Coronavirus Watch: Winston the pug actually never had COVID

It could take two to three weeks to figure out how massive protests over the death of George Floyd could impact the number of coronavirus cases, health experts say.

In Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis is encouraging everyone who was there to go get a free test. However, public health experts note it would be hard to definitively tie an increase to the protests since many states are loosening restrictions and saw large Memorial Day weekend crowds.

It's Wednesday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's the most significant news of the day, as of 12:45 p.m. ET:

• Economists estimate the Labor Department will report that 1.8 million Americans filed initial applications for unemployment insurance last week, down from 2.1 million the prior week. That would push total unemployment claims over the past 11 weeks to a staggering 42.5 million.
• Remember Winston, the first dog believed to have contracted the coronavirus in the U.S.? The adorable, viral pug actually never had the virus, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed. Vets say don't worry too much about your pet getting COVID, but here are some tips to keep them safe.
• More than 1.8 million people have tested positive for the virus in the U.S., and more than 106,000 have died. Worldwide, more than 6.4 million people have tested positive for the virus, and 381,000 have died. See the numbers in your area here.

Do you have questions about the coronavirus? Submit them through this form. Harry asks: If there is a question as to whether or not people who actually get the COVID-19 virus derive immunity, how can there be research into a vaccine?  Why would a vaccine work to produce immunity if getting the actual virus does not produce immunity?

It's still unclear whether people who have recovered from COVID-19 are immune to getting it again and, if so, for how long. If protective immunity is possible, a vaccine is also likely possible.

The majority of people who contract the coronavirus are able to produce an immune response that initially clears the virus from the system, which is a "pretty good proof of concept that you’re going to make an immune response in response to a vaccine," Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday.

The bigger concern, Fauci said, is how long the body's immune response will last. "If you look at the duration of protection from when you recover from one of the several benign coronaviruses that cause the common cold, the durability of protection is only measured in the year or less," Fauci said.

While Fauci said that "there’s never a guarantee, ever, that you’re going to get an effective vaccine," he also said he was "cautiously optimistic" we would have a deployable vaccine that shows "a degree of efficacy." Read more on vaccine development here.

As always, thank you for subscribing! We appreciate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information.

– Grace Hauck, breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck