The report on Tuesday of a powerful treatment for the new coronavirus brought skepticism along with optimism among U.S. doctors, who said the recent withdrawal of an influential COVID-19 study left them wanting to see more data. Global pressure to find a cure or vaccine has accelerated the process of reporting coronavirus study results, feeding confusion over whether therapies have been proven effective. One influential COVID study was withdrawn this month by respected British medical journal The Lancet over data concerns.
Researchers in Britain said dexamethasone, used to fight inflammation in other diseases, reduced death rates of the most severely ill COVID-19 patients by around a third, and they would work to publish full details as soon as possible.But hours later South Korea’s top health official cautioned about the use of the drug for COVID-19 patients due to potential side effects.
Verily’s COVID-19 Community Testing Project Now Reaches 130 Cities Nationwide
Verily announced that its COVID-19 testing program has been expanded to more than 130 cities and towns across the U.S. and has provided over 256,000 tests through a growing network of public and private partners.After first launching at two California sites in mid-March, Google’s life sciences-focused sister company said it has received more than 270,000 requests from state residents through its online screening tool.
At that time, the website had quickly reached its capacity for scheduling testing appointments at its initial locations near San Francisco and San Jose. Since then, Verily has opened more than 40 community testing sites in California alone in coordination with state and local public health officials, the company said in a statement. And though demand is still high, more kits have become available, allowing testing efforts to reach broader groups of people outside of those determined to be at a high risk for the novel coronavirus.