Bruno, the wonder dog, at one-year-old
“They’ve come up with the AIDS vaccine” pic.twitter.com/Z8MQK5Bi2F
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) June 16, 2020
News Round-Up: June 16, 2020
‘Major Breakthrough’ In COVID-19 Treatment Discovered In Low-Cost Steroid
The New York Times reports an inexpensive steroid drug has shown a clear, significant benefit in reducing coronavirus-related deaths following a 6,000 patient trial study in Britain.
The steroid, dexamethasone, reduced deaths by a third in patients receiving ventilation, and by a fifth in patients receiving only oxygen treatment, the scientists said. They found no benefit from the drug in patients who did not need respiratory support.
“Dexamethasone is the first drug to be shown to improve survival in Covid-19,” said Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases at the University of Oxford, and one of the chief investigators for the trial, said in a statement. “The survival benefit is clear and large in those patients who are sick enough to require oxygen treatment.”
Professor Horby said that dexamethasone should now become the “standard of care in these patients,” noting that it is inexpensive, widely available and can be used immediately.
More from Sky News in the UK below.
FDA Withdraws Emergency Use Authorization Of Hydroxychloroquine For COVID-19
The FDA has pulled the emergency authorizations for using hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 due to concerns about effectiveness and safety. Donald Trump has spent the past couple of months heralding the drug as a miracle treatment for the novel coronavirus. Via Politico:
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday withdrew emergency use authorizations for two coronavirus treatments promoted by President Donald Trump despite concerns about their safety and effectiveness.
The agency revoked the authorizations for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine after a request from Gary Disbrow, acting director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.
After reviewing new information from large clinical trials the agency now believes that the suggested dosing regimens “are unlikely to produce an antiviral effect,” FDA chief scientist Denise Hinton said in a letter announcing the decision.
Critics have accused the agency of caving to political pressure when it authorized use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in hospitalized Covid-19 patients in late March despite thin evidence.
More recent randomized controlled trials have found the drugs do not benefit coronavirus patients, and doctors have reported that hydroxychloroquine can cause heart problems.
Florida Sets New Coronavirus Case Records 3 Days In A Row
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
New York State Making COVID-19 Picture Look Better Than It Is
(graphic via Axios)
News Round-Up: June 11, 2020
Me and my high school buddy Addester Williams at Voodoo in Las Vegas
Will COVID-19 Halt The Love Scenes & Ball Sequences on POSE?
L-R Dyllon Burnside, Billy Porter (screen capture)
“Things like kissing — we will likely forgo those moments,” said Canals. “The place on our show where the biggest impact will be felt will be the ball scenes,” he added referring to the massive number of background actors featured in the dance sequences. “Those scenes have 125 to 150 background actors,” explained Canals. “That’s tricky because that’s such an important and critical part of our show and the narrative. We’re just, only now, having conversations of ‘Is there a world where we forgo these things?’”
Canals shares that the entire season hadn’t been fully scripted yet when the production shut down. “I haven’t had anybody reach out asking for those scripts,” said Canals. “It’s all been about family and really caring for each other’s well-being.” But Canals does guarantee there will be another season of Pose, and one that will put the powerful LGBTQ politics of the series “upfront and center,” where they always have been. “So in terms of the narrative of Season 3 and the way we’re moving forward, I think it will inherently address what’s happening currently with COVID-19,” adds the openly queer screenwriter. “All of that was already baked into the DNA of the show.” It’s hard to imagine the series without the now-iconic ballroom scenes depicting so much LGBTQ tribal pride. Or groundbreaking love scenes between Emmy Award-winner Billy Porter’s ‘Pray Tell’ and Dyllon Burnside’s ‘Ricky Evangelista.’ But trust and believe, the creative powers that brought us the most diverse LGBTQ cast of actors and writers will find a way. Season 1 of Pose is currently available on Netflix with Season 2 joining the lineup on the streaming platform on June 11.
Wisconsin: Record High COVID-19 Deaths 2 Weeks After Striking Down Stay At Home Order
(screen capture via CBS News)
Wisconsin saw a record number of new coronavirus cases and deaths reported in a single day on Wednesday, two weeks after the state’s Supreme Court struck down its statewide stay-at-home order.
The state reported 599 new known COVID-19 cases on Wednesday with 22 known deaths, according to Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services, the highest recorded daily rise since the pandemic began there. As of Wednesday, the state had more than 16,460 known cases and 539 known deaths, according to the department.
The previous record in new coronavirus cases was 528 the week prior.
Gov. Tony Evers (D) implored his constituents to wear face masks when out in public to keep others safe from the coronavirus. “One of the most important things you can do to help others is to wear a mask or other face-covering in public,” he said. “Wearing a mask shouldn’t be a political statement. It isn’t controversial, and it’s not hard to do.” Immediately after the state Supreme Court struck down the stay-at-home order, the media reported Wisconsinites flocking to bars. Of course, none of those folks chose to wear a face mask or practice any health guidelines.
Rep. Brian Sims Calls Out GOP Lawmakers For Hiding Positive COVID Diagnosis
Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Sims (screen capture)
“Every single day of this crisis this State Government Committee in Pennsylvania has met so that their members could line up one after one after one and explain that it was safe to go back to work,” said Sims during his. “During that time period they were testing positive. They were notifying one another. And they didn’t notify us.”
“I never ever, ever knew that the Republican leadership of this state would put so many of us at risk for partisanship to cover up a lie,” he said during the nearly 12-minute tirade. “And that lie is that we’re all safe from COVID.”
Rep. Andrew Lewis, R-Dauphin, said in a Facebook Live address Wednesday night, hours after he publicly announced he had tested positive, that he informed as few people as possible about contracting the coronavirus because he wanted to protect the privacy of those around him and because he was only in close quarters with a handful of house colleagues.
Sims shares in the video that he donated a kidney in January and so he currently has a compromised immune system making him more susceptible to the coronavirus. Sims is demanding an investigation into how the notification about the diagnosis was handled. He’s also called for Speaker of the House Mike Turzai to resign. Here’s the Facebook Live video. Note – Sims uses some profanity in here.
Alabama: New COVID-19 Cases On The Rise As Citizens Ignore Health Guidelines
As the death toll from COVID-19 nears 100,000 in the U.S., Reuters reports that 20 states saw an increase in new cases of COVID-19 for the week ended May 24, up from 13 states in the prior week. Alabama had the biggest weekly increase at 28%, Missouri’s new cases rose 27% and North Carolina’s rose 26%, according to the analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project. As folks in Alabama celebrated the Memorial Day weekend by hitting the beaches in droves with little-to-no social distancing or face masks. Even with the state’s relaxed guidelines, groups are supposed to be six feet away from each other. Groups are also supposed to consist of only people who live in the same household. CNN’s Gary Tuchman spoke to several beach-goers about any concerns they may or may not have about the coronavirus. The responses were eye-opening.
“I’m just here just to have fun and meet everybody and be cool, you know,” said the first young man. “When it’s my time to go, it’s just my time to go.” “Everybody’s gotta go somehow. I don’t wanna die, but I mean, if that’s what God has in store for my life then that’s okay,” said a 21-year-old woman. Said another 20-something: “My family has the same mindset as me. We kind of just agreed that if we get it we get it. We’re gonna handle it as a family and just get over it because that’s what a family does.” “Just like the flu, right,” said one woman. “People die from the flu also. To me, that’s just the way I look at it.” Asked if she was concerned about so many people being at the beach, one woman replied, “No, not at all. There’s enough wind and air that it’ll clear it all out.” “I just feel comfortable that we’re going to be ok,” said an older man when asked why he doesn’t wear a face mask. “The survival rate is so high…We’re all gonna get sick from something eventually.” And in a demonstration of presidential leadership, a bearded young man said he was taking his cues from Donald Trump. “I mean, if he’s not wearing a mask, I’m not gonna wear a mask. If he’s not worried, I’m not worried.” And there you have it. 
But it wasn’t just Alabama flouting the rules. Over in Missouri, public pool parties were just as busy. Several videos taken from the Lake of the Ozark Saturday showed people not social distancing. Hundreds of people were packed into a pool and no one was seen wearing a mask. Check out the report from local CBS News affiliate KMOV.