By Dr. Stuart Weiss, Intelligent Crowd Solutions – Rapid Test Center of NY

Rapid Test Center of New York
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP

February 23, 2021

CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust.Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center.

Topics: CoViD tidbits from here and there

New Testing Centers Open!We have opened our testing center in Chelsea in Manhattan and lower Westchester County . They are going great and we’re planning several more. Stay tuned.

CoViD Tidbits Where are the monkeys when we need them? * The world needs monkeys to develop CoViD-19 vaccines and they are in short supply. Now why do we need monkeys, you may ask. Because they are by far the best way to test new CoViD-19 vaccine before they are tried on humans. The two most favorite monkeys for pharmaceutical research are rhesus macaques and cynomolgus macaques. These two types of monkeys are in short supply now because of the increased demand for them due to the pandemic and because of the recent ban on the sale of them from the largest supplier, China. So in addition to controlling all the masks that we depend on in healthcare, all the gloves we use and many life saving drugs, China also controls the monkeys used in the development of new vaccines. According to the New York Times, all of this has revive talk of creating a strategic stockpile of monkeys similar to the strategic national reserve of oil and grain. Scientists say that monkeys are ideal for vaccine research because the share 90% of our DNA and their similar biology means that they can be tested with nasal swabs and have their lungs scanned. So keep your eyes out for the US Strategic National Monkey Reserve coming to a warm state near you soon. * Seasonal coronavirus antibodies may protect against CoViD-19 * As you may remember, there are 4 coronaviruses that circulate each year and cause the common cold. A German study published in the Internat’l Journal of Infectious Disease looked at the two beta-coronavirus antibodies in people sick with CoViD-19. They found that people who had lower antibody levels to Human Coronavirus – seasonal (HCoVs) OV43 and HKU1 had a longer hospitalization and were sicker. The researchers hypothesize that exposure and development of antibodies to seasonal coronavirus may help the immune system respond to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes CoViD-19. * Who wants a vaccine? * In another study of attitudes of people about getting a CoViD-19 vaccine published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they found that efficacy of the vaccine is more influential than side effects or adverse reactions. They also found that attitudes were essentially unchanged since their last study in August 2020. Disappointingly, they still found that political affiliation still had a huge effect on the acceptance of vaccination. 64% of people who were very likely to take the vaccine were Democrats. In people who support Trump, only 27% would take vaccine. What is up with the Trumpians? News flash: SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t give a rat’s ass about your political affiliation. It will infect you just the same. * More Vaccine is on the way * Vaccine manufacturers continue to ramp up vaccine production and the FDA is expected to review and then approve the Johnson and Johnson vaccine early next week. In congressional hearings today, both Pfizer and Moderna promised to deliver 400 million doses of vaccine by the end of May and 600 million by the end of July. J&J said that they would deliver 20 million doses of their vaccine by the end of March and all 100 million doses that they have contracted for by the end of June. If vaccine is delivered as expected, then by the end of March, we could have enough vaccine to vaccinate half of all eligible adults and 40% of the US population. . When you are eligible, get your self vaccinated so we can get through this together. . Dr. Stu Weiss

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COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY

Coronavirus update for February 23, 2021 World Wide Updates Ireland’s coronavirus lockdown will remain in place until at least April 5 Scotland to return to “levels” system of Covid restrictions in April India begins shipping AstraZeneca vaccine doses across Africa Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine provides “high levels” of protection from first dose, Public Health England says Stockholm urges residents not to travel and recommends masks on public transport Italy extends its AstraZeneca vaccine age range guidance French town of Dunkirk may soon see extra coronavirus measures Mexico is trying to balance the pandemic and its vital tourism income China says their experts conducted “lots of virus tracing work” First batch of Russia’s Sputnik V shot is delivered to Mexico New cases of Covid-19 variants falling “quite sharply,” says UK health secretary Japan appoints Minister for Loneliness to combat rising suicide rate Oman to suspend incoming flights from 10 countries amid spread of Covid-19 variants Covid-19 is likely to be a problem “for the next few winters,” says England’s chief medical officer Ireland to reopen schools but extend other restrictions till April Trudeau warns of a dangerous third wave as Canada copes with a vaccine ‘drought’ Boris Johnson unveils ‘journey back to normality’ that could see COVID restrictions lifted by summer COVID vaccination in UK leads to sharp drop in hospitalization, new studies say French ICU patients with Covid at 12-week high Holland set to ease restrictions slightly ‘Vaccine nationalism’ decried by South African minister Total Cases Worldwide: 112,589,753 Total Deaths Worldwide: 2,493,795 Total Recovered: 88,089,079 US Updates Major challenges ahead after US hits 500,000 coronavirus deaths Republicans begin new push against Biden’s Covid-19 relief plan New York officials: 81 people need to be revaccinated because doses had temperature fluctuations White House says 2 million doses of J&J vaccine should be ready next week, pending authorization Biden indicates masks will be sent directly to Americans About 65 million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the US It is possible one dose of coronavirus vaccine might be enough for some, NIH director says White House won’t say whether Biden would sign a Covid-19 relief bill with an $11 minimum wage New York state has fully vaccinated 1.18 million people, governor says States will now receive 14.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines per week, White House says Johnson & Johnson says it’s ready to ship 4 million doses in US upon emergency use authorization  More variants discovered in UK and South Africa are now in New York 6-year-old girl dies from Covid-19 hours after being diagnosed with a stomach bug GOP senators offer proposal to raise minimum wager to $10 per hour, a sticking point in Covid relief package Pharmaceutical companies pledge 240 million vaccine doses for the US by end of March Fauci says CDC guidance for fully vaccinated people could come soon Pandemic paranoia is a real thing, say mental health experts Multiple US governors order flags lowered in memory of 500,000 lives lost to Covid-19 Michigan woman dies after double lung transplant from patient with COVID-19 West Virginia leads in COVID vaccination with a simple solution Total US cases: 28,875,077 Total US deaths: 514,121 Total Recovered: 19,172,879 Total Tested in US: 341,874,832 Total cases in CA: 3,524,630 Total deaths in CA: 49,602 Total cases in TX: 2,611,662 Total deaths in TX: 42,562 Total cases in FL: 1,878,533 Total deaths in FL: 30,224 Total cases in NY: 1,640,916 Total deaths in NY: 47,256 Total cases in IL: 1,177,320 Total deaths in IL: 22,528 Total Vaccines Administered in US: 65,032,083 Contact us