Testing, testing. Is this thing on?

The NPC Podcast is on the air. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest this week is Robin Hunter of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma.

⇒ Issue #99 (In numerology, 99 is always Wayne Gretzky's number. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, he's the Great One.)
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 08/21: 125,625*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 08/21: 9,097*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 08/21: 22,703,716*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 08/21: 749,137*

Hello and happy Friday, fellow CurveFlatteners. It's your west-end Toronto chum John Evans leading you into another socially-distanced weekend.

On the CurveFlattening front, which we are, a large part of getting this pandemic on a leash is being able to test large numbers of people efficiently, and we are seeing some progress there.



In London, Ont., the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has passed a target number for daily Covid-19 tests the organization set itself in mid-March. At the time, they had the capacity to conduct 50 tests a day. CTV News reports that LHSC has surpassed the capacity to perform 3,000 tests a day now.

Similarly, the province of B.C. plans to increase its testing capacity from the 8,000 a day it stands at now, to at least 20,000 a day by autumn, reports CBC News.

In a news release last Wednesday the province's health minister, Adrian Dix, explained some of the steps B.C. is taking to try and ensure those who need the test can get it. “By extending hours of service and adding new locations, we are helping ensure that assessment and testing is broadly available to people experiencing symptoms, when they need it.”

There has also been a surge in demand, though, according to the CBC article, as a growing number of asymptomatic individuals are looking to get tested. This is being driven by workplace requirements as more businesses reopen, people seeking to travel, and by people who are worried they may have been exposed to the virus.

In the U.S., the FDA has approved a saliva test for Covid-19, developed by the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, CT. CTV News reports that the test, called SalivaDirect, is intended to produce results in roughly three hours, be approximately as accurate as nasal swab tests, and possibly safer for health care workers as the individual can collect their saliva sample themselves. It should also be inexpensive.

“We simplified the test so that it only costs a couple of dollars for reagents, and we expect that labs will only charge about $10 per sample,” the news outlet quoted Nathan Grubaugh, a Yale assistant professor of epidemiology.

“If cheap alternatives like SalivaDirect can be implemented across the country, we may finally get a handle on this pandemic, even before a vaccine.”

COVID CHRONICLE 08/21/2020

• Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine in New York may have figured out why some Covid-19 patients' blood cannot seem to pick up enough oxygen, even when they are on a ventilator. In lay terms, when Covid-19 causes blood clots to form in some blood vessels, the body tries to redirect the flow by dilating blood vessels, including capillaries in the lungs. Unfortunately, this makes gas exchange more difficult, so the blood in those vessels is not picking up enough oxygen from the air in the lungs. The discovery came as an unexpected finding when assessing Covid-19 patients for stroke. A news release from Icahn can be read here, while the research is published here.
• In positive news that should not be surprising, the protective measures being undertaken to block the transmission of Covid-19 are also reducing infections of other communicable diseases. The Australian Government Department of Health released an influenza surveillance report on Aug. 14—it is mid-winter flu season there right now—which shows that the number of influenza cases being reported is well below the seasonal average.
• Part of that report's key messages reads: “Interpretation of 2020 influenza activity data should take into account, but are not limited to, the impact of social distancing measures, likely changes in health-seeking behaviour of the community including access to alternative streams of acute respiratory infection specific health services, and focussed testing for COVID-19 response activities. Current COVID-19 related public health measures and the community’s adherence to public health messages are also likely having an effect on transmission of acute respiratory infections, including influenza.”
• The 'cytokine storm' from Covid-19 may be the explanation for the observed drop-off in antibody response after recovery—which suggests those who recover from infection are not developing long-term immunity. Researchers have found that the cytokines released during Covid-19 infection can impair the function of helper-T cells, in turn preventing proper development of anti-Covid-19 memory B cells in germinal centres in the spleen and lymph nodes. While this is bad news for the hopes of developing a base level of immunity in the population after exposure, the researchers do say that vaccine-induced immunity should be persistent as it does not induce the same cytokine storm. More details are available in a press release from Massachusetts General Hospital here.

WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY

Chronicle editorial assistant Jeremy Visser is working on an article looking at a method for predicting scar length after Mohs micrographic surgical excision of facial skin cancers.

TONIGHT I AM LISTENING TO

The History of English Podcast, episode 48—The Unity of Alfred's English. After saving the British from complete conquest by the Danes, Alfred, king of Wessex set out against a new foe—inconsistency in language. This episode promises to focus on Anglo-Saxon words associated with 'unity', which seems to be a bit of a shallow dive for an hour-long podcast, but this program always has something interesting and surprising in it.

TONIGHT I AM EATING

It is Friday, which is take-out day. After a delicious but hefty boar schnitzel from The Monk's Kettle last week, I am thinking I'd like some lighter fare. I'm thinking Greek.

WHAT ARE YOUR WEEKEND PLANS?

Please make use of the comments section at the Daily CurveFlattener, to let us know what you're up to today and your plans for the weekend. Or feel free to check in via LinkedIn, email, or your choice of connector. By all means, pass this newsletter along to your colleagues.

Stay in touch, stay safe and enjoy your days off. Chronicle publisher Mitch Shannon will scribble our 100th issue on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Have you subscribed to Skin Spectrum Weekly, our newsletter about the intersection of dermatology and society? Sign up for free at http://skinspectrum.online and have it delivered to your phone or inbox every Monday.