COVID-19 Compilation – May 12, 2020 Courtesy of Cornerstone Government Affairs
Common Acronyms Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Central Command (CENTCOM), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)
Washington, D.C.
• House Democrats released the text of the 1,815-page, $3 trillion HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) this afternoon. The text of The Heroes Act, H.R. 6800, is here. A one pager on the legislation is here. A section-by-section summary is here. A resource on the state and local relief provisions is here. Votes are expected in the House on Friday, though the leaders of the Progressive Caucus have written to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking for more time to read through the bill before they vote. For a more in-depth briefing on the legislative landscape, please refer to the COVID-19 Legislative Update, which is published on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If you do not receive the Legislative Update and would like to subscribe, email [email protected] • COVID-19 hearings in Congress this week (memos will be available upon request):
o Today . 10:00 AM – Senate HELP Hearing: "COVID-19: Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School" . 2:30 PM – Senate Judiciary Hearing: “Examining liability during the COVID-19 pandemic”
o Tomorrow . 10:00 AM – Senate Commerce Hearing: "The State of Broadband Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic"
o Thursday . 10:00 AM – House Energy and Commerce Hearing: “Protecting Scientific Integrity in the COVID-19 Response” • The CDC has updated and added sections to its COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines including a new section on antithrombotic therapy. • The CDC continues to update and publish additional documents on its dashboard. Today, the CDC published updated information about what to do if your pet tests positive for COVID-19, interim guidance on unsheltered homelessness and COVID-19 for homeless service providers and local officials, new information for pediatric healthcare providers, and an air travel toolkit for airline partners. These are just a sampling of the many updates made each day by the CDC. • Yesterday, CMS Administrator Seema Verma wrote a letter to nursing home management and staff, sharing her gratitude for the workers as well as reiterating that the Administration is doing all it can to support them. • The FDA provided an update on surveillance inspections during COVID-19. In the update, the agency stated it will continue to utilize and implement additional alternative inspection tools and approaches while postponing domestic and foreign routine surveillance inspections. This will continue as local, national, and international conditions warrant, with the exception of certain mission critical inspections. • The FDA issued a warning letter to a company that was selling fraudulent COVID-19 products. Fusion Health and Vitality LLC recently offered products, including “CORE” and “IMMUNE SHOT,” for sale in the U.S. with claims that misleadingly represented the products as safe and/or effective for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. There are currently no FDA-approved products to prevent or treat COVID-19. • To help homeowners and renters have the most up to date and accurate housing assistance information, the CFPB, FHFA, and HUD launched the new mortgage and housing assistance website, cfpb.gov/housing. FHFA and HUD are offering CARES Act assistance and protection for Americans having trouble paying their mortgage or rent due to COVID-19. This joint website consolidates the CARES Act mortgage relief, protections for renters, resources for additional help, and information on how to avoid COVID-19 related scams. It also provides lookup tools for homeowners to determine if their mortgage is federally backed, and for renters to find out if their rental unit is financed by FHA, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac. Updates from the States
• Out of the cases under investigation detected by U.S. surveillance, there are 1,342,594 total cases and 80,820 deaths The CDC data closes out the day before reporting. • Health officials in New York state are looking into approximately 100 cases of pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PIMS), which causes life- threatening inflammation in critical organs. The illness is certainly not limited to New York state, and has been identified throughout the region and across the country. • Store customers in California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania have been arrested for refusing to follow guidelines mandating that they wear masks in public. • As states have begun to ease restrictions, a main COVID-19 model is now predicting nearly 150,000 deaths in the U.S., an increase of 10,000 from estimates this weekend. • Updates on lockdowns/reopening:
o Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) gave an updated timeline for when the state will begin to reopen, mostly on May 25th.
o Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) issued an executive order allowing specific localities in Northern Virginia to delay entering phase one of the "Forward Virginia" plan until May 28th. The whole state is expected to enter phase one on Friday, May 15th.
o Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has allowed Wahkiakum, Skamania, and Stevens counties to move into phase two of Gov. Inslee's Safe Start plan to reopen the economy and recreation. This brings the total to eight counties.
o Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) announced additional phase one guidelines that will allow gyms and fitness studios, movie theaters, and museums the option to reopen beginning this Friday, so long as they adhere to strict guidelines limiting capacity, requiring social distancing, and imposing thorough sanitation requirements.
o Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) announced today that seven counties in the central part of the state would be placed under strict measures due to increased rates of COVID-19. • Useful state data:
o The NYT is tracking which states are reopening and which are still shut down.
o These charts show cumulative coronavirus cases and deaths for metropolitan areas over time.
o Use Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 U.S. map as a resource for media, policymakers and communities to view a collection of critical public health data in one online destination and better understand and track the COVID-19 pandemic in populations both large and small across the country.
o NASHP has developed a COVID-19 State Action Center which serves as a state-level policy dashboard. Governing is also keeping a running tally of coronavirus news and impacts at the intersection of the health and economic crises in the states and localities.
o This site from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides state-level information on cases/deaths, social distancing measures, health policy actions, and more.
o This resource from Bloomberg Law is a database of State Quarantine and Public Health Laws related to the COVID-19 response.
o This series of maps shows how states are responding to COVID-19, and this tracker, created and maintained by MultiState Associates, has an up- to-date list of executive orders and various travel restrictions.
o Finally, this site offers COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing and can be broken down by state.
Military/Defense
• The Senate Armed Services Committee will not begin deliberations on the National Defense Authorization Act until at least June 10, when subcommittee markups are scheduled to begin.
o The House Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, has not rescheduled markups that were also postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. • Two Army hospital centers dispatched to New York City at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic are being ordered home as the region sees improving conditions. • The Army has cancelled ROTC Cadet Summer Training due to concerns over COVID-19. • DoD awarded a $138M contract with ApiJect Systems America for two projects that will create a U.S.-based, high-speed supply chain for prefilled syringes to be used when a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available. • The VA received 500,000 protective masks from South Korea as a symbol of “the appreciation of the Korean people who have never forgotten the American veterans’ service and sacrifice” nearly 70 years ago in the Korean War.
International Affairs
• Countries around the world have seen increases in numbers of reported cases as they ease social distancing restrictions. • The UK will begin reopening tomorrow with Step 1 of its three phase plan. Most restrictions will remain in place, but a few will be eased. • Russia is now reporting the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world behind the U.S. They now have over 232,000 cases. • Iceland is anticipated to lift travel restrictions in mid-June. Travelers are expected to have to choose between taking a COVID-19 test or quarantining for two weeks once arriving. • The Canadian government is looking at administering questionnaires, using contact tracing apps, taking temperatures, and performing medical history checks on individuals who enter the country from the U.S. • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a $260 billion economic rescue package, but did not provide many details beyond that it would help all classes of business, from farms and laborers to big companies. • Following the emergence of a new cluster of cases in Wuhan, China, all residents have been ordered to get tested for COVID-19 in the next 10 days. • In Uruguay, crew members from the COVID-19-infected cruise ship "Greg Mortimer" have been allowed to disembark after almost two months at sea. More than half of the 60 crew members have tested positive. • Global Cases: 4,088,848 Total Deaths: 283,153
Lifestyle, Science, and Economy
• The S&P 500 dropped 2 percent today as reports from around the world came in about new spikes of cases in countries easing social distancing restrictions. • California State University, the nation’s largest four-year public university system, said that classes at its 23 campuses would be canceled for the fall semester, with instruction taking place almost exclusively online. • California’s system of community colleges has sued the Department of Education in an effort to overturn guidelines issued by Sec. Betsy DeVos that would deny COVID-19 relief funds to undocumented students, including Dreamers. • In Tennessee, the Bledsoe County Correctional Complex highlights the elevated transmission risk of COVID-19 in correctional facilities and surrounding communities. The prison has recently reported approximately 600 COVID-19 cases among both prisoners and staff. • The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) announced $384 million in additional funding to support a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax. • Gilead has signed non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with five generic pharmaceutical manufacturers based in India and Pakistan to further expand supply of remdesivir. The agreements allow the companies – Cipla Ltd., Ferozsons Laboratories, Hetero Labs Ltd., Jubilant Lifesciences and Mylan – to manufacture remdesivir for distribution in 127 countries. The countries consist of nearly all low-income and lower-middle income countries, as well as several upper-middle- and high-income countries that face significant obstacles to healthcare access. • Several sports leagues have announced their reopening dates and plans. NASCAR will resume on May 17th at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina with no fans present. Major League Baseball has reportedly reached a deal to begin the delayed 2020 season in July. • While some cruise ships remain at sea, with passengers and crew stuck onboard, Carnival Cruise Line announced it intends to resume services on select cruise routes starting August 1st. • Patagonia was one of the first major companies to close all of its stores back in March, and they've recently announced they could be one of the last to reopen. Representatives said Patagonia likely will not reopen any in-store shopping locations until June at the earliest, but it could also be as late as fall or early winter. • Forbes is keeping a running list of all major international airline COVID-19-related change and cancellation policies. • The New York Times has started its own tracker of cases in the U.S. to fill in the gaps left by agency data. • Lists of canceled conferences and events can be found here (music), here (tech), here (general), and here (sports/entertainment).
Helpful Articles/Media
• Daily WHO Situation Reports (5/12) • Virus Survivors Could Suffer Severe Health Effects for Years • Here is last week’s COVIDView from CDC, a weekly summary and interpretation of key indicators that have been adapted to track the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. • A strategic approach to COVID-19 vaccine R&D, with Drs. Tony Fauci and Francis Collins as co-authors • When Coronavirus Hits Food Deserts • In a virtual town hall with the American Academy of Family Physicians, ASTHO CMO Marcus Plescia presented on the intersect between public and private sectors in the COVID-19 response. • Rapid COVID-19 vaccine development • Giving blood thinners to severely ill Covid-19 patients is gaining ground • Anne Schuchat, MD, Principal Deputy Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), discusses evolution of CDC guidance and latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic. • Watch an NIH video about COVID-19 Diagnostics: The Challenge of Rapid, High-Volume Detection of SARS-CoV2 • Effect of Convalescent Plasma Therapy on Viral Shedding and Survival in COVID-19 Patients • Continue to check out the NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis’s (OPA) expert-curated portfolio of COVID-19 publications and preprints. The portfolio includes peer- reviewed articles from PubMed and preprints from medRxiv, bioRxiv, ChemRxiv, and arXiv. It is updated daily with the latest available data and enables users to explore and analyze the rapidly growing set of advances in COVID-19 research. • What Antibody Studies Can Tell You — and More Importantly, What They Can’t • Aerodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in two Wuhan hospitals (this would change the reopening of large buildings if found to be consistent) • From Dr. Tom Frieden: How to reopen society as soon and safely as possible • The Other COVID Risks: How Race, Income, ZIP Code Influence Who Lives Or Dies • Examining the social impact of COVID-19 • The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use • COVID-19 exacerbating inequalities in the US • The characteristics of household transmission of COVID-19 • The SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain elicits a potent neutralizing response without antibody-dependent enhancement • Antibiotic treatment for COVID-19 complications could fuel resistant bacteria • Rapid coronavirus test, commonly used in U.S., may miss infections in some situations • Visualizing Speech-Generated Oral Fluid Droplets with Laser Light Scattering • Coronavirus Vaccine Prospects • Former CDC Director Shares Lessons Learned From Ebola Outbreak • ‘We need an army’: Hiring of coronavirus trackers seen as key to curbing disease spread • Suicide Mortality and Coronavirus Disease 2019—A Perfect Storm? • FEMA’s How to Help website. • Safety at the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: How to Keep our Oncology Patients and Healthcare Workers Safe • The effective use of telemedicine to save lives and maintain structure in a health care system • Projecting hospital utilization during the COVID-19 outbreaks in the U.S. • Johns Hopkins data capture. • Other tracking data here.
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