Coronavirus [NEW TOPIC PAGE]

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 Coronavirus

Detecting Emerging COVID-19 Community Outbreaks at High Spatiotemporal Resolution - New York City, June 2020
SK Greene et al, MEDRXIV, July 21, 2020

To quickly detect hotspots, the New York City Health Department launched a cluster detection system using census tract resolution and the SaTScan prospective Poisson-based space-time scan statistic. Soon after implementation, this system prompted an investigation identifying a gathering with inadequate social distancing where transmission likely occurred.

COVID-19 meets Cystic Fibrosis: for better or worse?
D Peckham et al, Genes and Immunity, July 2020

There are limited data on the response of CF patients to COVID-19, although preliminary information suggests that the course of disease may be milder than expected. Globally, from a population of about 100,000 patients, there have been over a hundred cases of COVID-19 infection in people with CF, with 90% exhibiting relatively few symptoms and complications.

COVID-19 and Down’s syndrome: are we heading for a disaster?
R Dard et al, EJHG, July 20, 2020

Given that people with DS are often intellectually impaired, measures designed to prevent transmission of the virus will certainly be more difficult to apply in this population. Furthermore, most adults with DS live in institutions where the risk of contagion is significant or with their elderly parents, who themselves constitute a high-risk group.

Three Coronavirus Vaccine Developers Report Promising Initial Results
DD Kirkpatrick, NY Times, July 20, 2020

Early trials showed a good immune response in vaccinated subjects, but one researcher sounded a note of caution: “There is still a long way to go.”