COVID-19 Update
June 9, 2020

IowaBio wants to provide our members useful information during the COVID-19 pandemic. This newsletter compiles information on state, federal and industry action to combat the virus and its impacts.

If your company is helping respond to COVID-19, IowaBio wants to know about it. Please, send any information about what your biotechnology company or organization is doing to help, to Jessica Hyland at Jessica@iowabio.org.

If IowaBio can assist you in getting information out, connecting with public officials, or support your company in another way, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Past IowaBio COVID-19 Update newsletters are now available at www.iowabio.org/COVID19 and can be found under the Industry News tab on the IowaBio website.

Iowa Update

Currently, IDPH has reported on the state’s coronavirus dashboard, 22,115 Iowans have tested positive, up 321 from our update yesterday morning, with a total of 196,355 tested.  16 more deaths were reported since our update yesterday, bringing the total to 622 deaths.  Now 13,211 Iowans have recovered. The latest on hospitalizations, including how many patients have been admitted in the last 24 hours can be found here.

Yesterday the Governor’s office announced the opening of five new Test Iowa sites, including one in Dallas County. Individuals must complete the assessment at testiowa.com and schedule an appointment online to be tested. The Dallas County drive-thru site opened yesterday and operates from noon to 6 p.m., located in Waukee at South Middle School, 2350 SE LA Grant Parkway. 
 
Additionally, four clinic sites will serve Page, Union, Carroll and Crawford counties. Clinic sites are partnerships between the State of Iowa and local health care providers to increase access to testing in their communities. Clinics operate and staff the test sites. The state provides testing supplies and processes the samples through the State Hygienic Lab.
 
The new clinic sites include:

• Page County: Clarinda Regional Health Center, 220 Essie Davison Dr., Clarinda, opened June 3
• Union County: Greater Regional Health, 801 Wyoming Ave., Creston, opens Mon., June 8
• Carroll County: St. Anthony Regional Hospital, 311 South Clark Street, Carroll, opens Wed., June 10
• Crawford County: St. Anthony Clinic, 1820 4th Ave S., Denison, opens Wed., June 10

For a list of all Test Iowa sites click here.

The Governor will not hold her Tuesday press conference out of respect for George Floyd’s funeral which is scheduled today at 11. She will reschedule her press conference for tomorrow at 11. Wednesday’s press conference will be livestreamed and posted in full on Governor Reynolds’ Facebook Page. 

The Iowa Legislature will continue its work this week toward wrapping up the legislative session, including working on COVID-19 liability protection legislation for businesses.
 
Federal Legislation
Supplemental IV 
Timeline/Process/Politics: Not much in the supplemental world has changed since Friday. Bipartisan negotiations have yet to begin, and Republicans are still putting together priorities. Leader McConnell likely won’t bring another COVID-19 supplemental to the floor until mid-July. If we consider how protracted the debate on the last bill was, negotiations may need a backstop like August recess to provide adequate pressure to move through the House and Senate.
 
Policy: Republicans continue to push for liability protections and are working on strategies to combat the incentive structure of the federal boost to unemployment insurance. While the Heroes Act will not be taken up by the Senate (as Sen. McConnell has indicated), it can serve as an outline of Democratic priorities. Heroes Act text (as of 5/12/2020) here. Section by section here. One pager here. State and Local one pager here. NCAI’s summary on tribal provisions here. Manager’s amendment here. House Rules Committee report here.
 
New Implementation Information and Guidance

• 6/8 – The Federal Reserve announced it will be expanding and modifying the Main Street Lending Facility so more medium and small businesses will be able to participate. Press release here. Program information here. Changes include:
  • Lowering the minimum loan size for certain loans to $250,000 from $500,000;
  • Increasing the maximum loan size for all facilities;
  • Increasing the term of each loan option to five years, from four years;
  • Extending the repayment period for all loans by delaying principal payments for two years, rather than one; and
  • Raising the Reserve Bank's participation to 95% for all loans.
• 6/8 – SBA and Treasury released updated data on the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans program. PPP data here. EIDL data here.

Congress
Hearings/Floor Activity: The House is in pro forma session this week, with no votes scheduled. Leader Hoyer told Members yesterday that the House will likely vote on a police reform bill on June 25 or 26. Yesterday a bicameral group of legislators released the Justice in Policing Act, in response to the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery.
 
Appropriations: SAC plans to markup bills June 15-19, though it may slip to July. The schedule has been reported to be E&W, THUD, and Leg Branch on June 25; Interior, CJS, Ag, and DHS on July 2; and the remaining bills still have yet a subcommittee date to be set.
 
Subcommittees will poll their member rather than meet in person and save the in-person markups for full committee, to minimize the number of times that committee members have to gather.
 
House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey sent out a Dear Colleague yesterday outlining that she plans to hold subcommittee and full committee markups the weeks of July 6 and 13. From there, the Committee is aiming to push all the bills to the House floor during the last two weeks of July. Majority Leader Hoyer has said he wants to pass all the appropriations bills before the August recess.
 
House, Senate, and the White House have settled on an agreement for Veterans Affairs funding to exempt the Veteran’s Choice health care program from the budget caps and categorize it as emergency spending. This would save $11-$12 billion on the discretionary side and increase the odds of producing bipartisan bills.
 
NDAA: SASC is set to markup subcommittees yesterday and today and hold the full committee markup June 10.
 
The HASC markup is tentatively scheduled for the end of June. Subcommittees will likely go on the week of June 22-26 and full committee will markup the last week of June or the week after. Markups will likely take place in a larger hearing room than normal. Aim is to pass the bill before August recess.
 
Members of Congress in Quarantine or Treatment (new additions in bold)
Tested Positive (0):
Currently Self-Quarantined (0):
Recovered (7): Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC), Rep. Ben McAdams (D-UT), Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL)
Completed Quarantine (38): Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS), Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA), Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX), Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY), Rep. David Price (D-NC), Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL), Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ), Rep. Kendra Horn (D-OK), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)

Other Federal Actions

• In response to public health and safety concerns about the appropriateness of decontaminating certain respirators, the FDA is reissuing certain EUAs to specify which respirators are appropriate for decontamination. Based on the FDA’s increased understanding of the performance and design of these respirators, the Agency has decided that certain respirators should not be decontaminated for reuse by health care personnel.
• The CDC continues to update its dashboard with new guidance and details. Yesterday, the agency posted updated guidance for Administrators in parks and recreation facilities, additional resources for health departments, and details for investigating a COVID-19 case.  
• HHS posted a fact sheet titled, "HHS Initiatives to Address the Disparate Impact of COVID-19 on African Americans and Other Racial and Ethnic Minorities."
• Today, at 12:00 PM, the FDA, along with speakers from CDC's NIOSH and OSHA, will begin a webinar series on the topic of Respirators for Health Care Personnel Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
• There are multiple COVID-19 hearings slated to place in Congress this week:
  • Tuesday (6/9) 10 AM Senate Homeland Security: Hearings to examine the Federal government's procurement and distribution strategies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Tuesday (6/9) 12 PM House Energy and Commerce: Pollution and Pandemics: COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact on Environmental Justice Communities.
  • Tuesday (6/9) 2:30 PM Senate Finance: Hearings to examine unemployment insurance during COVID-19, focusing on The CARES Act and the roles of unemployment insurance during the pandemic.
  • Wednesday (6/10) 10 AM Senate HELP: Hearings to examine COVID-19, focusing on going back to school safely.
  • Wednesday (6/10) 12 PM House Financial Services: The Rent Is Still Due: America's Renters, COVID-19 and an Unprecedented Eviction Crisis.
  • Wednesday (6/10) 12 PM House Oversight: No Worker Left Behind: Supporting Essential Workers.
  • Thursday (6/11) 1 PM House Administration: The Impact of COVID-19 on Voting Rights and Election Administration: Ensuring Safe and Fair Elections.
  • Thursday (6/11) 1 PM House Appropriations: Indian Health Service COVID-19 Response.
  • Thursday (6/11) 2 PM House VA: Assessing VA's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: 90 Days Later.

Updates from the States

• Out of the cases under investigation detected by U.S. surveillance, there are 1,938,823 total cases and 110,375 deaths The CDC data closes out the day before reporting. 
• Yosemite National Park will reopen to the public on Thursday, allowing 50 percent of its average visitors.
• Gov. Ned Lamont (D) announced that phase two of Connecticut's reopening will be moved up to Wednesday, June 17th.
• Gov. Laura Kelly (D) recommended that most communities advance to phase three of Kansas's reopening plan.
• Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez (D) said that the county will open its beaches no later than Wednesday, June 10th.
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) announced that regions 6 and 8 of Michigan will enter phase five of the state's reopening plan. This allows salons, movie theaters, and gyms to open in those regions.
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that New York City has met all seven metrics required to begin phase one of reopening starting yesterday. Gov. Cuomo also announced that outdoor graduations of up to 150 people will be allowed beginning June 26th.
• Gov. Doug Burnum (R) signed an EO that modifies restrictions on visitation at long-term care facilities in North Dakota during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for a phased approach to resuming visitation as outlined in the state’s Vulnerable Population Protection (VP3) Plan.
• California's Department of Education released a 55-page manual titled "Stronger Together: A Guidebook for the Safe Reopening of California's Public Schools."
• Useful state data:
  • The NYT is tracking which states are reopening and which are still shut down.
  • These charts show cumulative coronavirus cases and deaths for metropolitan areas over time.
  • Use Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 U.S. map as a resource for media, policymakers, and communities to view a collection of critical public health data in one online destination and better understand and track the COVID-19 pandemic in populations both large and small across the country.
  • NASHP has developed a COVID-19 State Action Center which serves as a state-level policy dashboard. Governing is also keeping a running tally of coronavirus news and impacts at the intersection of the health and economic crises in the states and localities.
  • This site from the Kaiser Family Foundation provides state-level information on cases/deaths, social distancing measures, health policy actions, and more.
  • This resource from Bloomberg Law is a database of State Quarantine and Public Health Laws related to the COVID-19 response.
  • This series of maps shows how states are responding to COVID-19, and this tracker, created and maintained by MultiState Associates, has an up-to-date list of executive orders and various travel restrictions.
  • Finally, this site offers COVID-19 projections assuming full social distancing and can be broken down by state.

International Affairs

• WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the COVID-19 pandemic is worsening across the globe as the number of new cases on Sunday reached an all-time high.
• At least 18 people who work in Guatemala’s Presidential House have tested positive for COVID-19. Officials are planning to limit access to the Presidential House for 72 hours, and all the workers at the Presidential House will be tested. The Guatemalan president also said he and his vice president will be working remotely.
• Japan recorded no new COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, the first time this has happened since March 6th, around the time when the pandemic saw infection rates soar in the country. A total of 38 new infections were recorded on Sunday, which brings the national total to 17,886 cases and 929 deaths.
• Pakistan’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has now passed 100,000, according to the country’s ministry of health. Additionally, Pakistan has now recorded 2,067 related deaths from the start of the pandemic. Pakistan lifted its nationwide lockdown in early May, though the rate of new infections continues to rise – which could be in part due to an increase in testing by the government.
• The WHO does not believe either Central or South America have reached peak transmission, meaning the number of people getting sick and dying might continue to rise.
• In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the country would “put the brakes” on plans to relax more restrictions in the days to come. He urged Israelis, many of whom have stopped wearing masks, to follow the Health Ministry’s guidelines. 
• Canada reopened its border on Monday to immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Anyone showing symptoms will remain barred, and everyone will be required to quarantine for 14 days. A border agreement between Canada and the U.S. is set to expire June 21st.
• New Zealand has no active cases and no new cases, declaring that life could now return to a form of pre-pandemic normal.
• Global Cases:  7, 138,885 Total Deaths:  406,925

Lifestyle, Science, and Economy

• A scientist for the WHO said today that asymptomatic transmission was not a significant factor in the spread of the virus, which has created some confusion among experts seeking more information from the WHO. She cited a WHO report published June 5, which said that based on evidence from contact tracing, “asymptomatically infected individuals are much less likely to transmit the virus than those who develop symptoms.”
• Thirty-nine of the 40 largest known virus clusters in the U.S. are in food processing or correctional facilities.
• Shutdown orders prevented about 60 million COVID-19 infections in the U.S. and 285 million in China, according to a research study published today that examined how stay-at-home orders and other restrictions limited the spread of the outbreak.
• "How I spent my quarantine" will be the newest question on the common app for college applicants. 
• A shocking number of Americans are using bleach on food or misusing household cleaners in attempts to protect themselves from COVID-19, according to a survey published Friday by the CDC. An internet panel of 500 people found more than one-third of respondents “engaging in nonrecommended high-risk practices” such as applying the cleaners to the skin or inhaling or ingesting them. 
• The WHO keeps a running list of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, which you can view here. They are now reporting 133 potential vaccines, 10 of which are in clinical trials in the U.S., U.K., and China. STAT News also has a resource tracking COVID-19 drugs and vaccines. 
• Stocks on Wall Street have made a full recovery for the year. The S&P 500 rose more than 1 percent today, adding to a multi-week rebound based on hope for a quick economic recovery, significant intervention by the Federal Reserve, and a disregard for the serious risks that businesses and consumers still face.
• Continue to look at the NIH Office of Portfolio Analysis’s (OPA) expert-curated portfolio of COVID-19 publications and preprints. The portfolio includes peer-reviewed articles from PubMed and preprints from medRxiv, bioRxiv, ChemRxiv, and arXiv. It is updated daily with the latest available data and enables users to explore and analyze the rapidly growing set of advances in COVID-19 research.
• Forbes is keeping a running list of all major international airline COVID-19-related change and cancellation policies.
• RetailDive tracks store reopenings in the U.S. 

Helpful Articles/Media

• Daily WHO Situation Report (6/6) (6/7) (6/8)
• First Reported Cases of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Companion Animals — New York, March–April 2020
• Past epidemics underscore importance of mental health amid COVID-19
• When 511 Epidemiologists Expect to Fly, Hug and Do 18 Other Everyday Activities Again
• Here is last week’s COVIDView from CDC, a weekly summary and interpretation of key indicators that have been adapted to track the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.
• CDC: Some Americans are misusing cleaning products — including drinking them — in effort to kill coronavirus
• Knowledge and Practices Regarding Safe Household Cleaning and Disinfection for COVID-19 Prevention — United States, May 2020
• COVID-19 vaccine development pipeline gears up
• Evidence for Limited Early Spread of COVID-19 Within the United States, January–February 2020
• The pandemic's first major research scandal erupts
• COVID19 meets the antivaccine movement
• COVID-19 Monitoring and Response Among U.S. Air Force Basic Military Trainees — Texas, March–April 2020
• Epidemiology, Clinical Features, and Disease Severity in Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a Children’s Hospital in New York City, New York
• Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits — United States, January 1, 2019–May 30, 2020
• Equitable Pandemic Preparedness and Rapid Response: Lessons from COVID-19 for Pandemic Health Equity
• COVID-19 impact on hospitals worse than previously estimated
• Can plasma from COVID-19 survivors help save others?
• Anthony Fauci on Covid-19 reopenings, vaccines, and moving at ‘warp speed’
• A third of Americans report anxiety or depression symptoms during the pandemic
• Evidence for Limited Early Spread of COVID-19 Within the United States, January–February 2020
• Universal and Serial Laboratory Testing for SARS-CoV-2 at a Long-Term Care Skilled Nursing Facility for Veterans — Los Angeles, California, 2020
• COVID-19 serology at population scale: SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody responses in saliva
• Five Ways to Monitor the Coronavirus Outbreak in the U.S.
• Antibody Tests Were Hailed As Way To End Lockdowns. Instead, They Cause Confusion.
• Science vs. COVID-19: Vaccine trial wins and other hopeful findings
• Research finds concerning drop in U.S. colorectal cancer screenings and surgeries (spoiler: it's because non-urgent appointments and screenings have been put off due to COVID-19)
• Contact Tracing Can Do a Lot More Than Find Coronavirus Cases
• In the Pipeline: Coronavirus Vaccine Update, May 26
• Fate of Global Economy Rests More Than Ever on Finding Vaccine
• How the pandemic has changed the natural world, illustrated
• Why do some COVID-19 patients infect many others, whereas most don’t spread the virus at all?
• NIH Director: Defeating COVID-19 requires unprecedented action and collaboration
• Watch a video replay of Clinical Trials in Public Health Emergencies: the Ebola and COVID Experiences
• NIH Director's Blog: COVID-19 Brings Health Disparities Research to the Forefront
• Soaring Prices, Rotting Crops: Coronavirus Triggers Global Food Crisis
• From CDC's MMWR: Identification and Monitoring of International Travelers During the Initial Phase of an Outbreak of COVID-19 — California, February 3–March 17, 2020
• Virus Survivors Could Suffer Severe Health Effects for Years
• A strategic approach to COVID-19 vaccine R&D, with Drs. Tony Fauci and Francis Collins as co-authors
• When Coronavirus Hits Food Deserts
• Watch an NIH video about COVID-19 Diagnostics: The Challenge of Rapid, High-Volume Detection of SARS-CoV2
• What Antibody Studies Can Tell You — and More Importantly, What They Can’t
• The Other COVID Risks: How Race, Income, ZIP Code Influence Who Lives Or Dies
• The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use
• COVID-19 exacerbating inequalities in the US
• Suicide Mortality and Coronavirus Disease 2019—A Perfect Storm?
• The effective use of telemedicine to save lives and maintain structure in a health care system
• Johns Hopkins data capture.
• Other tracking data here.