WAKEENEY — The Trego County Health Department on Wednesday announced an additional five new positive cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the county.

Kathleen Fabrizius, Trego County Emergency Management director, said Thursday the uptick in cases is related to a recent event. Seventeen new cases have been added to county totals since Monday.

Those cases include three staff members of Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital and four residents of the long-term care unit there.

Additional testing of hospital staff and long-term care residents has begun, Fabrizius said, noting the county is waiting on those results.

Trego County now has 24 total coronavirus cases, with 18 of those active. All cases are in isolation.

WAKEENEY — The Trego County Health Department on Wednesday announced an additional five new positive cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the county.Kathleen Fabrizius, Trego County Emergency Management director, said Thursday the uptick in cases is related to a recent event. Seventeen new cases have been added to county totals since Monday.Those cases include three staff members of Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital and four residents of the long-term care unit there.Additional testing of hospital staff and long-term care residents has begun, Fabrizius said, noting the county is waiting on those results.Trego County now has 24 total coronavirus cases, with 18 of those active. All cases are in isolation.<figure>
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Five new cases reported from Trego Co. COVID-19 cluster

Public is encouraged to email comments to Hays commissioners

Due to the potential for a large crowd at Thursday's Hays City Commission meeting and very limited seating, Mayor Shaun Musil&nbsp; announced this morning he will only allow a total of 10 individuals to address the commission. 

Five individuals will be allowed to speak in support of extending the mask requirement, and five people will have the opportunity to speak against an extension. 

Each speaker will be allowed three minutes, the city announced in a news release Thursday morning.

"I encourage citizens to submit your public comments electronically to the email address&nbsp;<a href="mailto:publiccomment@haysusa.com">publiccomment@haysusa.com</a>. All comments will be shared with the city commission," Musil said in the release. "Seating in the city commission chambers is limited so that proper social distancing can be maintained. Face coverings will be required. Persons not wearing a mask must produce a note from a medical doctor exempting them from the ordinance."

Petitions <a href="https://www.change.org/p/hays-kansas-extend-and-keep-the-mask-mandate-in-hays-kansas-and-ellis-county?recruiter=1097998128&amp;recruited_by_id=2220e880-a1c6-11ea-b153-f3ddb7cc5784&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard">for</a> and <a href="https://www.change.org/p/hays-city-commissioners-lift-the-mask-mandate-for-hays-ks-including-all-schools-06d033ec-5a3f-4964-b380-401f94c879ea?recruiter=974453886&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=facebook&amp;utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&amp;recruited_by_id=f2978010-946a-11e9-9565-2f9b7f173930&amp;utm_content=fht-24289628-en-us%3A1">against</a> extending the mask ordinance have been organized locally.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/3/1584473406560.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Public is encouraged to email comments to Hays commissioners</h2>Due to the potential for a large crowd at Thursday's Hays City Commission meeting and very limited seating, Mayor Shaun Musil&nbsp; announced this morning he will only allow a total of 10 individuals to address the commission. Five individuals will be allowed to speak in support of extending the mask requirement, and five people will have the opportunity to speak against an extension. Each speaker will be allowed three minutes, the city announced in a news release Thursday morning.Doors to City Hall will open at 6 p.m. "I encourage citizens to submit your public comments electronically to the email address&nbsp;<a href="mailto:publiccomment@haysusa.com">publiccomment@haysusa.com</a>. All comments will be shared with the city commission," Musil said in the release. "Seating in the city commission chambers is limited so that proper social distancing can be maintained. Face coverings will be required. Persons not wearing a mask must produce a note from a medical doctor exempting them from the ordinance."Petitions <a href="https://www.change.org/p/hays-kansas-extend-and-keep-the-mask-mandate-in-hays-kansas-and-ellis-county?recruiter=1097998128&amp;recruited_by_id=2220e880-a1c6-11ea-b153-f3ddb7cc5784&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=copylink&amp;utm_campaign=petition_dashboard">for</a> and <a href="https://www.change.org/p/hays-city-commissioners-lift-the-mask-mandate-for-hays-ks-including-all-schools-06d033ec-5a3f-4964-b380-401f94c879ea?recruiter=974453886&amp;utm_source=share_petition&amp;utm_medium=facebook&amp;utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&amp;recruited_by_id=f2978010-946a-11e9-9565-2f9b7f173930&amp;utm_content=fht-24289628-en-us%3A1">against</a> extending the mask ordinance have been organized locally.

Comments on mask ordinance will be limited to 10 people

By KRISTI BIRCH KU Medical Center News

When 2020 began,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/radiation-oncology/faculty-and-staff/radiation-oncologists/gregory-gan.html" target="_blank">Gregory Gan, M.D., Ph.D.,</a>&nbsp;was all set to dive into new research on treatment resistance and metastasis in head and neck cancer. A few months and a global pandemic later, he's partnered with pulmonologist&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/internal-medicine/divisions/pulmonary-critical-care-and-sleep-medicine/faculty/deepika-polineni-md.html" target="_blank">Deepika Polineni, M.D., MPH,</a>&nbsp;and they have launched a trial together exploring a drug to fight COVID-19.

Since becoming an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/" target="_blank">University of Kansas Cancer Center</a>&nbsp;in July 2019, Gan had spent months getting his lab up and running. He'd also been awarded a National Institutes of Health COBRE (Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence) grant through the Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine (KIPM) to support the focus of his research: how a certain protein can regulate inflammation, growth and treatment resistance in cancer.&nbsp;

But then he had two setbacks. In January, he had identified a drug developed by Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., that specifically targeted the protein he was researching. Gan wanted to see if it could prevent or slow metastasis in cancer. But at the time, Aclaris was focused on evaluating the drug for an immuno-inflammatory condition, rheumatoid arthritis.&nbsp;

And then in March, the coronavirus made its way to Kansas City, shutting down laboratories across the University of Kansas Medical Center as Kansas City implemented stay-at-home orders. Along with other researchers from KU Medical Center and around the country, Gan used the time at home to write and read about research findings in his field as well as to read up on the biology of the deadly new coronavirus.&nbsp;

And that's when it hit him. The same drug that he had wanted to study in cancer might also be effective in curtailing the "cytokine storm" that leads to respiratory failure and deaths of COVID-19 patients.

"I guess it's true what they say about lemons and lemonade," said Gan. "I'm lucky in that the pathway I'm already studying actually may have a role for managing COVID-19."

That's when he contacted Polineni, an associate professor of medicine at KU Medical Center. Polineni, a fellow NIH COBRE grant recipient through KIPM and a physician-scientist in adult pulmonary medicine, was working with her laboratory to study patterns of inflammation and anti-inflammatory response in cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic pulmonary disease and long-standing focus of her research. Polineni had also temporarily shut down her lab and was actively seeking ways to contribute in the pandemic. Gan wanted to discuss with his colleague the plausibility of therapeutic application of the drug he was studying in COVID-19-related pulmonary disease.

After reviewing the data for the drug, Polineni and Gan decided that the evidence supported testing it in COVID-19 patients.

This month, Gan and Polineni began enrolling patients in their clinical trial to evaluate if Aclaris's new investigational drug (ATI-450) can be used to halt respiratory failure in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. If successful, this could potentially keep those patients from needing mechanical ventilation.

The specific protein that Gan studies is known as MAP kinase-activated protein kinase-2 (MK2). For three years, he has been researching the role of MK2 on treatment resistance in head and neck cancer. Recently, his work has expanded into studying how this protein plays a role in cancer metastasis, the disease process where cancer spreads from one part of the body to another.

MK2 helps the body produce inflammatory cytokines, types of proteins released both by the body's immune system and tissue. MK2 is also important in a process known as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), in which epithelial cells transform into a type of stem-like cell that helps organs develop and repairs damaged tissue. Both inflammation and EMT are necessary processes in healthy tissue. However, in cancer, both processes become overactive. Excessive inflammatory cytokines can stimulate cancer growth, treatment resistance, immune suppression and changes to normal tissue function. Overactive EMT can similarly suppress the immune system, enhance cancer resistance to therapy and transform cancer into a more invasive tumor capable of spreading to distant parts of the body.

Gan had previously done research showing that blocking the MK2 pathway in tumor cells engrafted into mice could sensitize them to the effects of radiation, reduce inflammation and slow down tumor metastasis. The next step was testing whether blocking the MK2 pathway would have the same result in humans. The question was how.

That's what led to his interest in ATI-450, an investigational oral compound produced by Aclaris. ATI-450 inhibits MK2, and had already been through a Phase 1 trial to assess its safety in healthy people.

Gan knew immediately that he wanted to test its use in sensitizing cancer to radiation and chemotherapy.

"I thought this was a perfect opportunity. This company has this new super-cool drug that could potentially benefit my cancer patients," he said. "But when I spoke to the company, they indicated that they were going to be focusing on evaluating the drug for rheumatoid arthritis."

In March, Gan was home reading about the coronavirus when he realized something: patients with severe COVID-19 infections experience abnormally high levels of inflammation that lead to rapid lung deterioration and the need to be put on a ventilator. Interestingly, the inflammatory cytokines Gan had been studying in cancer were the same ones in COVID-19, which led him to surmise that the MK2 pathway might similarly be activated. That overactive immune response, commonly known as a "cytokine storm," damages the lungs and is a major reason that some COVID-19 patients develop acute respiratory distress syndrome and do not survive.

Excited as he realized ATI-450 might be a potential treatment for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, Gan reached out to Polineni and asked her to collaborate with him. Gan had heard her deliver a presentation and knew about her research in CF, inflammation and lung function.

Polineni had spent years studying differences in inflammatory responses in people with chronic lung disease in CF, and how these differences correlate with better or worse outcomes.

"The same cytokines this drug targets are also important to the inflammatory processes of lung disease I study in CF," said Polineni. "In the setting of infection, even with a virus like SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19], some inflammation is required to aid in clearing infection, but a hyper-inflammatory response can lead to accelerated lung injury and worsened outcomes. When Greg approached me, trials of cytokine inhibition had just recently commenced in COVID-19. While a precedent had been set, ATI-450 further represented a novel therapeutic opportunity with an expanded profile of cytokine inhibition mirroring key players in COVID-19. I told him, ‘It makes sense.'"

Together, the two researchers reached out to Aclaris about supporting a clinical trial to evaluate the potential of ATI-450 to treat people hospitalized with COVID-19, in conjunction with standard-of-care treatment.

This time, the answer was an enthusiastic "yes."

Gan and Polineni then had to work quickly to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration to use the drug in a clinical trial, a feat they accomplished in just six weeks after designing the protocol for the trial.&nbsp;

"This kind of collaboration between the KU Cancer Center and the KU School of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine — engaging partnerships of faculty and study teams across all levels — isn't new, but it's something that I, as a CF researcher, and Dr. Gan, who hasn't been at KU long, hadn't had the chance to participate in before," noted Polineni. "It's been wonderful to see what we can do working together."

The phase-2 trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of ATI-450 in patients who are hospitalized with COVID-19, in conjunction with standard-of-care treatment, and see if the drug can abate respiratory failure in these patients and reduce the likelihood that they will need to be put on a ventilator. Ventilators are necessary for the sickest of the sick, and those patients often need them for weeks. Unfortunately, many who need them do not survive.

ATI-450 is not the only cytokine-inhibiting drug being tested to treat COVID-19, but many potential treatments target a single type of cytokine. Because ATI-450 attacks multiple types of cytokines, the researchers surmise it may have more of an impact.

For this trial, the goal is to enroll 36 patients at least 18 years of age who are hospitalized with COVID-19 and have respiratory symptoms. (There are some rare cases of COVID-19 that have cardiac involvement but little respiratory involvement.) The participants will be consenting patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System.

Half the patients will be randomized to receive the drug, and half will be randomized to receive a placebo. All patients will receive standard-of-care treatment during the trial, in addition to the drug or placebo. The researchers are primarily interested in the proportion of patients who are not suffering from respiratory failure at the end of 14 days.

They will also be taking blood samples to measure cytokine levels so that they can correlate those levels with the patients' condition at the end of the trial. In addition, Gan and Polineni, who were able to return to their labs in May, will be doing further lab work on those blood samples to see what's happening to specific cell types, such as neutrophils, mononuclear cells, and T-cells, that are involved in the body's immune response.

If this trial shows Gan and Polineni that ATI-450 can be effective at stopping the progression of COVID-19 and keeping people from needing mechanical ventilation, the investigators will be discussing next steps with Aclaris regarding the clinical development of this drug as a potential treatment for inpatients with COVID-19.

The researchers also plan to use what they learn from the trial to inform their other, separate research projects on cancer and CF.

"As physicians, we always want to advance the public good, and as scientists, we want to remain productive. All the lessons we're going to learn from studying COVID-19 will hopefully help us design smarter studies in our respective areas and tell us a little bit more about the drug that we're studying," said Gan. "And that is, I think, the best I could have hoped for in the middle of a pandemic crisis."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598387053374.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By KRISTI BIRCH KU Medical Center NewsWhen 2020 began,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/radiation-oncology/faculty-and-staff/radiation-oncologists/gregory-gan.html" target="_blank">Gregory Gan, M.D., Ph.D.,</a>&nbsp;was all set to dive into new research on treatment resistance and metastasis in head and neck cancer. A few months and a global pandemic later, he's partnered with pulmonologist&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/internal-medicine/divisions/pulmonary-critical-care-and-sleep-medicine/faculty/deepika-polineni-md.html" target="_blank">Deepika Polineni, M.D., MPH,</a>&nbsp;and they have launched a trial together exploring a drug to fight COVID-19.From cancer to COVIDSince becoming an assistant professor of radiation oncology at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kucancercenter.org/" target="_blank">University of Kansas Cancer Center</a>&nbsp;in July 2019, Gan had spent months getting his lab up and running. He'd also been awarded a National Institutes of Health COBRE (Centers for Biomedical Research Excellence) grant through the Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine (KIPM) to support the focus of his research: how a certain protein can regulate inflammation, growth and treatment resistance in cancer.&nbsp;But then he had two setbacks. In January, he had identified a drug developed by Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., that specifically targeted the protein he was researching. Gan wanted to see if it could prevent or slow metastasis in cancer. But at the time, Aclaris was focused on evaluating the drug for an immuno-inflammatory condition, rheumatoid arthritis.&nbsp;And then in March, the coronavirus made its way to Kansas City, shutting down laboratories across the University of Kansas Medical Center as Kansas City implemented stay-at-home orders. Along with other researchers from KU Medical Center and around the country, Gan used the time at home to write and read about research findings in his field as well as to read up on the biology of the deadly new coronavirus.&nbsp;And that's when it hit him. The same drug that he had wanted to study in cancer might also be effective in curtailing the "cytokine storm" that leads to respiratory failure and deaths of COVID-19 patients."I guess it's true what they say about lemons and lemonade," said Gan. "I'm lucky in that the pathway I'm already studying actually may have a role for managing COVID-19."<figure>
 <img src="http://www.kumc.edu/Images/news/Polineni-190(1).jpg" alt="Deepika Polineni" />
 <figcaption>Deepika Polineni</figcaption>
 </figure>That's when he contacted Polineni, an associate professor of medicine at KU Medical Center. Polineni, a fellow NIH COBRE grant recipient through KIPM and a physician-scientist in adult pulmonary medicine, was working with her laboratory to study patterns of inflammation and anti-inflammatory response in cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic pulmonary disease and long-standing focus of her research. Polineni had also temporarily shut down her lab and was actively seeking ways to contribute in the pandemic. Gan wanted to discuss with his colleague the plausibility of therapeutic application of the drug he was studying in COVID-19-related pulmonary disease.After reviewing the data for the drug, Polineni and Gan decided that the evidence supported testing it in COVID-19 patients.This month, Gan and Polineni began enrolling patients in their clinical trial to evaluate if Aclaris's new investigational drug (ATI-450) can be used to halt respiratory failure in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. If successful, this could potentially keep those patients from needing mechanical ventilation.Making the connectionThe specific protein that Gan studies is known as MAP kinase-activated protein kinase-2 (MK2). For three years, he has been researching the role of MK2 on treatment resistance in head and neck cancer. Recently, his work has expanded into studying how this protein plays a role in cancer metastasis, the disease process where cancer spreads from one part of the body to another.MK2 helps the body produce inflammatory cytokines, types of proteins released both by the body's immune system and tissue. MK2 is also important in a process known as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), in which epithelial cells transform into a type of stem-like cell that helps organs develop and repairs damaged tissue. Both inflammation and EMT are necessary processes in healthy tissue. However, in cancer, both processes become overactive. Excessive inflammatory cytokines can stimulate cancer growth, treatment resistance, immune suppression and changes to normal tissue function. Overactive EMT can similarly suppress the immune system, enhance cancer resistance to therapy and transform cancer into a more invasive tumor capable of spreading to distant parts of the body.Gan had previously done research showing that blocking the MK2 pathway in tumor cells engrafted into mice could sensitize them to the effects of radiation, reduce inflammation and slow down tumor metastasis. The next step was testing whether blocking the MK2 pathway would have the same result in humans. The question was how.That's what led to his interest in ATI-450, an investigational oral compound produced by Aclaris. ATI-450 inhibits MK2, and had already been through a Phase 1 trial to assess its safety in healthy people.Gan knew immediately that he wanted to test its use in sensitizing cancer to radiation and chemotherapy."I thought this was a perfect opportunity. This company has this new super-cool drug that could potentially benefit my cancer patients," he said. "But when I spoke to the company, they indicated that they were going to be focusing on evaluating the drug for rheumatoid arthritis."<figure>
 <img src="http://www.kumc.edu/Images/news/gan-190.jpg" alt="Gregory Gan" />
 <figcaption>Gregory Gan</figcaption>
 </figure>That was in January. In March, Gan was home reading about the coronavirus when he realized something: patients with severe COVID-19 infections experience abnormally high levels of inflammation that lead to rapid lung deterioration and the need to be put on a ventilator. Interestingly, the inflammatory cytokines Gan had been studying in cancer were the same ones in COVID-19, which led him to surmise that the MK2 pathway might similarly be activated. That overactive immune response, commonly known as a "cytokine storm," damages the lungs and is a major reason that some COVID-19 patients develop acute respiratory distress syndrome and do not survive.Excited as he realized ATI-450 might be a potential treatment for hospitalized patients with COVID-19, Gan reached out to Polineni and asked her to collaborate with him. Gan had heard her deliver a presentation and knew about her research in CF, inflammation and lung function.Polineni had spent years studying differences in inflammatory responses in people with chronic lung disease in CF, and how these differences correlate with better or worse outcomes."The same cytokines this drug targets are also important to the inflammatory processes of lung disease I study in CF," said Polineni. "In the setting of infection, even with a virus like SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19], some inflammation is required to aid in clearing infection, but a hyper-inflammatory response can lead to accelerated lung injury and worsened outcomes. When Greg approached me, trials of cytokine inhibition had just recently commenced in COVID-19. While a precedent had been set, ATI-450 further represented a novel therapeutic opportunity with an expanded profile of cytokine inhibition mirroring key players in COVID-19. I told him, ‘It makes sense.'"Together, the two researchers reached out to Aclaris about supporting a clinical trial to evaluate the potential of ATI-450 to treat people hospitalized with COVID-19, in conjunction with standard-of-care treatment.This time, the answer was an enthusiastic "yes."Gan and Polineni then had to work quickly to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration to use the drug in a clinical trial, a feat they accomplished in just six weeks after designing the protocol for the trial.&nbsp;"This kind of collaboration between the KU Cancer Center and the KU School of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine — engaging partnerships of faculty and study teams across all levels — isn't new, but it's something that I, as a CF researcher, and Dr. Gan, who hasn't been at KU long, hadn't had the chance to participate in before," noted Polineni. "It's been wonderful to see what we can do working together."Cool collaborationsThe phase-2 trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of ATI-450 in patients who are hospitalized with COVID-19, in conjunction with standard-of-care treatment, and see if the drug can abate respiratory failure in these patients and reduce the likelihood that they will need to be put on a ventilator. Ventilators are necessary for the sickest of the sick, and those patients often need them for weeks. Unfortunately, many who need them do not survive.ATI-450 is not the only cytokine-inhibiting drug being tested to treat COVID-19, but many potential treatments target a single type of cytokine. Because ATI-450 attacks multiple types of cytokines, the researchers surmise it may have more of an impact.For this trial, the goal is to enroll 36 patients at least 18 years of age who are hospitalized with COVID-19 and have respiratory symptoms. (There are some rare cases of COVID-19 that have cardiac involvement but little respiratory involvement.) The participants will be consenting patients being treated at The University of Kansas Health System.Half the patients will be randomized to receive the drug, and half will be randomized to receive a placebo. All patients will receive standard-of-care treatment during the trial, in addition to the drug or placebo. The researchers are primarily interested in the proportion of patients who are not suffering from respiratory failure at the end of 14 days.They will also be taking blood samples to measure cytokine levels so that they can correlate those levels with the patients' condition at the end of the trial. In addition, Gan and Polineni, who were able to return to their labs in May, will be doing further lab work on those blood samples to see what's happening to specific cell types, such as neutrophils, mononuclear cells, and T-cells, that are involved in the body's immune response.If this trial shows Gan and Polineni that ATI-450 can be effective at stopping the progression of COVID-19 and keeping people from needing mechanical ventilation, the investigators will be discussing next steps with Aclaris regarding the clinical development of this drug as a potential treatment for inpatients with COVID-19.The researchers also plan to use what they learn from the trial to inform their other, separate research projects on cancer and CF."As physicians, we always want to advance the public good, and as scientists, we want to remain productive. All the lessons we're going to learn from studying COVID-19 will hopefully help us design smarter studies in our respective areas and tell us a little bit more about the drug that we're studying," said Gan. "And that is, I think, the best I could have hoped for in the middle of a pandemic crisis."

KU researchers pivot to test new drug for COVID-19 

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials sparked criticism and confusion after posting guidelines on coronavirus testing from the White House task force that run counter to what scientists say is necessary to control the pandemic.

The new guidance says it’s not necessary for people who have been in close contact with infected people, but don’t feel sick, to get tested. It was posted earlier this week on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC previously had advised local health departments to test people who have been within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.

Across the country, public health experts called the change bizarre. They noted that testing contacts of infected people is a core element of public health efforts to keep outbreaks in check, and that a large percentage of infected people — the CDC has said as many as 40% — exhibit no symptoms.

“The recommendation not to test asymptomatic people who likely have been exposed is not in accord with the science,” said John Auerbach, president of Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit that works to improve U.S. preparedness against disease.

“We are seeking clarification from CDC about its recent guidance around testing,” said a spokesman for Michigan’s health department.

Federal officials said the new recommendation was issued by consensus of the White House virus task force.

However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert and perhaps the best known task force member, said Wednesday he wasn’t part of the discussion that green-lighted the change.

Fauci told CNN he was undergoing surgery when the new guidance was discussed last week, adding he was “worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is.”

The American Medical Association, in a statement, called the change “a recipe for community spread.” The Association of American Medical Colleges called it “a step backward in fighting the pandemic.”

Some officials — including some state governors — said it was another sign of a dysfunctional federal response to the pandemic.

“This is like a public health version of Vietnam,” said Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, which works to strengthen the public health system.

CDC officials referred all media questions to the agency’s parent organization, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. That suggests that HHS ordered the change, not CDC, said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public health researcher.

After Twitter lit up with head-scratching and alarm about the change, HHS officials sent an email Wednesday saying the guidance was revised “to reflect current evidence and the best public health interventions,” but did not detail what the new evidence was.

The decision came out of meetings of the White House coronavirus task force, HHS officials said.

In a call with reporters, Dr. Brett Giroir, the HHS assistant secretary for health, said guidance language originated at the CDC. But he also said many federal leaders outside the agency were involved in “lots of editing, lots of input.” He said federal officials achieved consensus but it was difficult to attribute the final language to any one source.

Ultimately, restricting testing could be self-defeating, because it could skew the numbers and create a perception that rates of infection are higher. Testing people who appear to be healthy would tend to lower the overall rate of positive results, while narrowing testing to people who are sick would raise the overall positive rate, Auerbach said.

Why HHS would order such a change quickly became a matter of speculation. Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious diseases specialist at Emory University, suggested in a tweet that there are two possible explanations.

One is that it may be driven by testing supply issues that in many parts of the country have caused widely reported delays in results of a week or more, he suggested.

HHS officials suggested that wasn’t the reason, arguing that testing capacity is plentiful.

But Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health commissioner for Columbus, Ohio, said the city had to curtail testing last month because of a shortage of reagents used in lab procedures.

“When we were testing asymptomatic people here in Columbus, we were picking up a large number of individuals” with the virus, she said

Another possible explanation for the change is that President Donald Trump simply wants to see case counts drop, and discouraging more people from getting tested is one way to do it, del Rio said in his tweet.

Full Coverage:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/tag/VirusOutbreak">Virus Outbreak</a>

Giroir said the change was made without input from Trump or Vice President Mike Pence. “There was no weight on the scales by the president or the vice president” or HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Giroir said.

Dr. Tom Frieden, who was head of the CDC during the Obama administration, said the move follows another recent change: to no longer recommend quarantine for travelers coming from areas where infections are more common.

“Both changes are highly problematic” and need to be better explained, said Frieden, who now is president of Resolve to Save Lives, a nonprofit program that works to prevent epidemics.

Frieden said he, too, believes HHS forced CDC to post the changes. He called it “a sad day” because “CDC is being told what to write on their website.”

The governors of California, New York, Washington and Kentucky — all Democrats — criticized the new recommendations.

Washington Gov Jay Inslee said on Twitter that the changes likely will cause thousands of infections in his state to go unrecognized, and allow the virus to spread even more. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the new guidance “reckless.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said their states will not follow the new guidance.

“We will not be influenced by that change,” Newsom said. “We’re influenced by the folks that are experts in the field who feel very differently.”

“Why would you reverse yourself on the quarantine order?” Cuomo told reporters on a conference call. “Because they don’t want publicity that there is a COVID problem. Because the president’s politics are, ‘COVID isn’t a problem We’re past COVID.’”

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials sparked criticism and confusion after posting guidelines on coronavirus testing from the White House task force that run counter to what scientists say is necessary to control the pandemic.The new guidance says it’s not necessary for people who have been in close contact with infected people, but don’t feel sick, to get tested. It was posted earlier this week on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC previously had advised local health departments to test people who have been within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.Across the country, public health experts called the change bizarre. They noted that testing contacts of infected people is a core element of public health efforts to keep outbreaks in check, and that a large percentage of infected people — the CDC has said as many as 40% — exhibit no symptoms.“The recommendation not to test asymptomatic people who likely have been exposed is not in accord with the science,” said John Auerbach, president of Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit that works to improve U.S. preparedness against disease.“We are seeking clarification from CDC about its recent guidance around testing,” said a spokesman for Michigan’s health department.Federal officials said the new recommendation was issued by consensus of the White House virus task force.However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert and perhaps the best known task force member, said Wednesday he wasn’t part of the discussion that green-lighted the change.Fauci told CNN he was undergoing surgery when the new guidance was discussed last week, adding he was “worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact it is.”The American Medical Association, in a statement, called the change “a recipe for community spread.” The Association of American Medical Colleges called it “a step backward in fighting the pandemic.”Some officials — including some state governors — said it was another sign of a dysfunctional federal response to the pandemic.“This is like a public health version of Vietnam,” said Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, which works to strengthen the public health system.CDC officials referred all media questions to the agency’s parent organization, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. That suggests that HHS ordered the change, not CDC, said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Johns Hopkins University public health researcher.After Twitter lit up with head-scratching and alarm about the change, HHS officials sent an email Wednesday saying the guidance was revised “to reflect current evidence and the best public health interventions,” but did not detail what the new evidence was.The decision came out of meetings of the White House coronavirus task force, HHS officials said.In a call with reporters, Dr. Brett Giroir, the HHS assistant secretary for health, said guidance language originated at the CDC. But he also said many federal leaders outside the agency were involved in “lots of editing, lots of input.” He said federal officials achieved consensus but it was difficult to attribute the final language to any one source.Ultimately, restricting testing could be self-defeating, because it could skew the numbers and create a perception that rates of infection are higher. Testing people who appear to be healthy would tend to lower the overall rate of positive results, while narrowing testing to people who are sick would raise the overall positive rate, Auerbach said.Why HHS would order such a change quickly became a matter of speculation. Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious diseases specialist at Emory University, suggested in a tweet that there are two possible explanations.One is that it may be driven by testing supply issues that in many parts of the country have caused widely reported delays in results of a week or more, he suggested.HHS officials suggested that wasn’t the reason, arguing that testing capacity is plentiful.But Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health commissioner for Columbus, Ohio, said the city had to curtail testing last month because of a shortage of reagents used in lab procedures.“When we were testing asymptomatic people here in Columbus, we were picking up a large number of individuals” with the virus, she saidAnother possible explanation for the change is that President Donald Trump simply wants to see case counts drop, and discouraging more people from getting tested is one way to do it, del Rio said in his tweet.Full Coverage:&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/tag/VirusOutbreak">Virus Outbreak</a>Giroir said the change was made without input from Trump or Vice President Mike Pence. “There was no weight on the scales by the president or the vice president” or HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Giroir said.Dr. Tom Frieden, who was head of the CDC during the Obama administration, said the move follows another recent change: to no longer recommend quarantine for travelers coming from areas where infections are more common.“Both changes are highly problematic” and need to be better explained, said Frieden, who now is president of Resolve to Save Lives, a nonprofit program that works to prevent epidemics.Frieden said he, too, believes HHS forced CDC to post the changes. He called it “a sad day” because “CDC is being told what to write on their website.”The governors of California, New York, Washington and Kentucky — all Democrats — criticized the new recommendations.Washington Gov Jay Inslee said on Twitter that the changes likely will cause thousands of infections in his state to go unrecognized, and allow the virus to spread even more. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called the new guidance “reckless.”California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said their states will not follow the new guidance.“We will not be influenced by that change,” Newsom said. “We’re influenced by the folks that are experts in the field who feel very differently.”“Why would you reverse yourself on the quarantine order?” Cuomo told reporters on a conference call. “Because they don’t want publicity that there is a COVID problem. Because the president’s politics are, ‘COVID isn’t a problem We’re past COVID.’”___

Officials change COVID testing advice, bewildering experts

The Ellis County Health Department issued this news release early Wednesday evening:

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598484567100.png" alt="KDHE" />
 <figcaption>KDHE</figcaption>
 </figure>The Ellis County Health Department issued this news release early Wednesday evening:<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598484327461.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

Ellis County Health Department: Please make good choices

The Ellis County Health Department on Wednesday announced 38 new cases of coronavirus have been identified in the county since Monday.

There are now 127 active cases, including an active hospitalization, and 162 recovered cases in Ellis County.

Since reporting began, there have been 290 COVID-19 cases in Ellis County, including one death.

More than 100 of the cases have been reported this week.

The Ellis County Health Department on Wednesday announced 38 new cases of coronavirus have been identified in the county since Monday.There are now 127 active cases, including an active hospitalization, and 162 recovered cases in Ellis County.Since reporting began, there have been 290 COVID-19 cases in Ellis County, including one death.More than 100 of the cases have been reported this week.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598467409197.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

38 new cases of COVID-19 identified in Ellis Co. since Monday

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of Americans newly diagnosed with the coronavirus is falling — a development experts say most likely reflects more mask-wearing but also insufficient testing — even as the disease continues to claim nearly 1,000 lives in the U.S. each day.

About 43,000 new cases are being reported daily across the country, down 21% from early August, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While the U.S., India and Brazil still have the highest numbers of new cases in the world, the downward trend is encouraging.

“It’s profoundly hopeful news,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious-diseases expert at the University of California, San Francisco, who credits the American public’s growing understanding of how the virus spreads, more mask-wearing and, possibly, an increasing level of immunity.

“Hopefully all those factors are coming into play to get this virus under control in this country that’s really been battered by the pandemic,” she said.

But insufficient testing is probably concealing the full extent of the crisis, said Dr. Jonathan Quick, who leads the pandemic response for the Rockefeller Foundation, which has recommended the U.S. test 4 million people a day by fall.

“We’re grossly under-testing in some of the places that are still having high caseloads,” Quick said, singling out Mississippi, Texas, Georgia and North Dakota as hot spots with high rates of positive test results.

Even at 43,000 new cases per day, the U.S. remains far above the numbers seen during the spring, when new daily cases peaked at about 34,000, he said.

“It’s a good trend, but nowhere near what we need to be,” Quick said of the recent decline.

The virus is blamed for more than 5.7 million confirmed infections and about 178,000 deaths in the U.S. Worldwide, the death toll is put at more than 810,000, with about 23.7 million cases.

Jeffrey Shaman, a public health expert at Columbia University, said he is skeptical enough people are immune to significantly slow the spread. But he agreed that changes in Americans’ behavior could well be making a difference, recalling the impact that people’s actions had in containing Ebola in West Africa several years ago.

“Ebola stopped for reasons we didn’t anticipate at the time. It was so horrifying that people stopped touching each other,” Shaman said. Something similar may be happening with the coronavirus, he said.

“I know I don’t have nearly the number of contacts that I used to,” Shaman said. “But if we relax that, if we get complacent, will we just see another outbreak?”

The decline in newly reported cases in the U.S. comes even as deaths from the virus remain alarmingly high. Over the past two weeks, officials have reported an average of 965 deaths a day from COVID-19, down from 1,051 a day in early August.

Deaths from the coronavirus are a lagging indicator — they trail new infections because of the time it takes for people to get sick and succumb to the disease.

The percentage of tests coming back positive for the disease has also declined over the past two weeks, from 7.3% to 6.1%. But that comes as the total number of tests administered has fallen from its August peak of more than 820,000 a day, leveling off in recent weeks at about 690,000 a day.

The situation has improved dramatically in several states that struggled with high caseloads earlier this summer.

In Arizona, for example, officials reported 859 new cases Tuesday, down from a peak of 5,500 in late June. More than 2,000 people arrived at the state’s hospitals showing symptoms of the virus on a single day in early July. This week, that number has been less than 1,000.

In Florida, where more than 10,000 people have died, the state reported 2,600 new virus cases Tuesday. Earlier in the summer, it was regularly reporting more than 10,000 new cases.

Malinda Coler, 37, of San Francisco, said she has been diligent about mask wearing and other preventive measures, less to protect herself than a best friend who has a compromised immune system, with severe arthritis psoriasis.

“So I wear a damned mask and get infuriated when others don’t,” she said.

Most states now have some type of mask requirement, either through statewide orders issued by governors or from city and county rules that cover most of their population.

Even some conservative governors have gone along with masks. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves mandated masks in all public places earlier this month, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp dropped a lawsuit against Atlanta in a dispute over a requirement by the state’s largest city.

In Leeds, Alabama, Will Heath said he has seen greater adherence to mask rules around town, whether in stores or at his 5-year-old daughter’s cheerleading practice.

He and his wife, a nurse, have worn masks all along but said the attitude among others has shifted from “Even if I get it, I’ll be OK,” to “Let’s make sure we don’t give it to somebody else.”

“We have all been sort of operating under the assumption that we all have it or we’re going to get it eventually. So we want to make sure we don’t spread it,” Heath said.

Many places around the U.S. are seeing pockets of contagion, especially in college towns where students are holding parties and crowding into bars.

Over the past week, 531 students, faculty and staff at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa have tested positive for the virus, according to the school. Alabama said it tested nearly 30,000 students before classes began. The mayor of Tuscaloosa shut down bars for two weeks because of the spike, which could derail plans to continue the semester on campus.

The university is still moving ahead with fall sports in the football-crazed state, with plans to allow only about 20,000 fans at its 101,000-capacity stadium and a ban on tailgating. Coach Nick Saban weighed in on the virus Monday, urging people to wear masks.

“It’s not just about football. So, for people to make the right choices and decisions to wear their masks, do the things when they’re out publicly, respect the rules, respect the virus, that’s important,” he said.

It’s not clear what will happen to case numbers as more school districts bring students back to classrooms and colleges reopen their campuses. In recent weeks, schools including the University of North Carolina, Michigan State and Notre Dame have moved instruction online after outbreaks on their campuses.

Officials at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville said four students are facing disciplinary proceedings after three hosted off-campus parties with no mask or other distancing and another left isolation to meet with others despite testing positive for the virus.

“If the facts reported to the university are accurate, these students will face at least suspension from the university, and potentially greater penalties,” Chancellor Donde Plowman wrote.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/5/1590784947764.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The number of Americans newly diagnosed with the coronavirus is falling — a development experts say most likely reflects more mask-wearing but also insufficient testing — even as the disease continues to claim nearly 1,000 lives in the U.S. each day.About 43,000 new cases are being reported daily across the country, down 21% from early August, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. While the U.S., India and Brazil still have the highest numbers of new cases in the world, the downward trend is encouraging.“It’s profoundly hopeful news,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious-diseases expert at the University of California, San Francisco, who credits the American public’s growing understanding of how the virus spreads, more mask-wearing and, possibly, an increasing level of immunity.“Hopefully all those factors are coming into play to get this virus under control in this country that’s really been battered by the pandemic,” she said.But insufficient testing is probably concealing the full extent of the crisis, said Dr. Jonathan Quick, who leads the pandemic response for the Rockefeller Foundation, which has recommended the U.S. test 4 million people a day by fall.“We’re grossly under-testing in some of the places that are still having high caseloads,” Quick said, singling out Mississippi, Texas, Georgia and North Dakota as hot spots with high rates of positive test results.Even at 43,000 new cases per day, the U.S. remains far above the numbers seen during the spring, when new daily cases peaked at about 34,000, he said.“It’s a good trend, but nowhere near what we need to be,” Quick said of the recent decline.The virus is blamed for more than 5.7 million confirmed infections and about 178,000 deaths in the U.S. Worldwide, the death toll is put at more than 810,000, with about 23.7 million cases.Jeffrey Shaman, a public health expert at Columbia University, said he is skeptical enough people are immune to significantly slow the spread. But he agreed that changes in Americans’ behavior could well be making a difference, recalling the impact that people’s actions had in containing Ebola in West Africa several years ago.“Ebola stopped for reasons we didn’t anticipate at the time. It was so horrifying that people stopped touching each other,” Shaman said. Something similar may be happening with the coronavirus, he said.“I know I don’t have nearly the number of contacts that I used to,” Shaman said. “But if we relax that, if we get complacent, will we just see another outbreak?”The decline in newly reported cases in the U.S. comes even as deaths from the virus remain alarmingly high. Over the past two weeks, officials have reported an average of 965 deaths a day from COVID-19, down from 1,051 a day in early August.Deaths from the coronavirus are a lagging indicator — they trail new infections because of the time it takes for people to get sick and succumb to the disease.The percentage of tests coming back positive for the disease has also declined over the past two weeks, from 7.3% to 6.1%. But that comes as the total number of tests administered has fallen from its August peak of more than 820,000 a day, leveling off in recent weeks at about 690,000 a day.The situation has improved dramatically in several states that struggled with high caseloads earlier this summer.In Arizona, for example, officials reported 859 new cases Tuesday, down from a peak of 5,500 in late June. More than 2,000 people arrived at the state’s hospitals showing symptoms of the virus on a single day in early July. This week, that number has been less than 1,000.In Florida, where more than 10,000 people have died, the state reported 2,600 new virus cases Tuesday. Earlier in the summer, it was regularly reporting more than 10,000 new cases.Malinda Coler, 37, of San Francisco, said she has been diligent about mask wearing and other preventive measures, less to protect herself than a best friend who has a compromised immune system, with severe arthritis psoriasis.“So I wear a damned mask and get infuriated when others don’t,” she said.Most states now have some type of mask requirement, either through statewide orders issued by governors or from city and county rules that cover most of their population.Even some conservative governors have gone along with masks. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves mandated masks in all public places earlier this month, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp dropped a lawsuit against Atlanta in a dispute over a requirement by the state’s largest city.In Leeds, Alabama, Will Heath said he has seen greater adherence to mask rules around town, whether in stores or at his 5-year-old daughter’s cheerleading practice.He and his wife, a nurse, have worn masks all along but said the attitude among others has shifted from “Even if I get it, I’ll be OK,” to “Let’s make sure we don’t give it to somebody else.”“We have all been sort of operating under the assumption that we all have it or we’re going to get it eventually. So we want to make sure we don’t spread it,” Heath said.Many places around the U.S. are seeing pockets of contagion, especially in college towns where students are holding parties and crowding into bars.Over the past week, 531 students, faculty and staff at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa have tested positive for the virus, according to the school. Alabama said it tested nearly 30,000 students before classes began. The mayor of Tuscaloosa shut down bars for two weeks because of the spike, which could derail plans to continue the semester on campus.The university is still moving ahead with fall sports in the football-crazed state, with plans to allow only about 20,000 fans at its 101,000-capacity stadium and a ban on tailgating. Coach Nick Saban weighed in on the virus Monday, urging people to wear masks.“It’s not just about football. So, for people to make the right choices and decisions to wear their masks, do the things when they’re out publicly, respect the rules, respect the virus, that’s important,” he said.It’s not clear what will happen to case numbers as more school districts bring students back to classrooms and colleges reopen their campuses. In recent weeks, schools including the University of North Carolina, Michigan State and Notre Dame have moved instruction online after outbreaks on their campuses.Officials at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville said four students are facing disciplinary proceedings after three hosted off-campus parties with no mask or other distancing and another left isolation to meet with others despite testing positive for the virus.“If the facts reported to the university are accurate, these students will face at least suspension from the university, and potentially greater penalties,” Chancellor Donde Plowman wrote.___

New virus cases decline in the US and experts credit masks

WAKEENEY — Trego County on Monday announced 12 new cases of coronavirus in the county, including a Trego County-Lemke Memorial hospital staff member and a resident of a long-term care facility.

"All 12 cases are in isolation, and there is still a significant number of tests pending at this time," the county reported.

Prior to Monday, Trego County had 19 positive cases of COVID-19 since reporting began, including one death.

Read the entire release below or click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/tregocountycovid19/">HERE</a>&nbsp;for more information.

WAKEENEY — Trego County on Monday announced 12 new cases of coronavirus in the county, including a Trego County-Lemke Memorial hospital staff member and a resident of a long-term care facility."All 12 cases are in isolation, and there is still a significant number of tests pending at this time," the county reported.Prior to Monday, Trego County had 19 positive cases of COVID-19 since reporting began, including one death.Read the entire release below or click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/tregocountycovid19/">HERE</a>&nbsp;for more information.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598390819039.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

12 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Trego Co. on Monday

TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. Monday to give an update regarding COVID-19 in Kansas.

Another weekend surge pushed the total number of virus cases for the pandemic past 38,000. The state Department of Health and Environment said Monday that Kansas saw another 1,545 confirmed and probable cases since Friday, an increase of 4.2%. The total since the pandemic began is 38,401.

The health department said all 105 of the state’s counties have had a confirmed or probable case. Rawlins and Wallace counties in western Kansas had remained the only two without a reported case for more than a month before the department said Monday that they had one case each.

TOPEKA –&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. Monday to give an update regarding COVID-19 in Kansas.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGovLauraKelly%2Fvideos%2F326252398816890%2F&show_text=0&width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe></div>Another weekend surge pushed the total number of virus cases for the pandemic past 38,000. The state Department of Health and Environment said Monday that Kansas saw another 1,545 confirmed and probable cases since Friday, an increase of 4.2%. The total since the pandemic began is 38,401.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598288743755.png" alt="August 24, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>August 24, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>The health department said all 105 of the state’s counties have had a confirmed or probable case. Rawlins and Wallace counties in western Kansas had remained the only two without a reported case for more than a month before the department said Monday that they had one case each.

🎥  Gov. Kelly: No more COVID-19-free counties in Kansas

ELLIS — We have been informed that one of our junior high school football coaches and a high school soccer coach have been placed on self-quarantine as they have been deemed a close contact of a positive coronavirus individual. 

They are monitoring for symptoms and will be tested if needed. Per guidelines, these coaches have been directed to self-quarantine until permitted to return.

At this time, our players and other coaches are not directly affected. If this situation changes, we will alert you ASAP and make the necessary adjustments.

We have also been informed by one of our Washington Grade School staff members that they have tested positive for the coronavirus. 

The staff member who tested positive was in close contact with a number of other staff members last week during in-service time. 

The staff member who tested positive and those who were deemed close contacts will serve their self-quarantine time before returning to school.

We are alerting you to this development because we believe that open communication and district health is important. 

We are working closely with the Ellis County Health Department (ECHD) to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.

In the meantime, know that USD 388 will continue with our safety and health protocols. These protocols include masks, sanitizing hands, wiping down equipment and other sanitizing processes.

In the interim, if you feel you are showing signs and symptoms of Covid-19, we encourage you to seek medical advice and contact the Ellis County Health Department for more information. They can be reached at (785) 628-9440.

We are committed to providing a safe and healthy educational experience and work environment for all of our students, athletes, and employees. 

We also endeavor to be a positive service to our community. It is in the interest of those goals that we provide this information out of an abundance of caution.

We also want to take this opportunity to remind you that one of our core values as a district is respect for and among our employees and students. 

We will treat information regarding the identity of employees/students with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 as confidential to the extent feasible and we will comply with applicable laws regarding the handling of such information. 

Further, per district policy, we will not tolerate harassment of, or discrimination or retaliation against, employees and students.

Please contact Corey Burton, Superintendent at (785) 726-4281 if you have any questions or concerns.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the CDC website at:&nbsp;<a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Findex.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0ka-BIGD9hBW_O9RLpLtXI9dvStESvPiSZdPHeZjdYryW37ZyY1AleAiU&amp;h=AT27S6h1EPT4wSLuf5GXEiuIobSHxU4-uE8puQH8Gdlm3b6_ddDdsX7B4cmyKe5kuJzcz440-MMmdu0XBVf7T7JlvSaJUxY5S_gxJheAjWpf15qggJXJ5lqOlNnGTPIAwjut3NaSI4R47l-dTkp9KdypQ1QDaE5iv2ZOz4Bg7T_DRAXk09CYFIXX_eGtNVyGr3SjSGLOlKWks23gDTHOl8WDt3rGTI-cx5TP6Zx7UeDQbsvXTyrUjmcSLc0y1kNFeHRu1ceTYZ-qxV25K3sksmVAsA6nCoSNn7bvbj7ScjxWdWCs9Yov6gx5JxFEGoALax1oyBs-y8SArPBsck2UX0hu_Chr2L2KKCVLYwqiLOq9uuMAEIi5fjlJT9w5VavPaEPjQhn6Le5ES7nIxSQ92ZGnBXMqSb8ObxI0La3apzE_5RRh1DVd6svUH727k4UED4ZNWMNxYehUa3CicCaKy5fMIhGgmORx972uFD1-f38KqL-gWG-NLJtV4b8Mqav7imRrbeK9QTFII6nP718VyU_374RR1x4NQb89T5p9WPfY2xGWOVoBwpqB_g7h7SzIF7pdgY4LselpohYI-rTiWTFNjZwqXwpOeSWpRvl6EsWT2OpqJfVBlTdbA59In-CS" target="_blank">http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html</a>

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/1/1579030633433.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>USD 388ELLIS — We have been informed that one of our junior high school football coaches and a high school soccer coach have been placed on self-quarantine as they have been deemed a close contact of a positive coronavirus individual. They are monitoring for symptoms and will be tested if needed. Per guidelines, these coaches have been directed to self-quarantine until permitted to return.At this time, our players and other coaches are not directly affected. If this situation changes, we will alert you ASAP and make the necessary adjustments.We have also been informed by one of our Washington Grade School staff members that they have tested positive for the coronavirus. The staff member who tested positive was in close contact with a number of other staff members last week during in-service time. The staff member who tested positive and those who were deemed close contacts will serve their self-quarantine time before returning to school.We are alerting you to this development because we believe that open communication and district health is important. We are working closely with the Ellis County Health Department (ECHD) to keep our students and staff as safe as possible.In the meantime, know that USD 388 will continue with our safety and health protocols. These protocols include masks, sanitizing hands, wiping down equipment and other sanitizing processes.In the interim, if you feel you are showing signs and symptoms of Covid-19, we encourage you to seek medical advice and contact the Ellis County Health Department for more information. They can be reached at (785) 628-9440.We are committed to providing a safe and healthy educational experience and work environment for all of our students, athletes, and employees. We also endeavor to be a positive service to our community. It is in the interest of those goals that we provide this information out of an abundance of caution.We also want to take this opportunity to remind you that one of our core values as a district is respect for and among our employees and students. We will treat information regarding the identity of employees/students with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 as confidential to the extent feasible and we will comply with applicable laws regarding the handling of such information. Further, per district policy, we will not tolerate harassment of, or discrimination or retaliation against, employees and students.Please contact Corey Burton, Superintendent at (785) 726-4281 if you have any questions or concerns.For more information about COVID-19, please visit the CDC website at:&nbsp;<a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Findex.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0ka-BIGD9hBW_O9RLpLtXI9dvStESvPiSZdPHeZjdYryW37ZyY1AleAiU&amp;h=AT27S6h1EPT4wSLuf5GXEiuIobSHxU4-uE8puQH8Gdlm3b6_ddDdsX7B4cmyKe5kuJzcz440-MMmdu0XBVf7T7JlvSaJUxY5S_gxJheAjWpf15qggJXJ5lqOlNnGTPIAwjut3NaSI4R47l-dTkp9KdypQ1QDaE5iv2ZOz4Bg7T_DRAXk09CYFIXX_eGtNVyGr3SjSGLOlKWks23gDTHOl8WDt3rGTI-cx5TP6Zx7UeDQbsvXTyrUjmcSLc0y1kNFeHRu1ceTYZ-qxV25K3sksmVAsA6nCoSNn7bvbj7ScjxWdWCs9Yov6gx5JxFEGoALax1oyBs-y8SArPBsck2UX0hu_Chr2L2KKCVLYwqiLOq9uuMAEIi5fjlJT9w5VavPaEPjQhn6Le5ES7nIxSQ92ZGnBXMqSb8ObxI0La3apzE_5RRh1DVd6svUH727k4UED4ZNWMNxYehUa3CicCaKy5fMIhGgmORx972uFD1-f38KqL-gWG-NLJtV4b8Mqav7imRrbeK9QTFII6nP718VyU_374RR1x4NQb89T5p9WPfY2xGWOVoBwpqB_g7h7SzIF7pdgY4LselpohYI-rTiWTFNjZwqXwpOeSWpRvl6EsWT2OpqJfVBlTdbA59In-CS" target="_blank">http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html</a>— USD 388

Ellis USD 388 staff members in quarantine after COVID-19 exposure

UPDATED: 1:40 p.m. Monday to include additional information.

The Ellis County Health Department on Monday announced an additional of 72 new COVID-19 cases in the county since Aug. 17 after a reporting error by a Lenexa-based testing company uncovered unreported cases.

"CRL Reference Labs, who is providing testing to FHSU students, was not reporting electronically to the State of Kansas," the health department said in a news release. "From Saturday, Aug.
22, (to) Monday, Aug. 24, ECHD was notified of 483 test results (from all labs) that were completed over
the last week. Of these tests, 72 returned positive for COVID-19."

According to the health department, there are now 98 active cases of coronavirus, with one active hospitalization, and 153 recovered cases. Since reporting began, there have been 252 cases of COVID-19 in the county, including one death.

The department said there was a 700 percent increase in average daily cases from Aug. 12 to Aug. 20 — rising from 1.1 cases per day to nearly 8 a day. The department also said 77 percent of the active cases are age 18 to 24.

"Many of the
new cases have mild to no symptoms, which can make it difficult to control the spread of the virus
through contact tracing and isolation. Everyone needs to take personal precautions to help mitigate the
spread; avoid gathering in groups, especially parties and gatherings where social distancing and the use
of masks is difficult or not enforced. No one is immune to the effects of COVID-19 whether they are
physical, emotional or financial," the department said. "We all desire a return to normal but that can only take place if we all work
together to take simple steps in our personal lives to slow the spread:


Do NOT gather in groups. 
Do social distance. 
Do wash your hands frequently. 
Do wear a mask if you cannot socially distance. 
Do isolate immediately if you feel ill. 
Do call your doctor for questions regarding your symptoms and testing.
Do continue to protect yourself, loved ones and the community."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598291553202.png" alt="Ellis County cases / KDHE" />
 <figcaption>Ellis County cases / KDHE</figcaption>
 </figure>UPDATED: 1:40 p.m. Monday to include additional information.The Ellis County Health Department on Monday announced an additional of 72 new COVID-19 cases in the county since Aug. 17 after a reporting error by a Lenexa-based testing company uncovered unreported cases."CRL Reference Labs, who is providing testing to FHSU students, was not reporting electronically to the State of Kansas," the health department said in a news release. "From Saturday, Aug.
22, (to) Monday, Aug. 24, ECHD was notified of 483 test results (from all labs) that were completed over
the last week. Of these tests, 72 returned positive for COVID-19."According to the health department, there are now 98 active cases of coronavirus, with one active hospitalization, and 153 recovered cases. Since reporting began, there have been 252 cases of COVID-19 in the county, including one death.The department said there was a 700 percent increase in average daily cases from Aug. 12 to Aug. 20 — rising from 1.1 cases per day to nearly 8 a day. The department also said 77 percent of the active cases are age 18 to 24."Many of the
new cases have mild to no symptoms, which can make it difficult to control the spread of the virus
through contact tracing and isolation. Everyone needs to take personal precautions to help mitigate the
spread; avoid gathering in groups, especially parties and gatherings where social distancing and the use
of masks is difficult or not enforced. No one is immune to the effects of COVID-19 whether they are
physical, emotional or financial," the department said. "We all desire a return to normal but that can only take place if we all work
together to take simple steps in our personal lives to slow the spread:
Do NOT gather in groups. 
Do social distance. 
Do wash your hands frequently. 
Do wear a mask if you cannot socially distance. 
Do isolate immediately if you feel ill. 
Do call your doctor for questions regarding your symptoms and testing.
Do continue to protect yourself, loved ones and the community."Read the entire release below:<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598291284419.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598294224201.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

UPDATE: 72 new virus cases identified in Ellis Co. since Aug. 17

After two positive tests last week, there are now confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all 105 Kansas counties.&nbsp;

The northwest Kansas counties of Rawlins and Wallace were the last two counties to report confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Rawlins County announced its first case Tuesday, while Wallace County announced a positive case on Thursday.

After two positive tests last week, there are now confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all 105 Kansas counties.&nbsp;The northwest Kansas counties of Rawlins and Wallace were the last two counties to report confirmed cases of coronavirus.Rawlins County announced its first case Tuesday, while Wallace County announced a positive case on Thursday.Read the releases below:<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598295269616.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure><figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598295288619.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

Rawlins, Wallace counties report first coronavirus cases

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday announced emergency authorization to treat COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma — a move he called “a breakthrough,” one of his top health officials called “promising” and other health experts said needs more study before it’s celebrated.

The announcement came after White House officials complained there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that has upended Trump’s reelection chances.

On the eve of the Republican National Convention, Trump put himself at the center of the FDA’s announcement of the authorization at a news conference Sunday evening. The authorization makes it easier for some patients to obtain the treatment but is not the same as full FDA approval.

The blood plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in antibodies, may provide benefits to those battling the disease. But the evidence so far has not been conclusive about whether it works, when to administer it and what dose is needed.

In a letter describing the emergency authorization, the chief scientist for the FDA, Denise Hinton, said: “COVID-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months.”

But Trump had made clear to aides that he was eager to showcase good news in the battle against the virus, and the timing allowed him to head into his convention with momentum. He and aides billed it as a “major” development and used the White House briefing room to make the announcement.

Trump also displayed some rare discipline in the evening news conference, sticking to his talking points, deferring to the head of the FDA, Stephen Hahn, and only taking three questions from reporters.

The White House had grown agitated with the pace of the plasma approval. The accusations of an FDA slowdown, which were presented without evidence, were just the latest assault from Trump’s team on what he refers to as the “deep state” bureaucracy. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows did not deal in specifics, but said that “we’ve looked at a number of people that are not being as diligent as they should be in terms of getting to the bottom of it.”

“This president is about cutting red tape,” Meadows said in an interview Sunday on “This Week” on ABC. “He had to make sure that they felt the heat. If they don’t see the light, they need to feel the heat because the American people are suffering.”

During Sunday’s 18-minute press conference, Trump said he thought there had been a “logjam” at the FDA over granting the emergency authorization. He alleged there are people at the FDA “that can see things being held up ... and that’s for political reasons.”

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said the statement, and Hahn’s silence while Trump said it, “was disgraceful.”

“The FDA commissioner basically allowed the president to mischaracterize the decision and attack the integrity of FDA employees. I was horrified,” said Sharfstein, a vice dean at John Hopkins University’s school of public health who was a top FDA official during the Obama administration.

“This is a promising therapy that has not been fully established,” he said

The push on Sunday came a day after Trump tweeted sharp criticism on the process to treat the virus, which has killed more than 175,000 Americans and imperiled his reelection chances. The White House has sunk vast resources into an expedited process to develop a vaccine, and Trump aides have been banking on it being an “October surprise” that could help the president make up ground in the polls.

“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” Trump tweeted. “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”

Earlier this month, Mayo Clinic researchers reported a strong hint that blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors helps other infected patients recover. But it wasn’t considered proof.

More than 70,000 patients in the U.S. have been given convalescent plasma, a century-old approach to fend off flu and measles before vaccines. It’s a go-to tactic when new diseases come along, and history suggests it works against some, but not all, infections.

The Mayo Clinic reported preliminary data from 35,000 coronavirus patients treated with plasma, and said there were fewer deaths among people given plasma within three days of diagnosis, and also among those given plasma containing the highest levels of virus-fighting antibodies.

But it wasn’t a formal study. The patients were treated in different ways in hospitals around the country as part of an FDA program designed to speed access to the experimental therapy. That “expanded access” program tracks what happens to the recipients, but it cannot prove the plasma — and not other care they received — was the real reason for improvement.

Administration officials, in a call with reporters Sunday, discussed a benefit for patients who were within three days of admission to a hospital and were not on a respirator, and were given ‘high-titer’ convalescent plasma containing higher concentrations of antibodies. They were then compared to similar patients who were given lower-titer plasma. The findings suggest deaths were 35% lower in the high-titer group.

There’s been little data on how effective it is or whether it must be administered fairly early in an illness to make a significant difference, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University.

Aiming to ward off a possible a run on convalescent plasma after the announcement, government officials have been working to obtain plasma and to team with corporate partners and nonprofit organizations to generate interest among previously infected patients to donate.

Hahn, who called the development “promising,” said Trump did not speak to him about the timing of the announcement. He said “this has been in the works for several weeks.”

But some health experts were skeptical. Benjamin Corb, of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, called it “conspicuous timing.”

“President Trump is once again putting his political goals ahead of the health and well-being of the American public,” Corb said.

Rigorous studies are under way around the country, comparing similar patients randomly assigned to get plasma or a dummy infusion in addition to regular care. But those studies have been difficult to finish as the virus waxes and wanes in different cities. Also, some patients have requested plasma rather than agreeing to a study that might give them a placebo instead.

Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb dismissed the suggestion of a slowdown.

“I firmly reject the idea they would slow-walk anything or accelerate anything based on any political consideration or any consideration other than what is best for the public health and a real sense of mission to patients,” Gottlieb told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Trump, in news conferences, “has made all kinds of therapeutic suggestions” that have not proven to be supported by science — and are even dangerous, Schaffner said. That includes statements about the possible value of treating COVID-19 patients with ultraviolet light and disinfectant. Trump reportedly also recently became enthusiastic about oleandrin, a plant extract derived from a toxic shrub that scientists immediately warned against.

But the president is perhaps best known for his early and ardent embrace of the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598222952199.png" alt="President Trump took only 3 questions during the Sunday evening press conference-photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>President Trump took only 3 questions during the Sunday evening press conference-photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday announced emergency authorization to treat COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma — a move he called “a breakthrough,” one of his top health officials called “promising” and other health experts said needs more study before it’s celebrated.The announcement came after White House officials complained there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that has upended Trump’s reelection chances.On the eve of the Republican National Convention, Trump put himself at the center of the FDA’s announcement of the authorization at a news conference Sunday evening. The authorization makes it easier for some patients to obtain the treatment but is not the same as full FDA approval.The blood plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in antibodies, may provide benefits to those battling the disease. But the evidence so far has not been conclusive about whether it works, when to administer it and what dose is needed.In a letter describing the emergency authorization, the chief scientist for the FDA, Denise Hinton, said: “COVID-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months.”But Trump had made clear to aides that he was eager to showcase good news in the battle against the virus, and the timing allowed him to head into his convention with momentum. He and aides billed it as a “major” development and used the White House briefing room to make the announcement.Trump also displayed some rare discipline in the evening news conference, sticking to his talking points, deferring to the head of the FDA, Stephen Hahn, and only taking three questions from reporters.The White House had grown agitated with the pace of the plasma approval. The accusations of an FDA slowdown, which were presented without evidence, were just the latest assault from Trump’s team on what he refers to as the “deep state” bureaucracy. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows did not deal in specifics, but said that “we’ve looked at a number of people that are not being as diligent as they should be in terms of getting to the bottom of it.”“This president is about cutting red tape,” Meadows said in an interview Sunday on “This Week” on ABC. “He had to make sure that they felt the heat. If they don’t see the light, they need to feel the heat because the American people are suffering.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598222686256.png" alt="President Donald Trump accompanied by Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, center and HHS Secretary Alex Azar during a media briefing Sunday -photo Courtesy White House." />
 <figcaption>President Donald Trump accompanied by Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, center and HHS Secretary Alex Azar during a media briefing Sunday -photo Courtesy White House.</figcaption>
 </figure>During Sunday’s 18-minute press conference, Trump said he thought there had been a “logjam” at the FDA over granting the emergency authorization. He alleged there are people at the FDA “that can see things being held up ... and that’s for political reasons.”Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said the statement, and Hahn’s silence while Trump said it, “was disgraceful.”“The FDA commissioner basically allowed the president to mischaracterize the decision and attack the integrity of FDA employees. I was horrified,” said Sharfstein, a vice dean at John Hopkins University’s school of public health who was a top FDA official during the Obama administration.“This is a promising therapy that has not been fully established,” he saidThe push on Sunday came a day after Trump tweeted sharp criticism on the process to treat the virus, which has killed more than 175,000 Americans and imperiled his reelection chances. The White House has sunk vast resources into an expedited process to develop a vaccine, and Trump aides have been banking on it being an “October surprise” that could help the president make up ground in the polls.“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” Trump tweeted. “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”Earlier this month, Mayo Clinic researchers reported a strong hint that blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors helps other infected patients recover. But it wasn’t considered proof.More than 70,000 patients in the U.S. have been given convalescent plasma, a century-old approach to fend off flu and measles before vaccines. It’s a go-to tactic when new diseases come along, and history suggests it works against some, but not all, infections.The Mayo Clinic reported preliminary data from 35,000 coronavirus patients treated with plasma, and said there were fewer deaths among people given plasma within three days of diagnosis, and also among those given plasma containing the highest levels of virus-fighting antibodies.But it wasn’t a formal study. The patients were treated in different ways in hospitals around the country as part of an FDA program designed to speed access to the experimental therapy. That “expanded access” program tracks what happens to the recipients, but it cannot prove the plasma — and not other care they received — was the real reason for improvement.Administration officials, in a call with reporters Sunday, discussed a benefit for patients who were within three days of admission to a hospital and were not on a respirator, and were given ‘high-titer’ convalescent plasma containing higher concentrations of antibodies. They were then compared to similar patients who were given lower-titer plasma. The findings suggest deaths were 35% lower in the high-titer group.There’s been little data on how effective it is or whether it must be administered fairly early in an illness to make a significant difference, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University.Aiming to ward off a possible a run on convalescent plasma after the announcement, government officials have been working to obtain plasma and to team with corporate partners and nonprofit organizations to generate interest among previously infected patients to donate.Hahn, who called the development “promising,” said Trump did not speak to him about the timing of the announcement. He said “this has been in the works for several weeks.”But some health experts were skeptical. Benjamin Corb, of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, called it “conspicuous timing.”“President Trump is once again putting his political goals ahead of the health and well-being of the American public,” Corb said.Rigorous studies are under way around the country, comparing similar patients randomly assigned to get plasma or a dummy infusion in addition to regular care. But those studies have been difficult to finish as the virus waxes and wanes in different cities. Also, some patients have requested plasma rather than agreeing to a study that might give them a placebo instead.Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb dismissed the suggestion of a slowdown.“I firmly reject the idea they would slow-walk anything or accelerate anything based on any political consideration or any consideration other than what is best for the public health and a real sense of mission to patients,” Gottlieb told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598218807664.png" alt="President Trump during the Sunday evening news conference -photo courtesy White House" />
 <figcaption>President Trump during the Sunday evening news conference -photo courtesy White House</figcaption>
 </figure>Trump, in news conferences, “has made all kinds of therapeutic suggestions” that have not proven to be supported by science — and are even dangerous, Schaffner said. That includes statements about the possible value of treating COVID-19 patients with ultraviolet light and disinfectant. Trump reportedly also recently became enthusiastic about oleandrin, a plant extract derived from a toxic shrub that scientists immediately warned against.But the president is perhaps best known for his early and ardent embrace of the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.Earlier this month, Hahn emphasized that routine evaluation procedures will remain in place to evaluate COVID vaccine candidates.“I think this administration has put more pressure on the Food and Drug Administration than I can remember” ever happening in the past, Schaffner said.“Everybody is just a little bit nervous,” he said.-----------WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Sunday the emergency authorization of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients, in a move he called “a breakthrough,” one of his top health officials called “promising,” and other health experts said needs more study before it’s celebrated.The announcement came after days of White House officials suggesting there were politically motivated delays by the Food and Drug Administration in approving a vaccine and therapeutics for the disease that has upended Trump’s reelection chances.On the eve of the Republican National Convention, Trump put himself at the center of the FDA’s announcement of the authorization — it makes it easier for some patients to obtain the treatment — in a news conference Sunday evening.The blood plasma, taken from patients who have recovered from the coronavirus and rich in antibodies, may provide benefits to those battling with the disease. But the evidence so far has not been conclusive about whether it works, when to administer it and what dose is needed.In a letter describing the emergency authorization, the chief scientist for the FDA, Denise Hinton, noted: “COVID-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months.”An emergency use authorization is not the same as full FDA approval.In the authorization letter, FDA officials emphasized convalescent plasma is still under investigation. “COVID-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months,” it said.But Trump had made clear to aides that he was eager for a piece of good news on the battle of the pandemic, and the timing allowed him to head into the convention with momentum. He and aides billed it as a “major” development and utilized the White House briefing room to make the announcement.Trump also displayed some rare discipline in the evening news conference, sticking to his talking points, deferring to the head of the FDA, Stephen Hahn, and only taking three questions from reporters.The White House had grown agitated with the pace of the plasma approval, but the accusations of a slowdown, which were presented without evidence, were just the latest assault from Trump’s team on the “deep state” bureaucracy. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows did not deal in specifics, but said that “we’ve looked at a number of people that are not being as diligent as they should be in terms of getting to the bottom of it.”“This president is about cutting red tape,” Meadows said in an interview Sunday on “This Week” on ABC. “He had to make sure that they felt the heat. If they don’t see the light, they need to feel the heat because the American people are suffering.”The push on Sunday came a day after Trump tweeted sharp criticism on the process to treat the virus, which has killed more than 175,000 Americans and imperiled his reelection chances. The White House has sunk vast resources into an expedited process to develop a vaccine, and Trump aides have been banking on it being an “October surprise” that could help the president make up ground in the polls.“The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics,” Trump tweeted. “Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!”Earlier this month, Mayo Clinic researchers reported a strong hint that blood plasma from COVID-19 survivors helps other infected patients recover. But it wasn’t considered proof.More than 70,000 patients in the U.S. have been given convalescent plasma, a century-old approach to fend off flu and measles before vaccines. It’s a go-to tactic when new diseases come along, and history suggests it works against some, but not all, infections.There’s no solid evidence yet that it fights the coronavirus and, if so, how best to use it.The Mayo Clinic reported preliminary data from 35,000 coronavirus patients treated with plasma, and said there were fewer deaths among people given plasma within three days of diagnosis, and also among those given plasma containing the highest levels of virus-fighting antibodies.But it wasn’t a formal study. The patients were treated in different ways in hospitals around the country as part of an FDA program designed to speed access to the experimental therapy. That “expanded access” program tracks what happens to the recipients, but it cannot prove the plasma — and not other care they received — was the real reason for improvement.Administration officials, in a call with reporters Sunday, discussed a benefit for patients who were within three days of admission to a hospital and were not on a respirator, and were given ‘high-titer’ convalescent plasma containing higher concentrations of antibodies. They were then compared to similar patients who were given lower-titer plasma. The findings suggest deaths were 35% lower in the high-titer group.There’s been little data on how effective it is or whether it must be administered fairly early in an illness to make a significant difference, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert at Vanderbilt University.Aiming to ward off a possible a run on convalescent plasma after the announcement, government officials have been working to obtain plasma and to team with corporate partners and nonprofit organizations to generate interest among previously infected patients to donate.Hahn, who called the development “promising,” said Trump did not speak to him about the timing of the announcement, which comes just before a pivotal week for the president’s reelection chances. Hahn said “this has been in the works for several weeks” and came after a data validation for which the agency had been waiting.But some health experts were skeptical. Benjamin Corb, of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, called it “conspicuous timing.”“President Trump is once again putting his political goals ahead of the health and well-being of the American public,” Corb said.Rigorous studies underway around the country are designed to get that proof, by comparing similar patients randomly assigned to get plasma or a dummy infusion in addition to regular care. But those studies have been difficult to finish as the virus waxes and wanes in different cities. Also, some patients have requested plasma rather than agreeing to a study that might give them a placebo instead.Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb dismissed the suggestion of a slowdown.ADVERTISEMENT“I firmly reject the idea they would slow-walk anything or accelerate anything based on any political consideration or any consideration other than what is best for the public health and a real sense of mission to patients,” Gottlieb told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”Hundreds of drugs are currently being developed as possible treatments against the coronavirus infection, taking a range of approaches.Trump, in news conferences, “has made all kinds of therapeutic suggestions” that have not proven to be supported by science — and are even dangerous, Schaffner said. That includes statements about the possible value of treating COVID-19 patients with ultraviolet light and disinfectant. Trump reportedly also recently became enthusiastic about oleandrin, a plant extract derived from a toxic shrub that scientists immediately warned against.But the president is perhaps best known for his early and ardent embrace of the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.Earlier this month, Hahn emphasized that routine evaluation procedures will remain in place to evaluate COVID vaccine candidates.“I think this administration has put more pressure on the Food and Drug Administration than I can remember” ever happening in the past, Schaffner said.“Everybody is just a little bit nervous,” he said.----

Coronavirus Update