Statistics on Illinois COVID-19

42% of Illinois’ coronavirus deaths are black people — but only 15% of the state population is

Meanwhile half the state’s confirmed cases are people under th casese age of 50, but almost none of those young people have died.

By Nader Issa@NaderDIssa Updated Apr 6, 2020, 9:50pm CDT

Two of every five COVID-19 deaths in Illinois have been one of the state’s 1.8 million black residents, and the 10 hardest-hit communities in the state are Chicago neighborhoods that are home mostly to people of color, according to data released Monday by state health officials.

The new figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health point to a disproportionate number of cases and deaths among black Illinoisans, especially in Chicago, and lay bare the divide along racial and socioeconomic lines.

While black residents make up only 14.6% of the state, they’ve suffered 42% of Illinois’ 307 coronavirus deaths. In Chicago, where the population is 30% black, the 108 deaths have been 72% black — an issue over which Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday raised a “public health red alarm.”

Whites make up 76.9% of Illinois’ 12.6 million people, yet they account for only a little more than a quarter of the state’s 12,262 cases and about 37% of deaths.

“The fact that black people are dying at seven times the rate of any other demographic is stunning,” Lightfoot said in an MSNBC appearance Monday evening. “When I first saw these numbers, I had a hard time thinking about anything else because I knew this was going to land like a bomb.”

About 3.6% of black residents who contract the virus — 129 of 3,607 — have died, according to IDPH. That’s about the same death rate for whites and Asians in the state who test positive. For Hispanics with confirmed cases, fewer than 2% are dying.

The community with the most cases in the state is Chicago’s West Rogers Park with 225, a diverse North Side neighborhood more than half made up of people of color. The state’s next nine hardest-hit communities are all on the South and West Sides of Chicago, among them Auburn Gresham with 216 cases, Roseland with 193 and Chatham with 188.

City health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady pointed to the higher incidence of chronic diseases among black residents and unequal access to health care, healthy food choices and safe, walkable streets in under-resourced, low-income communities as reasons for the disparities. Lightfoot added that early misinformation that black people can’t get the virus may have also played a part.

Other experts say the fact that it’s largely people of color who work jobs that have been deemed “essential” means they likely have been exposed to greater risk by still having to go to work.

State health officials didn’t release data on deaths in each community, nor did they include demographic data on counties with fewer than five cases. And only three-quarters of the cases are broken down by race, according to IDPH, because local health providers didn’t list a race for 24.4% of the cases across the state.

The data also reveal that half the state’s confirmed cases are people under the age of 50, with many more young people likely going uncounted because the lack of widespread tests has meant older, symptomatic people take priority.

But those younger residents, for the most part, have so far lived through the virus — less than 0.5% of people under 50 who tested positive have died. While there have been exceptions, public health experts have said for weeks that the main concern with younger people is they might get the virus and pass it on, even if they show mild or no symptoms and survive.

For older residents, it’s a different story.

More than 6% of those over 60 who have tested positive in Illinois have died, and a staggering 9% of cases over the age of 70 have passed away, IDPH figures show. In all, 82% of deaths in the state have been people over 60.

While men and women are contracting the virus at almost exactly the same rate, men have been more likely to die in Illinois — 57% of deaths are men.

And in Chicago, 2.1% of all positive cases have resulted in a death, while a slightly higher death rate, 2.8%, has been seen in the state’s cases outside of Chicago. The most significant outlier is Kane County, where 6.4% of patients — 15 of 243 — have died.

Despite the virus spreading to 73 of the state’s 102 counties, 94% of cases and deaths are still in Chicago and the surrounding area, including Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee counties.

Even when Chicago is taken out of the mix, the suburbs — including suburban Cook — account for 52% of cases and 59% of deaths in the state.

Above is from:  https://chicago.suntimes.com/coronavirus/2020/4/6/21211355/42-of-illinois-coronavirus-deaths-are-black-people-but-only-15-of-the-state-population-is

Fed action helping or hindering COVID-19’s medical supply chain?

‘Swept Up by FEMA’: Complicated Medical Supply System Sows Confusion

The Trump administration’s new method for distributing medical supplies has led to charges of confiscation.

Members of the Connecticut National Guard unloaded supplies provided by FEMA at Southern Connecticut University last week.Credit...Kathy Willens/Associated Press

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Jack Nicas

• April 6, 2020Updated 8:49 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — In Massachusetts, state leaders said they had confirmed a vast order of personal protective equipment for their health workers; then the Trump administration took control of the shipments.

In Kentucky, the head of a hospital system told members of Congress that his broker had pulled out of an agreement to deliver four shipments of desperately needed medical gear after the supplies were commandeered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado thought his state had secured 500 ventilators before they were “swept up by FEMA.”

For weeks, the Trump administration pushed states to procure their own ventilators and protective gear, like masks, gloves and face shields. But a new effort by the administration to create a hybrid system of distribution — divided between the federal government, local officials and private health care companies — has led to new confusion, bordering on disarray, and charges of confiscation.

“Either be in or out, folks,” Governor Polis said on CNN. “Either you’re buying them and you’re providing them to the states and you’re letting us know what we’re going to get and when we’re going to get them, or stay out and let us buy them.”

In a lengthy conference call with governors on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence, the FEMA administrator and the Navy admiral tapped to lead the government’s logistical “air bridge” tried to lay out how the new system worked.

“What the president has stood up through FEMA today is essentially a control tower at the airport,” Mr. Pence said.

“We have the visibility on medical supplies that are moving into this country and are available to vendors in this country,” he said, according to a recording of the call obtained by The New York Times.

Federal officials say they are trying to expedite the shipment to the United States of large quantities of medical supplies procured by private health care providers such as McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health, Owens & Minor, Medline and Henry Schein. FEMA allows those distributors to sell about half of the equipment to companies and counties that had previously placed orders. The other half of the shipments must be sold to counties that the federal government prioritizes by the severity of the outbreak, based on data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The federal government will also soon save 10 percent of the supplies on each flight for the national stockpile, according to officials. A Korean War-era production act also allows the federal government to force companies to prioritize its order over another client’s, whether it be a private hospital or another nation.

In the past week, 14 flights carrying more than 83 million gloves, four million masks, one million gowns and 300,000 respirators have landed in New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky. Mr. Pence said more than 50 flights had been scheduled.

The administration pivoted to the system of distribution after President Trump tapped FEMA to replace the Department of Health and Human Services as the agency leading the response to the coronavirus pandemic. States had previously submitted formal requests to the government to obtain materials from the stockpile.

Because the federal government determines which states are in greater need, governors and hospitals executives preparing in advance for the worst have complained that FEMA was effectively commandeering their personal protective equipment, or P.P.E.

“FEMA realizes that prioritizing P.P.E. deliveries to Covid hot spots can have the unintended consequence of disrupting the regular supply chain deliveries to other areas of the country that are also preparing for the coronavirus,” said Lizzie Litzow, a FEMA spokeswoman, adding that the agency was not seizing any shipments.

The intervention has confused some local officials and company executives who have watched as the administration has repeatedly called on states to find medical supples on their own without relying on the federal government. But hundreds of hospitals continue to struggle with widespread shortages of test kits, protective gear for staff members and ventilators, according to a new report * by the inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services.

The chaotic race to procure such supplies has also drawn fraudsters looking to hoard items and resell the equipment at a steep price. A number of F.B.I. investigations are already underway.

Some states also trying to bring order to the process on their own.

California, the most populous state, with 40 million people, is attempting to band with smaller states to procure supplies. The collaboration is aimed at ensuring that smaller states do not lose out to California, which because of its size has the ability to outbid others.

“This has been described, I think appropriately, as the wild, wild West,” Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Sunday. “We are trying to organize in a more deliberative manner.”

Adding to the disarray is the White House’s ad hoc system of disaster response in which the right call to Mr. Trump can result in one county getting priority over another. Advisers to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, have surprised FEMA officials in recent weeks to deploy supplies to communities after the area’s representatives got through to Mr. Trump, even if the state had not yet gone through the formal process to secure supplies.

For instance, after Mr. Trump heard from friends that the New York public health system was running low on critical supply, Mr. Kushner directed agency officials to ensure that there were enough N95 masks in the administration’s inventory, Mr. Kushner said at a White House briefing.

Now, Democratic governors are trying to balance how to put pressure on the Trump administration without entirely rupturing their relationship.

“It would be like high school cafeteria drama if it weren’t life or death,” said Jared Leopold, a political consultant and the former communications director for the Democratic Governors Association.

“He’s basically playing political games around life-or-death issues and leaving states to fend for themselves, which is unheard-of for a president to show zero federal leadership in the middle of a national crisis,” Mr. Leopold said.

Confusion still plagues some communities. After Somerset County, N.J., secured an order of 35,000 N95 and other surgical masks, the shipment was taken by the federal government, Shanel Y. Robinson, the county’s freeholder director, told The Franklin Reporter & Advocate.

Garren Colvin, the head of the board for the Kentucky Hospital Association, wrote last week to members of Congress saying that four shipments of protective gear were taken by FEMA before they could be delivered to the hospitals that had originally contracted for the supplies.

Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts said the state’s new position was “until the thing shows up here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it doesn’t exist.”

Private companies have also appeared to lose out on supplies. Dr. Ed Ellison, one of Kaiser Permanente’s top doctors and executives, told staff members last month that the company found 20 million masks to purchase the previous week and that Kaiser’s chief executive had authorized a payment for it that was more than usual because of rising mask prices.

“But the feds actually seized that shipment before we were able to acquire it,” Mr. Ellison told staff members, according to a recording of the call reviewed by The Times. “And that’s their right. They’re helping to put together for the nation, but just it goes to show you how challenging procurement can be.”

When asked by The Times days later about the call, a Kaiser spokesman said company officials were unable to find evidence that the government took Kaiser’s masks. The spokesman said the initial information came from a middleman.

Yet in an internal notice to some workers on Monday, Kaiser Permanente said that Cardinal Health, its main supplier of isolation gowns, notified the health system “that FEMA is intervening and taking the U.S. supply from the Cardinal China manufacturer. We will still receive a small resupply under a protected allocation. However, there are very few other sources for isolation gowns.” As a result, Kaiser told workers to conserve the gowns they had.

When asked about the complaints from some states and hospitals, Janet Montesi, a FEMA spokeswoman, said the agency’s flights were accelerating the arrival of gear to the United States and that its distribution strategy was designed to ensure that hard-hit areas could get needed supplies and not be gouged for them.

She said some states that were complaining now could later become beneficiaries of the program if their areas are hit hard by the virus. Given the extreme demand and severe shortage of supplies, she said, “that’s just the reality of what we’re living in.”

Image

Picking up emergency medical supplies from the national stockpile in Arlington, Texas, last month. The stockpile is now almost depleted.Credit...Cooper Neill for The New York Times

Zolan Kanno-Youngs reported from Washington and Jack Nicas from Oakland, Calif. Reporting was contributed by Tim Arango from Los Angeles, Ana Swanson from Washington, Maggie Haberman from New York and Jonathan Martin from Falls Church, Va.

Distributing Medical Supplies to States

Zolan Kanno-Youngs is the homeland security correspondent, based in Washington. He covers immigration, border issues, cyber security, transnational crime and other national security threats.

Jack Nicas covers technology from San Francisco. Before joining The Times, he spent seven years at The Wall Street Journal covering technology, aviation and national news.

Above is from:  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/06/us/politics/coronavirus-fema-medical-supplies.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage

* The “new report” is available at:  https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-06-20-00300.asp

April 6: 12,262 COVID-19 cases in Illinois

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. JB Pritzker has ordered Illinois residents to stay at home. Executive Order No. 10 requires all residents to stay home, with exceptions for essential needs or business activities. Gatherings of 10 people or more are prohibited. The order extends through April 30, 2020.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Illinois Test Results

Positive

(12,262 4-6-2020) (11,256 4-5-2020) (10,357 4/4/2020) (8,904-- 4/3/2020) (7,695-- 4/2/2020)   (6,980-- 4/1/2020) (5,994-- 3/31/2020)  (5,05--7 3/30/2020) (4,596-- 3/29/2020)

Deaths

(307  4-6-2020) (274 4-5-2020) (243—4-4-2020) (210-- 4-3-2020) (157 4-2-2020)(141 4/1/2020) (99 3/31/2020) (73 3/30/2020)  (65 3/29/2020)

Total Persons Tested*

(62,942 4-6-2020) (58,983 4-5-2020) (53,581—4-4-2020)  (48,048-- 4-3-2020) (43,653-- 4/2/2020) (40,384-- 4/1/2020) (35,225-- 3-31-2020) (30,446-- 3/30/2020)  (27,762-- 3/29/2020)

_{*Total number of people reported electronically for testing of COVID-19 at IDPH, commercial or hospital laboratories. Deaths are included in the number of positive cases
All numbers displayed are provisional and subject to change.}

Information to be updated daily.

Above is from:  http://www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/diseases-and-conditions/diseases-a-z-list/coronavirus

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Increase in Illinois projected deaths; peak changed to higher number 8 days earlier.

The University of Washington model has a large increase in total deaths for Illinois and places peak date of cases two days later than on March 31 when it was 4-16-2020

PROJECTIONS from:  http://www.healthdata.org/research-article/forecasting-covid-19-impact-hospital-bed-days-icu-days-ventilator-days-and-deaths

Total COVID-19 deaths projected through August 4, 2020 in Illinois

(3,629 4-5-2020)(3,386 4-2-2020) (2,789 4-1-2020)  (2,326  3-31-2020)  (2,369 as of 3/30/2020)  (2,454 AS OF 3-26-2020)  

COVID-19 deaths   Peak deaths  (208 on 4-12-2020) (109 on 4-20-2020)

For a lengthier discussion of the projection model go to:  http://boonecountywatchdog.blogspot.com/2020/03/forecasting-covid-19-impact-on-hospital.html

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Cases in U.S.

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Updated  April 6, 2020

This page will be updated daily. Numbers close out at 4 p.m. the day before reporting.

***On Saturday and Sunday, the numbers in COVID-19: U.S. at a Glance and the figure describing the cumulative total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States will be updated. These numbers are preliminary and have not been confirmed by state and territorial health departments. CDC will update weekend numbers the following Monday to reflect health department updates.***

CDC is responding to an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel (new) coronavirus. The outbreak first started in Wuhan, China, but cases have been identified in a growing number of other locations internationally, including the United States. In addition to CDC, many public health laboratories are now testing for the virus that causes COVID-19.

COVID-19: U.S. at a Glance*†

• Total cases : (330,891 4-6-2020) (304,826 4-5-2020) (277,205 4-4-2020) (239,279 4-3-2020) (213,144 4/2/2020)(186,101 4/1/2020) (163,539 3/31/2020) (140,904 3/30/2020)   (122,653  3-29-2020)
• Total deaths:  (8,910 4-6-2020)(7,616 4-5-2020)  (6, 593 4-4-2020) (5,443 4-3-2020) (4,513 4-2-2020) (3,603 4-1-2020) (2,860 3/31/2020) (2,405 3/30/2020)   (2,112  3-29-2020)
• Jurisdictions reporting cases: 55 (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Marianas, and US Virgin Islands)

^* Data include both confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 reported to CDC or tested at CDC since January 21, 2020, with the exception of testing results for persons repatriated to the United States from Wuhan, China and Japan. State and local public health departments are now testing and publicly reporting their cases. In the event of a discrepancy between CDC cases and cases reported by state and local public health officials, data reported by states should be considered the most up to date.

† Numbers updated Saturday and Sunday are not confirmed by state and territorial health departments. These numbers will be modified when numbers are updated on Monday.(

Cases of COVID-19 Reported in the US, by Source of Exposure*†

^* Data include both confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 reported to CDC or tested at CDC since January 21, 2020, with the exception of testing results for persons repatriated to the United States from Wuhan, China and Japan. State and local public health departments are now testing and publicly reporting their cases. In the event of a discrepancy between CDC cases and cases reported by state and local public health officials, data reported by states should be considered the most up to date.

† CDC is no longer reporting the number of persons under investigation (PUIs) that have been tested, as well as PUIs that have tested negative. Now that states are testing and reporting their own results, CDC’s numbers are not representative of all testing being done nationwide.

Above is from:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html

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Sizeable decrease in estimated US deaths, peak is now extended by 16 days but somewhat higher.

PROJECTIONS:   US COVID-19 Deaths thru 8-4-2020: (81,766 4-5-2020) (93,531 4/3/2020) (93,765 4/1/2020)   (83.967 3/31/2020)    ( 82,141 3/30/2020);  Peak Daily 2,644 on 4-16-2020

Older Peak Daily Deaths  (3,130 on 4-16-2020) ( 2214 on 3/31/2020) (2,214 on 3/31/2020) (2,271 3/30/2020)

No Link Between Harvard Scientist Charles Lieber and Coronavirus

This falsehood was heavily propagated across FACEBOOK.  BEWARE of FACEBOOK based facts.

No Link Between Harvard Scientist Charles Lieber and Coronavirus

By Jessica McDonald

Posted on February 21, 2020

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• 5.8K

Q. Is it true that federal agents arrested Harvard professor Charles Lieber for creating the coronavirus?

A: No. Lieber, a nanoscientist, was charged for lying about his participation in a Chinese recruitment program and his affiliation with a Chinese university. He is not accused of being a spy and has no connection to the new coronavirus.

FULL QUESTION

Did Charles Lieber and two Chinese students get arrested for creating the virus?

Did Dr. Charles Lieber, chair of Harvard University’s Dept of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, get caught lying to the Dept of Defense about paying money to China surrounding the Coronavirus?

Is the story about federal agents arresting Dr. Charles Lieberman true? It also alleges the Coronavirus started at the location of a biological warfare development lab in China. Is that true?

FULL ANSWER

We’ve received more than a dozen inquiries asking about the veracity of social media posts and memes that tell the story of Charles Lieber, a prominent Harvard scientist who was charged by the Department of Justice on Jan. 28 for repeatedly making false statements about his ties to China.

The posts, some of which have been shared upwards of 6,500 times on Facebook and are accompanied by a photo of Lieber, make a series of statements that falsely suggest the Harvard scientist is linked to the COVID-19 outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.

Facebook post: In case you missed it, yesterday, Federal Agents arrested Dr. Charles Lieber, chair of Harvard University’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, with lying to the Department of Defense about secret monthly payments of $50,000.00 paid by China and receipt of millions more to help set up a chemical/biological “Research” laboratory in China.  Also arrested were two Chinese “Students” working as research assistants, one of whom was actually a lieutenant in the Chinese Army, the other captured at Logan Airport as he tried to catch a flight to China – smuggling 21 vials of “Sensitive Biological Samples” according to the FBI.

Oh, almost forgot.  The research lab the good professor had helped set up? It’s located at the Wuhan University of Technology.  Wuhan China is ground zero to the potentially global pandemic known as the “Coronavirus”which is both spreading rapidly and killing people.

This is Stephen Coonts international spy novel stuff happening in real life – and it has barely made the news.

While each individual statement of the post is largely accurate, the main takeaway — that Lieber, possibly working with two students, had something to do with the new coronavirus  — is false.

In fact, neither Lieber nor the two other individuals, each of whom were charged in separate cases in connection with aiding the People’s Republic of China, have any known link to the new virus. And as we have written before, there is no evidence that the novel coronavirus was engineered in a lab.

What Happened With Lieber

On Jan. 28, the Department of Justice announced the charges against Lieber and the two Chinese nationals in a single press release. But as the title of the release says, the three cases are “separate.”

As chair of Harvard’s chemistry and chemical biology department, Lieber is the most high-profile of the three. According to the complaint, Lieber lied to both the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health about his affiliation with Wuhan University of Technology, or WUT, and his involvement with China’s “Thousand Talents Plan,” a program designed to recruit Chinese ex-pats and foreign scientists to China.

Lieber also allegedly failed to disclose large sums of money he received from the Chinese government, including more than $1.5 million to start a lab at WUT and a salary of up to $50,000 per month, plus living expenses for his work at WUT.

The post’s summary gets most of this right, but suggests with quotation marks that Lieber’s lab in China may not have been focused on legitimate research. There is no evidence that’s true.

According to the charging document, Lieber’s three-year Thousand Talents contract required him to carry out the typical job functions of academic scientists, such as publishing in top journals, advising students and organizing conferences.

The concern for investigators, as a Science magazine article details, is not that Lieber was acting as a spy, but that he could be vulnerable to Chinese pressure in the future. “It was the amount of money involved that drew our attention,” Andrew Lelling, one of the prosecutors leading the case, told Science. “That is a corrupting level of money.”

There is nothing inherently wrong with Lieber participating in the Chinese program, but he needed to disclose those relationships and funds to Harvard and when receiving grant money from U.S. agencies. Lieber allegedly failed to do so on multiple occasions, including when he was asked about his Chinese ties from curious investigators. Lieber has not been charged with sharing intellectual property with the Chinese.

The social media post goes on to imply that Lieber is somehow connected to the new coronavirus because the Chinese university he was involved with was located in Wuhan, where the COVID-19 outbreak began. But there is no evidence that is anything more than a coincidence. When we asked about any connection between Lieber and the new coronavirus, a DOJ spokesperson told us in an email, “The Department of Justice has made no such allegation.”

Lieber is a nanoscientist who studies and develops extremely small materials on the nanometer scale. (A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; a strand of DNA is about 2.5 nanometers thick.) While his work has recently focused on coming up with novel ways of using nanowires in cells, he is not a biologist, nor does he have expertise in viruses.

Lieber’s affiliated school, Wuhan University of Technology, also does not appear to do work with viruses, according to a list of research projects on its website. WUT is primarily an engineering school, focused on subjects such as material science, transportation and logistics.

Furthermore, Lieber is charged with making false statements to the Department of Defense in 2018 and to the NIH in January 2019, well before the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of last year. The timing of the announced charges just happened to overlap with news of the outbreak.

Two Unrelated Cases Also Have No Link to Coronavirus

Neither of the other cases the Department of Justice announced on Jan. 28 has a connection to the new coronavirus, either.

In one, Yanqing Ye, a 29-year-old who studied at Boston University from October 2017 to April 2019, admitted to being a lieutenant in the Chinese army. She allegedly lied about her ongoing position in the military to get her visa, and while in the U.S. researched American military projects and compiled online information about two professors working in the fields of computer security and intelligent robotics. Ye was indicted on four counts, including visa fraud, making false statements, acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy.

As with Lieber, Ye, who is currently in China, does not have expertise in virology. The single paper we found that Ye published as a researcher at Boston University’s Center for Polymer Studies was about a computational method for analyzing data; it has nothing to do with viruses.

The other case involves Zaosong Zheng, a 30-year-old Chinese national who had conducted cancer research at Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and attempted to smuggle 21 vials of biological specimens out of the country.

On Dec. 9, 2019, Zheng allegedly tried to fly to Beijing with the vials hidden in a sock in his luggage. Federal agents at Boston’s Logan airport, however, stopped him, and Zheng eventually admitted that he had stolen the vials from a Beth Israel lab. He told officers that he planned to continue doing research with the samples in his own lab in China, taking credit for the results and publishing under his name.

Zheng was charged with smuggling goods from the U.S. and making false statements to Customs and Border Protection officers. He remains in custody, according to the DOJ release.

The post claims that Zheng smuggled 21 vials of “Sensitive Biological Samples,” but the word “sensitive” does not appear in the charging document or the FBI agent’s affidavit. The affidavit notes that the vials contained a brown liquid and that Zheng said he had stolen eight of the vials from the lab and then worked to replicate the remaining 11 without the knowledge of Beth Israel.

The Beth Israel lab in which Zheng had worked is focused on basic research about cancer, and studies, for example, the molecular details of how cancerous cells are able to overcome the normal checks on the cell cycle to form tumors.

Oddly, the post concludes by saying, “This is Stephen Coonts international spy novel stuff happening in real life – and it has barely made the news.” In fact, each of the stories has received considerable news coverage, including in-depth reporting in science news outlets on Lieber and a New York Times story devoted to Zaosong Zheng’s airport antics.

Of course, there has been no mention of the coronavirus in these news stories because there is no legitimate connection to the new virus. While the social media post for the most part does not overtly misstate the facts, the prevailing message it sends is false.

Sources

“Harvard University Professor and Two Chinese Nationals Charged in Three Separate China Related Cases.” Press release. Department of Justice. 28 Jan 2020.

McDonald, Jessica. “Baseless Conspiracy Theories Claim New Coronavirus Was Bioengineered.” FactCheck.org. 7 Feb 2020.

Charles M. Lieber. Lieber Research Group website. Accessed 20 Feb 2020.

Jia, Hepeng. “China’s plan to recruit talented researchers.” Nature. 17 Jan 2018.

Mervis, Jeffrey. “U.S. prosecutor leading China probe explains effort that led to charges against Harvard chemist.” Science. 3 Feb 2020.

Brumfiel, Geoff. “Harvard Professor’s Arrest Raises Questions About Scientific Openness.” NPR. 19 Feb 2020.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. World Health Organization. Accessed 20 Feb 2020.

Lieber Research Group. Accessed 20 Feb 2020.

Raimondi, Marc. National Security Spokesman, U.S. Department of Justice. Email sent to FactCheck.org. 21 Feb 2020.

“Nanoscience.” National Science Foundation. Accessed 20 Feb 2020.

“Size of the Nanoscale.” National Nanotechnology Institute. Accessed 20 Feb 2020.

Service, Robert F. “Why did a Chinese university hire Charles Lieber to do battery research?” Science. 4 Feb 2020.

Wuhan University of Technology. Accessed 20 Feb 2020.

Ye, Yanqing et. al. “Heterogeneous Graph Based Similarity Measure for Categorical Data Unsupervised Learning.” IEEE Access. Vol. 7, 2019.

Spice, Kara D. Affidavit for case no. 19-mj-4532-DHH. 10 Dec 2019.

Phillips, Kristine. “DOJ: Harvard University professor lied about work for the Chinese government.” USA Today. 28 Jan 2020.

“U.S. charges target alleged Chinese spying at Harvard, Boston institutions.” Reuters. 28 Jan 2020.

Barry, Ellen. “U.S. Accuses Harvard Scientist of Concealing Chinese Funding.” New York Times. 28 Jan 2020.

Fernandes, Deirdre. “Chinese medical student accused of trying to smuggle cancer research material out of Boston.” Boston Globe. 30 Dec 2019.

Subbaraman, Nidhi. “Harvard chemistry chief’s arrest over China links shocks researchers.” Nature. 3 Feb 2020.

Halford, Bethany and Andrea L. Widener. “Harvard chemist Charles Lieber charged with fraud.” Chemical & Engineering News. 28 Jan 2020.

Barry, Ellen. “Stolen Research: Chinese Scientist Is Accused of Smuggling Lab Samples.” New York Times. 31 Dec 2019.

Above is from:  https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/no-link-between-harvard-scientist-charles-lieber-and-coronavirus/

Two coronavirus vaccine tests

U.S. company to start coronavirus vaccine safety test in Philly, Kansas City

by Associated Press, Updated: April 6, 2020- 9:10 AM

FRANK WIESE / STAFF

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A second U.S. company is poised to begin a small safety test of a vaccine against the new coronavirus.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals said Monday that it has Food and Drug Administration permission for the study in 40 healthy volunteers in Philadelphia and Kansas City, Mo.

The study is a first step to see if the vaccine appears safe enough for larger tests needed to prove whether it will protect. Even if the research goes well, it is expected to take over a year before any vaccine could be widely available.

Last month, the first safety test in people of a different vaccine candidate began in Seattle. It was developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc.

Numerous other research groups are attempting to make vaccines against COVID-19 using a variety of different methods in hopes at least one will offer protection.

Inovio’s approach is what’s called a DNA vaccine, made using a section of the virus’ genetic code packaged inside a piece of synthetic DNA.

Above is from:  https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19-vaccine-testing-philadelphia-kansas-city-20200406.html

And what about an “universal flu vaccine”?

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Researchers Step Up Efforts To Develop A 'Universal' Flu Vaccine

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February 27, 20205:00 AM ET

SHAHLA FARZAN

FROM

Most efforts to develop a universal flu vaccine have focused on the lollipop-shaped hemagglutinin protein (pink in this illustration of a flu virus).

Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

Sarah King isn't afraid of having the flu — in fact, she considers herself an "excellent sick person."

"I have a pretty high pain tolerance," King says. "I'm not a person that whines a lot. I just kind of suck it up."

So when she heard about a medical study that pays volunteers about $3,000 to be infected with the live flu virus, King thought the offer sounded too good to pass up. Last fall, she checked in for a 10-day stay at Saint Louis University's "Hotel Influenza," a quarantine unit where researchers study how the human immune system fights the flu.

"My mom was not as jazzed about it," King remembers. "She said, 'Oh, I'm so proud. You've grown up to become a lab rat.' "

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Hotel Influenza is one piece of a larger effort to develop a universal flu vaccine — a single shot that would prevent multiple strains of influenza, including those that could cause future pandemics.

While the novel coronavirus dominates the headlines, flu currently causes more damage in the U.S. An estimated 29 million people in the U.S. have gotten the flu since early October and another 16,000 have died from flu-related illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC estimates that the flu shot reduces your risk of getting infected by 40% to 60%, assuming the strains in the vaccine match the ones circulating that season.

But in the future, one vaccination could provide protection from multiple flu strains, and perhaps last longer than a single season.

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A universal flu vaccine has eluded scientists for decades. Unlike other viruses, influenza has a rapid-fire mutation rate and thousands of different strains, which complicates the process. With several candidates now in development and a fresh batch of federal funding, researchers say a universal flu vaccine could be within reach, though it may be years before a vaccine is ready for human use.

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The push to develop a universal flu vaccine has intensified in recent years, given unusually severe flu outbreaks and emerging pandemic strains, like the swine flu.

But it has been a slow process, partly because researchers are testing multiple strategies as the virus continues to mutate, says Saint Louis University professor of infectious disease and internal medicine Daniel Hoft.

"It's like running after a haystack that's on the back of a wagon," says Hoft, who is leading the Hotel Influenza study. "And it's moving while you're looking for the needle."

Slow but steady progress

There are several universal flu vaccine candidates in the pipeline, including some that have moved into the clinical testing phase.

Most research has focused on hemagglutinin, a lollipop-shaped protein that helps influenza infect host cells. The "stalk" of the protein is consistent across many different flu strains, making it an ideal target for a universal vaccine.

An international research team announced last year that it had developed an experimental drug treatment that protected mice against multiple influenza strains by binding to the stalklike protein of the virus. The tiny molecule, which is modeled on our own antibodies, is still in the early stages of development.

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Other scientists are attempting to directly change the virus itself, engineering influenza with new proteins on the surface that can be used in vaccines. Known as chimeric proteins, these molecules are combinations of hemagglutinin from different strains — like swapping out the sticks of the lollipops and pairing them with new candy heads.

Researchers at Mount Sinai, who developed the approach, are trying to prompt the human immune system to produce antibodies against the protein stalk shared across many flu strains. Based on encouraging initial results in mice, the team has launched a Phase 1 clinical trial of the vaccine.

Though most efforts to develop a universal flu vaccine have focused on these surface proteins, the research team at Saint Louis University's Hotel Influenza is exploring a different approach.

"We're looking at internal proteins inside the virus," Hoft says, adding that these proteins are often much more consistent across different influenza strains. "We're trying to induce a T cell response against those internal proteins."

The human body has an army of T cells, specialized immune cells that can identify and kill virus-infected cells. T cells can recognize tiny bits of a virus, Hoft says, including proteins that are shared across many different influenza strains.

Based on some estimates, proteins enclosed in the virus are more than 90% similar across all influenza A strains. In theory, Hoft says, a vaccine could trigger the human immune system to produce T cells that recognize these common proteins and protect the body against many flu strains.

Some, known as memory T cells, are long-lived and remember previous encounters with pathogens — meaning this approach could protect a person for years.

Universal flu vaccine timeline

More than one of these approaches might be effective, says University of Georgia professor of infectious diseases Ted Ross — and it's possible vaccines could be tailored to fit different demographic groups.

"It may turn out that the best vaccines we have are designer vaccines for specific populations," Ross says. "We could type people based upon their age or immune history or health status and say, 'Well, you need to have vaccine A and another group needs vaccine B.' "

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a branch of the NIH, is throwing its weight behind the push for a universal flu vaccine.

The federal agency announced in February 2018 that it would begin prioritizing universal flu vaccine development. Since then, it has created a network of research centers across the country and awarded $51 million in funding in the first year of the program.

Still, Ross says it will likely be another 10 to 15 years before a product is on the market — and it may require more federal funding to get there.

And, he warns, even a universal flu vaccine may not provide permanent protection.

"We would love to have a vaccine that would last for life, like we do for smallpox or mumps or rubella," says Ross. "But in reality, flu changes so often, and it's going to constantly keep throwing us curveballs. A vaccine that lasts for two or five years would be a great improvement."

Above is from:  https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/02/27/807743274/researchers-step-up-efforts-to-develop-a-universal-flu-vaccine

Coronavirus Myths

Fact check: Debunking 10 myths about the coronavirus that causes COVID-19

April 3, 2020 at 6:00 am Updated April 3, 2020 at 10:23 am

(Illustrations by Gabriel Campanario)

By

Seattle Times graphics staff

As the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spreads across the globe, so does misinformation about it. Here’s a look at 10 claims about the virus, along with the facts from trusted sources.

MYTH

Young people are not susceptible to this coronavirus.

FACT

People of all ages can be infected. Older people and people with preexisting medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill. But young people can carry — and spread — the virus, even if they don’t show symptoms.

Source: World Health Organization

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MYTH

The coronavirus can’t survive airborne or on surfaces.

FACT

Researchers have found that droplets carrying the virus can travel through the air and stay suspended for about half an hour. They can also settle on surfaces, where the virus can last longer — up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to 72 hours on plastic and steel. The risk of getting infected from touching these materials, however, remains low because the virus’ ability to infect decreases rapidly over time.

Source: The New York Times

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MYTH

Hot weather makes the virus disappear.

FACT

“You can catch COVID-19, no matter how sunny or hot the weather is,” according to the World Health Organization. So far, evidence shows the virus that causes COVID-19 can be transmitted anywhere, and places with hot and humid weather have reported cases. Regardless of climate, take protective measures if you live in, or travel to, an area where the virus is present.

Source: World Health Organization

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MYTH

Taking a hot bath prevents you from getting infected with the virus.

FACT

The temperature of your bath doesn’t change your normal body temperature and won’t affect whether you catch this virus. But washing your hands frequently is a great way to keep from getting sick, because it will eliminate viruses that may be on your hands and avoid infection that could occur if you then touch your eyes, mouth or nose.

Source: World Health Organization

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MYTH

Face masks don’t work to prevent infection.

FACT

A face mask isn’t guaranteed to keep you from getting sick, but the protection is better than nothing. A mask can help capture some droplets that carry the virus. And it’s important to note that wearing a mask isn’t just about protecting yourself; it can also help keep you from passing viruses to others.

This coronavirus seems to be spread even by people who aren’t showing symptoms. As of Friday morning, April 3, the White House coronavirus task force was formalizing new guidance to recommend that many Americans wear face coverings of some kind — even T-shirts or bandannas — when going outside or to places like grocery stores or pharmacies.

Even if you’re wearing a mask, make sure to follow social distancing and hygiene guidelines recommended by public health officials; for instance, stay at least 6 feet from other people, wash your hands often and don’t touch your face.

Make sure you know how to use your mask and keep it clean. Wash your hands thoroughly before touching it.

Medical-grade masks — particularly N-95 masks, which are the most effective but are in short supply — should be reserved for medical professionals who deal directly with sick patients.

Sources: World Health Organization; The New York Times; The Associated Press

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MYTH

Covering your body with alcohol or chlorine kills the virus.

FACT

Spraying alcohol or chlorine all over yourself won’t kill viruses that have already entered your body. Spraying such substances can be harmful to clothes or mucous membranes, such as those in your eyes and mouth. Both alcohol and chlorine can be useful to disinfect surfaces, but they need to be used according to appropriate recommendations.

Source: World Health Organization

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MYTH

Rinsing your nose with saline prevents infection.

FACT

Some people are familiar with this tactic because there is limited evidence that regularly rinsing your nose with saline can help you recover more quickly from the common cold. However, rinsing your nose doesn’t prevent respiratory infections such as the virus that causes COVID-19.

Source: World Health Organization

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MYTH

Eating garlic protects you against the new coronavirus.

FACT

There’s no evidence from the current outbreak that eating garlic has protected people. It’s a healthy food that may have some antimicrobial properties, but that’s unrelated to COVID-19.

Source: World Health Organization

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MYTH

Hand dryers effectively kill the coronavirus.

FACT

Hand dryers aren’t effective at eliminating the virus. If you use a hand dryer and touch your face afterward, you could get infected. You can use a warm air dryer or paper towel to dry your hands after thoroughly washing your hands with soap and water, but it’s the washing that eliminates the virus, not the dryer.

Source: World Health Organization

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MYTH

Taking ibuprofen might worsen COVID-19 symptoms.

FACT

There’s no evidence to support this suggestion, according to the World Health Organization and other leading agencies.

Source: The Associated Press

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Illustrations by Gabriel Campanario, Seattle Times news artist

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Washington returning some ventilators

Washington sending over 400 ventilators for non-coronavirus patients to New York, harder hit states

April 5, 2020 at 12:39 pm Updated April 5, 2020 at 3:53 pm

Vincent Dellova, a coordinator at the New York City Emergency Management Warehouse, packs up a ventilator, part of a shipment of 400, that arrived Tuesday, March 24,... (Mark Lennihan / AP) More

By

David Gutman

Seattle Times staff reporter

Washington will return more than 400 of the 500 ventilators it recently received from the federal government, so they can go to New York and other states harder hit by the coronavirus crisis, Gov. Jay Inslee said Sunday.

After requesting 1,000 ventilators from the Strategic National Stockpile, Washington last month received 500.

The National Stockpile ventilators are not suitable for treating COVID-19 patients, state officials said. That’s because those individuals generally need a higher amount of pressure support into their lungs than the ventilators from the national stockpile can provide, said Jessica Baggett, a spokeswoman for the state’s Joint Information Center.

The stockpile ventilators, though, can be used for other patients, freeing up more COVID-19 compatible ventilators to help with the crisis.

The decision to return the ventilators comes five weeks after the first coronavirus death in Washington, when Inslee declared a state of emergency. It offers a glimmer of hope that the drastic steps the state has taken since then — shutting down schools and nonessential businesses and grinding daily life to a halt — have helped forestall the bleakest possible outcomes.

Dr. Raquel Bono, the retired Navy vice admiral leading the state’s coronavirus response, said in a statement that they’d made the decision to send off the ventilators after conferring with the Washington State Hospital Association. She said the state’s aggressive social-distancing actions have slowed the virus’ growth here.

“We have seen fewer infections in our communities than anticipated,” Bono said. “Our current status allows us to help others who have a more immediate need.”

Hospitalizations for patients with COVID-19-like illnesses declined by more than 20% in Washington in the last week of March, a small hopeful sign. And the Army Corps of Engineers has built a 250-bed field hospital at the CenturyLink Field Event Center to handle a potential overflow of non-COVID patients.

All 500 ventilators from the national stockpile had been distributed to hospitals across the state, a spokeswoman said, and the state was in the process of recalling them Sunday. Washington has also purchased more than 750 ventilators, which are expected to arrive over the next several weeks, Inslee’s office said.

“I’ve said many times over the last few weeks, we are in this together,” Inslee said in a prepared statement Sunday. “This should guide all of our actions at an individual and state level in the coming days and weeks.”

At the same time, on Sunday, Inslee reiterated his call for President Donald Trump to order the nation’s manufacturers to start producing more masks, face shields and testing materials. He faulted the Trump administration for what he called a lack of leadership during the pandemic, leaving states to scramble and compete with each other for such protective equipment.

“I mean, the surgeon general alluded to Pearl Harbor,” Inslee said on “Meet The Press” on Sunday. “Can you imagine if Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, ‘I’ll be right behind you, Connecticut. Good luck building those battleships.’”

Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the Washington State Hospital Association, said hospitals here are not experiencing the dire needs for ventilators that New York hospitals are seeing.

“Sending some of our ventilator supply where it was immediately needed seemed like the right thing to do to support others across the country,” Sauer said.

Judith Malmgren, a Seattle epidemiologist, said Washington seems to be in good shape to send the ventilators back, even though we’re not seeing the number of new daily confirmed cases decline yet.

“They’re stable and the number of beds and the hospitals are not over capacity,” Malmgren said. She also noted that a majority of confirmed cases are now in people younger than 60, meaning they’re less likely to require hospitalization, a reversal since the earliest days of the crisis.

Dr. Arnold Monto, a professor of epidemiology and global health at the University of Michigan, said the state’s return of the ventilators was a cause for optimism.

“Seattle did what it needs to do,” Monto said. “The important thing is to watch the curve. The peak may be of different height in different places because of local factors.”

Washington joins Oregon, which on Saturday announced it would send 140 ventilators to New York, as states that have managed to slow new infections enough that the most dire predictions may be averted.

“We’ll be sending 140 ventilators to help NY because Oregon is in a better position right now,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown tweeted Saturday. “Oregon doesn’t have everything we need to fight COVID-19 — we need more PPE and testing — but we can help today with ventilators. We are all in this together.”

Inslee has also been very cautiously hopeful.

“We have had some success flattening the curve. That has taken place because we acted relatively early,” he said Sunday. “But I want to reiterate, we are a long ways away from being out of the woods. We have not got down to anywhere close to where we need to be to declare victory of this horrendous virus.”

David Gutman: 206-464-2926 or dgutman@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @davidlgutman.

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