients with diabetes died within the first seven days of hospitalization, and one in five needed a ventilator to breathe, according to a new study by French researchers.]
[I assume this was the same study that I posted a day or two ago, but didn't check. This is scary.]
"Diabetes is one of the underlying health conditions that health experts believe put people at greater risk for developing more severe symptoms of Covid-19 and the study, published in the journal Diabetologia Thursday, seems to confirm this.
The researchers looked at more than 1,300 coronavirus patients in 53 hospitals in France between March 10 and March 31. Most -- 89% -- had Type 2 diabetes; 3% had Type 1 diabetes; and the rest had other forms of the disease. A majority of the patients were men and the average age of all the patients in the study was 70.
By day seven of the study, 29% of the patients were either on a ventilator or had died. Researchers said 1 in 5 patients were on a ventilator and 1 in 10 had died, while 18% had been discharged from the hospital.
Patients with diabetic complications were more than twice as likely to die within a week, the researchers concluded. They also found that patients 75 years and older were 14 times more likely to die than patients under 55; and patients 65 to 74 years old were three times more likely to die than those under 55.
Those with sleep apnea and shortness of breath faced triple the risk of death by day seven and obese patients with diabetes were also more likely to die, researchers said.
Obesity is becoming a major risk factor for bad outcomes both in people with and without diabetes, said Dr. Robert Eckel, the president of medicine and science at the American Diabetes Association, who was not involved in the study.
"The other thing, age and being male, I think both of those two things have been recently and repeatedly validated by other studies. So, basically being above the age of 70 and being male with diabetes and being overweight or obese really had a major outcome on the outcome," Eckel said.
The researchers said they found no independent relationship between severe cases of Covid-19 and age, sex, long-term glucose control, chronic complications, high blood pressure or unusual medications. Being overweight, as measured by body mass index (BMI) was an important factor, however."
Read in CNN: https://apple.news/Ah-xZIZh8RDeL3DZ_TnnBBw
14. "Coronavirus: nearly half of China’s cinemas in danger of permanently closing due to pandemic
Four in 10 Chinese cinemas are in danger of permanently closing due to the coronavirus outbreak, dealing a heavy blow to the once booming industry, according to a survey by the China Film Association. There were 12,408 cinemas in China at the end of 2019 almost double the number in 2015. A reduction of 40 per cent would mean nearly 5,000 cinemas could go bust as the result of the pandemic.
Cinemas have been among the last venues to reopen in China, as lockdown measures are gradually lifted. In early-March, a small number of cinemas reopened, only to be shut down a few days later, after the number of asymptomatic infection cases grew."
Read in South China Morning Post: https://apple.news/AQQ45_a7KSm624BWu6rRJAQ
15. "All 200 Workers at a Tennessee Vegetable Farm Test Positive for COVID-19
Only three of the workers showed symptoms."
"A fruit and vegetable farm in Tennessee tested its workers for the new coronavirus after one began showing symptoms earlier this week and found that all 200 employees were positive. Despite the rampant infections, only three staff members at Henderson Farms have reportedly shown symptoms. The Evensville, Tennessee, farm has quarantined the workers on site, News Channel 9 reported. The outbreak began after a group of seasonal workers arrived from Mexico and were housed in close quarters similar to college dorms. Employees are reportedly continuing to work despite the diagnoses. Rhea County had previously only diagnosed 13 people within its borders with the virus."
Read in The Daily Beast: https://apple.news/Ac6ORwZBOTc-aCV8wCbKLcw
16. "Popular Costco perk is coming back
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but the next best thing — the free samples at Costco — is coming back. The popular, hors d’oeuvre-like freebies were discontinued in early March as the coronavirus pandemic spread. On Thursday, Costco announced it will resume the practice in mid-June."
"There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but the next best thing — the free samples at Costco — is coming back.
The popular, hors d’oeuvre-like freebies were discontinued in early March as the coronavirus pandemic spread. On Thursday, Costco announced it will resume the practice in mid-June.
Exactly how the big-box chain plans to do this is a mystery. The company currently requires all shoppers to wear a face covering in the warehouses. Munching sesame chicken on a cracker while wearing a surgical mask could prove daunting.
“We're going to start doing some things in mid-June on a slow rollout basis in sampling,” said company CFO Richard Galanti, who was speaking on a third-quarter earnings call. “I can't tell you anymore, but … needless to say, it’s not going to be where you go and just pick up an open sample with your fingers.”
Galanti also said Costco will soon be expanding the menu items in its food court."
Read in SF Gate: https://apple.news/Ax6JZ7SYDQGa_DJ_DS7Srsw
17. "Many Nursing Homes Battling COVID-19 Previously Had Infection Control Problems
An NBC 6 analysis revealed about 90% of South Florida nursing homes cited for infection control problems years prior to the crisis have reported cases or deaths related to the coronavirus."
[Nursing homes in Florida have done quite well, tho, compared to many other states.]
Read in NBC 6 South Florida: https://apple.news/A9X3reOhoTd-_OScZ6oOQvw
18. "A Booming Housing Market: Real Estate In These Cities Is Quickly Recovering
From Austin, Texas, to Washington, D.C., some cities are experiencing a staggering housing market rebound from the coronavirus pandemic."
"As mortgage applications, price appreciation and slowly growing new listings indicate that the national real estate industry is finally mending from the coronavirus, some housing markets are charting faster and stronger recoveries than others.
The reasons why some cities are bouncing back quicker boil down to robust local economies, less severe coronavirus-prompted lockdowns and, in some cases, low numbers of COVID-19 infections.
“A lot of markets across the country [suffered],” says Taylor Marr, lead economist at real estate brokerage RedfinRDFN. “We saw about 50% drop on the sell side and about a 50% drop in homes going under contract. That was pretty true for the most part in most places around Easter.
“The difference has been the road to recovery. Some places have had a sharper rebound. There’re also a few markets that weren't hit as hard initially.”
Most metros that sustained only a light Covid-19 blow predominantly dot the Midwest, where the virus has not spread as rapidly or as overwhelmingly as it has in the East.
Some of the cities where new listings and pending home sales avoided the countrywide downward shift in March and April include Des Moines, Iowa, Spokane, Washington, and Indianapolis, Indiana, says Marr.
“Markets that are more rural [and] didn't lock down,” are faring better in terms of housing activity, says Marr. “There were no state shelter-in-place orders in a number of states like Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota. That definitely played a role in real estate not taking as great of a dive.”
Read in Forbes: https://apple.news/Ah8WMYy-fQCOK61d3dZ8m0Q
19. "SFO routes to Europe and Japan to resume Monday with enhanced cleaning"
"All Nippon Airways will begin operating three flights weekly to Tokyo-Narita Airport. Swiss International Air Lines will fly once a week starting Monday to Zurich, and German carrier Lufthansa plans to run three routes a week to Munich beginning June 16.
The increases in service are the first flights from San Francisco to Europe since April 1.
According to the Official Airline Guide database, with the reinstituted routes SFO is scheduled to have 220 international flights a week in June, up from an average of 42 each week in May, when strict shelter-in-place orders for the city and surrounding counties were still in effect.
The number of flights out of the airport is still down significantly from the pre-pandemic schedule, which originally planned for 867 weekly international flights in May and 891 each week in June."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/sfo-routes-to-europe-and-japan-to-resume-monday-with-enhanced-cleaning/ar-BB14OxQx
20. "Why 15 US states suddenly made masks mandatory
America’s 180 on masks, explained."
[The article has a map of the various states. The mandatory masks, at least for being out in stores, etc., is mostly in the Northeast and bigger cities/states in the Midwest.]
Read in Vox: https://apple.news/A7uCZxdqCQhWs6eSYIbEgJQ
