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IL-6 inhibitor tocilizumab (Actemra) showed a modest benefit in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Genentech announced Friday.
AstraZeneca on Saturday released its vaccine trial protocol, making it the third developer to do so amidst calls for transparency. (New York Times)
As of Monday at 8:00 a.m. EDT, the unofficial COVID-19 death toll stood at 199,513, while cases reached 6,812,332 — averaging 776 deaths and 41,675 new cases per day for over the past week.
Saturday set a single-day record for coronavirus diagnostic testing, with more than a million done across the nation, but it’s still well under what’s needed, Reuters reports.
A group of Black physicians organized by the National Medical Association will independently vet regulatory decisions on COVID-19 drugs, vaccines, and precautions in an effort to combat mistrust in the Black community. (STAT)
Jared Kushner rebuffed a group of private sector heavy hitters in March who were offering specific support for a federal-level response to PPE shortages. “That’s when I was like, We’re screwed,” said an attendee. (Vanity Fair)
CMS lifted the ban on nursing home visitors. (NPR)
Health workers in Minnesota conducting random coronavirus testing were “confronted by a group of armed citizens while out in a neighborhood.” (Pioneer Press)
President Trump’s European travel ban in March worsened the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak, Bill Gates told Fox News host Chris Wallace.
A physician lawmaker who has railed against masks and stay-at-home orders is now overseeing a drug company’s COVID-19 treatment trial. (Politico)
An “anti-masker” Idaho pastor is now in the ICU with COVID-19. “I haven’t taken this Covid seriously enough,” said his wife, who also contracted the virus. (Washington Post)
Up to 51% of all school employees have risk factors for severe COVID-19, while most school-age children live with at least one higher-risk adult, according to an AHRQ-sponsored study in Health Affairs.
The Mayo Clinic is releasing its own COVID-19 modeling forecasts at the county level. (Star Tribune)
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