April 3, 2020 2:51 am
Researchers and doctors from UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh announced Thursday that there is a potential vaccine for COVID-19. The vaccine, which is delivered through a fingertip-sized patch, produces what is thought to be enough antibodies to neutralize the virus. Researchers said viruses closely related to the new coronavirus show that spike proteins are important when it comes to inducing immunity. The potential vaccine works like the current flu vaccine in that it uses lab-made pieces of viral protein to build immunity. The potential vaccine is being called PittCoVacc, short for Pittsburgh Coronavirus Vaccine. The fingertip-sized patch increases the potency of the vaccine through the use of 400 tiny needles that deliver the spike protein pieces into the skin, where the immune reaction is strongest, officials said. It goes on like a Band-Aid and the needles dissolve into the skin because they’re made up of sugar and the protein pieces. “It’s actually pretty painless. It feels kind of like Velcro,” said Louis Falo, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of dermatology at Pitt’s School of Medicine and UPMC. The process of applying for an investigational new drug approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been started, with anticipation of starting a phase I human clinical trial in the next few months. “Testing in patients would typically require at least a year and probably longer,” Falo said.
April 3, 2020 2:46 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania will stop paying about 9,000 state workers whose offices have been closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says that paid leave for state employees whose work locations are closed and who are unable to work remotely will end April 10. The pay freeze impacts about 12% of the state workforce, though individual agencies are being hit much harder. The state Departments of Transportation and Revenue are halting pay to more than half of their employees.
April 2, 2020 5:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal government expects to begin making payments to millions of Americans under the new stimulus law in mid-April, but some people without direct deposit information may not get checks until mid-August or later. That’s according to a memo obtained Thursday by The Associated Press. The document from the House Ways and Means Committee says the IRS will make about 60 million payments to Americans through direct deposit in mid-April, likely the week of April 13. The IRS has direct deposit information for these individuals from their 2018 or 2019 tax returns. Paper checks will be issued, starting May 4th, but could take up to 20 weeks.
April 2, 2020 3:40 pm
(AP) – The Democratic National Committee is delaying its convention until the week of Aug. 17. The move comes after prospective nominee Joe Biden said he didn’t think it was possible to hold a normal convention in July because of the coronavirus. The viral pandemic is forcing Democrats and Republicans to take a close look at their summer conventions, which typically kick off the general election season. Republicans are expressing confidence they can pull off their convention as scheduled in late August. The Democrats’ change presents massive logistical issues for the tens of thousands of delegates, activists, party leaders and media who planned to descend on Milwaukee in July.
April 2, 2020 10:30 am
MOSCOW (AP) – President Vladimir Putin has ordered most Russians to stay off work until the end of the month to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Speaking in a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Putin said he was extending the non-working policy he ordered earlier for this week to remain in force throughout April. He said there are exceptions for essential industries will keep operating, and grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open. He said Russia’s virus-prevention strategies have bought time and helped slow down the outbreak but also warned that cases haven’t yet peaked.
April 2, 2020 9:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, far exceeding a record high set just last week, a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus. The job cuts are mounting against the backdrop of economies in the United States and abroad that have almost certainly sunk into a severe recession as businesses close across the world. Last week’s figure is much higher than the previous record of 3.3 million reported for the previous week. The surging layoffs have led many economists to envision as many as 20 million lost jobs by the end of April.
April 2, 2020 3:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump says he is weighing grounding domestic flights between coronavirus hot spots as he ramps up efforts to try to contain the pandemic’s spread. Trump told reporters at a White House briefing Wednesday that he was worried about the impact on already-struggling airlines but is considering the move nonetheless. The comments came a day after Trump warned the nation to brace for a “hell of a bad two weeks,” with 100,000 to 240,000 coronavirus deaths now projected, even if current social distancing guidelines are maintained. Limited flights continue to run between cities like New York and Detroit, though passenger counts have plummeted nationwide.
April 2, 2020 3:57 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has recommended that the city’s 4 million people wear masks when going outside amid the spreading coronavirus. Garcetti on Wednesday said people in the nation’s second-largest city who are performing essential tasks such as food shopping should wear homemade, non-medical face coverings, or even bandannas, as people in other countries hard-hit by the COVID-19 virus have done. But Garcetti says residents shouldn’t use medical-grade masks, which are needed for healthcare workers. He also says people should still stay home as much as possible.
April 2, 2020 3:56 am
(AP) – Nursing homes across the country have been in lockdown for weeks under federal orders to protect their frail, elderly residents from coronavirus. But a wave of deadly outbreaks nearly every day since suggests the measures including a ban on visits and daily screenings of staffers either came too late or were not rigorous enough. Recent outbreaks in Tennessee, New Jersey, Ohio and Maryland have pushed nursing home deaths to at least 450 and highlight the biggest gap: Screenings of workers don’t involve testing but the taking of temperatures or asking health questions that still allow asymptomatic people to slip through.
April 2, 2020 3:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Navy officials say nearly 3,000 sailors aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier where the coronavirus has spread will be taken off the ship by Friday as military leaders struggle to quarantine crew members in the face of an outbreak. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is now docked in Guam. Navy leaders say fewer than 100 of the 5,000 sailors assigned to the Roosevelt have tested positive for the virus. But the Navy is moving sailors into various facilities and probably will begin using hotel rooms in the coming days. Navy leaders are talking with government officials to identify rooms for the crew members.
