Helen Branswell
Sr writer, infectious diseases @statnews. Conspiracy theory free zone; I block rude, racism. Please consider Googling first. #coronavirus #Covid19 #Ebola🇨🇦
Thought Leader
| #15 | Infectious Disease |
Last synced from Twitter 32d ago
Head-to-head comparison of SARS-CoV-2 antigen-detecting rapid test with self-collected anterior nasal swab versus professional-collected nasopharyngeal swab
Background: Two antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) are now approved through the WHO Emergency Use Listing procedure and can be performed at the point-of-care. However, both tests use nasopharyngeal (NP) swab samples. NP swab samples...
With cases on the rise, Baker urges people to stay vigilant on coronavirus - The Boston Globe
Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday stressed that residents should avoid attending large social gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic and urged young people especially to take precautions, with the under-30 age demographic making up a significant...
Helen Branswell
Understatement: “People really need to stop hosting big parties.” — Gov. Charlie Baker as the Mass. #Covid19 situation worsens. Clusters of cases among hockey teams exacerbated when teams refuse to cooperate with contact tracers.
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Statement on killing humanitarian workers in Mogadishu, Somalia
by Jesper Moller, UNICEF Somalia Representative a.i.
Helen Branswell
2 #polio eradication workers were killed in Mogadishu, Somalia today. This is so unacceptable. #NotATarget h/t @drumchronicles
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No news on Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine is good news — and bad news
Pfizer and BioNTech are under a white-hot spotlight because their vaccine, by design, is likely to be the first to have any efficacy data.
Helen Branswell
It may take longer than vaccine companies have projected to get a sense of whether/how well #Covid19 vaccines work. Pfizer, which expected to have interim results this week, told investors today their trial hasn't yet undergone its first interim analysis.
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Covid-19 expert Akiko Iwasaki fights a different virus: sexism in science
To know virologist Akiko Iwasaki is to know that she is passionate about combatting sexism, power imbalance, and toxic behavior in academia.
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Helen Branswell
"If we want to do the best science we can, we need a diverse set of people." — star Yale immunologist @VirusesImmunity talks to @scchak about battling sexism & toxic behavior in academia.
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WHO warns giving up on efforts to control Covid-19 would be 'dangerous'
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows seemed to indicate the Trump administration has concluded containment of the virus is not possible.
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Helen Branswell
Do not give up on trying to control #Covid19, @WHO urges. Lockdowns can be avoided if governments support test, trace & then support people in quarantine and individuals play their part too. The alternative? "A tsunami of cases" that strain health care.
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'A mass exodus': HHS staffers jumping ship amid pandemic, fears of Trump loss
"I've personally seen people working on their resumes inside the office," a senior official added. "It's no secret."
mRNA vaccines face their first test with Covid-19. How do they work?
Watch to see how mRNA is being harnessed by scientists to to try to protect us from disease — including Covid-19.Â
Helen Branswell
Have you been wondering what mRNA vaccines are & how they work? @sayhitohyacinth has done your homework for you! #Covid19
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WSJ News Exclusive | Health Agency Scraps Coronavirus Ad Campaign, Leaving Santa Claus in the Cold
A federal health agency halted a public-service coronavirus advertising campaign funded by $250 million in taxpayer money after it offered a special vaccine deal to an unusual set of essential workers: Santa Claus performers.
Study: Universal mask use could save 130,000 lives by February - STAT
“Expanding mask use is one of the easy wins for the United States," said the lead author of the new study.
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Helen Branswell
Modeling from @IHME_UW suggests universal mask wearing could avert 130,000 US deaths from #Covid19 in the coming months.
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FDA express concern over emergency authorization of Covid-19 vaccines
The ageny may be exploring the idea of using expanded access — a more limiting program — in the early days of Covid vaccine rollouts.
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Helen Branswell
Is @US_FDA getting cold feet about emergency use authorizations as a tool to rapidly deploy #Covid19 vaccines? It seemed pretty clear from yesterday's VRBPAC meeting the agency may be thinking about other routes to use.
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Helen Branswell
“We are concerned [a #Covid19 vaccine EUA] would interfere with longterm assessment of safety & efficacy in ongoing trials & potentially even jeopardize product approval. & not only the first vaccine, but maybe even follow-on vaccines.” — @US_FDA's Gruber.
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FDA approves first COVID-19 drug: the antiviral remdesivir - The Boston Globe
The drug had been authorized for use on an emergency basis since spring, and now has become the first drug to win full US approval for treating COVID-19.
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Helen Branswell
Remdesivir, which @WHO's Solidarity trial showed was not effective in saving lives in #Covid19, receives @US_FDA approval.
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Mass. coronavirus case numbers jump to 986 with 30 deaths; 77 communities now designated high risk - The Boston Globe
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Massachusetts jumped to 986 Thursday, while the death toll rose by 30, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported.
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Helen Branswell
Massachusetts!! Come on!
bostonglobe.com/2020/10/22/nat… pic.twitter.com/jYqrajz6iV
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Democrats want to overhaul Warp Speed. But if Biden wins, should he?
Democrats have called for the ouster of the Warp Speed chief and an overhaul of the program. But if Biden wins, should he upend it?
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Helen Branswell
What will happen to Operation Warp Speed and its controversial co-chair, Moncef Slaoui, if Joe Biden wins the presidency? What should happen? @NicholasFlorko explores. statnews.com/2020/10/22/sla… pic.twitter.com/CvwG42W4gi
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Could certain COVID-19 vaccines leave people more vulnerable to the AIDS virus?
Cold-causing adenovirus used in four experimental COVID-19 vaccines increased risk of HIV infection when used in AIDS vaccine trials
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Helen Branswell
ICYMI (coz I did): @sciencecohen on a troubling question about adenovirus-vectored #Covid19 vaccines — particularly those being made with Ad5. (None in the US.) Does an HIV vaccine trial that failed raise questions about the safety of these vaccines?
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As Covid-19 intensifies, shortages of staple drugs may grow worse
A new report finds there may be sustained shortages of medicines needed to combat Covid-19 and other conditions.
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Helen Branswell
As #Covid19 cases surge in a number of countries, 75% of critical drugs needed to treat Covid patients are already in short supply, a @CIDRAP report shows. And it's not even winter yet. From @pharmalot.
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AstraZeneca close to restarting Covid-19 vaccine trial in U.S.
If the U.S. trial restarts, AstraZeneca will look to finish enrolling 30,000 participants.
The Vaccine Tightrope
We're getting closer to having to deal with a number of tricky issues around the first Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for coronavirus vaccines. These have never quite come up in this way before, because (for one thing) EUAs for vaccines are...
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Helen Branswell
Thorny, thorny issues ahead for regulators when the first #Covid19 vaccine is given a green light, @Dereklowe warns.
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Trump leans on health care agencies to aid his campaign
President Trump is using federal health care agencies like HHS and FDA to bolster the president’s reelection odds.
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Helen Branswell
A president down in the polls due to his handling of a health crisis uses the nation's health agencies to aid his campaign, @levfacher reports.
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