National, Global COVID-19 Update

March 16, 2020

Today, the National Institutes of Health announced that a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine designed to protect against COVID-19 has begun at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding the trial. KPWHRI is part of NIAID’s Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium. The open-label trial will enroll 45 healthy adult volunteers ages 18 to 55 years over approximately six weeks. The first participant received the investigational vaccine today.

In its latest guidance on large events and mass gatherings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that for the next eight weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the U.S. The new guidance defines vulnerable populations, adds sections on “Considerations for Postponing or Cancelling a Mass Gathering” and  discouraging handshakes and high fives (for sporting events), and includes standard language regarding disinfection procedures.

In a press conference this afternoon, President Trump urged older Americans to stay home and everyone to avoid groups of more than 10 people for the next 15 days.

Current CDC figures show a total of 3,487 confirmed and presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. in 53 states and U.S. territories. Sixty-eight deaths have been reported.

In a press conference this afternoon, President Trump urged older Americans to stay home and everyone to avoid groups of more than 10 people for the next 15 days.

The latest WHO situation report notes more than 153,000 global cases of COVID-19, with more than 72,000 outside China in 143 countries/territories. The global death toll is more than 5,700. The WHO reports the new cases of COVID-19 in China are on the decline, with only 27 new cases reported. In a media briefing, the WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised social distancing measures and handwashing efforts, but said all countries must take a comprehensive approach by testing and isolating. He also urged people to refrain from hording as it creates shortages of medicines and other essential products.