With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to spread, exacting a death toll beyond anything seen in modern times, the race to make an effective vaccine and find new treatments has been extraordinary. To facilitate the search for treatments that can help affected patients recover, the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instituted the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program (CTAP) in August 2020. This special emergency program is designed to use all available resources to move new treatment options out of trials and onto the market as soon as is safely possible.

What Types of Treatments Are Being Studied?

In its search for a potential treatment for COVID-19, the FDA is exploring several different options. Antivirals, cell and gene therapies, neutralizing antibodies, immunomodulators, and other combinations of these therapies are just some of the types of treatments being studied. Some of these treatments are already in use for other types of illnesses, so researchers need to study the effectiveness of these treatments on COVID-19. More treatment options mean hopefully increased rates of survival for severely ill patients.

Antivirals work by stopping viruses from multiplying, and they have been in use for many years for diseases as devastating as HIV and as common as influenza. Cell and gene therapies are more complicated treatment options, and these treatments include several different, though similar, solutions. For cell therapy, treatments use cellular immunotherapies, other cells such as stem cells, and various related products. Gene therapy works by attempting to modify or manipulate how certain genes are expressed, thereby altering the properties of different cells for use in therapeutic applications.

Neutralizing antibody therapies involve the use of certain blood products (like convalescent plasma or hyperimmune globulin) to help individuals fight off the virus. These products are typically derived from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Meanwhile, immunomodulators aim to slow the body’s immune system response to the virus. A common issue with COVID-19 infections is that the body’s immune system begins to attack the large organ systems, leading to organ failure.

Speeding Up the Review Process

The main goal of the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program is to speed up the review and approval process to get as many different types of treatments to the public as possible in the fastest amount of time. Among the actions taken by the FDA through this program was a move to accelerate and streamline the process of submitting applications for the launch of new studies and clinical trials. This allows more researchers and innovators the ability to get new treatment options to the public in a fraction of the time.

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, doctors are only now beginning to observe some troubling long-term effects brought on by COVID-19. From neurological issues and chronic fatigue to heart problems and lung scarring, the potential long-term problems after infection with COVID-19 are frightening. And it is not just those who suffered a severe infection that are experiencing these effects: some people with mild symptoms who did not need hospitalization are beginning to see these types of issues as well. Here is what doctors know so far about COVID-19’s worrisome long-term effects.

Neurological Issues

One of the most concerning ways that coronavirus has affected recovered patients is in its impact on the brain. There is some evidence that the disease may damage brain cells, possibly resulting in the reported “brain fog” (difficulty thinking and concentrating), speech problems, and even memory loss experienced by those recovering from an infection. New studies and brain scans have begun indicate that some of these symptoms might be the result of damage to the frontal lobe. A study of EEG (electroencephalogram) tests from COVID-19 patients showed evidence of abnormalities in the brain’s frontal lobe in more than one-third of participants. Experts often call the frontal lobe the “master executor” of the brain because it controls executive functioning—things like self-control, abstract thinking, and the speed of thought and processing.

Heart and Lung Damage

The breathing difficulties experienced by COVID-19 patients have been well documented, but the long-term effects of the disease on the lungs may also be troubling. Experts expect to see lung scarring, a decrease in exercise capacity, and decreased lung function. Those who recover, even from relatively mild cases, have reported lingering shortness of breath, coughing, and chest pain. Though the studies are few right now, at least one has discovered opaque patches on the lower lobes of the lungs (an indicator of inflammation) that can make breathing difficult.

Problems in the heart have also been indicated, with nearly one-third of coronavirus patients experiencing cardiovascular symptoms during the acute phase of infection. These symptoms include cardiomyopathy, a stretching, thickening, or stiffening in the heart muscle that affects its ability to pump blood. Other patients have experienced pulmonary thrombosis, or blood clots that block blood vessels in the lungs. These symptoms may increase patients’ future risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular problems for years to come.

Long-Term Fatigue

Another potential long-term effect of a COVID-19 infection is chronic fatigue. Seen before in patients who have recovered from SARS (a related disease), chronic fatigue syndrome is characterized by extreme symptoms of fatigue that get worse with physical or mental activity, but do not improve with rest. Experts believe that those who have recovered from COVID-19 may experience similar effects.

Though this virus has been with us for almost a full year now, we are still learning much about its immediate and long-term effects—and we will likely be studying it for years in the future.

Nearly seven months into the coronavirus pandemic, the effects of the precautionary measures to prevent the spread are revealing themselves. If you are starting to feel a deep sense of fatigue and noticing some lingering depression, know that you are certainly not alone in those feelings. Now more than ever, people are reporting experiencing quarantine fatigue. And with a vaccine looking more and more distant by the day, experts have begun pointing out that we might not see a return to normalcy until 2022. The prospect of years of living with masks and social distancing has a lot of people feeling deflated. Here are some ways you can try to cope with quarantine fatigue, especially if we find ourselves in this for the long haul.

Symptoms of Quarantine Fatigue

Quarantine fatigue, or “COVID fatigue” as some are calling it, can be a dangerous phenomenon. After months of isolation and quarantine, people are tired of everything: tired of being afraid and tired of being isolated. These feelings combine to make people careless with the safety precautions that are still necessary to curtail the spread of the virus—and without these precautions, dangerous increases in infection rates can follow.

This reaction, however, is quite normal in terms of typical community disaster responses. In most cases, the initial reaction after a large-scale disaster, like an earthquake or a hurricane, is for people to pull together and work hard to help everyone around them. There is a bracing sense of community and support even for strangers that helps us get through the stress. But as disasters drag on and the return to normal life never seems to happen, people may begin to feel disillusioned and frustrated. That phase is what has brought on quarantine fatigue.

How to Cope

Coping with these feelings is possible, fortunately. First, remember that you’re not alone, and this is an extraordinary year—global pandemics don’t happen often, and most people aren’t feeling their best. Let yourself off the hook and remind yourself that it is OK and natural to feel bad when bad things happen.

Beyond this, experts recommend exercising when you can, practicing mindfulness and gratitude, and talking about how you’re feeling. Holding those feelings and thoughts inside only makes them worse, and talking, even if it’s just with a family member or a close friend, can help you find some relief. Don’t hesitate to talk to a professional therapist or counselor if you feel like you need more structured, intensive support.

It can also help to limit your exposure to social media and the news to just once or twice a day if possible. Constant bombardment with negative news about the pandemic can be exhausting, and cutting out that 24/7 cable news coverage or “doom-scrolling” on social media can help. Find hobbies you can enjoy and stay connected with family and friends. It may be some time yet before we comfortably find a “new normal.”

As the world holds its breath for a possible vaccine to prevent infection with the COVID-19 virus, researchers around the world are still trying to find a way to treat the virus effectively in those already infected. Many different existing treatments have been tried, with varying results.

The latest research may show that simple steroids could be a lifesaving treatment. A new study has confirmed that patients who are severely ill with COVID-19 can be treated with corticosteroids, anti-inflammatory drugs that fight the effects of an overactive immune system response.

The Cytokine Storm

The coronavirus is still puzzling doctors and researchers around the globe. While some people who contract the virus have minimal or no symptoms, others undergo the most severe illness of their lives, often ending up on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. One of the reasons for a severe COVID-19 reaction involves what is known as a cytokine storm. Typically, an individual’s immune system identifies a threat, such as a virus, and begins to fight it off with antibodies. However, for those experiencing a cytokine storm, their immune system overreacts by releasing a flood of proteins, causing what can be life-threatening damage to vital organs.

Using Steroids

Corticosteroids are already a well-known and relatively cheap treatment that is used to suppress an overactive immune system response. These anti-inflammatory drugs are readily accessible to the general public, and they might hold the key to treating severe cases of COVID-19.

The most recent research on the use of corticosteroids with severely ill COVID-19 patients supports this conclusion. The results from seven different studies were compiled by the World Health Organization and published on Wednesday, September 2, by the Journal of the American Medical Association.

This research showed that treating severely ill COVID-19 patients (those in need of extra oxygen, specifically) with corticosteroids effectively reduced the risk of death during the first month by nearly one-third, as compared with placebo or typical care. Dexamethasone, one of the earliest steroids tested by researchers, reduced deaths by 35 percent in those requiring breathing treatments and by 20 percent in those receiving extra oxygen. The success of this first round of testing led researchers to explore other steroids as potential treatments, and the results so far have been very encouraging.

The disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, known commonly as COVID-19, has a staggeringly wide range of symptoms. With the pandemic showing no sign yet of slowing down in the United States—and in fact with cases increasing in many areas across the country—it is important to understand how to identify early signs and symptoms so that you can avoid spreading the virus to other people in your community. If you experience any of the early signs, it is important that you be tested as soon as possible and—in the meantime—isolate yourself at home. Read on to learn about some of the possible signs.

The Most Common Symptoms Of COVID-19

There are many types of coronaviruses around the world that can cause a variety of respiratory symptoms in humans. Some of these viruses can also cause symptoms that are more severe. People with SARS-CoV-2 experience symptoms such as a fever, cough, and headache. In fact, many doctors have reported that a fever with a severe headache is an extremely common presentation of COVID-19. Like many other similar respiratory illnesses, additional symptoms could include feelings of intense fatigue, body aches, chills, and even nausea. A more distinct symptom of COVID-19—one that is not often seen in other common respiratory illnesses—is shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

Unusual Symptoms

COVID-19 is quite a unique illness in its presentation, as the range of symptoms and the severity can prove quite broad. For some, the illness is nothing more than a minor inconvenience, while for others it can be a life-threatening illness, sometimes even requiring a ventilator and hospitalization. There are some other symptoms of COVID-19 that are downright strange. Some individuals who have tested positive for the disease experienced what many are calling “COVID toe,” which presents as pain and discoloration in the feet and toes accompanied by an uncomfortable burning and itching sensation. Another somewhat unusual symptom of COVID-19 is a sudden loss of smell and taste, which is not accompanied by any nasal congestion. In fact, many experts now believe this could be one of the earliest indicators of infection. Moreover, gastrointestinal symptoms are sometimes experienced in the early stages of the illness. Some individuals even experience only one day of gastrointestinal upset or loss of appetite before developing the more common respiratory symptoms and fever.

Growing Knowledge

As we continue to learn more about COVID-19, our knowledge of which symptoms are more common and how the disease presents will continue to grow. We can only rely on continued research and observation to help us learn more about the disease and manage it better in the future.

Researchers and scientists all over the globe have spent months trying to find and develop treatments and preventative measures for the novel coronavirus that causes the illness COVID-19. Since its first appearance in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, the coronavirus has ripped through the world, causing the entire global economy to grind to a halt. Even though some countries are reopening slowly, new outbreaks have been slowing that process down. Now, researchers are more focused than ever on finding a new way to fight the disease, and one older method could be showing promise.

What Is Convalescent Plasma?

The use of convalescent plasma as a treatment for various diseases is not a new concept. In fact, this treatment has been in use for over a hundred years to treat other illnesses, including MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), a disease caused by a similar coronavirus. The theory is that taking plasma from survivors of a particular disease can help those currently suffering from it.

Plasma, the liquid portion of the blood left over when white and red blood cells are removed, contains antibodies and various proteins related to the body’s immune system response. Though not a cure, the convalescent plasma treatment shows promise in helping those currently suffering from COVID-19 recover faster and keeping the disease from being as severe as it might otherwise be.

The Difficulties

Despite the potential for convalescent plasma treatments to help COVID-19 patients, some experts are cautious about offering the treatment too soon to a wider patient base. There are some challenges in studying its effectiveness, including the wide variation in concentration of antibodies in different people. Additionally, in some parts of the world, the testing equipment is prohibitively expensive and the necessary containment procedures are difficult to execute, making the research even more challenging. A potential treatment needs to go through a process of rigorous clinical trials to assess its effectiveness accurately. With doctors still using convalescent plasma on a compassionate basis with patients, it is difficult to determine its true benefits.

Donations Needed

The FDA is currently calling for COVID-19 survivors to donate plasma to help with continued research and treatment of current patients. If you have had COVID-19 and have been fully recovered from the illness for at least two weeks, you should consider making a plasma donation. You must have had a positive COVID-19 lab test and meet other criteria for blood donors to qualify.

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 was first reported in December 2019 by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in China and has since spread worldwide to reach global pandemic status. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. As of June 29, there were more than 10.2 million confirmed cases and in excess of 500,000 deaths worldwide.

While around 130,000 new daily cases worldwide were reported on June 20, that number increased to more than 189,000 in less than one week. Countries have implemented gradual reopening policies. However, this recent surge suggests the importance of exercising caution and taking preventative measures such as wearing masks.

Worldwide Daily Record (June 28)

The June 28 tally of more than 189,000 new daily cases, as recorded by the WHO, marked a new record for confirmed cases in a 24-hour period. The prior record of 183,000 was recorded days earlier. Daily deaths worldwide as a result of COVID-19, however, peaked at 8,470 on April 17 and had been below 6,000 every day during the week prior to June 28.

Despite the reduction in daily deaths, the increase in cases has been concerning, particularly in Brazil and the United States, which led the way in daily new cases for the June 28 tally with more than 46,800 and 44,400, respectively. India ranked third with almost 20,000 new cases.

Record High in 7 States (June 28)

The US led all countries with more than 2.6 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of June 29. This was more than twice the amount of confirmed cases in Brazil. Moreover, the US also accounted for more than one-quarter of all COVID-19-related deaths worldwide.

More concerning is the fact that many states began experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases as they began relaxing social distancing restrictions. In fact, during the weekend of June 27 and 28, seven states, including Florida and Tennessee, recorded new highs in confirmed COVID-19 cases. John Cooper, mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, issued a mandatory face mask order beginning June 29 to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Only Two States in Decline (June 28)

Only two states in the US as of June 28 recorded a decline in COVID-19 cases from the week prior. In addition to a record high in seven states, rises were reported in 36 states. Only Rhode Island and Connecticut reported a decline in new cases. New York, which was once the epicenter of the virus in the US, reported its fewest deaths since March 15 and had only 616 cases. Florida, which many experts contend is the country's next epicenter, had more than 9,500 positive cases on June 27.

"As a doctor, a scientist, an epidemiologist, I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that in most states where you're seeing an increase, it is a real increase," said former CDC Director Tom Frieden during an interview on Fox News on June 28. "It is not more tests; it is more spread of the virus." Frieden noted that increases in death totals won't be noticed for about a month due to a lag between infections and deaths. He estimated there could be an additional 15,000 deaths in the US by the end of July.

PPE Shortage

The drastic increases in COVID-19 cases has once again made personal protective equipment (PPE) a major concern in the US. The volunteer-led organization #GetUsPPE reported a surge in requests for PPE equipment in late June, particularly in Texas.

The state has had to pause plans to reopen as a result of record increases in hospitalizations. According to #GetUsPPE co-founder Dr. Megan Ranney, health facilities in Texas requested fewer than 2,000 pieces of PPE during the week of June 15 to 21. That number rose to more than 220,000 the following week.

Executives of Florida's Service Employees International Union have also alleged a major shortage in PPE equipment. One of its vice presidents, Jude Derisme, alleges that hospitals in the state stopped making staff wear N95 masks for a short period of time prior to the recent surge in cases.

Similar shortages have been reported in other states. Washington Governor Jay Inslee, for example, recently claimed to have attempted to purchase $400 million worth of PPE with less than 10 percent of all orders filled.

Study of Asymptomatic Individuals

Unlike most other countries, Sweden's approach to fighting COVID-19 has been to develop herd immunity by allowing its citizens to get infected and fight the disease. While it's hard to measure the efficacy of this strategy, a recent study discounted the notion that herd immunity even applies to COVID-19.

The study, which was conducted in China with results published in Nature, found that asymptomatic individuals had limited, if any, detectable antibodies weeks after infection. This means they may not even be capable of developing lasting immunity and could conceivably become infected again. Moreover, even though they had no outward symptoms, 70 percent of study participants showed lung abnormalities known as "ground-glass opacities" in X-rays.

After nearly six months the public is still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, now in even greater numbers than ever before. Not only back, it shows no signs of slowing down. People all over the world are asking the question, when will this virus end?

Though some public officials early on claimed the virus would simply ‘disappear’ on its own during the summer, that clearly has not been the case. White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has now publicly stated he finds it unlikely that COVID-19 will ever be fully eradicated.

This disease is different from SARS, which was quickly contained. COVID-19 is extremely efficient in its spread. Though it is possible we could eventually bring the virus down to manageable levels with proper safety precautions like masks and social distancing, the truth is COVID-19 may be here to stay.

Endemic vs. Pandemic

The study of epidemiology has four main levels for disease outbreaks, measuring the distance it has spread and the number of people infected. These levels include sporadic, with infrequent and irregular occurrence; endemic, with a fairly constant but generally low-level prevalence within a specific geographical area; epidemic, with a sudden increase in number of cases in a particular area; and pandemic, which is an epidemic that has spread over a vast geographical area and to a large number of people.

After the initial epidemic, the coronavirus was quickly upgraded to a pandemic as it began to spread across the globe. Now, experts are cautioning that this might not be the end. It’s possible that COVID-19 is here to stay as an endemic disease. Endemic diseases occur regularly and with consistency throughout a population. There are a number of diseases that we know well that can be classified as endemic. These include malaria, chickenpox, and African sleeping sickness in particular areas.

Seasonal Disease?

Many have suggested that this coronavirus could take the path of many other similar coronaviruses we already know of that cause the common cold. Like the seasonal flu and the common cold, these respiratory diseases typically fluctuate with the seasons, becoming more prevalent during the colder months of the year and showing up much less during the summer. Although the flu is not technically classified as endemic, it is predictable, occurring with seasonal regularity and with preventative measures in place (vaccines and antivirals).

It’s too soon to call COVID-19 an endemic disease, but it is a real possibility. With a vaccine in place, new treatments, and preventative measures taken, it might still be possible to eliminate it entirely.

The race to slow the coronavirus pandemic is in full swing, with researchers all over the world looking for treatments and methods to prevent the continued spread. Social distancing measures and masks can help to slow the transmission, but the truth is that our best hope is to create a vaccine. Vaccines work by introducing your body to a safe version of a virus and letting your system learn how to fight it off without any risk to your health. For COVID-19, there is much we don’t yet know about how long immunity might last, but a vaccine could offer at least some protection, particularly if herd immunity exists.

The truth is that the development of a new vaccine can take years, but in this crisis, researchers have expedited the process in the hopes of creating a vaccine in a year at most. Will such a vaccine be safe? How can researchers make it happen so quickly?

Developing a COVID-19 Vaccine

Luckily for researchers, creating a vaccine for this particular virus will not require them to start from scratch. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause a variety of respiratory diseases, including the simple common cold and other more dangerous diseases, such as MERS and SARS. The virus that causes COVID-19 is closely related to the one that causes SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), so the previous research undertaken on this disease (and MERS) gives researchers a head start in developing a vaccine.

Emerging Challenges

For this vaccine, there are some challenges that researchers must overcome. The first one relates to safety. Even with the fast-tracked timeline, it is crucial that the resulting vaccine be safe for use on humans. While there are a few SARS vaccines that have been tested on animals, many of those have shown some problems. Extensive testing will be necessary to ensure safety. Another concern is long-term protection. Reinfection is a possibility, so any vaccine developed would need to offer at least some long-term protection. It’s possible that we may end up with a COVID-19 vaccine, much like the flu vaccine, if this virus mutates as other ones often do.

Manufacturing a Vaccine

Another challenge will come in producing enough of the vaccine quickly so that it can be distributed across the world. The last thing anyone wants is for only those countries producing the vaccine to have access to it, so decisions will need to be made. Manufacturing will depend in large part on the type of vaccine created. With so many researchers working on the problem, we can only hope to see a working vaccine soon.

Since it was first reported by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission on December 31, 2019, the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 has spread worldwide to reach pandemic level. It has killed more than 575,000 people and there have been more than 13 million confirmed cases as of July 14. The United States accounted for around one-quarter of all confirmed cases and deaths worldwide as of this point, with weekly cases rising throughout June and July as states continued to reopen. On July 12 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a daily record of 66,281 new cases in the US.

Despite the rising number of confirmed cases, total deaths per day in the US was down substantially in July from peak levels in April. There are several metrics and potential explanations to explore to better understand the COVID-19 death rate in the US.

High Death Rate in May

While determining the true mortality rate of COVID-19 is a challenging prospect, researchers at the University of Washington estimated in May that the rate of death among those who displayed symptoms was 1.3 percent. (In contrast, the seasonal flu death rate is 0.1 percent.)

Researchers arrived at this figure by examining COVID-19 data from 116 counties in 33 states. One of the authors of the study, Anirban Basu, extrapolated the data available at the time and suggested that if the virus infects the same amount of people this year as the influenza virus did in 2018-19 (35.5 million) then between 350,000 and 1.2 million Americans could die of COVID-19. 

Weekly Average Death Count Down Substantially in June and July

Despite new daily confirmed cases in the US regularly exceeding 60,000 in early July, average daily deaths were down as much as 75 percent from April. The country had a record of 4,928 deaths on April 16 but was below 1,300 every day between June 27 and July 14. In fact, 391 deaths were reported on July 13, according to the European CDC. So how does one explain the drastic rise in new cases and decline in deaths?

Higher Rates in Long-Term Care

One possible reason for the decline in deaths is that state governments now know more about the virus and how to protect those who are high-risk. While New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been lauded by some for his leadership during the pandemic, he has also been criticized for his initial strategy that involved sending recovering patients into nursing homes housing high-risk individuals. New York was an early hot spot for the virus due in part to this strategy, which, as of July 7, had resulted in 6,457 deaths at nursing homes in the state. This was second only to New Jersey.

While nursing homes account for just 10 percent of all confirmed COVID-19 cases, they account for 42 percent of all deaths in the US (as of July 7). This adds credence to a recent CDC report that suggests the majority of those who have died from the virus were people older than 65 with underlying medical conditions.

Increased Testing

Another reason for the declining death is the fact that testing is now more accessible to most Americans. Generally speaking, tests were scarce in March and April, which meant they were often only limited to patients exhibiting symptoms. Now, because tests are more readily available, positive cases of individuals with mild symptoms or those who are asymptomatic are being recorded.

The increase in testing means younger people who are less at risk of dying are being included among the confirmed cases. For instance, the median age of individuals who tested positive in Florida was 65 in March but 35 in June. While some see this "youth surge" as a positive, it's important to note they can still pass the disease along to high-risk populations. Moreover, even if there isn't a significant risk of death for young people, they can still experience serious complications: "We see people in their 20s and 30s in our ICUs gasping for air because they have COVID-19," notes Baylor College of Medicine dean of clinical affairs James McDeavitt.

Doctors Better Prepared

At the outbreak of the virus, doctors worldwide were ill-prepared to treat patients, and many were shocked at some of the symptoms brought about by what they believed was just a respiratory disease. Medical professionals now have millions of case examples to study and, despite the absence of a cure, have made some breakthrough discoveries.

The steroid dexamethasone, for instance, has been shown to help control harsh immune responses. As of July 1, hospitalizations were rising throughout the US while reported deaths in hospitals were declining. Similarly, hospitals in the United Kingdom reported declines in hospital mortality rates every month since April, while a hospital in Milan, Italy, noticed a decline from 24 percent to 2 percent from March to May.

Cause for Concern: Deaths Lag Cases

The rising number of confirmed cases still presents a very real problem for hospitals in the US, even with current trends showing a decline in deaths. This is because reported deaths often lag confirmed cases. According to the COVID Tracking Project, official reporting of death can take up to one month from the time of COVID-19 exposure.