Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Washing Hands Is Way More Important Than Wearing Masks When Trying To Stave Off Coronavirus, Experts Say
Chinese authorities have encouraged people in the city of Wuhan to wear surgical masks in public to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus. The question is: do they work? Many infectious disease specialists say the cheap disposable masks, which cover the nose and mouth, may help prevent the spread of infections if they are worn properly and used consistently. (Rabin, 1/23)
Singapore's prime minister said on Friday that the city-state was well prepared to tackle the Wuhan flu virus, adding that it did not appear to be as deadly as the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) pandemic. The Southeast Asian city-state, a global travel hub, on Thursday confirmed its first case of the coronavirus strain, which originated in China, and said another case has preliminarily tested positive. (1/24)
Global health officials have almost as many questions as answers about the mysterious, pneumonia-like virus that originated in China last month and has spread to at least five other countries, including the United States. How exactly is it transmitted? How infectious is it and, most critically, how deadly? They do know that the new virus is believed to have come from animals sold in a Wuhan market and that it shares many similarities with SARS, the coronavirus that also originated in an animal-to-human transmission in China in 2002, though it does not appear to be as deadly. (Abutaleb, 1/23)
A newly discovered virus has sickened hundreds of people in China and several others in Asia, with 18 deaths reported so far. And a person traveling from China to Washington state was confirmed this week as the first case on US soil. But despite international jitters over the emerging disease, a new variety of coronavirus, the World Health Organization decided on Thursday that its too early to declare a public health emergency, although its still monitoring the outbreak and seeking more information. (Freyer, 1/23)
A traveler who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Mexico City was taken to a hospital early Thursday for an evaluation. The unidentified passenger arrived on American Airlines Flight 2546 shortly before 6:40 p.m. Wednesday and was screened by CDC officers at LAX. Based on their recommendation, an ambulance was called shortly after midnight to take the person to a hospital, said Heath Montgomery, an LAX spokesman. Health officials expect to find more patients with the virus. We do expect additional cases in the U.S. and globally, Messonnier said. (Baumgaertner, Karlamangla and Fry, 1/23)
An outbreakof a pneumonia-like illness that started in the city of Wuhan has put health authorities on high alert in China and around the world. The new coronavirusnamed 2019-nCoVis thought to have originated in the food market of the central China metropolis and has since infected hundreds of people. (Sam, Whiteaker and Recht, 1/24)
Emerging data on the new virus circulating in China adds to evidence there is sustained human-to-human transmission in the city of Wuhan, and that a single case was able to ignite a chain of other infections. The World Health Organization reported Thursday that there have been at least four generations of spread of the new virus, provisionally called 2019-nCoV, meaning a person who contracted the virus from a non-human source presumably an animal has infected a person, who infected another person, who then infected another person. Its not clear from a WHO statement whether transmission petered out after that point, or whether further generations of cases from those chains are still to come. (Branswell, 1/23)
Chinas new deadly virus is more difficult to contain than other pandemics because those infected may not get a fever, a symptom governments around the world are using to screen for the pathogen. The National Health Commission told local governments and hospitals on Jan. 18 that some of those with the virus may not have a fever and the pathogens incubation period could be up to two weeks, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named discussing the situation. (Bloomberg News, 1/23)
Several drugmakers are racing to develop vaccines that could protect against the new respiratory virus originating in China, as fears mount it could spread more widely. Moderna Inc., Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Novavax Inc. said Thursday they plan to develop vaccines against the newly identified viral strain, which emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia are also trying to develop a vaccine against the strain. (Loftus and McKay, 1/23)
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Plymouth Meeting announced Thursday that it received a grant of up to $9 million to rapidly develop a vaccine for the new coronavirus that is spreading in China and sparking screenings at some U.S. airports. (Burling, 1/23)
