Coronavirus Watch: Vaccine trials cut short?

Could a COVID-19 vaccine trial be cut short?

Yes, Dr. Anthony Fauci says. At least two clinical trials of 30,000 volunteers are now expected to conclude by the end of the year, but Fauci said an independent board has the authority to end the trials weeks early if interim results are overwhelmingly positive or negative.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he is confident the experts making that call would not be swayed by political pressure as Election Day approaches

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 1 p.m. ET:

• The U.S. government is canceling some of its contracts to buy new ventilators, saying the national stockpile is full after some states feared they'd run short on the life-saving machines in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s controversial decision not to participate in a global alliance to develop and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.
• There’s no solid evidence for or against recommending convalescent plasma to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel, part of the National Institutes of Health, said Wednesday.
• Antibodies produced after infection by the coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis, longer than previously believed, a new study finds.
• The Trump administration announced a nationwide ban on evictions until December to ease financial pressures fueled by the pandemic. The federal edict came down after some states, including California and Nevada, announced similar protections against evictions.
• Who should be the first to get the coronavirus vaccine? Front-line health care workers, paramedics, firefighters and police, all of whom are at higher risk of contracting the virus, according to a new report from the National Academies of Science, Medicine and Engineering.

Today's numbers: A Paste BN analysis of Johns Hopkins data through late Tuesday shows four states set records for new cases in a week while two states had a record number of deaths in a week. New case records were set in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and West Virginia. Record numbers of deaths were reported in Arkansas, Hawaii and Guam. The U.S. has 6 million confirmed cases and over 184,000 deaths. Globally, there are 25.7 million cases and more than 857,000 people have died. See the numbers in your area here, and check out where cases are rising here.

What do you want to know about the coronavirus? Submit your questions through this form. Tom from South Pittsburg, Tennessee: With the coming flu season soon approaching, can you have the "regular" flu and the coronavirus at the same time?

Yes, it's possible. Both flu and COVID-19 have similar modes of transmission and symptoms, and there are tests for diagnosing each. Not many people have contracted the flu at the same time as COVID-19, and those sick with both have had mild to moderate symptoms, though at least two deaths have been reported.

"What will co-infection mean is a big area of concern," said John Brownstein, who tracks outbreaks around the world as chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital. Research in this area is underway.

Public health experts say getting a flu vaccine this year is even more important than usual to prevent dual epidemics of flu and COVID-19. The CDC recommends people get a flu vaccine by the end of October – because it takes a few weeks for the vaccine to become fully protective – but encourages people to get vaccinated later rather than not at all.

As always, thank you for subscribing! We appreciate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information. Know someone who could benefit from these daily updates? Forward them this email so they can sign up here.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck