HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS

July 17,  2020 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Trump administration orders hospitals to bypass CDC in reporting COVID-19 data (CBS)
• Federal Disaster Medical Teams Deployed As Texas Coronavirus Cases Surge (Newsweek)
• COVID Vaccine Front-Runner Is Months Ahead of Her Competition  (Bloomberg)
• Nearly half of coronavirus spread may be traced to people with no syptoms (Time)
• Stress Caused by COVID-19 May Have Triggered Rise in Broken Heart Syndrome (Newsweek)
• Nearly one-third of children tested for COVID in Florida are positive. Palm Beach County’s health director warns of risk of long-term damage (Sun Sentinel)
• What happens if Covid-19 symptoms don’t go away? Doctors are trying to figure it out. (Vox)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• TikTok May Make Changes to Distance Itself from China amid U.S. Pressure (Newsweek)
• 'Odd' Circles of Radio Waves Coming from Unknown Cosmic Source Discovered (Newsweek)

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

HEALTH

Trump administration orders hospitals to bypass CDC in reporting COVID-19 data (CBS)

The Trump administration is instructing hospitals to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in reporting their COVID-19 data to the government each day, effective Wednesday…. The administration's decision to change the way COVID-19 data is reported may be designed to improve the process of data gathering and decision making, Jennifer Kates [Kaiser Foundation] said, "but it also raises questions about the risk of further politicizing the data and the response to the pandemic. Making the data public would go a long way to addressing these concerns."

Federal Disaster Medical Teams Deployed As Texas Coronavirus Cases Surge (Newsweek)

Hospitalizations in Texas climbed to 9,869 on Thursday, the highest level recorded in the state since early April.

COVID Vaccine Front-Runner Is Months Ahead of Her Competition  (Bloomberg)

The University of Oxford candidate, led by Sarah Gilbert, might be through human trials in September. AstraZeneca has lined up agreements to produce 2 billion doses. Could this be the one?

Nearly half of coronavirus spread may be traced to people with no syptoms (Time)

One of the more insidious features of the new coronavirus behind COVID-19 is its ability to settle into unsuspecting hosts who never show signs of being sick but are able to spread the virus to others. In a study published June 3 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at the Scripps Research Translational Institute reviewed data from 16 different groups of COVID-19 patients from around the world to get a better idea of how many cases of coronavirus can likely be traced to people who spread the virus without ever knowing they were infected. Their conclusion: at minimum, 30%, and more likely 40% to 45%.

Stress Caused by COVID-19 May Have Triggered Rise in Broken Heart Syndrome (Newsweek)

None of the patients who had the condition in the study tested positive for COVID-19.

Nearly one-third of children tested for COVID in Florida are positive. Palm Beach County’s health director warns of risk of long-term damage (Sun Sentinel)

Nearly one-in-three children tested for the new coronavirus in Florida has been positive, and a South Florida health official is concerned the disease could cause lifelong damage even for children with mild illness.

What happens if Covid-19 symptoms don’t go away? Doctors are trying to figure it out. (Vox)

Suett says that even if the proportion of people who don’t eventually fully recover is small, there’s still a significant population who will need long-term care — and they’re having trouble getting it. “It’s a huge, unreported problem, and it’s crazy no one is shouting this from rooftops.”

SCIENCE AND TECH

TikTok May Make Changes to Distance Itself from China amid U.S. Pressure (Newsweek)

Officials from ByteDance, the Beijing-based tech startup that owns the short-form video app, are now mulling a shake-up of TikTok's corporate structure, a new report suggests.

'Odd' Circles of Radio Waves Coming from Unknown Cosmic Source Discovered (Newsweek)

The never-before-seen astronomical objects were found by scientists in Australia.