Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of April 27, 2020 – May 1, 2020.
WHO: There is “no evidence” people can only be infected by the new coronavirus once
NPR (4/25, Dwyer) reported the WHO “pushed back against the theory that individuals can only catch the coronavirus once, as well as proposals for reopening society that are based on this supposed immunity.” The WHO “said the idea that one-time infection can lead to immunity remains unproven and is thus unreliable as a foundation for the next phase of the world’s response to the pandemic.”
The Hill (4/25, Gstalter) reported the WHO said in a scientific brief, “Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate’ that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection,” but there is “currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection.”
In early weeks of pandemic, 15,400 excess deaths were reported in U.S., nearly twice as many as those publicly attributed to COVID-19, data indicate
The Washington Post (4/27, A1, Brown, Tran, Reinhard, Ulmanu) reports, “In the early weeks of the coronavirus epidemic, the United States recorded an estimated 15,400 excess deaths, nearly two times as many as were publicly attributed to [COVID-19] at the time, according to an analysis of federal data conducted for The Washington Post by a research team led by the Yale School of Public Health.” These “excess deaths – the number beyond what would normally be expected for that time of year – occurred during March and through April 4, a time when 8,128 coronavirus deaths were reported.” The recent “analysis suggests that the deaths announced in the weeks leading up to April 4, based on reports from state public health departments, failed to capture the full impact of the pandemic.”
Patients with cancer have higher risk of death or other severe complications from COVID-19, study indicates
The Washington Post (4/28, McGinley) reports that a study indicates that patients with cancer – “especially those with blood or lung malignancies, or tumors that have spread throughout the body – have a higher risk of death or other severe complications from [COVID-19] compared with those without cancer.” The findings were “released at the American Association for Cancer Research’s virtual annual meeting and published in” Cancer Discovery.
MedPage Today (4/28, Ingram) reports that in the “multicenter study of over 600 COVID-19 patients, those with cancer had significantly higher risks for death (OR 2.34), intensive care unit (ICU) admission (OR 2.84), severe or critical symptoms (OR 2.79), and invasive mechanical ventilation (OR 2.71) compared with age-matched controls.” The researchers found that “11.4% of the 105 cancer patients died versus roughly 5% of the non-cancer patients.” The data indicated that “the highest mortality rates were in patients with hematologic malignancies (33.3%), and those with lung (18.1%) and esophageal (16.7%) tumors.”
To prevent coronavirus spread, large-scale contact tracing needed, researchers say
Newsweek (4/29, Gander) reports, “Large-scale contact tracing is needed to prevent the ongoing spread of the novel coronavirus, according to the authors of a study detailing how a Chinese city benefited from the approach.” According to a paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers “found identifying and isolating potential COVID-19 patients appeared to help to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in a Chinese city.” Their “data revealed that symptom surveillance identified COVID-19 patients later after they started feeling sick when compared with contact tracing, at 5-and-a-half days versus 3.2 days, respectively.”
At least 10 different drug compounds may be effective at stopping coronavirus from replicating within the body, study suggests
Reuters (4/30, Joseph) reports researchers found that “at least 10 different drug compounds ranging from cancer therapies to antipsychotics and antihistamines may be effective at preventing the new coronavirus from multiplying in the body, according to a multidisciplinary study” published in Nature. The study’s authors “mapped the human proteins the virus interacts with inside the body when it infects cells and makes copies of itself, then looked for compounds that could block the virus from using those proteins.” The researchers concluded “that 47 compounds in cell cultures had the desired effect, at least 10 of which are already in approved drugs or being studied for diverse conditions, but could be repurposed against COVID-19.”
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Table of Contents
- WHO: There is “no evidence” people can only be infected by the new coronavirus once
- In early weeks of pandemic, 15,400 excess deaths were reported in U.S., nearly twice as many as those publicly attributed to COVID-19, data indicate
- Patients with cancer have higher risk of death or other severe complications from COVID-19, study indicates
- To prevent coronavirus spread, large-scale contact tracing needed, researchers say
- At least 10 different drug compounds may be effective at stopping coronavirus from replicating within the body, study suggests
