- Coronavirus - Covid19, Drug development, Infectious disease, Medicine, Medicine & Politics, Public health
Coronavirus Tidbits #85 9/24/20
pQuick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. What a week from hell…besides RBG’s death and the sleazy response to that, I’m not going to post each piece of travesty from this regime…I wrote 2 posts on Forbes that I will refer you to. 1) an overview of political interference at…
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Coronavirus Tidbits # 21 3-28-20
News: Best news of the day: ‘Going full-on MacGyver’ – U of MN doctor creates makeshift ventilators to battle COVID-19 Even better, in some ways, he’s also made the plans OPEN Source and will be updating here Physical Prototype Video: https://youtu.be/3ssVoWEVxw4 CAD Prototype Video: https://youtu.be/RpEqtGa2vTI Diagnostics: Rapid diagnostic tests are winning approval, like this 5-minute coronavirus test by Abbott Laboratories that won emergency FDA approval The problem is that we don’t yet know enough about the accuracy of the tests, known as sensitivity and specificity? In particular, is a negative test really negative. Until we know more, many ID experts recommend assuming someone who has symptoms is infectious, even if the test is…
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Coronavirus Tidbits # 19 3-26-20
News: This is very exciting to me and the best news of the day. I met David Fajgenbaum at a conference to launch CURE ID, the Drug Repurposing program I’ve been excited about. Go watch this video, starting at ~3:42:14 of his remarkable story. He’s translated that drive into #COVID19 research now and his team has done remarkable work extracting data in just 6 days! Also go watch ~31:40” for a 10 minute talk from Shira Strongin (I’ve written about her and rare diseases before) on her life before and after a repurposed Hail Mary drug for her rare disease. I’ve been excited about drug repurposing for years for its potential to…
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Coronavirus tidbits # 18 3-25-20
News: One doctor’s straight talk about the coronavirus strikes a chord with anxious Americans This is an excellent, very short clip. Highly recommended Emily Landon https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/03/20/emily-landon-coronavirus/ Perspective: The coronavirus economic downfall will affect those who can least afford it https://www.zmescience.com/science/the-coronavirus-economic-downfall-will-affect-those-who-can-least-afford-it/ Why you should stay at home: My friend Shira is a superstar with her advocacy for patients with #RareDiseases, and is the founder of Sick Chicks. She posted this selfie partying with her parents. They have a remarkable sense of humor, generosity, and resilience. Let’s keep them and all the #vulnerable folks in our lives safe. Diagnostics: Companies, countries, buying robots to increase testing https://www.zmescience.com/science/spain-coronavirus-robots-92253552/ Drugs: Another chapter in why…
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Trade War With China Threatens To Make Problems With Generic Medicine Worse
Earlier in September, Reps. Eshoo and Adam Schiff had an op-ed in the Washington Post, “Opinion | China’s grip on pharmaceutical drugs is a national security issue.” I couldn’t have agreed more. I wrote a letter to the editor, “How a trade war could turn deadly,” published September 19. It was based on my detailed article below, which first appeared in Forbes, last spring: Do you know where your medicines are made? Have you been switched between different generic forms of your medicine, only to find that you responded differently? Ma’s pills in a ginger jar. – Judy Stone Two recent books have echoed my longstanding concern about America’s dependence…