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Herd immunity is exactly what the spike in cases indicates is developing, and we need it to continue. Politicians have been reimposing and maintaining lockdowns and mask mandates due to media furor over “spikes” in coronavirus cases. This has happened in 21 states and many more localities, says The New York Times. One of the many problems with this is that the nation needs people to keep getting coronavirus...That’s because coronavirus spread is a natural vaccine that protects those who survive  — which is the vast majority — and even those who don’t catch it, through herd immunity. This natural vaccine is our only antidote to the virus until a manufactured vaccine can be made, a process that experts say is still at least a year away, and possibly as many as four years or even never...READ MORE

...Western intelligence officials pegged Russian hackers with an attempt to rip off leading research for a COVID-19 vaccine, linking the would-be thieves with the country's intelligence services...Russia itself denies involvement in any of those attacks—and with a new licensing deal for AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot, the country says it doesn't need the secrets anyway...Russian drugmaker R-Pharm has signed a licensing deal with Britain's AstraZeneca to produce and distribute doses of its University of Oxford-partnered adenovirus-based COVID-19 shot, AZD1222...READ MORE

CVS Pharmacy has issued a face covering policy at all locations for customers...Since the pandemic began, we’ve done everything we can to keep people safe and healthy. This includes requiring that store employees wear face coverings and encouraging our customers to do so as well. In any community with state or local laws mandating the use of face coverings, we’ve made that very clear through signage and other reminders...With the recent spike in COVID-19 infections, we’re joining others in taking the next step and requiring all customers to wear face coverings when entering any of our stores throughout the country effective Monday, July 20...READ MORE

The Dubai Health Authority has introduced eight “smart” robots to sterilise its government-run hospitals and clinics...The robots – created by...UVD Robots – are part of the emirate’s drive to use smart technology, where possible, in the disinfection process in order for it to be “thorough, efficient and less time-consuming”...“[The] UVD Robot is used as part of the regular cleaning cycle, and aims at preventing and reducing the spread of infectious diseases, vira [SIC], bacteria, and other types of harmful organic microorganisms in the environment by breaking down their DNA-structure...READ MORE

Las Vegas-area hospitals are adding beds and staff to accommodate an increasing number of COVID-19 patients...Hospital occupancy was not high enough to require activation a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan developed in April to use the Las Vegas Convention Center for up to 900 patients...Acute-care hospitals in Clark County added 441 staffed beds...according to data from the Nevada Hospital Association. Another 49 were added in other parts of the state...Dan McBride, chief medical officer for the Valley Health System, said medical facilities in the region are not in danger of being overrun...READ MORE

Only days after three governments said Russian hackers were targeting groups conducting COVID-19 vaccine research, the U.S. has indicted two Chinese nationals for hacking hundreds of companies, governments and other organizations in the U.S. and beyond, including those working to combat the pandemic...A grand jury in Washington state returned an 11-count indictment against Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi for a 10-year “hacking campaign” targeting high-tech industries in the U.S. and several other countries. Recently, the hackers shifted their focus to companies researching COVID-19 vaccines, drugs and tests, according to authorities...READ MORE

A highly anticipated clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine managed in part by the American drug company Moderna has resulted in some adverse effects in more than half of the trial's participants, with one test group reporting "severe" symptoms...The trial, which is also being sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases...The vaccine "induced anti–SARS-CoV-2 immune responses in all participants," the research team reported...in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers said that "no trial-limiting safety concerns were identified." Yet a majority of participants still reported at least one side effect..."Solicited adverse events that occurred in more than half the participants included fatigue, chills, headache, myalgia, and pain at the injection site," the report states. Fever, joint pain and nausea were also reported...READ MORE

The Nevada Legislature approved immense cuts to the state’s health and education budgets on Sunday in an effort to rebalance the state budget amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and plummeting revenue projections...The revised budget passed through both the state Senate and Assembly after days and nights of deliberation in the part-time Legislature, which Gov. Steve Sisolak convened for an unscheduled special legislative session on July 8 to address a projected $1.2 billion revenue shortfall...The...plan cuts more than $500 million from the state budget, with the largest reductions hitting the Department of Health and Human Services and the K-12 education system. It cuts Medicaid reimbursement rates and specialty care programs and funding allocated to the state’s most underperforming schools...The state will use a combination of reserve funds and federal relief dollars to shore up the rest of the shortfall...Sisolak said in a statement he intends to sign the bill...READ MORE

Global regulatory authorities have published a report describing the aligned positions on COVID-19 vaccine development...under the umbrella of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities...Emphasis was placed upon the requirement for Phase III clinical trials...should include those with underlying medical conditions so that relevant data can be generated. Additionally...clinical studies should be designed with stringent success criteria to ensure there is convincing demonstration of efficacy...READ MORE

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield says the controversial new process, which calls on hospitals to send capacity and utilization data to HHS, was made with CDC support...The Trump administration has directed hospitals to stop reporting COVID-19 data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network...Instead, starting Wednesday, they have been told to send capacity and utilization information – including patient numbers, remdesivir inventory and bed and ventilator usage rates – to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the new HHS Protect system...HHS Protect has been aggregating data since April, with much of that information coming from the CDC...During the pandemic it became clear that we needed a central way to make data visible to first responders...READ MORE