August 24 coronavirus news

US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn denied again on Monday that his agency had been pressured to authorize the use of plasma from coronavirus survivors as a Covid-19 treatment, but apologized for how he characterized data used in the decision. 

Some context: The White House announced the emergency authorization at a news briefing on Sunday, where President Donald Trump called the decision “historic.”

But Trump also suggested he pressured the agency. “I think there might have been a holdup, but we broke the logjam over the last week, to be honest,” Trump said at the briefing.

FDA’s response: Hahn told CNN Sunday he had not been pressured. In a series of tweets Monday, he repeated that assertion.

“Media coverage of FDA’s decision to issue emergency authorization for convalescent plasma has questioned whether this was a politically motivated decision. The decision was made by FDA career scientists based on data submitted a few weeks ago,” Hahn tweeted.

“They had confidence that convalescent plasma has potential to benefit many sick patients and the safety profile is well defined,” he added. “The decision was based on significant data from the Mayo Clinic and other reliable sources plus a century of experience with convalescent plasma.”

But Hahn apologized for how he presented the data. He had previously said that the Mayo Clinic data showed use of convalescent plasma reduced the risk of death by 35%, and said that meant if 100 people got coronavirus, 35 would survive because of the treatment. 

But this was inaccurate; the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, showed that 8.7% of patients who were treated within three days of diagnosis died, compared to 11.9% of patients who were treated four days or more after their diagnosis – a difference of about 37%.

Those treated with plasma containing the highest levels of antibodies had a 35% lower risk of dying within a week compared to those treated with less-rich plasma. The study did not show the use of plasma reduced the overall death rate by 35%.  

Colombian Health Minister Fernando Ruiz seen during a news conference in Bogota, Colombia, on March 4.

Colombia announced Monday it is joining a clinical study to develop a vaccine against coronavirus. 

The study will be conducted by multinational pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson across Colombia, the United States, and Belgium, according to Health Minister Fernando Ruiz.

About 60,000 volunteers between 18 and 60 years old in these three countries will take part in the study, which will consist of a single dose of the vaccine candidate. 

Earlier this month, Colombian President Ivan Duque announced the country would not reach out to Russia for a vaccine, opting instead to work with the World Health Organization to secure as many vaccine doses as possible.

The University of Missouri has 159 active student Covid-19 cases, according to the school’s Covid-19 Dashboard.

A total of 168 student cases have been reported since the university began receiving data from the Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services on August 19.

Today was the first day of classes at the university.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing in Washington, DC on July 31.

Any effort to authorize and distribute a coronavirus vaccine before it has been proven safe and effective in large trials could damage efforts to develop other vaccines, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Reuters Monday. 

Two sources have told CNN that White House officials have raised the possibility of an early emergency use authorization of a vaccine – before late-stage trials are finished. Michael Caputo, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the US Department of Health and Human Services, denied that there was any effort to fast-track vaccine development for political purposes. 

And Fauci said it would be a bad idea. “The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA before you have a signal of efficacy,” Reuters quoted Fauci as saying. “One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial.” 

Several vaccines are being tested in the US and companies are working to ramp up production while testing is going on, so that if a vaccine is proven safe and effective it could be distributed immediately.

“To me, it’s absolutely paramount that you definitively show that a vaccine is safe and effective, both,” Fauci told Reuters. “We would hope that nothing interferes with the full demonstration that a vaccine is safe and effective.”

Free Covid-19 tests are carried out at this health kiosk near Mexico City, on August 20.

Mexico’s health ministry has reported 3,541 new coronavirus cases on Monday, bringing the total number in the country to 563,705.

The ministry also reported 320 new fatalities, taking the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the country to 60,800.

It comes as the US ambassador to Mexico warned against nonessential travel on the US-Mexico border. Nonessential travel between the US and its two closest neighbors — Canada and Mexico — has been blocked amid spikes in confirmed coronavirus cases in the US.

Ambassador Christopher Landau said on Twitter Monday there were significant delays at some border crossings at the weekend for those attempting to enter the US from Mexico.

Mexico has the seventh-highest number of coronavirus cases in the world and is ranked third in terms of deaths. The US continues to lead the world in the number of coronavirus infections and deaths.

Health workers transporting a Covid-19 patient wait at the entrance of the ICU of the general hosptial in Medellin, Colombia, on August 20.

Colombia’s total number of coronavirus cases reached 551,696 on Monday after registering 10,549 new cases, according to the country’s health ministry.

There were also 296 new deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, raising the national death toll to 17,612, the ministry reported.

Colombia is the fourth country in Latin America with the highest Covid-19 cases, following Brazil, Peru, and Mexico, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

This comes as Bogota’s Mayor Claudia Lopez announced Monday that local lockdown will be lifted in the Colombian capital on Thursday, four days ahead of schedule. Some social distancing measures will remain in place in Bogota through the month of September, but most business owners will be allowed to reopen their businesses.

A statue is masked inside a building on the first day of classes Monday, August 17, at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech reported 51 new cases of Covid-19 as of Sunday, according to the school’s dashboard.

The dashboard reports if the person was a student or staff member, when they were last on campus, and when their case was reported. 

The majority of the cases reported on Sunday were among students.

In total, the school has reported 302 cases since March.

More than 100 students from the University of Southern California are under a 14-day quarantine due to a coronavirus outbreak among students who live in the university’s off-campus housing, USC announced in a community health advisory on Monday.

The “alarming increase” of cases among students was reported just after the first week of fall semester, according to the letter. No students have been hospitalized at this point.

In the past seven days, 14 cases were identified through asymptomatic population testing and 29 cases were identified through contact tracing and testing of symptomatic and exposed individuals, the letter notes.

According to the letter, decisions to allow exceptions for certain classes and other activities that cannot be delivered in a virtual setting have not been made. Students are strongly discouraged to return to campus until further notice.

Earlier this month, USC announced that it will begin fall semester fully remotely and reversed its decision to allow some in-person classes.

The university also reported 44 confirmed cases linked to fraternity row late July.

A nurse observes a rapid coronavirus test on July 28 in Ilha de Marajo, Brazil.

Brazil’s health ministry has reported 17,078 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 3,622,861.

The ministry also reported 565 new coronavirus fatalities on Monday, raising the country’s death toll to 115,309.

More on the numbers: It comes as Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro held a “beating the Covid-19” ceremony Monday in Brasilia where he gathered physicians to give testimonies about the use of the hydroxychloroquine, a controversial anti-malarial drug with no scientifically proven effectiveness in treating coronavirus.

Bolsonaro did not mention the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Brazil during the ceremony on Monday, nor did he comment on the high plateau of a daily average of 1,000 fatalities attributed to the coronavirus since June, according to data from the health ministry.

Brazil continues to be second only to the United States in the highest total number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

Dr. Paul Offit, who serves on the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, told CNN’s Jake Tapper today he’s seen evidence the White House has pressured the agency in regards to the approval of coronavirus treatments. 

Offit said he feared the FDA’s surprise authorization on Sunday of the use of blood plasma from coronavirus survivors as a treatment for new patients was done under political pressure as no new data had emerged that would explain the sudden shift.

He went on to say that “last night there was a change of heart by the FDA without any new data so one can only conclude that there had to be pressure on the FDA to do that.”

Offit also pointed to the FDA’s treatment of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as evidence the agency had felt pressure from the White House “for some quick, fast cure” for Covid-19. 

While Offit said he believed the plasma therapy presents little danger to Covid-19 patients, he said the pattern of political pressure could become dangerous especially if a vaccine enters the final stages of approval.

“It just worries me that it sets yet another precedent to make you worry about the fact that the administration’s willing to bully its science-based agencies,” he said.

But Hahn, who leads the FDA, defended his organization on Sunday saying he makes decisions “on data only,” denying he was pressured by the White House to issue the emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma.

“I took an oath as a doctor 35 years ago to do no harm. I abide by that every day,” Hahn said in a statement to CNN’s Jim Acosta.

“I’ve never been asked to make any decision at the FDA based on politics,” he wrote. “The decisions the scientists at the FDA are making are done on data only.” 

A nurse cares for a coronavirus patient in the Intensive Care Unit at El Centro Regional Medical Center on July 28 in El Centro, California.

Covid-19 hospitalizations in California are down 20% over the past two weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today. Intensive care unit rates are down 19% over the same reporting period.

A total of 4,946 new cases were added to the state’s total today, well below the seven-day case average of 5,798. This brings California’s case total to 668,615, with 12,152 deaths, according to an update from the state’s Department of Public Health.

Five counties – Orange, Napa, Calaveras, Sierra, and Mono – have been removed from a so-called “watch list,” Newsom announced today. If the counties can maintain their data for the next 14 days, they can begin reopening more sectors to the public. Currently, 36 counties remain on the monitoring list.

California’s positivity rate is holding steady at 6.5% for the past 14 days.

About 34% of all cases in California are centered in Los Angeles County. This is down significantly from June, when L.A. accounted for almost half of all cases in the state.

Los Angeles Department of Public Health reported just under 1,200 new cases today for a total of 232,893.

Note: These numbers were released by California Department of Public Health and the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Ohio State University issued 228 interim suspensions on Monday to students who they say have broken the university’s Covid-19 regulations around socializing, Benjamin Johnson, the university’s spokesperson, confirmed to CNN. 

In a letter sent to the community on Aug. 21, the vice president of student life, Melissa Shivers, outlined that students must wear a mask, practice social distancing, and that gatherings could not include more than 10 people. Shivers warned that the university’s student conduct team was in the process of opening dozens of cases that would likely result in interim suspensions. Shivers also made clear that student organizations involved in unsafe gatherings could lose their university recognition and funding.

The Office of Student Life is also monitoring off-campus neighborhoods and is reporting individuals to student conduct, Johnson told CNN.

OSU students moved back to campus starting on Aug. 19. Classes are scheduled to begin at the university on Tuesday.

There are at least 5,730,294 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 177,065 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

So far on Monday, Johns Hopkins has reported 28,615 new cases and 263 reported deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

A man rides past a discarded face mask during the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on August 8 in Sturgis, South Dakota.

There are now 27 cases of Covid-19 in Minnesota linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that took place in South Dakota earlier this month. 

Kris Ehresmann, director of the Infectious Disease Division at Minnesota Department of Health, said Monday during a briefing that of the 27 cases, 25 said they attended Sturgis and two either worked or volunteered at the event. One person who was hospitalized last week was released after three days, Ehresmann added. 

The health department had reported 15 cases linked to the motorcycle rally last week. 

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris arrive to speak at a news conference on August 12 in Wilmington, Delaware.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be regularly tested for coronavirus as the campaign has increased some of its Covid-19 health protocols in the final stretch before Election Day, a campaign official confirmed to CNN. 

The campaign will make public if either the Biden or Harris test positive for the virus, the official said.

Read a statement from Biden campaign staffer Andrew Bates:

 Bloomberg was first to report the news. 

The National Football League announced Monday zero Covid-19 test results among players after 58,397 tests were administered to 8,573 players and personnel from Aug. 12-20.

Of the 8,573 persons tested, six had confirmed positive results, all non-players.

Prior to Aug. 12, 9,983 players and personnel received “intake testing,” with 170 positive tests, or 1.7%. In ongoing testing after intake through Aug. 11, the overall positivity rate dropped to 0.81% among players, 0.46% overall.

The NFL says the overall positivity rate has not exceeded 1.7% for any club since testing began.

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on August 3 in New York. 

Stocks rallied Monday after the Trump administration approved a potential Covid-19 treatment. Wall Street finished in the green, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished at all-time highs.

The S&P ended up 1%, finishing above 3,400 points for the first time ever. The Nasdaq closed 0.6% higher. Both indexes surpassed the record levels they reached on Friday. 

The Dow closed 1.4%, or 378 points, higher. 

Even though the index performed the best out of the three major benchmarks, it remains more than 4% below the all-time high it hit in February.

Germany has issued a travel warning for Paris and the Cote d’Azur region of southeastern France due to high levels of coronavirus infection, according to a German Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Monday. 

“The spread of COVID-19 continues to lead to restrictions on international air travel and have adverse effects on the public life in France,” the German foreign ministry said. “There are currently warnings against unnecessary tourist trips to the Île-de-France region (with the capital Paris) and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur due to the high number of infections.”

Travelers returning from these regions will be required to get a free coronavirus PCR test upon arrival in Germany and could be obligated to quarantine for 14 days. 

US President Donald Trump addresses supporters on the tarmac at Asheville Regional Airport in Fletcher, North Carolina. on August 24, 2020.

President Trump gave brief remarks to supporters at the Asheville Regional Airport landing zone, echoing much of what he said in Charlotte, touting the stock market, the employment numbers, and saying the pandemic will go away.

The President also again predicted a vaccine will be announced shortly.

“The vaccines are going to be, I believe, announced very soon,” Trump said, before praising convalescent plasma, calling it an “incredible thing.”

The President also said he expects the economic comeback from coronavirus to be strong next year, saying “next year we are going to have one of the best years economically and in other ways that we have ever had before.”

Some background:  On Saturday, Trump accused, without providing any evidence, the US Food and Drug Administration of deliberately delaying coronavirus vaccine trials, pressuring the man he had picked to head the agency.

“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” Trump tweeted, continuing to push his unfounded theory that there is a “deep state” embedded within the government bureaucracy working against his reelection.

He accused the agency of delaying a vaccine for the virus until after the fall election, tweeting, “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!” Trump ended his tweet by tagging the Twitter account of FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, who he nominated last year to take up the role.

Hahn assured Americans earlier this month that the agency “will not cut corners” to approve a vaccine.

Trump has promised that a vaccine would be available by the end of the year, though vaccinologists told CNN that timeline is unrealistic. And his latest comments won’t allay the fears some experts and Americans have that the administration will rush to prepare a vaccine at the expense of science and safety.

The FDA doesn’t conduct the trials itself, but instead oversees the people who do, according to the agency. As CNN previously reported, one vaccine candidate, developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, moved to phase 3 clinical trials late last month.

Rhode Island Capitol building.

Gov. Gina Raimondo announced that Rhode Island secured additional unemployment funding from FEMA that will provide $300 per week for three weeks, giving all people on unemployment a total additional $900.

The additional funding will be issued in the next three weeks, she said.  

Raimondo said Rhode Island has seen a 7% decrease in its unemployment rate from April to July, but over 100,000 residents are still unemployed. 

Some more context: Rhode Island reported a 1% Covid-19 positive rate Monday, 39 new cases and no new deaths. 

There were 5 Covid-19 related deaths over the weekend and currently 84 hospitalized patients with 11 in an intensive care unit.