COVID-19 Update #9

Monterey County (10/22/20 - 12/5/20):

4,707 new cases (15,991 total / 130 total deaths)

Worldwide (10/22/20 - 12/5/20):

24.59 million new cases (65.26 million total / 1.51 million total deaths)

U.S.A. (10/22/20 - 12/5/20):

6.07 million new cases (14.26 million total / 277,825 total deaths)

California (10/22/20 - 12/5/20):

432,216 new cases (1.31 million total / 19,791 total deaths)

10/23/20

The US CDC redefines “close contact” as being < 6 feet from an infected person for greater than or equal to 15 minutes in any 24 hour period.
The US FDA approves remdesivir as the first official medication for the treatment of COVID-19 (patient must be hospitalized, > 12 years old, and > 88 pounds).

10/26/20

“R” (Reproduction number) <1 implies a decrease in the disease, while “R” >1 implies an acceleration of disease spread. Studies showed that certain Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) such as school closure, workplace closure, the banning of public events (#1), and stay-at-home orders were associated with the reduction of “R”. However, reopening of schools, carrying out public events (>10 people), and withdrawal of stay-at-home orders was associated with the increase of “R”. Restrictions need to be implemented for at least 3 weeks to make a significant impact of > 60% reduction in cases. (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30785-4/fulltext)
Recently published study was a randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled trial of 243 hospitalized patients. Tocilizumab did not show significant benefit in preventing either intubation or death. (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2028836)

11/4/20

Recent study of 30,082 previously infected patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in New York City showed that of those infected, the majority were able to make moderate to high levels of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. There was a correlation between the amount of initial antibody produced to the amount of neutralizing antibody produced. Most patients produced neutralizing antibodies for 3 months, with only a slight decrease of titers at 5 months. If the initial infection only induced a mild antibody response, there was a chance of losing antibody protection soon thereafter.

11/5/20

For the first time, USA surpasses a record 100,00 single day COVID-19 cases (106,537).

11/9/20

Total COVID-19 cases > 50 million worldwide.
Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine candidate shows > 90% efficacy in initial Phase 3 trial results.

11/11/20

USA surpasses 10 million total cases of COVID-19 (3% of its total population).
United States positive test rate for SARS-CoV-2 has increased from 4.2% in early October to a current rate of 8.3%.
US FDA issues its first ever EUA for a monoclonal antibody treatment bamlanivimab for those ages > 12 years old, > 88 pounds, and with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, non-hospitalized patients who are at high risk for developing severe disease and are not on supplemental oxygen.

11/16/20

Moderna announces that its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shows 94.5% efficacy in early Phase 3 trial results. As opposed to the Pfizer vaccine, which necessitates storage at -94 degrees. Fahrenheit, the Moderna vaccine can remain at room temperature for up to 12 hours, stable for 30 days at 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit, and 6 months at -4 degrees Fahrenheit.

11/18/20

USA daily mortality rate has increased by more than 75% over the past 30 days.
Pfizer/BioNTech updates its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate’s efficacy to 95%.
FDA gives EUA for the first at-home RNA detection test for SARS-CoV-2, the “LUCIRA COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit,” which includes a nasal swab, test tube, reagents, and a testing machine. Results are viewable within 30 minutes.

11/19/20

California officially releases a new Limited Stay at Home order effective 11/21/20 at 10:00pm PST until 12/21/20 at 5am PST. Included below is an excerpt of the official order.
- “Limited Stay at Home order, effective in counties under Tier One (Purple) of California's Blueprint for a Safer Economy, requiring that all gatherings with members of other households and all activities conducted outside the residence, lodging, or temporary accommodation with members of other households cease between 10:00pm PST and 5:00am PST, except for those activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure[1] or required by law.” (https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/limited-stay-at-home-order.aspx)

11/20/20

US Mortality
- 1 death (2/29/20) —> 50,000 deaths = 55 days
- 50,000 deaths —> 100,000 deaths = 33 days
- 100,000 deaths —> 150,000 deaths = 63 days
- 150,000 deaths —> 200,000 deaths = 55 days
- 200,000 deaths —> 250,000 deaths - 58 days
Pfizer/BioNTech announces that they are requesting EUA from the FDA for their SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate.
Over the past 1 month, the daily global mortality from COVID-19 has increased by 80% (1 death every 9.2 seconds.

11/24/20

AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine candidate shows 90% efficacy in initial Phase 3 trial reports.
FDA grants EUA to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals monoclonal antibody combination regiment of. casirivimab and imdevimab, both of which are made to attach/block the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Approval is for those ages > 12 years old with mild to moderate COVID-19 disease, not hospitalized, and not on supplemental oxygen. Of note, this combination regiment was given to President Donald Trump after he was diagnosed with COVID-19

11/25/20

US CDC initiates a Level 4 Travel Advisory, “Very High Level of COVID-19” (>100/100,000 population), advising to “avoid all travel” to 179 countries, as well as cruise ships.

11/30/20

Moderna requests EUA from the FDA for its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate.

12/1/20

Total US COVID-19 Cases (Millions)
- 0 —> 1 = 96 days
- 1 —> 2 = 44 days
- 2 —> 3 = 27 days
- 3 —> 4 = 15 days
- 4 —> 5 = 17 days
- 5 —> 6 = 22 days
- 6 —> 7 = 25 days
- 7 —> 8 = 21 days
- 8 —> 9 = 14 days
- 9 —> 10 = 10 days
- 10 —> 11 = 7 days
- 11 —> 12 = 5 days
- 12 —> 13 = 7 days
Total Worldwide COVID-19 Cases (Millions)
- 0 —> 1 = 90 days
- 1 —> 10 =86 days
- 10 —> 20 = 44 days
- 20 —> 30 = 37 days
- 30 —> 40 = 31 days
- 40 —> 50 = 21 days
- 50 —> 60 = 17 days
Approximately 40% of all US COVID-19 deaths are from those in long term care facilities.
Operation Warp Speed announced that the allocations of COVID-19 vaccinations to the states will be based on population and from there, each state will decide how to allocate to their residents.
Moderna announces results of Phase 3 trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, which deemed it to be 94.1% effective among 30,000 participants. There were no severe cases of COVID-19 or deaths in the vaccinated group.

12/2/20

The United Kingdom (UK) issues EUA to the Pfizer/BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for individuals 16 years and older. The first to receive the initial dose of the vaccine, as early as 12/7/20, will be individuals in long term health facilities, followed by health care workers. The second dose of the vaccine will be given 3 weeks later.

12/4/20

US mortality rate for COVID-19 is rising, currently 1.1 deaths/minute.
US CDC ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) voted in favor of stratifying allocation for the upcoming COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Phase 1 a
  - Health care personnel: hospitals, long term care facilities, outpatient clinics, home health care, pharmacies, emergency medical services, public health.
  - Long term care facilities: skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, other residential care.
- Phase 1 b
  - Essential workers: education, food and agriculture, utilities, police, firefighters, correction officers, transportation workers.
- Phase 1 c
  - Adults with high risk medical conditions
  - Age > 65 years old
In an effort to discover whether SARS-CoV-2 was present within the US even prior to the first case reported in January 19, 2020, a recent study evaluated 7,389 routine blood donation samples that were collected by the American Red Cross between December 13, 2019 and January 17, 2020 from donors across the states (CA, CT, IA, MA, MI, OR, RI, WA, WI). All samples were processed by the CDC for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. A total of 106 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies as early as 12/13/19 - 12/16/19 in CA, OR, and WA, and as early as January 2020 in the other states. This suggests that there may have been a low level of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in the United States prior to 1/19/20.
(https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa1785/6012472)

12/5/20

US reports a new daily record of COVID-19 cases (214,099).

Reference Sources:

Image Sources

https://www.jhsph.edu/sebin/z/z/SARS-CoV-2-vaccine-820x440.jpg

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