Medical
No guarantees of Covid-19 vaccine but prospects very good, scientist says
Research and Innovation in March to scale up her team's efforts to move into COVID-19 vaccine research. Gilbert says that she and her colleagues are now at the point where they hope clinical trials can start at the end of next week, pending final safety tests. [Full Article...]
Global virus deaths pass 150,000 as Trump endorses lockdown protests
President Trump said there would be consequences if it is found that China was responsible for the pandemic . "Does anyone believe [Iran's] number?" Ahead of Saturday's briefing, Trump was on Twitter, weighing in on a variety of topics, including the November election. [Full Article...]
Coronavirus: No date for when schools will reopen
He said: "I'm profoundly grateful for the vital roles they are playing in our communities". Mr Gove said: "It is the case that we are looking at all of the evidence, but we have set some tests which need to be passed before we can think of easing restrictions in this lockdown.
"It is entirely understandable, of course, that there should be a public debate about how we approach these hard choices... [Full Article...]
Province authorizes $2000 fine for price gouging, secondary reselling of medical supplies
The provincial government is giving police the power to issue $2,000 fines to people who price gouge or resell essential goods, including personal protective equipment. It's super frustrating watching people hoarding and upselling essential goods, sometimes with no effect. "The police and enforcement officers are responsible for issuing violation tickets", said a release. [Full Article...]
Penn Medicine Launches COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Study
In absence of a major breakthrough in therapeutic trials, the regulatory body in the United States on Thursday announced a new protocol through which fully recovered Covid-19 patients will be encouraged to donate their plasma across the country. [Full Article...]
COVID-19 deaths in Toronto reach 173, more than 550 in Ontario
Sunday's report marks the largest increase in cases since the outbreak began, ahead of Friday's increase of 564. In Alberta, the death count rose to 55 , after another four people died this weekend and an additional 241 positive cases were reported. [Full Article...]
Swiss Pharma Giant Roche Plans to Start Selling Antibody Test in May
The Food and Drug Administration of the USA has authorized another two antibody tests for coronavirus as CNN reported. "Such a test could, if developed in such a way that they could be reliably used at home and be sufficiently accurate, be a game-changer", he added. [Full Article...]
Chief scientific adviser says vaccines are 'long shots'
It is hard to know when a vaccine might be ready, Gilbert said, as there are many complex stages in vaccine development. Johan Van Hoof, global head of vaccines for Johnson & Johnson, said: "The demand will be so high that you will need more than one vaccine coming to the finish line". [Full Article...]