Dozens of drugs are being investigated for their value in treating COVID-19, as desperation drives doctors and researchers to look for something that could battle the virus and save lives. “There are really no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of COVID-19, unfortunately,” said Ashley Barlow, a pharmacy resident with the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. “We’re doing the best we can to try and ramp up studies, but since we’re doing it in such a quick period of time there are a lot of flaws we have to take into consideration.” The COVID-19 drugs being tried and tested fall into two general categories, explained Dr. Rajesh Gandhi, director of HIV clinical services and education at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston: Antivirals aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus inside the bodies of infected people. Immune system medications that limit the damage the body does to itself while fighting off the coronavirus. “There are drugs we believe can help pull people through the natural evolution of this infection and can really make a difference,” Gandhi said. “Right now, the jury is still out on some of these things that have been proposed. That’s why we need to have clinical trials that will provide an answer.” Remdesivir Many of the drugs proposed to treat COVID-19 are already approved for other conditions, and can be…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — Lawmakers were poised to pass a $484 billion deal on Thursday that would replenish a small business loan program that has run out of funding and direct more money to hospitals and COVID-19 testing. The Senate has already passed the measure, and the House is now expected to do the same, the Washington Post reported. The legislation would add $310 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, the Post reported. It would also boost a separate small business emergency grant and loan program by $60 billion, and direct $75 billion to hospitals and $25 billion to a new coronavirus testing program. Passage of the stimulus package might take some of the sting out of the latest unemployment numbers, with 4.4 million more Americans being added to jobless roles on Thursday. So far, more than 26 million Americans are out of work due to the coronavirus crisis. Despite the pain that battling the new coronavirus has exacted upon the economy of the United States, a new Associated Press poll finds Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of stay-at-home orders and other efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The survey, released Wednesday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, also finds a majority of Americans say it won’t be safe to lift those measures anytime soon. Sixty-one percent of Americans said stay-at-home…  read on >

Women under age 65 with coronary artery disease are more likely to die if they live in rural areas of the United States, and premature deaths among them have surged, a new study finds. Researchers analyzed nationwide data on premature deaths from coronary artery disease between 1999 and 2017. While premature deaths decreased overall, they remained consistently higher in rural areas — regardless of sex, race or age group. Roughly 20% of Americans live in rural areas. Deaths have not risen among men overall, but the rate in those 55 to 64 stopped improving in small to medium towns in 2011, and in rural areas in 2008, the study found. In rural areas, death rates due to coronary artery disease rose 11.2% for 55- to 64-year-old women between 2010 and 2017. They also rose 11.4% among 45- to 54-year-old women between 1999 and 2017. The study was published April 22 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. “Women living in rural areas of the United States have for the first time suffered an increase in premature deaths from coronary artery disease. This is in stark contrast to their urban counterparts, who have experienced a virtually uninterrupted reduction in premature coronary artery disease deaths,” said senior author Dr. Federico Moccetti. Moccetti, a former research fellow at Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, is now…  read on >

The coronavirus pandemic has supercharged the financial stress that already plagues many Americans, an expert says. About half of Americans lived paycheck to paycheck before the pandemic, according to a recent survey from First National Bank of Omaha, and now many have lost their jobs. “The pervasive financial stress the majority of Americans feel is now on steroids, as most Americans did not have savings before this crisis hit,” said Julie Kalkowski, executive director of the Financial Hope Collaborative at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. “Knowing that you are not in this alone is important to keep in mind as you move forward,” she added. Kalkowski manages a School of Business program that educates people about the psychology of money, tracking expenses, saving for emergencies and repairing credit. She offered this advice on how to reduce financial anxiety both during and after the coronavirus pandemic: Don’t panic. Don’t use credit cards or payday loans to deal with your debt. Their high interest rates can do long-term financial harm. Instead, seek out creative solutions such as contacting landlords, utilities and creditors to negotiate payment plans. And, don’t ignore bills. Doing so can make a bad financial situation worse. Beware of swindlers. Scams are proliferating right now. Thoroughly vet any offers by making additional calls and/or seeking out more information from trusted sources online. If an offer…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the issuance of all green cards in the United States will be suspended for 60 days as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic. The halt will not stop temporary workers on nonimmigrant visas from entering the United States, the Washington Post reported. “I will be issuing a temporary suspension of immigration into the United States,” Trump said during a coronavirus media briefing. “By pausing, we’ll help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs.” Broad restrictions have already been placed on travel from Europe, China and other coronavirus hot spots. Meanwhile, a $484 billion deal to replenish a small business loan program that has run out of funding and to devote more money to hospitals and COVID-19 testing was passed by the Senate on Tuesday. The House is expected to approve the measure on Thursday, and Trump has said he would sign it into law. The legislation would add $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, the Post reported. It would also boost a separate small business emergency grant and loan program by $60 billion, and direct $75 billion to hospitals and $25 billion to a new coronavirus testing program. Coronavirus was circulating weeks earlier than thought In news that suggests the new coronavirus was circulating in the United States weeks earlier than thought, California health…  read on >

There’s a lot of confusion about medications and COVID-19, so experts offer some answers. There are no proven drug treatments for the illness caused by the new coronavirus, so doctors sometimes use drugs approved for other conditions to treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients. This is called off-label use. One drug being investigated as a possible COVID-19 treatment is hydroxychloroquine, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat malaria, but widely used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Hydroxychloroquine, often combined with the antibiotic azithromycin, has been touted as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Neither of the medications are antivirals, and the combination has been shown to cause heart problems in some patients. Some people wonder if they should take hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19. The answer is definitely no, said Chris Bland and Tim Brown, from the University of Georgia’s College of Pharmacy. “I don’t believe at this time that anybody outside of the hospital setting should be a candidate for these two medications used together for COVID-19,” Bland said in a university news release. “In the hospital, we can perform cardiac monitoring of these patients to ensure safety. There are very limited data for effectiveness with definite risk of cardiac toxicity,” Bland said. “That’s why we don’t recommend it to outpatients.” The experimental antiviral drug remdesivir shows…  read on >

Almost half of the U.S. population — 150 million people — are exposed to air pollution that puts their health at risk, the American Lung Association says. Climate change is making air pollution worse due to record levels of particle pollution and higher ozone pollution (smog) caused by wildfires. Air pollution poses a threat to everyone, especially children, older adults and people with lung disease. The effects of air pollution on lung health are of increased concern due to the coronavirus pandemic. The association’s annual State of the Air report analyzed data from 2016, 2017 and 2018, which were among the five hottest years recorded in global history. “The report finds the air quality in some communities has improved, but [it] finds that far too many people are still breathing unhealthy air,” American Lung Association president and CEO Harold Wimmer said in a news release from the group. “This year’s report shows that climate change continues to degrade air quality and increase the risk of air pollution harming health,” Wimmer said. “To protect the advances in air quality we fought for 50 years ago through the Clean Air Act, we must again act today, implementing effective policies to protect our air quality and lung health against the threat of climate change,” Wimmer said. “Air pollution is linked to greater risk of lung infection. Protecting everyone…  read on >

Doctors are increasingly worried that people are mistaking stay-at-home orders to mean they should avoid emergency medical care — including for serious lung diseases. People with chronic lung conditions, such as emphysema and moderate to severe asthma, are among those at higher risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. And medical experts have been urging them to be vigilant about protecting themselves. But now a new concern is surfacing: Are people being scared away from needed medical care? “We’ve been noticing it anecdotally in our practice,” said Dr. Koushik Kasanagottu, an internal medicine resident at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore. He shared the example of one patient, a woman with emphysema, who on a recent morning woke with shortness of breath. She used her “rescue” inhaler medication — a standard way to manage a symptom exacerbation — but it didn’t help. Still, fears over COVID-19 kept her from seeking emergency medical attention. Eventually, her sister did call 911. But by the time she reached the hospital her condition had worsened to the point that she needed a ventilator. “The concern is definitely there,” said Dr. Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. “Some people might think twice about going to the hospital, rely on their rescue medications, and try to tough it out.” It is, of course, understandable that people…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — All immigration to the United States will be stopped to protect Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump announced late Monday night, as the country’s COVID-19 death toll topped 42,000. “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!,” Trump wrote in a 10 p.m. tweet. Broad restrictions have already been placed on travel from Europe, China and other coronavirus hot spots, the Washington Post reported. Suspending all immigration could affect hundreds of thousands of visa holders and other would-be green card recipients who are planning to come to the United States, the newspaper said. Meanwhile, the White House and Congressional leaders moved closer to agreement on a $470 billion coronavirus package that would pump more money into a small business loan program that has already run out of funding. Roughly $100 billion in the latest economic stimulus deal would go toward hospital needs and coronavirus testing, the Associated Press reported. “I think we are getting close to a deal,” Trump said during a Sunday briefing of the coronavirus task force. The House has announced it could meet as soon as Wednesday for a vote on the pending package, the wire service…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — The White House and Congressional leaders said Sunday they were close to agreement on a $470 billion coronavirus package that would pump more money into a small business loan program that has run out of funding. Roughly $100 billion in the latest economic stimulus deal would go toward hospital needs and coronavirus testing, the Associated Press reported. “I think we are getting close to a deal,” President Donald Trump said at a Sunday briefing of the coronavirus task force. “We have some very good negotiations going on right now, and I think you could have a nice answer tomorrow,” Trump added. The Senate is set to have a pro forma session Monday, but no vote has been scheduled. The House announced it could meet as soon as Wednesday for a vote on the pending package, the wire service said. As the U.S. coronavirus death toll edged past 40,000 and the case count climbed to more than 753,000 on Monday, governors across America were crafting plans to start to ease social distancing in the coming weeks. But new estimates from Harvard University researchers suggest that the United States as a whole cannot safely reopen unless health officials triple the number of coronavirus tests that are now being conducted, The New York Times reported. Governors in some of the states that have been hit…  read on >