“At war with no ammo”: doctors say shortage of PPE is dire With coronavirus cases soaring, doctors, nurses and other frontline medical workers across the U.S. are confronting a dire shortage of masks, surgical gowns and eye gear to protect them. The Open Cities Community Health Center (St. Paul, MN) is considering shutting down because it doesn’t have enough facemasks. … [Read more...]
Coronavirus News – March 20
U.S. hospital associations ask Congress for $100 billion in emergency funding The American Hospital Association, American Medical Association and American Nurses Association have sent a letter to Congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer and Kevin McCarthy seeking $100 billion in emergency funding. It reads in part, “The past few days have made a … [Read more...]
Dail-eNews Podcast: COVID-19 Test Kits
Dail-eNews Editor Daniel Beaird interviews Repertoire Managing Editor Graham Garrison on COVID-19 test kits, how health systems and their supply chains are responding to the pandemic, and how the healthcare supply chain is holding up. … [Read more...]
Abbott launches COVID-19 test
(March 18) Abbott announced it has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA for its molecular test for the identification of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The company is deploying 150,000 laboratory tests immediately, according to a release on its website. Tests already have been sent to hospital and academic medical center labs in 18 states … [Read more...]
Coronavirus News – March 19
Trump invokes emergency powers to marshal private sector for pandemic President Donald Trump has invoked emergency powers that allow the government to marshal the private sector in response to the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump is employing the Defense Production Act as the government bolsters resources for an expected surge in cases of the virus. He said Wednesday … [Read more...]
Coronavirus News – March 18
New coronavirus stable on surfaces for hours, days According to a new study from NIH, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists in The New England Journal of Medicine, the virus that causes COVID-19 is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces. SARS-CoV-2 was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on … [Read more...]
Quidel receives emergency use authorization for COVID-19 test
3/17/2020 SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE) Quidel Corporation, a provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, cellular-based virology assays and molecular diagnostic systems, announced today that Quidel has received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Lyra® SARS-CoV-2 Assay, a real-time RT-PCR test intended for the … [Read more...]
Coronavirus News – March 17
First human trial starts in U.S. The first human trial testing a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19 began Monday. The NIH has been fast-tracking work with biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine using the genetic sequence of the new coronavirus. The trial is taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (Seattle, WA), where COVID-19 cases … [Read more...]
Dail-eNews Podcast – PPE availability during COVID-19
Dail-eNews editor Daniel Beaird interviews Repertoire editor Mark Thill about the FDA's letter to healthcare providers on surgical mask and gown conservation strategies and the possible re-use of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. … [Read more...]
COVID-19 Testing: What reps need to know
(March 16, 2020) - Repertoire Physician Office Lab Columnist, Jim Poggi, provides some insights into the COVID-19 testing methods All the testing for coronavirus in the US is under the direction of the CDC. There are presently three methods approved: The CDC created method, which has been sent to public health labs in the U.S. Roche has … [Read more...]