29 October 2020

• US coronavirus cases surpass nine million. Source
• In India, coronavirus cases exceed eight million. Source
• Europe reports over ten million coronavirus cases; 1.5 million of them occurred within the last week. Source
• A model from the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts the US coronavirus death toll will reach 399,000 by February 1, 2021; unless additional measures are taken to control the virus, it could reach 514,000. Source
• Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announce the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) model that differentiates coughing sounds from people with asymptomatic COVID-19 from those of uninfected people. The model accurately identified 98.5 percent of coughs from over 1,000 people diagnosed with COVID-19, including 100 percent of those without symptoms. The developers hope to turn it into an FDA-approved app that could prompt asymptomatic people to get tested. Sources 1,2
• Gilead announces that remdesivir has brought in $873 million in revenue despite evidence that its benefits are minimal. Source
• Hospitals in Europe are starting to be overwhelmed by COVID-19, as the Netherlands has begun transferring patients to Germany; Croatia asks retired doctors to return to work; US National Guard troops go to assist healthcare providers in the Czech Republic; French doctors announce that they will have to ration care if cases increase, and healthcare workers in Bulgaria continue to fall ill. Source
• Moderna announces an agreement with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd to purchase and distribute 50 million doses of the company’s experimental coronavirus vaccine, mRNA-1273, as soon as possible, pending regulatory approval. Source

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