Health

Colorado announces no new coronavirus-linked deaths for second straight day

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For the second straight day, Colorado reported no new deaths linked directly to the novel coronavirus, according to official estimates.

COLORADO AMENDS CORONAVIRUS DEATH COUNT – SAYS FEWER HAVE DIED OF COVID-19 THAN PREVIOUSLY REPORTED

The news comes as deaths from the coronavirus in the Centennial State have continued to decline since peaking in mid-April, the Denver Post reported.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are also falling, with some 297 people currently hospitalized in Colorado. The newspaper noted this is the first time since March 27 that less than 300 people in the state have been hospitalized at once due to the coronavirus.

The news comes after Colorado made a significant change to the way it counts COVID-19 deaths that reduced the statewide figure from more than 1,000 to 878 in mid-May. The change came after Colorado’s Department of Public Health admitted that its COVID-19 death toll was counting those who tested positive for the coronavirus but had died of other causes. The state now separates the two, now listing “deaths among cases” and “deaths due to COVID-19” in separate categories in its official estimates.

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Colorado has reported 26,378 cases of the novel virus, with some 1,181 deaths due to COVID-19, according to the latest estimates.

Cancer and coronavirus: A deadly concoction, studies find

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Cancer patients infected with COVID-19 had a much higher risk of dying within a month than non-cancerous COVID-19 patients, recent studies say.

In a study published May 28 in The Lancet, 50 percent of 928 cancer patients and survivors with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 13 percent died. The most common malignancies were breast cancer and prostate cancer.

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According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the majority of the 10 countries most affected by coronavirus have death rates less than 13 percent. The US has a COVID-related mortality rate of 5.8 percent, whereas countries like Belgium, France and Italy have death rates exceeding 14 percent.

Another study in The Lancet of cancer patients facing COVID-19 found an even higher death rate at 28 percent, increasing with age and underlying health problems like cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

HEALTH OFFICIALS WORRY ABOUT SECOND CORONAVIRUS WAVE AFTER GEORGE FLOYD

The study also found 22 percent of patients had interrupted anticancer treatment due to the pandemic.

What do these findings mean for more than a million Americans diagnosed with cancer each year?

Data from the American Cancer Society says there will be an estimated 1.8 million new cancer diagnoses and more than 600,000 cancer deaths in the US in 2020. The number of cancer survivors in the U.S. will approach 18 million this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS-LINKED MIS-C INFLAMMATORY CONDITION REPORTED IN CHILDREN AT TEXAS PEDIATRIC HOSPITALS

Dr. Jeremy Warner, a Vanderbilt University data scientist who led the wider study, told the Associated Press that the “results show the wisdom of measures that many hospitals have taken to delay or modify care for many cancer patients, and the need for people treated in the past to be extra careful now.”

“If they don’t have COVID-19, they want to do anything they can to avoid getting it,” Warner told AP.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Health officials worry about second coronavirus wave after George Floyd

Health officials in the U.S. have new concerns that the nationwide protests over the George Floyd death in police custody could spark a wider spread of the coronavirus after many cities reported bringing the virus under control.

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Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that there are still some “pockets of spread” in communities. He said there has been an uptick in new coronavirus cases in recent days at the epicenter of the protests.

Minnesota Health Department Spokesman Doug Schultz said Sunday that any spike from the protests will not be seen until six to 10 days after its transmission, the Star Tribune reported. The report pointed out that the Minneapolis provided hundreds of masks for protesters.

Gov. Tim Walz said, according to the paper, that he is “deeply concerned about a super-spreader type of incident … after this. We are going to see a spike in COVID-19. It’s inevitable.”

The U.S. has seen more than 1.7 million infections and over 104,000 deaths in the pandemic, which has disproportionately affected racial minorities. Protests over Floyd’s death have shaken the U.S. from New York to Los Angeles.

PROTESTS BREAK OUT OUTSIDE WH

“There’s no question that when you put hundreds or thousands of people together in close proximity, when we have got this virus all over the streets … it’s not healthy,” Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Demonstrators are packed, many without masks, many chanting, shouting or singing. The virus is dispersed by microscopic droplets in the air when people cough, sneeze, talk or sing.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, told the New York Times that the “outdoor air dilutes the virus and reduces the infectious dose that might be out there, and if there are breezes blowing, that further dilutes the virus in the air. There was literally a lot of running around, which means they’re exhaling more profoundly, but also passing each other very quickly.”

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Despite much of the protest and riots taking place outdoors, looters ransacked stores in various cities. The virus is notoriously transmitted by asymptomatic carriers. The Times reported that Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, told those out protesting to “go get a COVID test this week.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Possible coronavirus-linked MIS-C inflammatory condition reported in children at Texas pediatric hospitals

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At least two children’s hospitals in Texas have recently treated pediatric patients for a mysterious inflammatory syndrome that experts have said is likely related to the novel coronavirus.

Two hospitals in Houston — Texas Children’s and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital — have reported cases of the so-called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), an inflammatory condition that is similar to Kawasaki disease, which causes swelling in arteries throughout the body.

LOUISIANA CHILD’S POSSIBLE CORONAVIRUS-LINKED MIS-C DEATH THE FIRST IN STATE

Fewer than 10 patients are being treated at Texas Children’s, the Houston Chronicle reported. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital told the outlet that the hospital treated “several” pediatric patients for MIS-C in recent weeks. All have since recovered, however. No other details were provided.

More cases of the Kawasaki disease-like inflammatory condition are likely to pop up in children around the country as the virus continues to spread, experts have warned, and the increasing number of cases even prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recently issue an advisory regarding MIS-C. Overall, more than 250 cases of the mysterious illness have been reported across the country.

Many children with MIS-C — which causes inflammation in the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs — have either been infected with the novel coronavirus or had been exposed to someone with a COVID-19 infection, according to health officials.

MIS-C can also cause persistent fever, rashes, vomiting, and diarrhea, among other symptoms such as a red tongue and eyes.

Dr. Jacqueline Szmuszkovicz, a pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, recently said that children who have a fever that lasts for four or more days should seek medical attention.

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“Certainly, if they see any of the other signs — the rash, the red tongue, red eyes — we encourage them to seek care,” she told The Los Angeles Times.

The news comes after a child in Louisiana died after developing MIS-C, marking the first such death in the state, health officials said this week.

Taking vitamin D amid coronavirus: Doctors warn against ‘megadoses’ of the dietary supplement

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The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has some looking for ways to keep their immune systems in tip-top shape, and there’s evidence that vitamin D can help with exactly that. But taking too much of this dietary supplement can be dangerous, doctors warned in a paper published earlier this month in the British Medical Journal.

Medical professionals already know that vitamin D helps to strengthen bones, and the supplement has also been said to regulate cellular functions throughout the body. And in relation to the novel coronavirus, there are some trials underway to study the effectiveness of vitamin D on hospitalized COVID-19 patients, such as one in Spain.

To date, however, there are no clinical studies that show the effectiveness of vitamin D, or any other supplements or vitamins, to treat the coronavirus.

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Though vitamin D is “essential for good health,” there is “no strong scientific evidence to show that very high intakes (i.e., mega supplements) of vitamin D will be beneficial in preventing or treating COVID-19,” doctors from the United Kingdom, the United States and Ireland wrote in the paper titled “Vitamin D and SARS-CoV-2 virus/ COVID-19 disease.”

“There are evidenced health risks with excessive vitamin D intakes, especially for those with other health issues such as a reduced kidney function,” they added.

“Just like everything else, taking too much of something is not a good thing. Vitamin D has lots of benefits but taking too much vitamin D can also cause problems,” Dr. John Whyte, the chief medical officer for the healthcare website WebMD, told Fox News.

Dr. John Whyte, the chief medical officer of the health care website WebMD, echoed the 21 doctors who wrote the paper.

“Just like everything else, taking too much of something is not a good thing. Vitamin D has lots of benefits, but taking too much vitamin D can also cause problems,” Whyte, who was not involved in the paper, told Fox News in an email.

“The biggest issue relates to calcium and its relationship to vitamin D. Too much vitamin D may result in too much calcium,” which could result in kidney stones, he explained.

VITAMIN D LEVELS MAY IMPACT COVID-19 MORTALITY RATES, STUDY CLAIMS

“More often, people develop abdominal discomfort or nausea when calcium gets too high. You might also feel like you’re thirsty a lot. Over the years, I’ve seen some patients develop constipation from taking too much vitamin D on a daily basis. It can also make you more tired and cause muscle and bone pain. Bone pain can be concerning because vitamin D plays an important role in bone health. Too much vitamin D can actually cause bone loss and that might make you more likely to develop a fracture,” he continued. “So I don’t recommend people take megadoses. Moderation is always a good thing.”

The news comes after a research team led by Northwestern University discovered a strong correlation between vitamin D deficiency and mortality rates from the coronavirus.

The researchers — who analyzed data from hospitals and clinics across China, France, Germany, Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States — found that patients from countries with high COVID-19 mortality rates, such as Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, had lower levels of vitamin D compared to patients in countries that were not as severely affected.

The researchers also found a strong correlation between vitamin D levels and cytokine storm, which is a hyperinflammatory condition caused by an overactive immune system.

“Cytokine storm can severely damage lungs and lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients,” Ali Daneshkhah, a postdoctoral research associate at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, said in a statement. “This is what seems to kill a majority of COVID-19 patients, not the destruction of the lungs by the virus itself. It is the complications from the misdirected fire from the immune system.”

However, not unlike what Whyte said and the authors of the paper published this month in the British Medical Journal, the scientists also cautioned against hoarding vitamin D supplements.

VITAMIN D AND THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: SHOULD YOU TAKE IT?

“While I think it is important for people to know that vitamin D deficiency might play a role in mortality, we don’t need to push vitamin D on everybody,” Northwestern’s Vadim Backman, who led the research, said in a statement. “This needs further study, and I hope our work will stimulate interest in this area. The data also may illuminate the mechanism of mortality, which, if proven, could lead to new therapeutic targets.”

Fox News’s Christopher Carbone contributed to this article.

NYC Phase 1 reopening set for June 8, Governor Cuomo confirms

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New York City is set to begin the first phase of its reopening plan on June 8, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo Friday at his daily press conference.

“We have to be smart… we have to remind New Yorkers of that,” Cuomo said of the reopening.

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As a hotbed for the virus, New York City has lagged behind other regions in New York in the reopening process. All regions of the state except New York City are now in Phase 1 of reopening, according to the state’s official website. Nonessential industries permitted to reopen under Phase 1 include construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, retail (limited to curbside or in-store pickup or drop off), manufacturing and wholesale trade, according to the site.

The New York City Phase 1 reopening could send as many as 400,000 city residents back to work, Cuomo said on Friday. (iStock)

The New York City Phase 1 reopening could send as many as 400,000 city residents back to work. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday that he is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to work out how mass transit will operate. De Blasio noted that, as more staff return to work, MTA subway services “can increase.”

AFTER A CORONAVIRUS INFECTION, WHEN IS IT SAFE TO BE AROUND OTHERS? CDC OFFERS NEW GUIDANCE

The mayor also said that the city will send teams from different city agencies to make sure companies are reopening safely, while noting that the goal is not to penalize the businesses, but do more to help. De Blasio did, however, warn that if there are health or safety violations, the city could issue fines.

De Blasio also announced that the city is working to get New York City public schools opened by September 10.

“You don’t go from zero to 60 miles an hour, you go from zero to 20 miles an hour. You start to open gradually [and then] watch how the system operates. If you need to adjust, adjust,” Cuomo said.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: PRESCRIPTIONS FOR MALARIA DRUG PLUMMET AT VA HOSPITALS

“Starting slowly has worked very well,” he added.

Phase 2 reopenings in the future would incorporate malls, dine-ins, large gatherings, gyms and movie theaters, among other venues.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Baby girl with two mouths was born with very rare condition, doctors say

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A baby girl was recently born with two mouths, exhibiting a condition very rarely seen in newborns, doctors say.

In the case report, published May 19 in BMJ Journals, doctors from the Medical University of South Carolina detailed the rare occurrence, which had only surfaced in 35 cases in medical literature since 1900.

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In “craniofacial duplication,” parts of the face, or sometimes the entire face, present themselves twice on the same subject.

A baby was recently born with two mouths, doctors say. (Photo courtesy of BMJ Journals)

In this case, doctors saw a mass along the baby’s jaw in an ultrasound during the mother’s third trimester of pregnancy. Initial diagnoses included a congenital cyst and fibrous dysplasia, when scar-like tissue develops in place of the bone. Doctors also thought the mass could be a teratoma, a rare tumor containing fully developed organs or tissues like hair, muscle or teeth.

But when the baby was born, doctors found she had a “duplicated oral cavity” — or, in other words, a second mouth.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: PRESCRIPTIONS FOR MALARIA DRUG PLUMMET AT VA HOSPITALS

The mass contained another lip, six molar teeth and even a small tongue that moved in synchronization with the tongue in her central mouth when she was feeding.

Although the baby was born healthy and didn’t show any signs of respiratory compromise, doctors surgically removed the mass when the child was six months old.

The infant developed some swelling after doctors surgically removed the accessory mouth. (Photo courtesy of BMJ Journals)

She developed some swelling at the site of incision due to fluid buildup, but another post-op follow-up showed it resolved itself and the baby was feeding well. Doctors did note a minor nerve defect in her bottom lip, however.

AFTER A CORONAVIRUS INFECTION, WHEN IS IT SAFE TO BE AROUND OTHERS? CDC OFFERS NEW GUIDANCE

While craniofacial duplications are usually diagnosed in utero or soon after birth, the doctors noted one case report from 1978 of an additional mouth found in a 22-year-old patient’s temporal region upon a delayed diagnosis.

Half of coronavirus cases in Washington state are now in people under 40, study finds

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People under the age of 40 now account for half of Washington state’s new coronavirus cases, according to a recent report.

By early May, some 39 percent of newly confirmed cases of the virus were among people aged 20 to 39, according to a recent analysis. Meanwhile, 11 percent of new cases were also identified in those 19 and younger.

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The data represents a significant shift from earlier on in the state’s coronavirus epidemic when more than two-thirds of positive cases in the Evergreen State were among older populations, The Seattle Times reported.

The research, which was published in the medRxiv online depository and tracked ages of cases between March 1 and May 3, is based on public data from the Washington Department of Health. However, the study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Speaking to the outlet, Judith Malmgren, a Seattle epidemiologist who led the study, said more investigation is needed to understand why the shift occurred. However, she did note that she has personally seen younger people in Seattle congregating and not using face masks.

“Younger people are the most likely to be socially active, they are the most likely to work in essential professions and have more contact with the public,” Malmgren added.

Washington State Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy told the outlet that social distancing efforts among older populations in the state could partly be behind the shift.

“I believe this means that older individuals who are at higher risk of infection are doing a great job social distancing and protecting themselves,” she said of the trend.

CALIFORNIA MAY BE REOPENING TOO QUICKLY, STATE HEALTH OFFICIAL WARNS

Meanwhile, Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health for Seattle & King County told The Seattle Times the shift is to be expected as younger people come out of isolation and return to work.

“The pattern in who’s getting infected over time reflects people’s behavior,” he said. “If we’re seeing a drop in age, that means younger people are doing things that place them at a higher risk of transmission compared to people who are older who might be staying home more reliably.”

Washington has more than 20,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 1,100 virus-related deaths, according to official estimates.

Coronavirus cases in Northern California county cause officials to backpedal on reopening plans

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One county in Northern California has backpedaled on its plans to reopen after discovering a number of coronavirus cases — the first there since the outbreak of the novel virus began in the Golden State.

Lassen County, located in northeastern California, on the Nevada border, was one of just two counties in the state that, up until Wednesday, did not have a single case of COVID-19, The Associated Press reported. But following the confirmation that at least five people there are infected, county officials have since backtracked on reopening restaurants, shops and religious services.

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“In response to contact tracing investigations, Dr. Kenneth Korver, Lassen County Public Health Officer, has terminated his order from earlier this week which originally called for a temporary return to Phase 2A for reopening. This termination returns Lassen County to Phase 2B with an additional guidance for salons and bars, as well as places of worship,” reads a statement posted to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page.

The county has since notified businesses that were cleared to reopen that they will now have to return to takeout or curbside pickup.

The cases are linked to at least one Lassen County resident who traveled outside of the county, fell ill, and subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. Contract tracing helped officials discover the additional cases, which includes the spouse of the resident who was first infected, per the AP.

“We were fully aware of the risk that the virus could come to our community from people visiting people living in infected areas outside of our county or people visiting our county,” Korver, the county’s public health officer, wrote in a public health order, according to the outlet. “Unfortunately, this did happen and we now have a serious problem.”

The news comes as California Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this week announced that churches and other houses of worship can reopen if they are given approval from county health officials, but they must limit attendance to 25 percent of capacity or 100 people, whichever is less. Later, he also said that hair salons and barbershops may reopen if they provide masks for customers and employees to curb the spread of the virus.

Though Newsom has defended his reopening strategy, some lawmakers and public health officials in the state — including Dr. Sara Cody, health officer for Santa Clara County and the official who issued the country’s first shelter-in-place order — have expressed concerns that the state may be reopening too quickly.

CALIFORNIA MAY BE REOPENING TOO QUICKLY, STATE HEALTH OFFICIAL WARNS

Other rural counties that have kept cases of the novel virus at bay were given state approval to reopen businesses sooner than other areas in California. At least 47 of the state’s 58 counties were approved to reopen more quickly, the Associated Press reported, noting this initially included Lassen County. (Counties with fewer than one case per 10,000 residents in the past two weeks can accelerate reopening processes, per state guidelines. For context, Lassen County has about 30,000 residents and exceeded state limits with more than three cases.)

Though Lassen County is the first in the state to backtrack on reopening plans, increased cases in other counties across the state have slowed reopening. Humboldt County and Sonoma County, for instance, have decelerated reopening after seeing a spike in cases, The Associated Press reported.

California this week became the fourth state to surpass 100,000 coronavirus cases, with the Golden State reporting 2,908 cases on Tuesday — reportedly its highest daily total to date.

Fox News’s Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Coronavirus update: Prescriptions for malaria drug plummet at VA hospitals

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Government-run VA hospitals have “ratcheted down” prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine as treatment for veterans with coronavirus.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie told of the plummeting prescriptions at a House hearing on Thursday in the wake of studies linking the unproven drug to an increased risk of death and heart arrhythmia.

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Weekly prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine among the VA hospitals soared from around two in mid-March to a high of 404 two weeks, later when President Trump touted the anti-malarial drug as a possible treatment for COVID-19, according to VA data presented to Congress, the Associated Press reported. Last week, there were just three prescriptions.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie speaks during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 28, 2020, on the Department of Veterans Affairs response to COVID-19. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

Wilkie said the drug was initially administered to vets “to give them hope” amid limited treatment options.

“We are all learning as we go in this crisis,” Wilkie told a House appropriations subcommittee, the outlet wrote. “Our mission is to preserve and protect life.”

AFTER A CORONAVIRUS INFECTION, WHEN IS IT SAFE TO BE AROUND OTHERS? CDC OFFERS NEW GUIDANCE

A backlash among veterans organizations spurred after an analysis of VA hospital data released last month revealed hundreds of veterans taking hydroxychloroquine saw no benefit for COVID-19. Approximately 28 percent of veterans who were given hydroxychloroquine along with usual care died, compared with 11 percent of veterans receiving solely routine care.

Trump revealed to reporters on May 18 that he too was taking hydroxychloroquine in an effort to prevent getting coronavirus, sharing that he had been taking a pill every day for about a week and a half. However, earlier this week, Trump said that he is no longer on the drug.

“Finished, just finished,” Trump told “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson” during an interview that aired Sunday on Sinclair Broadcasting. “And by the way, I’m still here. To the best of my knowledge, here I am.”

MINNESOTA CORONAVIRUS DEATHS HIT NEW SINGLE-DAY MARK AT 35, OFFICIALS SAY

The VA has been turning to Gilead Sciences’ anti-viral drug remdesivir instead, which received an emergency authorization use from the Food and Drug Administration in early May.

Results from a recent National Institutes of Health clinical trial supported the use of the antiviral drug remdesivir in treating coronavirus after data pointed to improved recovery time for hospitalized COVID-19 patients by about four days.

As of Thursday, the VA reported 1,200 coronavirus-related deaths and 13,657 total cases among veterans.

Fox News’ Andrew Reilly and Kenneth Garger contributed to this report.

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