If you needed another reason to avoid coronavirus at all costs, here's one.
Skeptics of the disease and the necessity of shutting down the economy to stop its spread have focused on the fact that most coronavirus cases have been mild or even asymptomatic, mistakenly comparing COVID-19 to "just the flu." But a recent study of 100 recovered coronavirus patients reveals 78 of them now have lasting cardiovascular damage even though a vast majority of them had mild cases of COVID-19 in the first place.
The study published Monday in JAMA Cardiology details the results of cardiac MRI exams of 100 recovered coronavirus patients. Twenty-eight of them required oxygen supplementation while fighting the virus, while just two were on ventilators. But 78 of them still had cardiovascular abnormalities after recovery, with 60 of them showing "ongoing myocardial inflammation," the study shows. These conditions appeared to be independent of case severity and pre-existing conditions, though JAMA researchers note these findings need a larger study.
President Trump and his administration have tried to say America's low coronavirus mortality rate proves the country is beating the virus. But not only is COVID-19's mortality rate not as low as Trump has claimed; this study proves there are far more consequences of catching coronavirus than just dying of it. Kathryn Krawczyk
Some of the largest slums in Mumbai, India, may be nearing herd coronavirus immunity, a new serological survey found, Bloomberg reports.
The study tested 6,936 people across three suburbs in Mumbai — Dahisar, Chembur, and Matunga — and discovered that 57 percent of the subjects had coronavirus antibodies, a figure far higher than the 21 percent found in New York City in April and 14 percent in Stockholm, Sweden, in May. Per Bloomberg, epidemiologists generally believe a population must reach infection levels of 60 percent to achieve herd immunity, so the study indicates the neighborhoods are pretty much there. The survey appears to go hand-in-hand with a steep decline in cases in the slums in recent weeks, despite India having the world's fastest growth in infections overall.
Social distancing is a challenge in the crowded Mumbai neighborhoods, which seemingly makes them well-suited for the virus' spread, and the study suggests that it did so widely. Fortunately, the population in the slums is young and more likely to avoid severe cases of COVID-19. That, coupled successful government containment measures that helped catch cases early and ensure high quality care, have kept the fatality low in the slums, even if many infections went undetected, Bloomberg notes.
It's encouraging that some of Mumbai's slums may be closing in on herd immunity without experiencing a high death rate, but the jury is still out on how long immunity lasts. Read more at Bloomberg. Tim O'Donnell
Congress' leading Democrats have provided Americans with some terrible mental imagery.
Democrats and Republicans are sparring over a coronavirus relief bill to replace the phase three CARES Act that will expire in just two days. But as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) described Tuesday, the parties' competing visions are nowhere near ready to come together.
Pelosi described the two parties' ideals as "a giraffe and a flamingo" during a Tuesday meeting with Schumer, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, an Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Politico reports. "They're both at a zoo. A dumb person may think they could mate for offspring. A smart person knows that's impossible. That's our bills. They're unable to mate."
If that metaphor wasn't clear enough, Schumer surely drove the point home with one of his own. "A golden retriever can't mate with a Chihuahua. You have a Chihuahua. We have a beautiful lion," he said, Politico reports via people in the room. "Pelosi then helpfully reminded Schumer that a lion is a cat, so, no, they could not mate," Politico writes.
Schumer did get one part of the metaphor wrong: Golden retrievers and Chihuahuas can mate. Don't think about the how and enjoy this adorable picture of the uncommon mix. Kathryn Krawczyk
President Trump is claiming ignorance to defend his recent resistance to confront Russia.
In a video interview aired Wednesday, Axios' Jonathan Swan asked Trump if he'd mentioned reports indicating Russia offered Taliban fighters bounties to kill U.S. troops in a recent call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "That was a phone call to discuss other things," Trump said, blowing off the whole issue as "fake news."
Trump then claimed he didn't even know about the Russian bounties despite reports saying it was included in his intelligence briefings. "It never reached my desk," Trump said, prompting Swan to ask the president if he reads his written intelligence briefings. That turned into a defense of Trump's comprehensive abilities and his attendance at intelligence meetings.
Regardless, Swan continued, Trump's former head of forces in Afghanistan John Nicholson has publicly said "Russia is supplying weapons to the Taliban." "Well, we supplied weapons when they were fighting Russia," Trump countered, spinning the question before saying that issue also "never reached my desk." Watch the whole clip below. Kathryn Krawczyk
Xprize has unveiled a new $5 million competition to encourage the development of rapid COVID-19 testing.
The non-profit organization on Tuesday announced the Xprize Rapid COVID Testing competition to "accelerate the development of high-quality COVID-19 testing that is low cost, easy to use, and fast-turnaround, enabling frequent testing." Xprize and OpenCovidScreen are asking the "world's brightest, most innovative minds" to get involved and develop new fast and affordable testing solutions that might help facilitate a safe return to school and work amid the pandemic, as other COVID-19 testing methods can take days to produce a result.
The submissions, Xprize says, can be in one of four categories including at-home and point-of-care testing, and entries will be judged on factors like innovation, performance, turnaround time, and cost. Five teams will ultimately be awarded $1 million each, and the maximum turnaround time is 12 hours, TechCrunch reports.
"Fast, affordable, and accessible testing is crucial to containing the COVID-19 pandemic and safely reopening schools, businesses and other vital institutions around the world,” Xprize CEO Anousheh Ansari said in a statement. "Xprize Rapid COVID Testing is inspiring the best entrepreneurial and scientific teams to come together to work towards rapid, affordable COVID-19 testing at scale, and ultimately, getting the world up and running again."
Xprize is asking teams to register for the competition by the end of August. Brendan Morrow
The American Federation of Teachers, the country's second-largest teachers union, said on Tuesday it will support any strike conducted because of safety concerns over reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
President Randi Weingarten said if authorities "don't protect the safety and health of those we represent and those we serve ... nothing is off the table. Not advocacy or protests, negotiations, grievances or lawsuits, or, if necessary and authorized by a local union, as a last resort, safety strikes."
The AFT also adopted a resolution stating that schools should only be able to physically reopen in areas where the COVID-19 transmission rate is less than one percent and the daily community infection rate is below five percent, NPR reports. Catherine Garcia
