Apr 23, 2020 - Health

Gilead's coronavirus drug flops in first major trial

Vials of remdesivir, which is administered intravenously. Photo: Ulrich Perrey/AFP via Getty Images

Remdesivir, the drug made by Gilead Sciences that is being tested on coronavirus patients, "was not associated with clinical or virological benefits," according to a leaked summary of a randomized trial posted by the World Health Organization and viewed by STAT and the Financial Times on Thursday.

Why it matters: Experts have placed a lot of hope in remdesivir as an antiviral treatment for COVID-19, but the preliminary results of this study dash a lot of that hope. However, the study is still undergoing peer review, and Gilead is arguing the results weren't characterized appropriately.

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Marisa Fernandez
Jul 31, 2020 - Health

CDC: Most COVID-19 cases at Georgia summer camp came from kids

Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Despite mitigation efforts, a 597-person summer sleep-away camp in Georgia was responsible for a cluster of coronavirus cases in June, where more than half of the positive tests came from children under age 18, according to a case study published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why it matters: Kids are not immune to the coronavirus. The findings accentuate the unknown factors associated with how easily children transmit the virus, and only weeks before schools are expected to reopen.

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Axios
Updated Oct 7, 2020 - Health

World coronavirus updates

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Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

New Zealand now has active no coronavirus cases in the community after the final six people linked to the Auckland cluster recovered, the country's Health Ministry confirmed in an email Wednesday.

The big picture: The country's second outbreak won't officially be declared closed until there have been "no new cases for two incubation periods," the ministry said. Auckland will join the rest of NZ in enjoying no domestic restrictions from late Wednesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, declaring that NZ had "beat the virus again."

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Mike Allen, author of AM
Jul 31, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Biden campaign vows virus focus

Joe Biden puts on a mask after a campaign event in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Joe Biden's campaign contends that President Trump's talk of delaying November's election is an effort to distract, and vows to be what a Biden aide called "laser-focused" on Trump's pandemic response.

Why it matters: After aides convinced the president that the issue was hurting him badly in the polls, Trump has tried for the past two weeks to show renewed focus on the coronavirus, including the restoration of his briefings.

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