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As Trump Praises Plasma, Researchers Struggle to Finish Critical Studies

Tue, 2020-08-04 19:31 — mike kraft

Since April, the Trump administration has funneled $48 million into a program with the Mayo Clinic, allowing more than 53,000 Covid-19 patients to get plasma infusions. Doctors and hospitals desperate to save the sickest patients have been eager to try a therapy that is safe and might work. Tens of thousands more people are now enrolled to get the treatment that’s been trumpeted by everyone from the president to the actor Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock.

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There may never be a 'silver bullet' for COVID-19, WHO warns

Mon, 2020-08-03 09:43 — mike kraft

There may never be a 'silver bullet' for COVID-19, WHO warns The World Health Organization warned on Monday that, despite strong hopes for a vaccine, there might never be a "silver bullet" for COVID-19, and the road to normality would be long. Michael Shields U.S.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization warned on Monday that, despite strong hopes for a vaccine, there might never be a “silver bullet” for COVID-19, and the road to normality would be long.

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A guide to the dozens of COVID-19 vaccines that are in development.

Sat, 2020-08-01 12:41 — mike kraft

Dozens of COVID-19 vaccines are in development. Here are the ones to follow. Here are the COVID-19 vaccine prospects that have made it to phase three trials and beyond. Science

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XPrize to give $5 million to creator of cheap, fast COVID-19 testing

Thu, 2020-07-30 21:28 — mike kraft

XPrize to give $5 million to creator of cheap, fast COVID-19 testing Google and Amazon are backing it, among others. Shannon Connellan Mashable

Tech giants including Google and Amazon pledged support for a $5 million competition to accelerate cheap and fast COVID-19 testing in the U.S.

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Old Vaccines May Stop the Coronavirus, Study Hints. Scientists Are Skeptical.

Thu, 2020-07-30 13:16 — mike kraft

Billions of dollars are being invested in the development of vaccines against the coronavirus. Until one arrives, many scientists have turned to tried-and-true vaccines to see whether they may confer broad protection, and may reduce the risk of coronavirus infection, as well.

Old standbys like the Bacille Calmette-Guerin tuberculosis vaccine and the polio vaccine appear to help train the immune system to respond to a broad variety of infections, including from bacteria, viruses and parasites, experts say.

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Costa Rica-made plasma shown to inhibit coronavirus, ready for clinical trials

Thu, 2020-07-30 11:46 — mike kraft

Costa Rica-made plasma shown to inhibit coronavirus, ready for clinical trials: UCR Alejandro Zúñiga The Tico Times Costa Rica

Costa Rica is set to begin clinical trials on antibody-rich plasma that has been extracted from horses with the purpose of treating COVID-19 patients.

Two versions of the plasma were shown to inhibit the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in tests performed at the National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases in the United States.

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Worldwide map of the spread of the novel coronavirus

Thu, 2020-07-30 09:09 — mike kraft

Tracking the spread of the novel coronavirus Reuters maps all places where COVID-19 cases have been confirmed. Gurman Bhatia Reuters

At least 667,650 people globally have died from COVID-19 and 17,118,787 have been infected by the novel coronavirus that causes it, following an outbreak that started in Wuhan, China, in early December. The World Health Organization referred to it as a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

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Vitamin D helps the body fight coronavirus, major Israeli study claims

Mon, 2020-07-27 20:16 — mike kraft

Vitamin D helps the body fight coronavirus, major Israeli study claims 'Sunshine' vitamin is like a steroid, researcher says, urging public to head outdoors; another scientist urges caution, saying other factors may be at play timesofisrael

Good levels of vitamin D, the so-called sunshine vitamin, help people to fight the coronavirus more quickly and effectively and reduce chances of hospitalization, Israeli researchers have concluded.

However, others are cautioning broad conclusions, saying other factors may be involved.

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World's largest virus test gets underway in the U.S.

Mon, 2020-07-27 10:37 — mike kraft

Virus vaccine put to final test in thousands of volunteers The world’s biggest COVID-19 vaccine study got underway Monday with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the U.S. government -- one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race. There’s still no guarantee that the experimental vaccine, developed YahooNews

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Without A Vaccine, Researchers Say, Herd Immunity May Never Be Achieved

Mon, 2020-07-27 09:57 — mike kraft

As the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly throughout the U.S. and beyond, many are wondering: How on earth will this end? In an interview televised this week, President Trump reiterated his belief that sooner or later the virus will burn itself out. "I will be right eventually," the president told Fox News host Chris Wallace. "It's going to disappear, and I'll be right."

But scientists are increasingly of the view that this virus will not disappear. In interviews and correspondence with more than a dozen researchers around the world, NPR found that the vast majority believes the virus will persist at some level for a long time in places like the U.S. and Europe.

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