An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. |
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 | | The New York Times |
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A drugmaker reports positive results for a potential treatment |
It is the first potential treatment for patients with mild or moderate Covid-19. (The two other treatments that have proved helpful, the antiviral remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone, are only for the seriously ill.) |
Scientists used blood plasma from Covid-19 survivors, isolating and testing their antibodies to find the most powerful ones. They then manufactured vats of antibodies to make the drug. In a trial of more than 450 newly diagnosed Covid-19 patients, Eli Lilly said, only about 1.7 percent of those who received the drug ended up in the hospital, compared with 6 percent who were given a placebo — a 72 percent risk reduction. Those treated with the drug reportedly also had fewer symptoms, and the levels of virus in their bodies plummeted. |
Other companies are also working on treatments with monoclonal antibodies, but they are difficult and expensive to make. A single dose could cost thousands of dollars. They offer only a temporary solution, with the antibodies lasting about a month. |
But without a vaccine — the only way to elicit a lasting immune response — the treatment could give doctors another weapon in an arsenal with few options. |
The study will eventually enroll 800 patients in the U.S. of all ages and risk categories, including people in nursing homes. Eli Lilly has already started manufacturing 10,000 doses in hopes that these interim results, which have not yet been peer reviewed, will bear out. |
The company plans to discuss the state of the trial with the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the possibility of emergency use authorization to market the drug. |
New York City finds a way to speed testing |
The new Pandemic Response Lab in Manhattan is run by a small robotics company, but the city played a significant role in its creation, officials said. |
The hope is that the lab will cut wait times down to 24 to 48 hours, just as the city prepares for its most ambitious period of reopenings, with some in-person public school classes and indoor dining scheduled to begin this month. |
New York City’s testing program is already one of the most ambitious in the country, swabbing more than 200,000 people a day, or more than 2 percent of all city residents. The lab will be able to process an additional 40,000 tests and will possibly include some from public school students and teachers. |
- Facing a $9 billion, two-year revenue shortfall because of the coronavirus’s impact on the economy, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he was furloughing staff members at City Hall, himself included (the mayor intends to work during his furlough, for free).
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- The city changed its hybrid education model, which involves students physically attending school one to three days per week and learning remotely the rest of the time. Because of a staffing crunch, schools will no longer be required to provide daily live instruction to hybrid students when they are at home.
- The Brooklyn Museum is breaking a taboo, putting 12 works up for auction to raise money for the care of its collection. The auction next month will include paintings by Cranach, Courbet and Corot.
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- The case count in India topped five million — less than a month after it hit three million.
- Spain’s capital, Madrid, is preparing to impose “selective lockdowns” in areas where cases have risen significantly, an official warned. About a third of Spain’s new cases over the last week were in the city.
- With Israel’s infection rates having spiraled to among the worst in the world, the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem will remain closed over the Jewish high holidays, for the first time in its history.
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What else we’re following |
I am a preschool teacher in Los Angeles, so the theme for the Zooms this week has been fire safety. The kids all dressed up like firefighters and shared their toy fire trucks. I made a video visiting a fire station and interviewed the firefighter. He turned the lights on the truck and drove in and out of the station for us. Not as fun as touring the station, with all the mom escort volunteers who love firefighters too — but the kids really enjoyed it. — Sylvia Rath, Los Angeles |
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