The share of Californians who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week dipped below 3% for the first time, a sign that the Golden State is finally starting to beat back the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Monday.

Just 3.1% of Californians who were tested over the last two weeks received a positive result, and that ratio dropped to 2.8% in the last seven days, state officials said. Hospitals in California are treating the fewest patients with the virus since April, and admissions to the state’s intensive care units have been dropping steadily, too.

It’s a rare piece of good news for 40 million Californians, who are contending with raging wildfires and toxic air quality on top of the economic, physical and emotional effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-21/california-covid19-positivity-rate-drops-below-3-percent-for-the-first-time

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New York State recorded only one death Sunday to COVID-19, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday, making it the lowest one-day death toll from the virus in the state since the start of the pandemic.

Nationwide, ABC News reports there were increases in cases in 29 states, plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico. There were also increases in the daily rate of positivity in 15 states and DC; increases in hospitalizations in 17 states, DC and Puerto Rico; and increases in daily deaths in 16 states and Puerto Rico.

New cases in the U.S. peaked in late July and had been declining steadily ever since.

https://abc7ny.com/health/covid-updates-ny-marks-lowest-1-day-death-toll-since-start-of-pandemic/6478675/

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Silicon Valley medical equipment startup Visby Medical has received Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a portable PCR COVID-19 test kit, the first company to do so, according to the FDA on Thursday.

PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, rapidly replicates DNA or RNA and is considered an accurate diagnostic tool used in labs for infectious diseases. Traditionally, PCR testing uses a machine the size of a large microwave and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Visby founder and CEO Adam de la Zerda started working at shrinking that machine to a portable size that fits in the palm over seven years ago, initially to use on diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases. But with COVID-19 the company pivoted.

The EUA allows Visby’s kit to be used in clinical labs. A sample taken via a nasal swab is inserted into the kit and produces results in 30 minutes. The company said the goal is to eventually get the test kit sold to consumers to use at home.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-fda-visby/silicon-valley-startup-visbys-portable-covid-19-test-gets-fda-approval-idUSKBN2682XP

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After recognition of widespread community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by mid- to late February 2020, indicators of influenza activity began to decline in the Northern Hemisphere. These changes were attributed to both artifactual changes related to declines in routine health seeking for respiratory illness as well as real changes in influenza virus circulation because of widespread implementation of measures to mitigate transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Data from clinical laboratories in the United States indicated a 61% decrease in the number of specimens submitted (from a median of 49,696 per week during September 29, 2019–February 29, 2020, to 19,537 during March 1–May 16, 2020) and a 98% decrease in influenza activity as measured by percentage of submitted specimens testing positive (from a median of 19.34% to 0.33%).

Interseasonal (i.e., summer) circulation of influenza in the United States (May 17–August 8, 2020) is currently at historical lows (median = 0.20% tests positive in 2020 versus 2.35% in 2019, 1.04% in 2018, and 2.36% in 2017). Influenza data reported to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) FluNet platform from three Southern Hemisphere countries that serve as robust sentinel sites for influenza from Oceania (Australia), South America (Chile), and Southern Africa (South Africa) showed very low influenza activity during June–August 2020, the months that constitute the typical Southern Hemisphere influenza season. In countries or jurisdictions where extensive community mitigation measures are maintained (e.g., face masks, social distancing, school closures, and teleworking), those locations might have little influenza circulation during the upcoming 2020–21 Northern Hemisphere influenza season.

The use of community mitigation measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, plus influenza vaccination, are likely to be effective in reducing the incidence and impact of influenza, and some of these mitigation measures could have a role in preventing influenza in future seasons. However, given the novelty of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of continued community mitigation measures, it is important to plan for seasonal influenza circulation in the United States this fall and winter. Influenza vaccination of all persons aged ≥6 months remains the best method for influenza prevention and is especially important this season when SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus might cocirculate (1).

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After months of bleak figures and forecasts, California now appears to be riding a wave of success beating back the coronavirus as officials express cautious optimism about what is next for the state.

Hospitals across the state are treating the fewest patients with COVID-19 since April. The percentage of tests coming back positive for the virus is lower than ever, proof that the state has reined in a massive surge that began this summer.

“We are turning the corner,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in a news conference Wednesday as he listed multiple coronavirus metrics now “lower than what we’ve seen in a number of months.”

In recent weeks, as much of the state’s attention has turned to devastating wildfires, significant gains have been made against COVID-19. Daily case numbers have dropped from more than 10,000 a day a few months ago to fewer than 3,000. The number of people hospitalized with COVID has shrunk from a peak of 7,170 in late July to 2,821 on Tuesday, according to the California Department of Public Health.

“This is all good news,” said UCLA epidemiologist Dr. Timothy Brewer. “Everything is moving in the right direction, so I would personally be positive.”

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-17/california-coronavirus-pandemic-positive-signs-risks

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Statewide hospitalizations reach lowest level since April 10, down 60% from peak

A lot has changed since the last time California had this few COVID-19 patients in its hospitals.

There were 2,869 patients hospitalized with the virus around the state Saturday, according to the latest update from the California Department of Public Health, hitting its lowest level since April 10; the number of patients in intensive care units also fell to 932, the lowest it has been since April 2.

At the time, the state was mere weeks into the nation’s first shelter-in-place order, while President Donald Trump and governors, like California’s Gavin Newsom, were volleying responsibility for reopening from the initial shutdowns. There was hope the virus would peak by the end of spring.

Six months later, most of California remains closed and virus deaths have soared. The total fatalities nationwide number nearly 200,000, with more than 14,000 in California alone. The case count in the Golden State was over 760,000 Sunday — 38 times more than it was when hospitalizations were last this low.

With another 2,271 cases Sunday, the state has reported one-third the number of cases in the past week than at its peak and 36% fewer than two weeks ago. The test-positivity rate also continued to sink lower to 3.5% as of Sunday — less than half its peak rate and a two-point decline in two weeks.

Overall, the state has cut its hospitalizations by 60% from their peak in late July.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/09/14/coronavirus-fewest-covid-19-hospitalizations-in-california-since-start-of-pandemic/

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Eli Lilly and Co said on Monday its rheumatoid arthritis drug shortened the time to recovery in hospitalized COVID-19 patients when used along with Gilead Sciences Inc’s remdesivir.

The drug baricitinib, branded as Olumiant, cut the median recovery time by about a day when added to remdesivir, compared to patients treated with the antiviral alone, Lilly said.

Remdesivir was granted an emergency use authorization (EUA) in May after trial data showed it helped shorten hospital recovery time by 31%.

Lilly said it plans to discuss the potential for an EAU for baricitinib with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, based on the results from the trial, which tested more than 1,000 patients.

“As an already approved and available drug, we believe baricitinib could serve as an important additional treatment option as the medical community continues to learn how to best manage patients hospitalized with COVID-19,” said Mizuho analyst Vamil Divan.

The drug, licensed by Lilly from Incyte Corp, could help suppress a potentially lethal immune response to COVID-19 called “cytokine storm”.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-lilly/eli-lillys-rheumatoid-arthritis-drug-helps-recovery-in-covid-19-patients-idUSKBN2651KW

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The L.A. County Department of Public Health reported 11 new coronavirus deaths Sunday, as daily hospitalizations continued to decline over the weekend.

About 800 people were hospitalized with the virus countywide, 35% of them in an ICU, marking a significant decline from just a few weeks earlier. The new numbers are similar to April, before the summer surge. Hospitalization is an important metric for charting the course of the pandemic, because it captures how many people are seriously ill with the virus, health officials wrote in a statement.

The virus remains widespread across L.A. County, although the percent of positive tests has declined steadily, to about 3% this week.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-13/la-county-coronavirus-numbers-fall-back-to-pre-surge-levels

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Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine could be distributed to Americans before the end of the year if found to be safe and effective, CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday. 

The drugmaker should have key data from its late-stage trial for the Food and Drug Administration by the end of October, Bourla said during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” If the FDA approves the vaccine, the company is prepared to distribute “hundreds of thousands of doses,” he said. 

Because of the pandemic, U.S. health officials and drugmakers have been accelerating the development of vaccine candidates by investing in multiple stages of research even though doing so could be for naught if the vaccine ends up not being effective or safe.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/13/coronavirus-pfizer-vaccine-could-be-given-to-americans-before-end-of-year-ceo-says.html

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