Data Snapshot
UW Medicine Hospitals:
King County: The county reported 38 new positive cases and 0 new deaths on June 17.
Washington: The state reported 26,784 cases and 1,226 deaths as of June 16. A total of 435,016 people have been tested and 6.2% of those tests have been positive.
United States: The CDC reports 2,132,321 cases and 116,862 deaths as of June 17.
Global: WHO reports 8,242,999 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 445,535 deaths as of June 18.
*Numbers update frequently, please follow links for most up-to-date numbers.
Research News
U.S. Medicine: Pandemic Shows Value of Long-Acting Injectables for Severe Mental Illness
Featuring: Andrew Saxon, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
VA research has found that about half of veterans with diagnosed schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder have attempted suicide. Nearly 70% of veterans with schizophrenia and more than 82% of those with bipolar disorder reported suicidal ideation or behavior. That’s why it is so critically important to maintain their medications during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Long-acting injectable drugs has helped the VA do that.
Geekwire: Researchers want to pick up the pace on early testing and treatment for COVID-19
Featuring: UW Medicine
Scientists from Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington School of Medicine say the search for COVID-19 treatments should widen its focus from hospitalized patients to people who are just starting to experience symptoms.
Medical Xpress: A coordinated COVID-19 response helped western Washington state ‘flatten the curve’
Featuring: Eileen Bulger, Chief of Trauma, Harborview, Steven Mitchell, Emergency Medicine
Despite having the first confirmed case of coronavirus and the first major COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, the state of Washington implemented a response plan that kept its death rate the lowest among all states that have had major outbreaks. A multidisciplinary consensus panel of 26 experts analyzed western Washington’s response and identified six key factors that contributed to “flattening the curve” in the state. They report on their findings in an “article in press” on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website ahead of print.
UW Medicine in the News
CNN: Flush carefully. Study suggests coronavirus could spread in spray from toilet
Featuring: Carmen McDermott, Internal Medicine
Here’s a good reason to put the lid down before you flush: a new computer modeling study shows how a flushing toilet can send a cloud of little particles containing fecal matter into the air — fecal matter that could carry coronavirus.
MSNBC: Infection rates, hospitalizations rise as states begin reopening
Featuring: Vin Gupta, IHME
New coronavirus hot spots are emerging in Florida, Arizona and Texas as those states are setting records for daily infections. Dr. Vin Gupta joins Morning Joe to discuss why the numbers are rising.
The Atlantic: Why America’s Institutions Are Failing
Featuring: Alex Greninger, Laboratory Medicine
The pandemic and police protests, the twin crises of this horrendous year, might initially seem to have nothing to do with each other. In some ways, they are totally opposite cataclysms.
Crosscut: Seattle protests are barely spreading COVID-19 — so far
Featuring: UW Virology Lab
After Seattle urged all protesters to get tested for the coronavirus at expanded facilities, fewer than 1% are coming back positive.
ParentMap: What to Expect While Expecting During a Pandemic
Featuring: Kristian Adams-Waldorf, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Ellen Bariyev is in the second trimester of her pregnancy and being pregnant during a pandemic is something that she never anticipated. In a time where she should be excited about baby showers and stocking up on bottles, pacifiers and onesies, Bariyev now worries about what will happen to her and her baby during this time. Turning to her doctor isn’t an option. He, like Bariyev, is learning about the virus right alongside her.
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