The Count

Region	Cases	Deaths
World	1,390,012	72,759
US	352,083	10,366

Research News

A flood of important new studies arrived over the weekend including promising data about vaccine development, a genomic analysis describing early spread in Washington State, studies of the strengths and limitations of lock downs, studies casting doubt on malaria drugs for treatment, and a demonstration of growing mental health problems among patients and the general population.

A study of antibodies among Covid-19 cases demonstrated the development of antibodies to the proteins that form the characteristic spikes on the coronavirus in most, but not all recovered patients with higher levels in older patients. A team in Pittsburgh demonstrated the development of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in mice following the injection of synthetic viral proteins, suggesting their potential utility as a vaccine.

A genomic analysis of viral samples in Washington indicates that the virus arrived in the state with a single carrier in mid-January and spread undetected for weeks before the first death on February 29.

A British questionnaire study found that the lockdown reduced the daily number of contacts by 73%, which effectively reduces R0 for the virus from 2.6 to 0.62, a level that will cause the epidemic to fade, if maintained. The challenge of maintaining this low level of spread was demonstrated in a Japanese Study, which found that those most likely not to follow social constraints were single men in their twenties who had higher rates of smoking and alcohol consumption.

A reanalysis of data from the first case series raises doubts about the effectiveness of the malaria drug, hydroxychlorquine, in the treatment of Covid-19, doubts echoed by a second case series that failed to find evidence that the drug improved outcomes of hospitalized patients.

An Italian study found growing problems with mental health among those locked down to control the pandemic, while a study of recovered patients in China found that a third of patients showed signs of depression or anxiety.

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Groceries in the Time of Covid: You Are the Hazard The CDC has just reminded us of the public in public health. All of us are worried about staying healthy, but they have reminded us of the larger picture. Wear a mask, but not for the reasons you think. Surgical masks were never designed to protect the surgeon.