(Timeline)
Here are selected news stories relative to the Covid-19 pandemic (and directly or indirectly the science behind it) for the month of July 2020, starting with the most recent news. (Let me know if you hit a paywall or if you find scientific misinformation.)
Click on dark blue words or terms to see their meaning in the glossary.
Return to the latest news on the timeline
Back to August 1, 2020
July 31, 2020
Science: From ‘brain fog’ to heart damage, COVID-19’s lingering problems alarm scientists
nature: China’s coronavirus vaccines are leaping ahead – but face challenges as virus wanes
Chicago Tribune: Children may carry high levels of the coronavirus, up to 100 times as much as adults, new Lurie Children’s Hospital study finds
- A study at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital compared the “cycle threshold” (CT) of Covid-19 RT/PCR tests in three age groups (0 to 4 years, 5 to 17 years, and 18 to 65 years). The RT/PCR tests work in cycles, with each cycle multiplying the amount of RNA material in a sample. CT is the number of cycles required in order to clearly measure the amount of RNA corresponding to SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, the lower the CT, the higher the amount of this RNA initially in the sample. Results showed that the younger the age group, the lower the CT and thus the higher the level of viral RNA in the sample. This does not by itself mean that the RNA corresponds to viable viral particles (which would be infectious), but other studies have found a correlation (connection) between the two. It also does not demonstrate directly how likely an age group would shed (spread) viral particles, but it increases the evidence that children could be contributing significantly to the spread of Covid-19.
STAT: A Covid-19 vaccine, amazingly, is close. Why am I so worried? (Opinion)
NYT: Should you travel this year? (Interactive)
July 30, 2020
STAT: The nursing science behind nurses as coronavirus hospital heroes (Opinion)
MedScape: Colchicine Promising in COVID-19 Treatment?
- Clinical results show that colchicine might help in the treatment of serious Covid-19 by reducing inflammation.
STAT: ‘A huge experiment’: How the world made so much progress on a Covid-19 vaccine so fast
The Atlantic: We Need to Talk About Ventilation
- “How is it that six months into a respiratory pandemic, we are still doing so little to mitigate airborne transmission?”
NYT: Older Children Spread the Coronavirus Just as Much as Adults, Large Study Finds
July 29, 2020
MIT Technology Review: Some scientists are taking a DIY coronavirus vaccine, and nobody knows if it’s legal or if it works
NYT: (US) A Viral Epidemic Splintering Into Deadly Pieces
BBC: India coronavirus: ‘More than half of Mumbai slum-dwellers had Covid-19’
- “More than half the residents of slums in three areas in India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, tested positive for antibodies to the coronavirus, a new survey has found.”
July 28, 2020
SciAm: COVID-19: The Big Questions That Remain (VIDEO)
SciAm: An Immune Protein Could Prevent Severe COVID-19—if It Is Given at the Right Time
- Interferon could help prevent severe Covid-19 if given early, but make the disease more severe if given later.
SciAm: Little Evidence that Mass Transit Poses a Risk of Coronavirus Outbreaks
AP: Video falsely touts hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 cure
July 27, 2020
STAT: Covid-19 infections leave an impact on the heart, raising concerns about lasting damage
- In one study, 78% of those who “recovered” still had issues that involve the heart two months later. The average age of the patients was 49 and two thirds of them recovered at home.
- Another study found a high viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in the heart in 24 out of 39 autopsies.
STAT: Covid-19 vaccines may cause mild side effects, experts say, stressing need for education, not alarm
STAT: Science alone cannot beat the pandemic. We also need outreach about a Covid-19 vaccine (Opinion)
BBC: The millions ‘hanging by a thread’ as coronavirus aid expires
July 24, 2020
SciAm: World War II’s Warsaw Ghetto Holds Lifesaving Lessons for COVID-19
July 23, 2020
PopSci: Face masks with valves don’t stop COVID-19 from spreading
STAT: Using a global network of adaptive clinical trials to fight Covid-19 (Opinion)
STAT: NIH to start ‘flurry’ of large studies of potential Covid-19 treatments
July 21, 2020
SciAm: Genes May Influence COVID-19 Risk, New Studies Hint
SciAm: Civil War Vaccine May Have Lessons for COVID-19 (Audio)
STAT: Actual Covid-19 case count could be 6 to 24 times higher than official estimates, CDC study shows
STAT: Public health group calls for standardized data collection to more clearly track Covid-19
SciAm: Contact Tracing, a Key Way to Slow COVID-19, Is Badly Underused by the U.S.
July 20, 2020
Forbes: Why You Should Trust The Coronavirus Vaccine
Science: Controversial ‘human challenge’ trials for COVID-19 vaccines gain support
NPR: Kids Get Coronavirus, But Do They Spread It? We’ll Find Out When Schools Reopen
Science: ‘Ethically troubling.’ University reopening plans put professors, students on edge
July 19, 2020
CNN: I can’t shake Covid-19: Warnings from young survivors still suffering
July 17, 2020
nature: The explosion of new coronavirus tests that could help to end the pandemic
Science: A former Navy disaster specialist wages war against COVID-19 on U.S.-Mexico border
July 16, 2020
STAT: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children related to Covid-19 isn’t the mystery it’s made out to be (Opinion)
SciAm: Second Coronavirus Strain May Be More Infectious—but Some Scientists Are Skeptical
- “Researchers question whether a mutated viral strain that infected more cells in a lab dish is necessarily more transmissible among humans.”
nature: Reconstruction of the full transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in Wuhan
GLP: Who is most vulnerable by age and race to die from COVID-19?
NYT: Mask Rules Expand Across U.S. as Clashes Over the Mandates Intensify
July 15, 2020
STAT: The U.S. is the accidental Sweden, which could make the fall ‘catastrophic’ for Covid-19
July 14, 2020
Science: The pandemic virus is slowly mutating. But is it getting more dangerous?
SciAm: Babies’ Mysterious Resilience to Coronavirus Intrigues Scientists
STAT: First data for Moderna Covid-19 vaccine show it spurs an immune response
STAT: How to fix the Covid-19 dumpster fire in the U.S.
STAT: If everyone wore a mask, Covid-19 could be brought under control, CDC director urges
Science: ‘It’s a tricky thing.’ COVID-19 cases haven’t soared in Nigeria, but that could change
July 13, 2020
PopSci: One in three young people could face serious symptoms from coronavirus
July 12, 2020
SciAm: A Rush to Reopen Could Undo New Yorkers’ Hard Work against COVID-19
July 11, 2020
NYT: How to Reopen Schools: What Science and Other Countries Teach Us
NYT: ‘I Couldn’t Do Anything’: The Virus and an E.R. Doctor’s Suicide
July 10, 2020
CNN: How coronavirus affects the entire body
STAT: From Houston to Miami, hospitals running short of remdesivir for Covid-19 patients
nature: The mathematical strategy that could transform coronavirus testing
- “Four charts show how pooling samples from many people can save time or resources.”
Science: ‘Huge hole’ in COVID-19 testing data makes it harder to study racial disparities
SWI: Basel study: hydroxychloroquine not effective
PopSci: Masks help prevent the spread of the coronavirus—here’s a breakdown of how effective they are
nature: Scientists call for pandemic investigations to focus on wildlife trade
- “The World Health Organisation is sending scientists to China this weekend to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Science: A WHO-led mission may investigate the pandemic’s origin. Here are the key questions to ask
July 9, 2020
NYT: 68% Have Antibodies in This Clinic. Can Neighborhood Beat a Next Wave?
- “Data from those tested at a storefront medical office in Queens is leading to a deeper understanding of the outbreak’s scope in New York.”
STAT: The first round of Covid-19 vaccines is ‘highly unlikely to be a magic bullet,’ Medicago CEO says
NYT: The Coronavirus Can Be Airborne Indoors, W.H.O. Says
STAT: It’s time to begin a national wastewater testing program for Covid-19
OO: Zero COVID-19 Deaths in Vietnam
PASSWORD NOW REQUIRED
NatGeo: How a single doctor fights to keep COVID-19 from reaching his rural town
July 8, 2020
STAT: A flawed Covid-19 study gets the White House’s attention — and the FDA may pay the price
Science: Can boosting interferons, the body’s frontline virus fighters, beat COVID-19?
The Verge: Doctors are better at treating COVID-19 patients now than they were in March
- “But they still don’t have good tools to help people who aren’t severely ill.”
BBC: Coronavirus cure: What progress are we making on treatments?
Pharmaceutical Journal: Everything you need to know about the COVID-19 therapy trials
Updated January 11, 2023
nature: Mounting evidence suggests coronavirus is airborne — but health advice has not caught up
July 7, 2020
SciAm: Lessons for COVID-19 from the Early Days of AIDS
PopSci: Experts say COVID’s airborne transmission may deserve more attention
Science: School openings across globe suggest ways to keep coronavirus at bay, despite outbreaks
CSM: California seemed to do everything right. So why are COVID-19 cases surging?
Updated July 16, 2020
CNN: Coronavirus positivity rate: What the term means
NPR: US: Tracking The Pandemic: Are Coronavirus Cases Rising Or Falling In Your State?
Updated February 1, 2023
PopSci: Arizona reopened too quickly. Now Indigenous nations are paying the price.
- “About 18 percent of COVID-19 deaths in Arizona have been Indigenous people, where they account for 4.5 percent of the population. And still Arizonans in border regions actively resist changing their behaviors to curb the spread of disease.”
July 6, 2020
STAT: Why were we so late responding to Covid-19? Blame it on our culture and brains
NPR: Aerosols, Droplets, Fomites: What We Know About Transmission Of COVID-19
July 4, 2020
PopSci: Inside the race to develop a safe COVID-19 vaccine
July 3, 2020
nature: Six months of coronavirus: the mysteries scientists are still racing to solve
BMJ: Dexamethasone in the management of Covid-19
- “Unresolved questions remain, however. RECOVERY investigators did not explore optimal type of corticosteroid nor timing, dose, or duration of giving this drug class.”
nature: A guide to R — the pandemic’s misunderstood metric
NYT: (US) Virus surges in Arizona USA, but the rodeo goes on
CNN: Which international destinations are reopening to tourists?
Updated August 7, 2020
NatGeo: How scientists know COVID-19 is way deadlier than the flu
July 2, 2020
STAT: Fever checks are a flawed way to flag Covid-19 cases. Experts say smell tests might help
Science: One U.K. trial is transforming COVID-19 treatment. Why haven’t others delivered more results?
July 1, 2020
STAT: Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech shows positive results
STAT: No one wants to go back to lockdown. Is there a middle ground for containing Covid-19?
Continue with the timeline for June 2020.
©2020 Dr. Michael Herrera