Providing high doses of vitamin D to patients admitted to hospitals after contracting the CCP virus could reduce deaths by 60 percent, according to a study by the Social Science Research Network.
As part of the research, 551 patients admitted to a hospital in Spain were given calcifediol, a prehormone generated from vitamin D3, resulting in 80 percent of the patients not requiring ICU treatment. The research stated that 36 of the patients treated with calcifediol died from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, compared to 57 patients out of 379 in the control group.
World Needs Pandemic Treaty to Ensure Transparency: UK
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that world powers should clinch a global treaty on pandemics to ensure proper transparency after China’s CCP virus outbreak, which causes the disease COVID-19.Johnson said he would be keen to agree with a global treaty on pandemics where countries agreed to share data, amid British and U.S. concern over access given to a World Health Organization (WHO) mission to China.
Average US Cases Below 100,000 for 1st Time in Months
Average daily new COVID-19 cases in the United States dipped below 100,000 in recent days for the first time in months, but experts cautioned Sunday that infections remain high and precautions to slow the pandemic must remain in place.The seven-day rolling average of new infections was well above 200,000 for much of December and went to roughly 250,000 in January, according to data kept by Johns Hopkins University. That average dropped below 100,000 on Friday for the first time since Nov. 4. It also stayed below 100,000 over the weekend.
Virus Was ‘Circulating Widely’ in Wuhan by Late 2019: WHO
An investigator with the World Health Organization (WHO) said the CCP virus was “circulating widely” in Wuhan, China, in late 2019.Lead WHO investigator Peter Ben Embarek told CNN that his team found signs of a wider outbreak in the Hubei Province city in late 2019, noting that there were at least 13 strains of the CCP virus, or the novel coronavirus, around Wuhan by late 2019.
Variants-Wary Germany Turns Back 5,000 at Border
German authorities say police have turned back some 5,000 people at the country’s borders with the Czech Republic and Austria’s Tyrol region since tight controls were introduced on Sunday.Germany imposed checks to slow the spread of the UK CCP virus variant from the Czech Republic and the South African variant from Tyrol. It is restricting entry to German citizens and residents, truck drivers, transport and health service workers, and a few others, including cross-border commuters working in “systemically relevant sectors.”
CDC Director Defends Changing School Distancing Recommendation
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday defended telling educators last year that social distancing in schools of three feet was “quite safe,” while her agency in new reopening guidance says six feet of distancing is recommended.The CDC’s new guidance, published last week, repeatedly says six feet of distancing should be targeted when reopening schools. Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters in a call about the guidance that, along with masking, “physical distance of at least six feet” should be required “across the school environment.”
UK Starts Hotel Quarantine for Arrivals From High-Risk Countries
People arriving in the UK must quarantine in hotels starting Monday as the government tries to prevent new variants of the CCP virus from derailing the country’s vaccination drive.People arriving in England from 33 high-risk countries must stay in quarantine hotels for 10 days at their own expense. In Scotland, the rule applies to arrivals from any country. Critics say the move comes too late, with the South African variant already circulating in the country.
Israeli Study Finds 94 Percent Drop in Symptomatic Cases
Israel’s largest health care provider on Sunday reported a 94 percent drop in symptomatic CCP virus infections among 600,000 people who received two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine in the country’s biggest study to date.Health maintenance organization Clalit, which covers more than half of all Israelis, said the same group was also 92 percent less likely to develop severe illness from the virus. The comparison was against a group of the same size, with matching medical histories, who had not received the vaccine.
Stimulus Bill Must Be Passed For Schools to Safely Reopen: Fauci
Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that in order for schools to safely reopen nationwide, a stimulus bill must first be passed to provide further resources.Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made the remarks in response to the Feb. 12 guidelines released by the CDC on the reopening of schools in the United States.
Isabel van Brugen, Jack Phillips, Lorenz Duchamps, Zachary Stieber, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
