New Rutgers Saliva Test for Coronavirus Gets FDA Approval

The FDA has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Rutgers’ RUCDR Infinite Biologics and its collaborators for a new collection approach that utilizes saliva as the primary test biomaterial for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the first such approval granted by the federal agency. The new saliva collection method, which RUCDR developed in partnership with Spectrum Solutions and Accurate Diagnostic Labs (ADL), will allow for broader population screening than the current method of nose and throat swabs.

Engineering develop ventilator and mask prototypes using 3D printing to help during coronavirus pandemic

Engineers at Binghamton University, State University of New York are working with healthcare providers in the region to develop technology to help deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Binghamton University Student Builds Ventilator Prototype to Assist During COVID-19 Pandemic

Jacob Goodman, a mechanical engineering student at Binghamton University, State University of New York, built a ventilator prototype using mainly parts he purchased from Walmart, to help during the coronavirus pandemic. Here he breaks down the parts and how the device works.

Intermountain Healthcare COVID-19 Response Teams to Provide Support to New York Hospitals; 100 Caregivers Deploying This Week to Help NY Care for Coronavirus Patients

Intermountain Healthcare has created two COVID-19 Response Teams with 50 caregivers each that will deploy to the New York City area to assist hospitals this week. Intermountain has partnered with New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Northwell Health, both located in the New York City area. These healthcare systems will aim to return the favor by supporting Intermountain as much as they can when Utah faces its own surge with COVID-19 patients.

Rutgers Food Innovation Center Offers Virtual Food Safety Training

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 13, 2020) – Food safety certificate courses offered by Rutgers’ Food Innovation Center are now available via interactive virtual training, including face-to-face video conferencing. Specialty food industry manufacturers, retailers, distributors and individuals across the food supply…

Rutgers Experts Can Discuss Emissions, Climate Change During COVID-19 Crisis

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 13, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick experts are available for interviews on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and efforts to promote a greener economy and lifestyles. “During the 2007…

BIDMC enrolling patients in clinical trials evaluating existing drug as treatment for severe COVID-19

Physician-scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center are now enrolling patients in a clinical trial to evaluate a potential treatment of patients with COVID-19. Part of a multi-site investigation, the trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of sarilumab, a biologic medication already approved for adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, for the treatment of COVID-19.

Ask the expert: MSU veterinarian dispels myths about pets and COVID-19

Since first hearing about the COVID-19 outbreak in China, media outlets around the world have reported on strains of the virus originating in animals, on pets testing positive for the virus and most recently, on a tiger testing positive for COVID-19 at the Bronx Zoo. Annette O’Connor – chairperson of the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and professor of Epidemiology at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine – says that there are seven different types of coronaviruses and that the Centers for Disease Control doesn’t believe the COVID-19 strain can be transmitted to domestic animals.

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Air Quality During COVID-19

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 9, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Monica Mazurek is available for interviews on air quality during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are experiencing unusually low levels of gas-phase and particulate air pollutants compared with last year,…

Rutgers Researcher Partners with NYU in Creating Sleep Apnea Machine Alternative to Ventilators and a Virus-Trapping Hood

A Rutgers researcher is testing modified sleep apnea machines intended to help relieve the shortage of mechanical ventilators for COVID-19 patients and is testing a prototype for a second system called the NYU Tandon AirVENT. It is a portable, personal, negative pressure hood that sucks virus particles exhaled by the wearer into a filter and traps them.

Ad Astra Coalition created to help in the fight against COVID-19

A coalition of businesses and government partners, the Ad Astra Coalition has joined together to answer some of the challenges being created in Wichita and Kansas by the COVID-19 pandemic. The coalition is co-led by Airbus Americas Engineering, Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation, Wichita State University and WSU Tech.

Mayo Clinic offer guidance on treating COVID-19 patients with signs of acute heart attack

Much remains unknown about COVID-19, but many studies already have indicated that people with cardiovascular disease are at greater risk of COVID-19. There also have been reports of ST-segment elevation (STE), a signal of obstructive coronary artery disease, in patients with COVID-19 who after invasive coronary angiography show no sign of the disease. This false signal of coronary artery disease may cause patients to undergo procedures that present unnecessary risks, especially in the COVID-19 environment, according to a special article published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

False-negative COVID-19 test results may lead to false sense of security

As COVID-19 testing becomes more widely available, it’s vital that health care providers and public health officials understand its limits and the impact false results can have on efforts to curb the pandemic.
A special article published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings calls attention to the risk posed by overreliance on COVID-19 testing to make clinical and public health decisions. The sensitivity of reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing and overall test performance characteristics have not been reported clearly or consistently in medical literature, the article says.

Measuring the Risk Among Clinicians Who Intubate Patients with COVID-19

Penn launched the U.S. component of a global registry that aims to help protect health care providers who intubate patients with COVID-19 and quantify their risk of developing the disease. The intubateCOVID registry tracks exposures and outcomes among providers who perform intubations, with the ultimate goal of reducing the transmission of COVID-19 to these providers.

FaceTime, Faith and Zoom’ing Through Holy Week; UNH Expert on Worshipping During COVID-19

For most religions, coming together as a community to worship is at the core of their practice, but during this unique and unsettling time of mask wearing and social distancing praying together can be a challenge as many churches remain closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Michele Dillon, a scholar of Catholicism and professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, finds that during one of the most holy periods on the Christian calendar clergy and parishioners are learning to make the liturgy work as online events, while continuing to follow COVID-19 guidelines.

UPMC Leads Global Effort to Fast Track Testing of Hydroxychloroquine and other COVID-19 Therapies with ‘Learning While Doing’ Clinical Trial

Novel ‘learning while doing’ clinical trial approach called REMAP helps doctors find the optimal trade-off between quickly adopting new therapies during a pandemic, such as the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, and waiting until they are tested in longer clinical trials. The trial announced today at UPMC, called UPMC-REMAP-COVID19 learns from similar trials enrolling around the world and uses artificial intelligence to quickly arrive at answers.

Clinical trial launches to evaluate antimalarial drugs for COVID-19 treatment

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is launching a clinical trial for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. The trial will investigate the effectiveness of different combinations of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin in treating ill patients infected with the novel coronavirus.

Mount Sinai Study Finds First Cases of COVID-19 in New York City are Primarily from European and US Sources

First definitive molecular epidemiology study of SARS-CoV-2 in New York City to describe the route by which the virus arrived

University of Utah Health and Intermountain Healthcare Launch Two COVID-19 Clinical Trials to Test Effectiveness of Drugs

Researchers from Intermountain Healthcare and University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City have launched two vital clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of two drugs –hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin – to treat patients with COVID-19 (infection with the novel coronavirus).

JNCCN: Improving COVID-19 Safety for Cancer Patients and Healthcare Providers

NCCN Best Practices Committee publishes peer-reviewed feature in JNCCN presenting latest insights on how to keep oncology patients and healthcare workers safe during COVID-19 pandemic. Visit NCCN.org/covid-19 for continually-updated resources for patients, providers, and care systems.

University of Redlands Professor Marcia McFee says though we can’t gather, we can still celebrate Easter, Passover, or Ramadan. “In fact, it is perhaps essential to do so, in this moment, this year.”

University of Redlands Professor Marcia McFee says though we can’t gather, we can still celebrate Easter, Passover, or Ramadan. “In fact, it is perhaps essential to do so, in this moment, this year.” “In the Easter story, human pathos meets…