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Announced on May 15, 2020, Operation Warp Speed (OWS), is a partnership of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and the private sector, that is focused on advancing the development, manufacturing, and distribution of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics related to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a new perspective published in the NEJM, OWS leaders said 'No scientific enterprise could guarantee success by January 2021.'
'But the strategic decisions and choices we’ve made, the support the government has provided, and the accomplishments to date.... make us optimistic that we will succeed in this unprecedented endeavor.'
The State of California Health Agency reported a very positive, downward trend in travel-related Zika virus cases on August 1, 2020. Through the first 6-months of 2020, California has only reported (2) Zika cases. This data compares with 2019 when (41) Zika cases were confirmed in California. And in 2018, when (68) cases were confirmed.
New data published by The Lancet indicates 'that patients with cancer with different tumor types have variable SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease phenotypes, with notable increased SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility in patients with hematological cancers.
These researchers generated individualized risk tables on August 24, 2020, for patients with cancer, accounting for age, sex, and tumor subtype. These tables will be useful for physicians to have a more informed risk-benefit discussion to explain COVID-19 risk to patients with cancer.
On August 27, 2020, Medscape re-published key pharmacologic features and efficacy of HER2-targeted therapies recently approved or in late-stage development for the management of patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer. Registration required.
A new analysis published by JAMA on August 26, 2020, suggests that the composition and design of 345,000 clinical trials changed from 2000 to 2019, and differed substantially by sponsor type, with industry sponsoring 29% of studies.
Most trials in this study were single-center (61.3%), randomized (65.6%), and phase 1 to 2 (35.5%).
The US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research in the United Kingdom announced on August 27, 2020, they have joined forces to launch Cancer Grand Challenges, an international initiative to address the biggest unanswered questions in cancer research.
Dinah S. Singer, Ph.D., NCI deputy director for scientific strategy and development stated, “This initiative will expand opportunities to identify new challenges based on insights from the cancer research community and to further our understanding of cancer. We’re looking forward to the new ideas proposed by creative teams from around the world.”
The U.S. FDA issued an emergency use authorization on August 26, 2020, for the first antigen test where results can be read directly from the testing card, a similar design to some pregnancy tests. A healthcare provider swabs the patient’s nose and twirls that sample on a test card with a testing reagent added. After waiting 15 minutes, the healthcare provider reads the results directly from the testing card. One line indicates a negative result; 2 lines indicate a positive result.
“This new COVID-19 antigen test is an important addition to available tests because the results can be read in minutes, right off the testing card. This means people will know if they have the virus in almost real-time,” said Jeff Shuren, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
The Democratic Republic of Congo's Health Minister Eteni Longondo, M.D. announced on August 23, 2020, the ending of its measles outbreak, reported Aljazeera. This measles outbreak sickened 380,766 people and produced 7,018 related-fatalities over a 25-month period. This data indicates a measles CFR 1.8%.
