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AVAC's weekly COVID News Brief provides a curated perspective on what COVID news is worth your time.
"For this pandemic, epidemiology also has tools to return the world to a state of relative normalcy, to allow us to live with SARS-CoV-2 as we learned to deal with other diseases, such as influenza and measles. The key lies in treating vaccines as transferable resources that can be rapidly deployed where they are needed most: to hot spots where infection rates are high and vaccine supplies are low."
— Commentary in Foreign Affairs ([link removed])


** Latest Global Stats
------------------------------------------------------------
June 17, 2021
Global Documented Case
177,194,643 Global Reported Deaths
3,835,923 People Fully Vaccinated
741,409,772
Source: Coronavirus Research Center – Johns Hopkins University & Medicine ([link removed])


** Table of Contents
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* If You Are in a Hurry (#hurry)
* Third Wave on the African Continent (#third)
* New Vaccine with Global Potential (#new)
* The Long Fight Ahead (#fight)
* Good News for One Antibody (#good)
* UK Delays Reopening on Delta Variant Concerns (#uk)


* Virus Origins (#virus)
* Understanding Gain of Function Research (#under)
* Women and Long COVID (#women)
* COVID and Racial Inequities in the US (#racial)
* COVID’s Impact on Research (#impact)

Across the globe more than 2 billion vaccine doses have been administered and slightly less than 10 percent of the global population has been fully vaccinated. Even as western countries begin to move on from the pandemic, there is no global plan to ensure that the whole planet can move on from the pandemic.

More and more cities and states in the US are going “back to normal,” with most restrictions lifted. New York state this week celebrated its reopening with fireworks across the state. But as Ed Yong writes in The Atlantic ([link removed]) (US), “About half of Americans have yet to receive a single vaccine dose; for many of them, lack of access, not hesitancy, is the problem. The pandemic, meanwhile, is still just that—a pandemic, which is raging furiously around much of the world, and which still threatens large swaths of highly vaccinated countries, including some of their most vulnerable citizens. It is still a collective problem, whether or not Americans are willing to treat it as such.”



** If You Are in a Hurry
------------------------------------------------------------
* Read Pulitzer Prize winning (for his COVID coverage) Ed Yong’s explanation of the problem with American individualism and the pandemic in The Atlantic ([link removed]) .
* Read STAT ([link removed]) on a promising antibody for treatment.
* Scientific American ([link removed]) explains “gain of function” research.
* Read The Guardian ([link removed]) on why women are more at risk of long COVID , why this is not a new phenomenon in infectious disease and how gender biases in the medicine are playing out.
* A commentary in Foreign Affairs ([link removed]) that argues for deploying COVID vaccines in the same way smallpox vaccines were used to control the disease.
* Read the New York Times ([link removed]) on the impact of COVID on Hispanic American communities.
* Check out beautifully presented data from a large national poll in the US about vaccine hesitancy on the African American African American Research Collaborative's site ([link removed]) .
* Read a Nature ([link removed]) comment on the spontaneous, open, global, Twitter-fuelled collaboration called the COVID Moonshot ([link removed]) that is looking for COVID treatments.




** Third Wave on the African Continent
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Eyewitness News ([link removed]) (South Africa) reports, “The African continent is in the midst of a full-blown third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)…. Five million Africans have contracted the disease, with 136,000 having lost their lives so far. ‘New cases, continentwide are up by nearly 30 percent in the past week and deaths are up by 15 percent,’ said WHO Africa Regional Director, Doctor Matshidiso Moeti…. She said after four weeks of consecutive increases in infections, Africa’s third wave was surging upward and accelerating fast, urging countries that were still lagging behind in their vaccination drives to rapidly expand their sites.”

In an editorial in The New Times ([link removed]) (Rwanda) noting that the government has decided against a major lockdown even as other countries in the region were headed back into lockdown. The editors argue, “With the virus staying around for well over a year and everyone fatigued from its devastating effects we were always going to find ourselves in a state of complacency—in one way or another. But complacency is a virus in itself. And, we need no more evidence for that.”

In an echo of earlier stories about the COVID situation in India, some African countries are now seeing a shortage of oxygen BBC (applewebdata://3BB3F679-F027-4594-9E68-21AE61BE17AF/With%20the%20virus%20staying%20around%20for%20well%20over%20a%20year%20and%20everyone%20fatigued%20from%20its%20devastating%20effects%20we%20were%20always%20going%20to%20find%20ourselves%20in%20a%20state%20of%20complacency%20%E2%80%93%20in%20one%20way%20or%20another.%20But%20complacency%20is%20a%20virus%20in%20itself.%20And,%20we%20need%20no%20more%20evidence%20for%20that.) (UK) reports. “There are no official figures available showing a rise in preventable deaths, but many low-income countries are struggling to access oxygen supplies amid surging coronavirus cases, and limited or no access to coronavirus vaccines. Every Breath Counts, a coalition of global health campaigners, say 18 low-income countries are currently dealing with oxygen shortages or are at risk of facing the crisis, with most of those being in
Africa.”



** New Vaccine with Global Potential
------------------------------------------------------------

Science ([link removed]) (US) reports on the potential of the Novavax vaccine, which the company announced was highly effective in a 30,000-person trial: “The vaccine uses a protein of SARS-CoV-2, a different technology from the COVID-19 vaccines authorized so far, and delivered 90.4 percent overall efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19 infections, and 100 percent protection against moderate and severe disease. Against eight viral variants of interest and concern, its efficacy was 93.2 percent. And the vaccine appeared safe and well-tolerated…. Unlike mRNA vaccines, which need to be stored frozen, Novavax’s protein vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 6 months, and, once removed, remains viable for 24 hours.” Brown University’s Ashish Jha tweeted, ([link removed]) “I realize that Novavax vaccine results won't get the same attention
as when we heard from Moderna, Pfizer, and J&J. But for vaccinating the world, this is very, very good news. Novavax essential to vaccinating the globe. That fact that it has 90 percent efficacy is awesome.”

New York Times ([link removed]) reports that the CureVac mRNA vaccine has disappointing preliminary results. “The trial ([link removed]) , which included 40,000 volunteers in Latin America and Europe, estimated that CureVac’s mRNA vaccine ([link removed]) had an efficacy of just 47 percent, among the lowest reported so far from any COVID vaccine maker…. [CureVac’s CEO] blamed the disappointing results on the high number of virus variants in the countries where the vaccine was tested. Out of 124 of the COVID-19 cases that the company’s scientists genetically sequenced, only one was caused by the original version of the coronavirus.”



** The Long Fight Ahead
------------------------------------------------------------

A commentary in Foreign Affairs ([link removed]) (US) by a group of eminent scientists lays out a plan for the long fight against SARS-CoV-2. The authors argue, “For this pandemic, epidemiology also has tools to return the world to a state of relative normalcy, to allow us to live with SARS-CoV-2 as we learned to deal with other diseases, such as influenza and measles. The key lies in treating vaccines as transferable resources that can be rapidly deployed where they are needed most: to hot spots where infection rates are high and vaccine supplies are low. The United States, flush with vaccines, is well positioned to lead this effort, using a modernized version of the strategy employed to control smallpox.”



** Good News for One Antibody
------------------------------------------------------------

STAT ([link removed]) (US) reports researchers on the UK announced, “A monoclonal antibody treatment for COVID-19 developed by Regeneron saved lives among hospitalized patients who had not mounted their own immune response, a finding that could dramatically change the way that doctors will use the therapy…. The new data mark the first time that a medicine that works by fighting the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been shown to reduce mortality. Other treatments, such as the steroid dexamethasone, have been shown to save lives by tamping down the immune system’s overactive response to the virus.”

In a press release AstraZenenca ([link removed]) reported that its trial “assessing the safety and efficacy of AZD7442, a long-acting antibody (LAAB) combination, for the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 in participants recently exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The trial did not meet the primary endpoint of post-exposure prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 with AZD7442 compared to placebo.”



** UK Delays Reopening on Delta Variant Concerns
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BBC ([link removed]) (UK) reports the UK’s easing of lockdown has been postponed for four weeks. “Scientists advising the government had warned of a ‘significant resurgence’ in people needing hospital treatment for COVID-19 if stage four of easing the lockdown went ahead on 21 June. It comes amid rising cases, driven by the more transmissible Delta variant, which was first identified in India.”

Reuters ([link removed]) (UK) reports on a Lancet ([link removed](21)01358-1/fulltext) study which found “The Delta coronavirus variant doubles the risk of hospitalisation compared with the previously dominant variant in Britain, but two doses of vaccine still provide strong protection, a Scottish study found….” Separately, Reuters ([link removed]) reports “COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca offer high protection of more than 90 percent against hospitalisation from the Delta coronavirus variant, a new analysis by Public Health England (PHE) showed….”

Ashish Jha writes in a Washington Post ([link removed]) (US) op-ed, “With US case numbers relatively low overall, masks disappearing and society reopening ([link removed]) , it is not hard to imagine an end to the pandemic. But we must be clear: The pandemic is not over in the United States, nor can it end so long as COVID-19 rages across the globe. The strongest evidence of the global pandemic’s influence on Americans’ lives recently arrived on our shores: the delta variant of the virus. It is a profoundly concerning threat.”

The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK) reports, “The Delta variant of COVID-19, first identified in India ([link removed]) , has been detected in 74 countries and continues to spread rapidly amid fears that it is poised to become the dominant strain worldwide. Outbreaks of the Delta variant have been confirmed in China, the US, Africa ([link removed]) , Scandinavia and Pacific rim countries. Scientists report that it appears to be more transmissible, as well as to cause more serious illness.”



** Virus Origins
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CBS News ([link removed]) (US) reports, “The leaders of the Group of Seven countries called for a new investigation into COVID-19's origins in China, issuing a communique ([link removed]) urging a renewed effort by global health authorities to probe the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the coronavirus. The group called for a ‘timely, transparent, expert-led, and science-based WHO-convened Phase 2 COVID-19 Origins study including, as recommended by the experts' report, in China.’”



** Understanding Gain of Function Research
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Scientific American ([link removed]) (US) looks at why scientists “tweak” viruses to make them more lethal, reporting, “Scientists perform these manipulations for many reasons, including wanting to understand how the microbes evade detection by our immune systems. But adding capability to a pathogen carries obvious risks, especially if this ‘gain of function’ involves enhanced virulence or infectiousness. Escape from a lab, by accident or design, is a possibility. So why do it? Some researchers argue the work can offer a peek at what a virus can do before it goes into the natural world and poses a threat to people.” The magazine offers good explanations about gain of function research, how it works and why it is controversial.



** Women and Long COVID
------------------------------------------------------------

The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK) reports researchers and doctors are noting that “young to middle-aged women [appear to be] disproportionately vulnerable” to long COVID. “’This pattern has been seen in other post-infectious syndromes,’ says Dr Melissa Heightman, who runs the UCLH post-COVID care clinic in north London. ‘Around 66 percent of our patients have been women. A lot of them were in full-time jobs, have young children, and now more than a quarter of them are completely unable to work because they’re so unwell.’” The Guardian examines theories behind why women are more at risk.

The New York Times ([link removed]█=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=LegacyCollection&variant=1_Show&is_new=false#medical-problems-can-persist-long-after-infection-with-the-virus-even-among-those-who-dont-get-covid-a-study-found) (US) reports on a large study of nearly 2 million Americans’ insurance record that “found that one month or more after their infection, 23 percent of them sought medical treatment for new conditions. Those affected were all ages, including children. Their most common new health problems were pain, including in nerves and muscles; breathing difficulties; high cholesterol; malaise and fatigue; and high blood pressure. Post-COVID health problems were common even among people who had not gotten sick from the virus at all, the study found.”



** COVID and Racial Inequities in the US
------------------------------------------------------------

Quartz ([link removed]) (US) reports, “through April 1, at least 39 percent ([link removed]) of the incarcerated population in the US had been infected [with COVID-19]. The incarcerated had a 5.5 times greater risk of COVID-19 infection and three times greater risk of death compared to the rest of the population…. This is one of the root causes of the enormous racial disparity among COVID-19 patients in the US…. Hispanic and Black people in America are about three times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 than the general population, and about twice as likely to die from it…. COVID-19 showed how the carceral system is a driver of infections not just within prisons, but in the broader communities to which inmates and jails are connected….”

The New York Times ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Hispanic American communities have been pummeled by a higher rate of infections than any other racial or ethnic group and have experienced hospitalizations and deaths ([link removed]) at rates exceeded only by those among Native Americans and Alaska Natives. But new research shows the coronavirus has also attacked Hispanic Americans in an especially insidious way: They were younger when they died.”

The Commonwealth Fund and the African American Research Collaborative released findings ([link removed]) from a national poll about vaccine hesitancy. “The poll’s questions sought to find out how Americans, especially rural residents, people of color, and the unvaccinated, are currently thinking about the COVID-19 vaccines, what their concerns are, and how they might be addressed.” The poll’s funding help identify barriers for more Americans to get vaccinated. You can explore the data here ([link removed]) .



** COVID’s Impact on Research
------------------------------------------------------------

Nature ([link removed]) (UK) looks at how the pandemic is changing global health collaborations. “The pandemic could leave its mark on research collaborations for years to come. Many scientists… strengthened existing connections and forged new ones. But the pandemic also interrupted projects and curtailed travel. And it might have intensified the challenges to international cooperation arising from long-standing political tensions, particularly between the United States and China.…There is also growing concern, heightened during the pandemic, about making collaborations equitable for—and beneficial to—all partners. That is still lacking, says Trudie Lang, a clinical-research scientist specializing in global health at the University of Oxford, UK. ‘The drivers and the rewards for team science just really aren’t there, yet.’”

In a Nature ([link removed]) (UK) comment researchers involved in a global collaboration for COVID treatments write, “This experiment pulled together a spontaneous, open, global, Twitter-fuelled collaboration called the COVID Moonshot ([link removed]) . Urgency and a commitment to working openly recruited more than 150 active participants, spanning a huge range of expertise and technology across academia, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and more, all working without claiming intellectual property. Open drug-discovery efforts are invariably super slow—ours has been an express train on tracks we have laid down as we go. It is a way of working that none of us realized was possible.”

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