Welcome to health care overnight Friday.
There is a new Ebola outbreak in Africa; a top FDA official said he would resign if a vaccine was approved under political pressure; and a new CDC report suggests reopening schools in certain areas.
We will start with worrying news from Africa:
New Ebola outbreak in Congo raises alarm
A new outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has infected 100 people in a western province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, a rapid spread that has worried health officials about the chances of an uncontrolled epidemic.
The outbreak in Equateur Province began in early June, when a cluster of cases were discovered in the provincial capital of Mbandaka. The number of cases has doubled in the last five weeks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said 43 people had died.
Equateur Province is a remote area north and east of Kinshasa, connected to the capital by the Congo River. The outbreak has spread to 11 health zones, the WHO said, with cases spreading across about 180 miles of jungle, making affected villages difficult to reach.
The COVID release: The WHO has allocated about $ 2.3 million to the fight against Ebola, and the Congolese Ministry of Health has said it needs $ 40 million to control the outbreak. But the world is being consumed by the coronavirus pandemic, and international partners have not allocated the funds to stop Ebola.
Read more here.
CDC director says teachers do not need a ‘critical’ label
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that teachers should not be formally recognized as “critical workers,” a designation that could potentially exempt them from COVID-19 quarantine requirements.
“I think they should not be formally recognized as critical infrastructure workers, because in fact, I think we all know they are,” Robert Redfield said during a rare call with reporters.
New guidance from the Homeland Security Department issued earlier this week classifies teachers as “critical infrastructure workers”, meaning they are advised to stay employed even if they are exposed to the coronavirus, as long as they are asymptomatic.
But Redfield said he did not think teachers should stay in class if they were exposed to a COVID-19 infection.
“CDC has sought to provide guidance, in order to remove that individual in principle and then isolate them from the classroom, however, to provide appropriate contact tracing in conjunction with the local health department’s local guidance and appropriate disinfection,” he said.
Read more here.
CDC highlights how to open schools in low-transmission areas
In the same call Friday, CDC Director Robert Redfield used a report from Rhode Island to highlight how schools and child care centers could reopen. According to the report, Rhode Island saw only 52 coronavirus infections in child care centers over a two-month period in which nearly 700 centers were authorized to reopen.
Redfield said wearing masks, daily screening for symptoms, improved sanitation and keeping students in small control groups is a strategy that could limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
The Rhode Island Child Care Centers opened in June after a three-month closure. By July 31, the state had authorized 666 centers with a combined capacity of 18,945 children to open. The state initially required the centers to limit enrollment to groups of 12 people, including staff, but later increased the limit to 20 people.
However, the report makes clear that the analysis occurred when Rhode Island experienced extremely low transmission rates in relation to other states, and asked questions about whether the strategy could be applied to other areas of the country with higher transmission rates. Redfield said if the positivity rate was below 5 percent, it was a strategy that could work.
Despite limited secondary transmission, the impact on childcare programs was “substantial, with 853 children and staff quarantined, emphasizing the importance of community-building efforts to protect childcare programs,” the CDC concluded.
read more over here.
Top FDA official promises to resign if Trump approves vaccine that has not been proven safe
An Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official promised to resign if the Trump administration approves a COVID-19 vaccine that has not been proven to be safe and effective.
Public health officials and lawmakers have worried that Trump would pressure the FDA to approve a vaccine for political purposes.
Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told Reuters he was not put under pressure, but when that changed, “I could not keep up and see what was unsafe or ineffective.”
“You have to decide where your red line is, and that’s my red line,” he said. ‘I would feel obligated [to resign] for with that I would indicate to the American public that something is wrong. ”
Read more here.
New Hampshire to fully open restaurants for indoor dining
All restaurants in New Hampshire will be able to open for indoor dining directly with 100 percent capacity, Gov. Chris Sununu
Chris SununuNH gives mask mandate ahead of motorcycle rally: ‘Sturgis was a real clear warning’ The New Hampshire governor rules woman can keep ‘PB4WEGO’ vanity plate despite recalling state MORE (R) said Friday.
Restaurants must re-enforce coronavirus state opening guidelines, including keeping six feet between tables and a mask requirement for all staff interacting with customers. Patrons are also prohibited from standing at bars.
Sununu said the state’s infection numbers were trending in the right direction, especially in the southern counties which were hit harder.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the state has a little more than 7,000 cases of COVID-19, with a seven-day average of 18 new cases. The positivity level of the state is below 2 percent.
Read more here.
VIRTUAL EVENT BOY: COVID-19: THE ROAD FORWARD – Wednesday, August 26 at 1 p.m. EDT
As election day arrives, the COVID-19 pandemic remains an ever-present threat. Alongside the 2020 Republican Convention, The Hill will host a discussion with policymakers and leaders of hospital and medical schools about lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic, the importance of research and innovation in combating health crises, and the value of a resilient and responsive ecosystem for healthcare. Rep. Michael Burgess
Michael Clifton BurgessOvernight Health Care: VA Problems Raise Prescriptions Concerns During Post Delay | Reopening of schools with COVID-19 provides example of chaotic autumn | Fauci undergoes focal cord polyp surgery Technical difficulties but several remote hearings Hill’s Coronavirus report: Moniz says US needs coalition for energy teams and Manchin says Congress is pushing for Wall Street solutions that do not work for Main Street; Burr to step more, MD (R-Texas) joins The Hill’s Steve Clemons.
RSVP for event reminders.
What we read
An ‘unusual’ attempt to stop the coronavirus in nursing homesNew York Times)
Swab, spit, stay home? College Coronavirus Test Plans are all over the map (Kaiser Health News)
US international airline passengers contact tracing plan stalls, sources say (Reuters)
State by state
Covid-19 cases linked to the Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota have reached state lines (CNN)
Two Texas A&M sororities now under chapter-wide quarantine after COVID-19 exposure (Houston Chronicle)
Virginia receives federal nod for open exchange of state health care (Bloomberg)
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