WASHINGTON (AP) —Independent monitors have paused enrollment in a study testing the COVID-19 antiviral drug remdesivir plus an experimental antibody therapy being developed by Eli Lilly that’s similar to a treatment President Donald Trump recently received.

Lilly confirmed Tuesday that the study had been paused “out of an abundance of caution” and said safety is its top concern. The company would not say more about what led to this step.

The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which sponsors the study, would not immediately comment.

Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs; they attach to a virus and help it be eliminated. The experimental drugs are concentrated versions of one or two specific antibodies that worked best against the coronavirus in lab and animal tests.

<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04501978?term=ACTIV-3&amp;draw=2&amp;rank=1" target="_blank">This study</a>&nbsp;was testing a single antibody that Lilly is developing with the Canadian company AbCellera. Trump received an experimental two-antibody combo drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Lilly and Regeneron have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency use authorization for their drugs for COVID-19 while late-stage studies continue.

The paused study, called ACTIV-3, started in August and aims to enroll 10,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the United States, Denmark and Singapore. All are given remdesivir, which has been authorized in the U.S. as an emergency treatment for COVID-19, plus either the Lilly antibody or a placebo.

The main goals are reducing the need for extra oxygen and time to recovery. Deaths, relief of symptoms and other measures also are being tracked. All of the drugs are given through an IV.

Such pauses are not uncommon in long clinical studies. Unlike a study hold imposed by government regulators, a pause is initiated by the sponsor of the drug trial and often can be quickly resolved.

The pause in the Lilly study comes a day after a temporary halt to enrollment in a coronavirus vaccine study. Johnson &amp; Johnson executives said Tuesday that it will be a few days before they know more about an unexplained illness in one participant that caused a pause in its late-stage vaccine study. Johnson &amp; Johnson isn’t disclosing the nature of the illness.

“It may have nothing to do with the vaccine,” said Mathai Mammen, head of research and development for Janssen, Johnson &amp; Johnson’s medicine development business.

Mammen said the company doesn’t know yet whether the ill participant received the experimental vaccine or a dummy shot. He says Johnson &amp; Johnson gave information on the case to the independent monitoring board overseeing the safety of patients in the study, as the research protocol requires. It will recommend next steps.

The study of the one-dose vaccine will include up to 60,000 people from multiple countries. The company expects to complete enrollment in the study in two or three months.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602636110217.png" alt="photo courtesy Eli Lilly" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy Eli Lilly</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —Independent monitors have paused enrollment in a study testing the COVID-19 antiviral drug remdesivir plus an experimental antibody therapy being developed by Eli Lilly that’s similar to a treatment President Donald Trump recently received.Lilly confirmed Tuesday that the study had been paused “out of an abundance of caution” and said safety is its top concern. The company would not say more about what led to this step.The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which sponsors the study, would not immediately comment.Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs; they attach to a virus and help it be eliminated. The experimental drugs are concentrated versions of one or two specific antibodies that worked best against the coronavirus in lab and animal tests.<a href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04501978?term=ACTIV-3&amp;draw=2&amp;rank=1" target="_blank">This study</a>&nbsp;was testing a single antibody that Lilly is developing with the Canadian company AbCellera. Trump received an experimental two-antibody combo drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.Lilly and Regeneron have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency use authorization for their drugs for COVID-19 while late-stage studies continue.The paused study, called ACTIV-3, started in August and aims to enroll 10,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the United States, Denmark and Singapore. All are given remdesivir, which has been authorized in the U.S. as an emergency treatment for COVID-19, plus either the Lilly antibody or a placebo.The main goals are reducing the need for extra oxygen and time to recovery. Deaths, relief of symptoms and other measures also are being tracked. All of the drugs are given through an IV.Such pauses are not uncommon in long clinical studies. Unlike a study hold imposed by government regulators, a pause is initiated by the sponsor of the drug trial and often can be quickly resolved.The pause in the Lilly study comes a day after a temporary halt to enrollment in a coronavirus vaccine study. Johnson &amp; Johnson executives said Tuesday that it will be a few days before they know more about an unexplained illness in one participant that caused a pause in its late-stage vaccine study. Johnson &amp; Johnson isn’t disclosing the nature of the illness.“It may have nothing to do with the vaccine,” said Mathai Mammen, head of research and development for Janssen, Johnson &amp; Johnson’s medicine development business.ADVERTISEMENTMammen said the company doesn’t know yet whether the ill participant received the experimental vaccine or a dummy shot. He says Johnson &amp; Johnson gave information on the case to the independent monitoring board overseeing the safety of patients in the study, as the research protocol requires. It will recommend next steps.The study of the one-dose vaccine will include up to 60,000 people from multiple countries. The company expects to complete enrollment in the study in two or three months.

Possible safety issue spurs pause of COVID-19 antibody study

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A late-stage study of Johnson &amp; Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been paused while the company investigates whether a study participant’s “unexplained illness” is related to the shot.

The company said in a statement Monday evening that illnesses, accidents and other so-called adverse events “are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies,” but that its physicians and a safety monitoring panel would try to determine what might have caused the illness.

The pause is at least the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-4239b8c69ba4b3703b2ca8c77810bf07">second such hold</a>&nbsp;to occur among several vaccines that have reached large-scale final tests in the U.S.

The company declined to reveal any more details about the illness, citing the participant’s privacy.

Temporary stoppages of large medical studies are relatively common. Few are made public in typical drug trials, but the work to make a coronavirus vaccine has raised the stakes on these kinds of complications.

Companies are required to investigate any serious or unexpected reaction that occurs during drug testing. Given that such tests are done on tens of thousands of people, some medical problems are a coincidence. In fact, one of the first steps the company said it will take is to determine if the person received the vaccine or a placebo.

The halt was first reported by the health news site STAT.

Final-stage testing of a vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University remains on hold in the U.S. as officials examine whether an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-82885b32aeeae6c2a0a84cadf55ced90">illness in its trial</a>&nbsp;poses a safety risk. That trial was stopped when a woman developed severe neurological symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, a rare inflammation of the spinal cord, the company has said. That company’s testing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-drug-trials-bc340f0a92d940aff88ee140f2774aee">has restarted</a>&nbsp;elsewhere.

Johnson &amp; Johnson was aiming to enroll 60,000 volunteers to prove if its single-dose approach is safe and protects against the coronavirus. Other vaccine candidates in the U.S. require two shots.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602590971875.png" alt="photo courtesy Johnson &amp; Johnson" />
 <figcaption>photo courtesy Johnson &amp; Johnson</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — A late-stage study of Johnson &amp; Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been paused while the company investigates whether a study participant’s “unexplained illness” is related to the shot.The company said in a statement Monday evening that illnesses, accidents and other so-called adverse events “are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies,” but that its physicians and a safety monitoring panel would try to determine what might have caused the illness.The pause is at least the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-4239b8c69ba4b3703b2ca8c77810bf07">second such hold</a>&nbsp;to occur among several vaccines that have reached large-scale final tests in the U.S.The company declined to reveal any more details about the illness, citing the participant’s privacy.Temporary stoppages of large medical studies are relatively common. Few are made public in typical drug trials, but the work to make a coronavirus vaccine has raised the stakes on these kinds of complications.Companies are required to investigate any serious or unexpected reaction that occurs during drug testing. Given that such tests are done on tens of thousands of people, some medical problems are a coincidence. In fact, one of the first steps the company said it will take is to determine if the person received the vaccine or a placebo.The halt was first reported by the health news site STAT.Final-stage testing of a vaccine made by AstraZeneca and Oxford University remains on hold in the U.S. as officials examine whether an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-82885b32aeeae6c2a0a84cadf55ced90">illness in its trial</a>&nbsp;poses a safety risk. That trial was stopped when a woman developed severe neurological symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, a rare inflammation of the spinal cord, the company has said. That company’s testing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-drug-trials-bc340f0a92d940aff88ee140f2774aee">has restarted</a>&nbsp;elsewhere.Johnson &amp; Johnson was aiming to enroll 60,000 volunteers to prove if its single-dose approach is safe and protects against the coronavirus. Other vaccine candidates in the U.S. require two shots.

2nd COVID-19 vaccine trial paused over unexplained illness

Barton County coronavirus update: 144 active cases (727 quarantines)

Barton County coronavirus update: 114 active cases

REPUBLIC COUNTY —The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, along with local public health, are advising people who attended an auction in Republic County on September 26 that they may have been exposed to COVID-19, as six of cases have been connected to the event to date, according to a media release from KDHE.

 The auction was held at 208 Bedford Street in Cuba, Kansas on September 26 from about 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This auction had attendees from other communities in Kansas as well as those from out of state.

Anyone who attended this event should be aware of symptoms of COVID which can develop up to 14 days after exposure. Those symptoms include fever, cough, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue, diarrhea, and/or shortness of breath/difficulty breathing. If symptoms develop, please stay home and contact your health care provider or local health department for guidance on testing. In an emergency please call 911 and notify first responders that you were potentially exposed to COVID-19 and, if possible, wear a cloth face mask before they arrive.

REPUBLIC COUNTY —The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, along with local public health, are advising people who attended an auction in Republic County on September 26 that they may have been exposed to COVID-19, as six of cases have been connected to the event to date, according to a media release from KDHE. The auction was held at 208 Bedford Street in Cuba, Kansas on September 26 from about 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This auction had attendees from other communities in Kansas as well as those from out of state.Anyone who attended this event should be aware of symptoms of COVID which can develop up to 14 days after exposure. Those symptoms include fever, cough, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue, diarrhea, and/or shortness of breath/difficulty breathing. If symptoms develop, please stay home and contact your health care provider or local health department for guidance on testing. In an emergency please call 911 and notify first responders that you were potentially exposed to COVID-19 and, if possible, wear a cloth face mask before they arrive.

KDHE: COVID-19 cases linked to Republic Co. auction

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-10-08/clues-from-the-blood-of-kansans-suggest-the-coronavirus-pandemic-could-stick-around-for-a-long-time">Kansas News Service</a>

Perhaps two in every 50 Kansans have <a href="https://www.livescience.com/antibodies.html" target="_blank">antibodies</a> swimming in their bloodstream that show they’ve had COVID-19.

That relatively low number — based on the assumption that <a href="https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html" target="_blank">blood donors</a>
 reflect the broader population — suggests a gloomy reality. Kansas is 
still in the early days of this pandemic and it's looking at a future 
likely to bring many more cases than it has so far seen.

“Absolutely,”
 said Roger Shapiro, an immunologist at Harvard University’s School of 
Public Health. “When you look at these figures, you realize how far we 
are from herd immunity.”

The overwhelming number of Kansans, perhaps more than 95%, haven’t yet experienced the virus that has killed more than <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality" target="_blank">200,000 Americans</a>.

So
 medical pros say the only thing to do is sit tight, keep your masks on 
and stay away from other people, until we have a vaccine.

“This
 is not the time to play a guessing game of, ‘Do I have the flu or do I 
have COVID?’” said Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist at Johns Hopkins’ 
Center for Health Security.

Many people still can’t get fast 
coronavirus tests that would let them isolate in time to stop the 
disease from spreading further, and hospitals remain at risk of getting 
overwhelmed by coronavirus and flu cases this fall.

The
 human body produces antibodies when exposed to a disease, to fend it 
off. And those microscopic defenders can stick around after recovery.

So the American Red Cross screens blood donations for antibodies against <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2</a>, the virus behind COVID-19. It then sends <a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=160&amp;ContentID=37" target="_blank">plasma</a>
 with the specialized proteins to hospitals treating coronavirus 
patients, and it reports how often it detects the antibodies to state 
health agencies trying to piece together the bigger picture.

Nationally, the <a href="https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html" target="_blank">Red Cross</a> has tested about 1.2 million blood donations for the antibodies.

From
 mid-June to mid-September, it found them in about 2% of donations 
nationally. The same was true for Kansas donors. It’s not known how well
 that statistic might reflect the broader population.

Weekly 
tallies suggest the number of people carrying the antibodies has ticked 
upward in Kansas, as elsewhere. In recent weeks, the Red Cross reported 
antibodies in 4% to 5% of Kansas donations.

Could someone with 
antibodies catch the virus again a year from now and get seriously sick?
 How about two years from now? Or could they catch it, not show any 
symptoms, and spread the virus anyway? Scientists can’t yet say.

“This
 is not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Gronvall said. If a test shows you
 have antibodies, she said, you should still wear a mask and follow 
social distancing rules.

Recent reports of a few patients catching the novel coronavirus <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/28/covid-19-reinfection-implications/" target="_blank">more than once</a>
 in a relatively short time may not signal what to expect for most 
people, but leave open the possibility that one infection doesn’t 
protect you against another.

The Red Cross reported in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2770771" target="_blank">a medical journal</a>
 last month that blood donations from people of color test positive for 
the antibodies at a higher rate than blood from white donors.

That matches <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/expert-answers/coronavirus-infection-by-race/faq-20488802" target="_blank">other research</a>
 that shows communities of color bearing the brunt of the pandemic. It 
likely reflects broader social and economic disparities, such as lower 
incomes and a greater likelihood of working high-risk jobs that involve 
in-person contact with many customers or colleagues in a single day.

The virus spread fast in crowded Kansas <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about" target="_blank">meatpacking plants</a>, for example, that rely heavily on the labor of people of color in southwest Kansas.

Some
 studies and modeling point to higher antibody rates nationally and 
globally than the Red Cross has seen among blood donors, but still don’t
 offer good news.

“The (World Health Organization) just came out with an estimate that maybe <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/10-worlds-people-infected-virus-73427817" target="_blank">up to 10%</a>
 of the world has been infected,” Shapiro said. “But even at that 
number, we’re still so far from achieving herd immunity. … We really 
need to create immunity with a vaccine.”

Vaccines <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf" target="_blank">mimic natural infections</a>. They kick a person’s immune system into gear so that it churns out antibodies and stores viral information in <a href="https://askabiologist.asu.edu/memory-b-cell" target="_blank">memory cells</a>
 that could defend us even after those antibodies fade. (Researchers 
have found SARS-CoV-2 antibodies triggered by natural infection two or 
even three months after infection, and say it varies from person to 
person.)

Ongoing coronavirus vaccine trials aim to check how 
protective these immune responses will prove long-term, and whether 
people will need booster shots over time to keep their defenses up.

Part
 of the benefit from vaccines will ultimately come from the sheer number
 of people who would gain some level of protection at once.

“As we
 get to high enough vaccine levels, the herd immunity will actually just
 lower the amount of virus that’s circulating,” Shapiro said. “There 
will be just less virus around. This is our hope.”

The Red Cross’ free antibody tests serve three functions.

They
 gather the information that helps public health experts studying the 
virus’ spread, and they allow the Red Cross to flag plasma with 
antibodies for hospitals.

Scientists <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/513405-science-inconclusive-on-use-of-convalescent-plasma-in-covid-19-patients" target="_blank">still can’t say</a> whether the donated plasma works for treating COVID-19. A separate, <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/provocative-results-boost-hopes-antibody-treatment-covid-19" target="_blank">lab-based approach</a>, may prove more effective.

But either way, donations remain as critical as ever to the nation’s blood supply.

And that’s a third reason for offering antibody tests. They attract people to <a href="https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html" target="_blank">keep donating</a> amid the pandemic.

The
 Red Cross uses respected tests, and when a blood sample proves positive
 for antibodies, it double-checks with a second, high-quality process.

For
 people who had respiratory symptoms in recent months — but couldn’t get
 checked for COVID-19 because of the nationwide shortage of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/testing-overview.html" target="_blank">viral tests</a> — that may satisfy their curiosity.

And
 that could help keep donations flowing as the pandemic hampers 
traditional blood drives, such as a major annual effort that would have 
attracted thousands of donors next week.

“The biggest blood
 drive the Red Cross does across the country is at the University of 
Missouri in Columbia,” said Joe Zydlo, a regional communications manager
 in St. Louis. “And that has been canceled.”

Meanwhile, Gronvall 
advises against buying an antibody test somewhere. After all, the 
information won’t help you medically, she said, and many products are 
unreliable anyway.

“There’s just been so many bad tests out there,” she said. “Right now I would not spend money on it.”

Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Celia_LJ" target="_blank">@celia_LJ</a> or email her at celia@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1602251360190.png" alt=" Photo illustration by Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption> Photo illustration by Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-10-08/clues-from-the-blood-of-kansans-suggest-the-coronavirus-pandemic-could-stick-around-for-a-long-time">Kansas News Service</a>Perhaps two in every 50 Kansans have <a href="https://www.livescience.com/antibodies.html" target="_blank">antibodies</a> swimming in their bloodstream that show they’ve had COVID-19.That relatively low number — based on the assumption that <a href="https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html" target="_blank">blood donors</a>
 reflect the broader population — suggests a gloomy reality. Kansas is 
still in the early days of this pandemic and it's looking at a future 
likely to bring many more cases than it has so far seen.“Absolutely,”
 said Roger Shapiro, an immunologist at Harvard University’s School of 
Public Health. “When you look at these figures, you realize how far we 
are from herd immunity.”The overwhelming number of Kansans, perhaps more than 95%, haven’t yet experienced the virus that has killed more than <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality" target="_blank">200,000 Americans</a>.So
 medical pros say the only thing to do is sit tight, keep your masks on 
and stay away from other people, until we have a vaccine.That, and get a flu shot.“This
 is not the time to play a guessing game of, ‘Do I have the flu or do I 
have COVID?’” said Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist at Johns Hopkins’ 
Center for Health Security.Many people still can’t get fast 
coronavirus tests that would let them isolate in time to stop the 
disease from spreading further, and hospitals remain at risk of getting 
overwhelmed by coronavirus and flu cases this fall.<h2>Clues in the blood</h2>The
 human body produces antibodies when exposed to a disease, to fend it 
off. And those microscopic defenders can stick around after recovery.So the American Red Cross screens blood donations for antibodies against <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance/naming-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-2019)-and-the-virus-that-causes-it" target="_blank">SARS-CoV-2</a>, the virus behind COVID-19. It then sends <a href="https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=160&amp;ContentID=37" target="_blank">plasma</a>
 with the specialized proteins to hospitals treating coronavirus 
patients, and it reports how often it detects the antibodies to state 
health agencies trying to piece together the bigger picture.Nationally, the <a href="https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html" target="_blank">Red Cross</a> has tested about 1.2 million blood donations for the antibodies.From
 mid-June to mid-September, it found them in about 2% of donations 
nationally. The same was true for Kansas donors. It’s not known how well
 that statistic might reflect the broader population.Weekly 
tallies suggest the number of people carrying the antibodies has ticked 
upward in Kansas, as elsewhere. In recent weeks, the Red Cross reported 
antibodies in 4% to 5% of Kansas donations.Could someone with 
antibodies catch the virus again a year from now and get seriously sick?
 How about two years from now? Or could they catch it, not show any 
symptoms, and spread the virus anyway? Scientists can’t yet say.“This
 is not a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Gronvall said. If a test shows you
 have antibodies, she said, you should still wear a mask and follow 
social distancing rules.Recent reports of a few patients catching the novel coronavirus <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/08/28/covid-19-reinfection-implications/" target="_blank">more than once</a>
 in a relatively short time may not signal what to expect for most 
people, but leave open the possibility that one infection doesn’t 
protect you against another.<h2>Greater risk</h2>The Red Cross reported in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2770771" target="_blank">a medical journal</a>
 last month that blood donations from people of color test positive for 
the antibodies at a higher rate than blood from white donors.That matches <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/expert-answers/coronavirus-infection-by-race/faq-20488802" target="_blank">other research</a>
 that shows communities of color bearing the brunt of the pandemic. It 
likely reflects broader social and economic disparities, such as lower 
incomes and a greater likelihood of working high-risk jobs that involve 
in-person contact with many customers or colleagues in a single day.The virus spread fast in crowded Kansas <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about" target="_blank">meatpacking plants</a>, for example, that rely heavily on the labor of people of color in southwest Kansas.<h2>The need for a vaccine</h2>Some
 studies and modeling point to higher antibody rates nationally and 
globally than the Red Cross has seen among blood donors, but still don’t
 offer good news.“The (World Health Organization) just came out with an estimate that maybe <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/10-worlds-people-infected-virus-73427817" target="_blank">up to 10%</a>
 of the world has been infected,” Shapiro said. “But even at that 
number, we’re still so far from achieving herd immunity. … We really 
need to create immunity with a vaccine.”Vaccines <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdf" target="_blank">mimic natural infections</a>. They kick a person’s immune system into gear so that it churns out antibodies and stores viral information in <a href="https://askabiologist.asu.edu/memory-b-cell" target="_blank">memory cells</a>
 that could defend us even after those antibodies fade. (Researchers 
have found SARS-CoV-2 antibodies triggered by natural infection two or 
even three months after infection, and say it varies from person to 
person.)Ongoing coronavirus vaccine trials aim to check how 
protective these immune responses will prove long-term, and whether 
people will need booster shots over time to keep their defenses up.Part
 of the benefit from vaccines will ultimately come from the sheer number
 of people who would gain some level of protection at once.“As we
 get to high enough vaccine levels, the herd immunity will actually just
 lower the amount of virus that’s circulating,” Shapiro said. “There 
will be just less virus around. This is our hope.”<h2>Should you get an antibody test?</h2>The Red Cross’ free antibody tests serve three functions.They
 gather the information that helps public health experts studying the 
virus’ spread, and they allow the Red Cross to flag plasma with 
antibodies for hospitals.Scientists <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/513405-science-inconclusive-on-use-of-convalescent-plasma-in-covid-19-patients" target="_blank">still can’t say</a> whether the donated plasma works for treating COVID-19. A separate, <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/provocative-results-boost-hopes-antibody-treatment-covid-19" target="_blank">lab-based approach</a>, may prove more effective.But either way, donations remain as critical as ever to the nation’s blood supply.And that’s a third reason for offering antibody tests. They attract people to <a href="https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html" target="_blank">keep donating</a> amid the pandemic.The
 Red Cross uses respected tests, and when a blood sample proves positive
 for antibodies, it double-checks with a second, high-quality process.For
 people who had respiratory symptoms in recent months — but couldn’t get
 checked for COVID-19 because of the nationwide shortage of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/testing-overview.html" target="_blank">viral tests</a> — that may satisfy their curiosity.And
 that could help keep donations flowing as the pandemic hampers 
traditional blood drives, such as a major annual effort that would have 
attracted thousands of donors next week.“The biggest blood
 drive the Red Cross does across the country is at the University of 
Missouri in Columbia,” said Joe Zydlo, a regional communications manager
 in St. Louis. “And that has been canceled.”Meanwhile, Gronvall 
advises against buying an antibody test somewhere. After all, the 
information won’t help you medically, she said, and many products are 
unreliable anyway.“There’s just been so many bad tests out there,” she said. “Right now I would not spend money on it.”Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Celia_LJ" target="_blank">@celia_LJ</a> or email her at celia@kcur.org.

Antibody tests show 'we’re still so far from achieving herd immunity'

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Treating the sick and dying isn't even the toughest part for nurse Amelia Montgomery as the coronavirus surges in her corner of red America.

It's dealing with patients and relatives who don't believe the virus is real, refuse to wear masks and demand treatments like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b9b6dc204d780fac7e6a79c1dbf21b8d">hydroxychloroquine,</a>&nbsp;which President Donald Trump has championed even though experts say it is not effective against the scourge that has killed over 210,000 in the U.S.

Montgomery finds herself, like so many other doctors and nurses, in a world where the politics of the crisis are complicating treatment efforts, with some people even resisting getting tested.

It's unclear how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-infectious-diseases-michael-pence-a037f5cf6d6f14f90313a3aa7cd58043">Trump’s&nbsp;</a>bout with the virus will affect the situation, but some doctors aren't optimistic. After a few days of treatment at a military hospital, the president tweeted Monday, “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. ... I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”

After one tough shift on the coronavirus unit at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Montgomery went onto Facebook to vent her frustrations about caring for patients who didn't socially distance because they didn't believe the virus was real. The hospital later shared her post on its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coxhealth.com/newsroom/letter-heart-covid-19-nurse/">website</a>.

She complained that some people demand the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and think the only patients who get really sick have underlying health problems.

“The majority of people don’t understand and can’t picture what we are seeing. That has been frustrating for all of us,” Montgomery said in an interview, adding: “It wears.”

Combating virus skeptics is a battle across the country.

In Georgia, at Augusta University Medical Center, visitors have tried to get around the mask requirement by wearing face coverings made of fishnet and other material with visible holes, something the hospital has dubbed “malicious compliance." People also have shown up with video cameras in an attempt to collect proof the virus is a hoax, said Dr. Phillip Coule, the health system's chief medical officer, who contracted the virus in July and has seen two staff members die.

“Just imagine that while you are caring for your own staff that are dying from this disease, and while you are trying to keep yourself safe, and you are trying to keep your family safe, and you are trying to deal with a disease that such little is known about, and then to have somebody tell you that it is all a hoax after you have been dealing with that all day," he said. “Imagine the emotional distress that that causes.”

He said most skeptics — including some who have argued with him on Facebook — are converted to believers when they get sick themselves. And he is starting to hear fewer people dismiss the virus entirely since the president was diagnosed.

“It is unfortunate that the president has contracted the disease, but it is difficult for groups who support the president to be out there saying it doesn’t exist," he said.

But he also said he fears people may draw the wrong lesson about the seriousness of the disease from what happened to Trump: "People may extrapolate that the risk for a 74 is low when the reality is the risk to a 74 year-old is quite high."

Dr. Beth Oller, who practices family medicine with her physician-husband in rural Kansas' Rooks County, isn't optimistic the president's diagnosis will change much in her community, where cases are on the rise, many resist masks, and weddings with hundreds of guests have been held in recent weeks.

“None of the things he did since he had it have helped us a bit, and, if anything, would fly in the face of it," she said, noting that the president took his mask off as soon as he returned to the White House. “All he did was continue to show people that the things we are saying to do are overblown and an overreaction. As a physician, it is so damn frustrating."

The issue has been a challenge in red states for months.

In Iowa, home health nurse Lisa Dockery was fired from her job caring for a boy with severe disabilities after arguing with his parents, who said COVID-19 is a “hoax.” The argument started because the parents refused to wear masks around Dockery and the boy, even though she told them their son's life was in danger because he has respiratory problems, relies on tube feedings and cannot walk, state unemployment records show.

The case ended with a judge ordering her former employer to pay her unemployment.

Dr. Gary LeRoy, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said he isn’t surprised that it has been so hard to persuade the public, noting that there was also a lot of denial as the Spanish flu was sweeping across the world a century ago, killing tens of millions of people.

“When you look at human history, it is what happens in every situation," he said. “In war, in famine, in disease, there is going to be a population of people where the bombs are dropping all around them and they don’t believe that it exists.”

Dr. Brad Burmeister, an emergency medicine physician at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said he has encountered a few patients who have declined to be tested for the coronavirus despite having possible symptoms.

“They say they don’t want to become a statistic or some kind of rhetoric like that," he said, adding that he thinks a shift might be coming, given what happened to Trump. “It just sort of shows how infectious COVID-19 is and how easily it can spread, that even when you are taking all of those precautions, you can still get infected with the virus."

Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a family physician in Phoenix, said politics often come up in discussions with patients who come in asking whether the death toll is being inflated.

“It’s an info-demic as well as a pandemic,” she lamented.

Dr. Jay W. Lee, a family physician in Orange County, California, recalled a patient who demanded the “largest hydroxychloroquine prescription you can give me."

“If I didn’t have my mask on, he would have seen my mouth agape,” said Lee, chief of the Share Our Selves medical clinics, adding that a small number of patients “flat-out said this was a hoax."

He has found himself turning to&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/familydocwonk">social media</a>&nbsp;and meeting with elected leaders to combat some of the misinformation.

“I think part of it is we feel like we can’t just sit back and take it because silence is complicity,” he said.

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Treating the sick and dying isn't even the toughest part for nurse Amelia Montgomery as the coronavirus surges in her corner of red America.It's dealing with patients and relatives who don't believe the virus is real, refuse to wear masks and demand treatments like&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/b9b6dc204d780fac7e6a79c1dbf21b8d">hydroxychloroquine,</a>&nbsp;which President Donald Trump has championed even though experts say it is not effective against the scourge that has killed over 210,000 in the U.S.Montgomery finds herself, like so many other doctors and nurses, in a world where the politics of the crisis are complicating treatment efforts, with some people even resisting getting tested.It's unclear how&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-virus-outbreak-donald-trump-infectious-diseases-michael-pence-a037f5cf6d6f14f90313a3aa7cd58043">Trump’s&nbsp;</a>bout with the virus will affect the situation, but some doctors aren't optimistic. After a few days of treatment at a military hospital, the president tweeted Monday, “Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. ... I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”After one tough shift on the coronavirus unit at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Montgomery went onto Facebook to vent her frustrations about caring for patients who didn't socially distance because they didn't believe the virus was real. The hospital later shared her post on its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coxhealth.com/newsroom/letter-heart-covid-19-nurse/">website</a>.She complained that some people demand the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and think the only patients who get really sick have underlying health problems.“The majority of people don’t understand and can’t picture what we are seeing. That has been frustrating for all of us,” Montgomery said in an interview, adding: “It wears.”Combating virus skeptics is a battle across the country.In Georgia, at Augusta University Medical Center, visitors have tried to get around the mask requirement by wearing face coverings made of fishnet and other material with visible holes, something the hospital has dubbed “malicious compliance." People also have shown up with video cameras in an attempt to collect proof the virus is a hoax, said Dr. Phillip Coule, the health system's chief medical officer, who contracted the virus in July and has seen two staff members die.“Just imagine that while you are caring for your own staff that are dying from this disease, and while you are trying to keep yourself safe, and you are trying to keep your family safe, and you are trying to deal with a disease that such little is known about, and then to have somebody tell you that it is all a hoax after you have been dealing with that all day," he said. “Imagine the emotional distress that that causes.”He said most skeptics — including some who have argued with him on Facebook — are converted to believers when they get sick themselves. And he is starting to hear fewer people dismiss the virus entirely since the president was diagnosed.“It is unfortunate that the president has contracted the disease, but it is difficult for groups who support the president to be out there saying it doesn’t exist," he said.But he also said he fears people may draw the wrong lesson about the seriousness of the disease from what happened to Trump: "People may extrapolate that the risk for a 74 is low when the reality is the risk to a 74 year-old is quite high."Dr. Beth Oller, who practices family medicine with her physician-husband in rural Kansas' Rooks County, isn't optimistic the president's diagnosis will change much in her community, where cases are on the rise, many resist masks, and weddings with hundreds of guests have been held in recent weeks.“None of the things he did since he had it have helped us a bit, and, if anything, would fly in the face of it," she said, noting that the president took his mask off as soon as he returned to the White House. “All he did was continue to show people that the things we are saying to do are overblown and an overreaction. As a physician, it is so damn frustrating."The issue has been a challenge in red states for months.In Iowa, home health nurse Lisa Dockery was fired from her job caring for a boy with severe disabilities after arguing with his parents, who said COVID-19 is a “hoax.” The argument started because the parents refused to wear masks around Dockery and the boy, even though she told them their son's life was in danger because he has respiratory problems, relies on tube feedings and cannot walk, state unemployment records show.The case ended with a judge ordering her former employer to pay her unemployment.Dr. Gary LeRoy, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said he isn’t surprised that it has been so hard to persuade the public, noting that there was also a lot of denial as the Spanish flu was sweeping across the world a century ago, killing tens of millions of people.“When you look at human history, it is what happens in every situation," he said. “In war, in famine, in disease, there is going to be a population of people where the bombs are dropping all around them and they don’t believe that it exists.”Dr. Brad Burmeister, an emergency medicine physician at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said he has encountered a few patients who have declined to be tested for the coronavirus despite having possible symptoms.“They say they don’t want to become a statistic or some kind of rhetoric like that," he said, adding that he thinks a shift might be coming, given what happened to Trump. “It just sort of shows how infectious COVID-19 is and how easily it can spread, that even when you are taking all of those precautions, you can still get infected with the virus."Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, a family physician in Phoenix, said politics often come up in discussions with patients who come in asking whether the death toll is being inflated.“It’s an info-demic as well as a pandemic,” she lamented.Dr. Jay W. Lee, a family physician in Orange County, California, recalled a patient who demanded the “largest hydroxychloroquine prescription you can give me."“If I didn’t have my mask on, he would have seen my mouth agape,” said Lee, chief of the Share Our Selves medical clinics, adding that a small number of patients “flat-out said this was a hoax."He has found himself turning to&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/familydocwonk">social media</a>&nbsp;and meeting with elected leaders to combat some of the misinformation.“I think part of it is we feel like we can’t just sit back and take it because silence is complicity,” he said.

'So frustrating': Doctors and nurses battle virus skeptics

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Even as some of the state’s largest districts reopen, most Kansas counties have such a high rate of new coronavirus cases that they have moved into the red zone on a key state benchmark that suggests schools consider putting the brakes on in-person classes and sports.

Seventy-five of the state’s 105 counties were in the worst reopening zone for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas" target="_blank">two-week cumulative incident rate</a>, which measures the rate of new cases per 100,000 people and is one of five school reopening indicators established by the state, The Wichita Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article246231905.html" target="_blank">reports</a>. That’s an increase of 10 counties from a week ago, according to a Kansas Department of Health and Environment map published Monday using data through Saturday.

Individual districts aren’t bound by the state gating criteria and can make their own reopening decisions, often with guidance from county-level health officials.

The KDHE case rate map also placed 11 counties in the yellow zone and 16 counties in the orange zone. Under the state’s gating criteria, a blend of in-person, hybrid and remote learning is recommended in these zone. The state also urges restrictions on sports, especially high-risk activities such as football.

The number of counties in the green zone, which is the only zone that calls for all in-person classes and extracurricular activities, dropped from seven to three on the case rate map.

Among the districts sending students back to in-person classes this month are several in Douglas and Johnson counties, which are in the red zone for new cases. But the counties are in the yellow zone for the percent positivity rate.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly called a meeting for Wednesday with eight leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature to have them extend the state’s existing declaration of a state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic.

A law enacted in June requires Kelly to obtain an extension every 30 days from the lawmakers, six of them Republicans. Without their approval, the current emergency declaration would expire Oct. 15.

Top Republicans and Kelly have been at odds over her handling of the pandemic, and GOP lawmakers have forced her to accept local control of decisions about reopening schools, mandating mask wearing and restricting businesses and public gatherings. When she and the legislative leaders met in September to extend the emergency declaration, Republicans extracted a promise that she wouldn’t try to close businesses again as she did in the spring.

The state health department reported that Kansas saw 1,597 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases from Friday to Monday, an increase of 2.5%, bringing the total cases to 62,708. The number of coronavirus cases is thought to be higher because people can be infected without feeling ill and because of limited testing early in the pandemic.

The department also reported eight new COVID-19-related deaths since Friday, bringing the total to 706. Deaths have continued to represent about 1.1% of the total number of reported cases.

Despite the rise in cases, Wichita schools will now allow parents and other fans to be spectators at sporting events, The Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/sports/high-school/article246247110.html" target="_blank">reports</a>. Sedgwick County, where Wichita is located, also is in the red zone for its case rate.

Board member Mike Rodee voiced the most concern with the plan, though he voted for it. He also questioned whether COVID-19 indicators will worsen in the county “because we’re being a little bit selfish about watching a football game.”

“I want to see kids in classrooms and on the field, and I don’t want to shut those things down. The parents are about the 10th priority to me on this,” he said, adding that he understands the point of view of parents. “I want to see kids in the classroom more than I want to see parents in the stadiums.”

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Even as some of the state’s largest districts reopen, most Kansas counties have such a high rate of new coronavirus cases that they have moved into the red zone on a key state benchmark that suggests schools consider putting the brakes on in-person classes and sports.Seventy-five of the state’s 105 counties were in the worst reopening zone for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas" target="_blank">two-week cumulative incident rate</a>, which measures the rate of new cases per 100,000 people and is one of five school reopening indicators established by the state, The Wichita Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article246231905.html" target="_blank">reports</a>. That’s an increase of 10 counties from a week ago, according to a Kansas Department of Health and Environment map published Monday using data through Saturday.Individual districts aren’t bound by the state gating criteria and can make their own reopening decisions, often with guidance from county-level health officials.The KDHE case rate map also placed 11 counties in the yellow zone and 16 counties in the orange zone. Under the state’s gating criteria, a blend of in-person, hybrid and remote learning is recommended in these zone. The state also urges restrictions on sports, especially high-risk activities such as football.The number of counties in the green zone, which is the only zone that calls for all in-person classes and extracurricular activities, dropped from seven to three on the case rate map.Among the districts sending students back to in-person classes this month are several in Douglas and Johnson counties, which are in the red zone for new cases. But the counties are in the yellow zone for the percent positivity rate.Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly called a meeting for Wednesday with eight leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature to have them extend the state’s existing declaration of a state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic.A law enacted in June requires Kelly to obtain an extension every 30 days from the lawmakers, six of them Republicans. Without their approval, the current emergency declaration would expire Oct. 15.Top Republicans and Kelly have been at odds over her handling of the pandemic, and GOP lawmakers have forced her to accept local control of decisions about reopening schools, mandating mask wearing and restricting businesses and public gatherings. When she and the legislative leaders met in September to extend the emergency declaration, Republicans extracted a promise that she wouldn’t try to close businesses again as she did in the spring.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/10/1601918639222.png" alt="Monday Oct. 5, 2020 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Monday Oct. 5, 2020 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>The state health department reported that Kansas saw 1,597 new confirmed and probable coronavirus cases from Friday to Monday, an increase of 2.5%, bringing the total cases to 62,708. The number of coronavirus cases is thought to be higher because people can be infected without feeling ill and because of limited testing early in the pandemic.The department also reported eight new COVID-19-related deaths since Friday, bringing the total to 706. Deaths have continued to represent about 1.1% of the total number of reported cases.Despite the rise in cases, Wichita schools will now allow parents and other fans to be spectators at sporting events, The Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/sports/high-school/article246247110.html" target="_blank">reports</a>. Sedgwick County, where Wichita is located, also is in the red zone for its case rate.Board member Mike Rodee voiced the most concern with the plan, though he voted for it. He also questioned whether COVID-19 indicators will worsen in the county “because we’re being a little bit selfish about watching a football game.”“I want to see kids in classrooms and on the field, and I don’t want to shut those things down. The parents are about the 10th priority to me on this,” he said, adding that he understands the point of view of parents. “I want to see kids in the classroom more than I want to see parents in the stadiums.”

Most Kansas counties enter COVID school red zone

Barton County coronavirus update: 82 active cases

NEW YORK (AP) —The top U.S. public health agency said Monday that the coronavirus can spread more than 6 feet through the air, especially in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials maintained that such spread is uncommon and current social distancing guidelines still make sense.

However, several experts faulted the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. They said the virus can spread more easily than the CDC seems to be indicating, and suggested that the public should wear masks even in prolonged outdoor gatherings when they are more than 6 feet apart.

The virus “is traveling through the air and there is no bright line. You’re not safe beyond 6 feet. You can’t take your mask off at 6 feet,” said Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

For months, the CDC has said that the virus spreads mainly through small airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Most CDC guidance about social distancing is built around that idea, saying that 6 feet is a safe buffer between people who are not wearing masks.

In interviews, CDC officials have also acknowledged growing evidence that the virus can sometimes spread on even smaller particles called aerosols that spread over a wider area.

In the update posted on its website, the agency again acknowledged recent research showing people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after an infected person left an area. CDC officials called those ”limited, uncommon circumstances.”

In those cases, spread occurred in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces where people were doing activities that caused heavier breathing, like singing or exercise, CDC officials said.

People can protect themselves by staying at least 6 feet away from others, wearing a mask, washing their hands, cleaning touched surfaces and staying home when sick

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-public-health-cfb43dd5a28dd449cd1100a067cfd112">Last month,</a>&nbsp;the CDC ignited controversy among experts when it quietly posted an update that seemed to suggest the agency’s position had changed, and then within days took it down again.

The short-lived post said the virus can remain suspended in the air and drift more than 6 feet, and officials emphasized the importance of indoor ventilation. It also added singing and breathing to the ways the virus can go airborne.

Federal health officials later said the post was a mistake and that it had been released before full editing and clearance was completed. They said there was no major change in the agency’s position, but they would finalize a post to clarify the CDC’s thinking. That’s what was posted Monday.

A small group of researchers — including Milton — on Monday published a letter in the journal Science that called for clearer public health guidance about how coronavirus spreads in the air.

They said health officials need to use clearer language in talking about the size of airborne particles and droplets that can spread the disease, and be more straightforward about the role that viruses in small aerosols can play in infecting people.

Masks and good ventilation are crucial indoors. But they can be important outdoors too, said Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600453488360.png" alt="CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield during testimony before a congressional committee in August -Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield during testimony before a congressional committee in August -Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) —The top U.S. public health agency said Monday that the coronavirus can spread more than 6 feet through the air, especially in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces. But agency officials maintained that such spread is uncommon and current social distancing guidelines still make sense.However, several experts faulted the updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. They said the virus can spread more easily than the CDC seems to be indicating, and suggested that the public should wear masks even in prolonged outdoor gatherings when they are more than 6 feet apart.The virus “is traveling through the air and there is no bright line. You’re not safe beyond 6 feet. You can’t take your mask off at 6 feet,” said Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health.For months, the CDC has said that the virus spreads mainly through small airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Most CDC guidance about social distancing is built around that idea, saying that 6 feet is a safe buffer between people who are not wearing masks.In interviews, CDC officials have also acknowledged growing evidence that the virus can sometimes spread on even smaller particles called aerosols that spread over a wider area.In the update posted on its website, the agency again acknowledged recent research showing people with COVID-19 infected others who were more than 6 feet away or shortly after an infected person left an area. CDC officials called those ”limited, uncommon circumstances.”In those cases, spread occurred in poorly ventilated and enclosed spaces where people were doing activities that caused heavier breathing, like singing or exercise, CDC officials said.People can protect themselves by staying at least 6 feet away from others, wearing a mask, washing their hands, cleaning touched surfaces and staying home when sick<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-public-health-cfb43dd5a28dd449cd1100a067cfd112">Last month,</a>&nbsp;the CDC ignited controversy among experts when it quietly posted an update that seemed to suggest the agency’s position had changed, and then within days took it down again.The short-lived post said the virus can remain suspended in the air and drift more than 6 feet, and officials emphasized the importance of indoor ventilation. It also added singing and breathing to the ways the virus can go airborne.Federal health officials later said the post was a mistake and that it had been released before full editing and clearance was completed. They said there was no major change in the agency’s position, but they would finalize a post to clarify the CDC’s thinking. That’s what was posted Monday.A small group of researchers — including Milton — on Monday published a letter in the journal Science that called for clearer public health guidance about how coronavirus spreads in the air.They said health officials need to use clearer language in talking about the size of airborne particles and droplets that can spread the disease, and be more straightforward about the role that viruses in small aerosols can play in infecting people.Masks and good ventilation are crucial indoors. But they can be important outdoors too, said Linsey Marr of Virginia Tech.___

CDC updates guidelines on how coronavirus spreads

Press release from Barton County… The Barton County Health Department has identified support staff members testing positive for COVID-19.&nbsp; Currently, the Health Department is following KDHE guidelines and recommendations. During contact investigation it was determined that members of the public were not close contacts.

Services at the Health Department will not be affected and continue as planned. Due to the responsibilities of the Health Department, this is not unexpected, and appropriate measures are in place to mitigate this event.

Barton County appreciates the Health Department staff and other front-line workers who have devoted themselves to this pandemic by putting themselves in harm’s way every day.

Press release from Barton County… The Barton County Health Department has identified support staff members testing positive for COVID-19.&nbsp; Currently, the Health Department is following KDHE guidelines and recommendations. During contact investigation it was determined that members of the public were not close contacts.Services at the Health Department will not be affected and continue as planned. Due to the responsibilities of the Health Department, this is not unexpected, and appropriate measures are in place to mitigate this event.Barton County appreciates the Health Department staff and other front-line workers who have devoted themselves to this pandemic by putting themselves in harm’s way every day.

Local health department staff test positive for COVID 

LAWRENCE—Using "lab on a chip" technology, Foundation Distinguished Professor Steven Soper and graduate students in bioengineering and chemistry are developing a user-friendly COVID-19 test.

“Eventually, our test will go into a home — like an early pregnancy test at home,” said Soper. “Anyone could do it.”

Soper’s team, which includes a half-dozen graduate students in bioengineering and chemistry, is repurposing “lab on a chip” technology he had previously developed to give doctors simple tools to more easily and quickly diagnose conditions ranging from stroke to colon cancer. The goal is to get the new test to market “sooner than later, of course.”

“We’re well-versed in this,” he said.

The test uses a small plastic chip — about 38 by 42 millimeters — that contains 1.5 million tiny pillars, just 10 microns wide and 50 microns tall. Each pillar contains a piece of ribonucleic acid that “recognizes” a protein found in the COVID-19 virus particle.

“When we flow saliva through this forest of pillars that have on the chip surfaces, this DNA molecule will look to bind to the virus particle,” Soper said. The chip will then be exposed to blue light, which will release the RNA-virus bound particles from the pillars and funnel them through a hole just 200 nanometers wide — creating an electrical signal that lets users see if they have the virus.

That sounds complicated. For the user, though, taking the test will be very simple.

“You take a saliva sample, you put it in the chip, and the chip does the processing,” Soper said. The whole process, including results, should take around 15 minutes. Current tests — including one used by KU — involve multiple steps, require a trained operator to implement the test and need an hour or two before results are available.

Soper’s team has been working on the project since early June after researchers were allowed to return to their on-campus labs following KU’s shutdown in March. Funding for the effort comes from the National Institutes of Health. The group includes three graduate students in bioengineering and three graduate students in chemistry.

“I think most students want to contribute to society in terms of research. If we can actually find something that would help a lot of people, that would mean a lot to us,” said Swarnagowri Vaidyanathan, a doctoral student in bioengineering who is working on the project.

Other graduate student team members include Katie Childers and Zheng Zhao, both in bioengineering, as well as chemistry students Uditha Athapattu, Sachindra Gamage and Thilanga Nandana. Maggie Witek, associate research professor of chemistry, and Lulu Zhang, a postdoctoral chemistry student, are also working on the project.

“They basically stopped everything they were doing on their dissertation work to get this done,” Soper said. “Hats off to the graduate students. They’re working like crazy to get this done.”

The next step in the process is to conduct clinical trials of the test between now and the end of the year in order to obtain approval from the U.S. Food &amp; Drug Administration for widespread use. Once that happens, Soper said, “It’s a matter of manufacturing and getting it out to the market.”

Soper earned his doctorate in bioanalytical chemistry from KU in 1989 and returned to the university as a faculty member in 2016. He brought along his company, BioFluidica, which previously created new products to help doctors test for various types of cancers, including breast, colon and prostate cancer.

The new test, he said, will be adaptable for other viruses that come along in the future — and also to detect illnesses from cancer and radiation poisoning. “We can reprogram the chip so it can be used for other applications,” he said. “There’s many applications for our test, not just COVID-19.”

Soper said the University of Kansas is well-positioned for this kind of effort. A nanofabrication facility opened in Gray-Little Hall a year ago, which enables researchers to create the advanced tools used in the COVID-19 test.

“That’s provided the infrastructure, and that was a big investment by the university,” Soper said. “KU has the resources that we need to move this whole thing forward.”

LAWRENCE—Using "lab on a chip" technology, Foundation Distinguished Professor Steven Soper and graduate students in bioengineering and chemistry are developing a user-friendly COVID-19 test.“Eventually, our test will go into a home — like an early pregnancy test at home,” said Soper. “Anyone could do it.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601481634995.jpeg" alt="Steven Soper" />
 <figcaption>Steven Soper</figcaption>
 </figure>Soper’s team, which includes a half-dozen graduate students in bioengineering and chemistry, is repurposing “lab on a chip” technology he had previously developed to give doctors simple tools to more easily and quickly diagnose conditions ranging from stroke to colon cancer. The goal is to get the new test to market “sooner than later, of course.”“We’re well-versed in this,” he said.The test uses a small plastic chip — about 38 by 42 millimeters — that contains 1.5 million tiny pillars, just 10 microns wide and 50 microns tall. Each pillar contains a piece of ribonucleic acid that “recognizes” a protein found in the COVID-19 virus particle.“When we flow saliva through this forest of pillars that have on the chip surfaces, this DNA molecule will look to bind to the virus particle,” Soper said. The chip will then be exposed to blue light, which will release the RNA-virus bound particles from the pillars and funnel them through a hole just 200 nanometers wide — creating an electrical signal that lets users see if they have the virus.That sounds complicated. For the user, though, taking the test will be very simple.“You take a saliva sample, you put it in the chip, and the chip does the processing,” Soper said. The whole process, including results, should take around 15 minutes. Current tests — including one used by KU — involve multiple steps, require a trained operator to implement the test and need an hour or two before results are available.Soper’s team has been working on the project since early June after researchers were allowed to return to their on-campus labs following KU’s shutdown in March. Funding for the effort comes from the National Institutes of Health. The group includes three graduate students in bioengineering and three graduate students in chemistry.“I think most students want to contribute to society in terms of research. If we can actually find something that would help a lot of people, that would mean a lot to us,” said Swarnagowri Vaidyanathan, a doctoral student in bioengineering who is working on the project.Other graduate student team members include Katie Childers and Zheng Zhao, both in bioengineering, as well as chemistry students Uditha Athapattu, Sachindra Gamage and Thilanga Nandana. Maggie Witek, associate research professor of chemistry, and Lulu Zhang, a postdoctoral chemistry student, are also working on the project.“They basically stopped everything they were doing on their dissertation work to get this done,” Soper said. “Hats off to the graduate students. They’re working like crazy to get this done.”The next step in the process is to conduct clinical trials of the test between now and the end of the year in order to obtain approval from the U.S. Food &amp; Drug Administration for widespread use. Once that happens, Soper said, “It’s a matter of manufacturing and getting it out to the market.”Soper earned his doctorate in bioanalytical chemistry from KU in 1989 and returned to the university as a faculty member in 2016. He brought along his company, BioFluidica, which previously created new products to help doctors test for various types of cancers, including breast, colon and prostate cancer.The new test, he said, will be adaptable for other viruses that come along in the future — and also to detect illnesses from cancer and radiation poisoning. “We can reprogram the chip so it can be used for other applications,” he said. “There’s many applications for our test, not just COVID-19.”Soper said the University of Kansas is well-positioned for this kind of effort. A nanofabrication facility opened in Gray-Little Hall a year ago, which enables researchers to create the advanced tools used in the COVID-19 test.“That’s provided the infrastructure, and that was a big investment by the university,” Soper said. “KU has the resources that we need to move this whole thing forward.”

KU researchers developing quick-turnaround COVID-19 test

Barton County coronavirus update: 167 active cases (755 quarantines)

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601415298643.png" alt="As of 4 p.m. Sept. 29, 2020, Barton County has reported 15 new cases of COVID-19." />
 <figcaption>As of 4 p.m. Sept. 29, 2020, Barton County has reported 15 new cases of COVID-19.</figcaption>
 </figure>

Barton County coronavirus update: 139 active cases

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 2037 to a total of 58,629 the state health department reported Monday afternoon.&nbsp;

Coronavirus deaths were reported at 637, an increase of 5.

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 2037 to a total of 58,629 the state health department reported Monday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 637, an increase of 5.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1601313079636.png" alt="Monday Sept. 28, 2020 KDHE image&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Monday Sept. 28, 2020 KDHE image&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

NEW YORK (AP) — At a University of Maryland lab, people infected with the new coronavirus take turns sitting in a chair and putting their faces into the big end of a large cone. They recite the alphabet and sing or just sit quietly for a half hour. Sometimes they cough.

The cone sucks up everything that comes out of their mouths and noses. It’s part of a device called “Gesundheit II” that is helping scientists study a big question: Just how does the virus that causes COVID-19 spread from one person to another?

It clearly hitchhikes on small liquid particles sprayed out by an infected person. People expel particles while coughing, sneezing, singing, shouting, talking and even breathing. But the drops come in a wide range of sizes, and scientists are trying to pin down how risky the various kinds are.

The answer affects what we should all be doing to avoid getting sick. That’s why it was thrust into headlines a few days ago when a U.S. health agency appeared to have shifted its position on the issue, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-public-health-cfb43dd5a28dd449cd1100a067cfd112">later said</a>&nbsp;it had published new language in error.

The recommendation to stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart — some authorities cite about half that distance — is based on the idea that larger particles fall to the ground before they can travel very far. They are like the droplets in a spritz of a window cleaner, and they can infect somebody by landing on their nose, mouth or eyes, or maybe being inhaled.

But some scientists are now focusing on tinier particles, the ones that spread more like cigarette smoke. Those are carried by wisps of air and even upward drafts caused by the warmth of our bodies. They can linger in the air for minutes to hours, spreading throughout a room and build up if ventilation is poor.

The potential risk comes from inhaling them. Measles can spread this way, but the new coronavirus is far less contagious than that.

For these particles, called aerosols, “6 feet is not a magic distance,” says Linsey Marr, a leading researcher who is studying them at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. But she says it’s still important to keep one’s distance from others, “the farther the better,” because aerosols are most concentrated near a source and pose a bigger risk at close range.

Public health agencies have generally focused on the larger particles for coronavirus. That prompted more than 200 other scientists to publish a&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa939/5867798" target="_blank">plea</a>&nbsp;in July to pay attention to the potential risk from aerosols. The World Health Organization, which had long dismissed a danger from aerosols except in the case of certain medical procedures, later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-how-is-covid-19-transmitted" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;that aerosol transmission of the coronavirus can’t be ruled out in cases of infection within crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.

The issue drew attention recently when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted and then deleted statements on its website that highlighted the idea of aerosol spread. The agency said the posting was an error, and that the statements were just a draft of proposed changes to its recommendations.

Dr. Jay Butler, CDC’s deputy director for infectious disease, told The Associated Press that the agency continues to believe larger and heavier droplets that come from coughing or sneezing are the primary means of transmission.

Last month Butler told a scientific meeting that current research suggests aerosol spreading of the coronavirus is possible but it doesn’t seem to be the main way that people get infected. Further research may change that conclusion, he added, and he urged scientists to study how often aerosol spread of the coronavirus occurs, what situations make it more likely and what reasonable steps might prevent it.

Marr said she thinks infection by aerosols is “happening a lot more than people initially were willing to think.”

As a key piece of evidence, Marr and others point to so-called “superspreader” events where one infected person evidently passed the virus to many others in a single setting.

In March, for example, after a choir member with coronavirus symptoms attended a rehearsal in Washington state, 52 others who had been seated throughout the room were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.15.20132027v2" target="_blank">found</a>&nbsp;to be infected and two died. In a crowded and poorly ventilated restaurant in China in January, the virus evidently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067728v1" target="_blank">spread&nbsp;</a>from a lunchtime patron to five people at two adjoining tables in a pattern suggesting aerosols were spread by the air conditioner. Also in January, a passenger on a Chinese bus apparently&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2770172" target="_blank">infected</a>&nbsp;23 others, many of whom were scattered around the vehicle.

Butler said such events raise concern about aerosol spread but don’t prove it happens.

There could be another way for tiny particles to spread. They may not necessarily come directly from somebody’s mouth or nose, says William Ristenpart of the University of California, Davis. His&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17888-w" target="_blank">research&nbsp;</a>found that if paper tissues are seeded with influenza virus and then crumpled, they give off particles that bear the virus. So people emptying a wastebasket with tissues discarded by somebody with COVID-19 should be sure to wear a mask, he said.

Scientists who warn about aerosols say current recommendations still make sense.

Wearing a mask is still important, and make sure it fits snugly. Keep washing those hands diligently. And again, staying farther apart is better than being closer together. Avoid crowds, especially indoors.

Their main addition to recommendations is ventilation to avoid a buildup of aerosol concentration. So, the researchers say, stay out of poorly ventilated rooms. Open windows and doors. One can also use air-purifying devices or virus-inactivating ultraviolet light.

Best of all: Just do as much as you can outdoors, where dilution and the sun’s ultraviolet light work in your favor.

“We know outdoors is the most spectacularly effective measure, by far,” says Jose-Luis Jimenez of the University of Colorado-Boulder. “Outdoors it is not impossible to get infected, but it is difficult.”

The various precautions should be used in combination rather than just one at a time, researchers say. In a well ventilated environment, “6 feet (of separation) is pretty good if everybody’s got a mask on” and nobody stays directly downwind of an infected person for very long, says Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, whose lab houses the Gesundheit II machine.

Duration of exposure is important, so there’s probably not much risk from a short elevator ride while masked or being passed by a jogger on the sidewalk, experts say.

Scientists have&nbsp;<a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/online-tool-calculates-risk-classroom-transmission-airborne-covid-19" target="_blank">published</a>&nbsp;online&nbsp;<a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/news/covid-19-airborne-transmission-tool-available" target="_blank">tools</a>&nbsp;for calculating risk of airborne spread in various settings.

At a recent meeting on aerosols, however, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, noted that preventive steps can be a challenge in the real world. Keeping apart from other people can be difficult in homes that house multiple generations. Some old buildings have windows that were “nailed shut years ago,” he said. And “we have far too many communities where they simply don’t have access to clean water to wash their hands.”

It might seem strange that for all the scientific frenzy to study the new coronavirus, the details of how it spreads can still be in doubt nine months later. But history suggests patience.

“We’ve been studying influenza for 102 years,” says Milton, referring to the 1918 flu epidemic. “We still don’t know how it’s transmitted and what the role of aerosols is.”

NEW YORK (AP) — At a University of Maryland lab, people infected with the new coronavirus take turns sitting in a chair and putting their faces into the big end of a large cone. They recite the alphabet and sing or just sit quietly for a half hour. Sometimes they cough.The cone sucks up everything that comes out of their mouths and noses. It’s part of a device called “Gesundheit II” that is helping scientists study a big question: Just how does the virus that causes COVID-19 spread from one person to another?It clearly hitchhikes on small liquid particles sprayed out by an infected person. People expel particles while coughing, sneezing, singing, shouting, talking and even breathing. But the drops come in a wide range of sizes, and scientists are trying to pin down how risky the various kinds are.The answer affects what we should all be doing to avoid getting sick. That’s why it was thrust into headlines a few days ago when a U.S. health agency appeared to have shifted its position on the issue, but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-archive-public-health-cfb43dd5a28dd449cd1100a067cfd112">later said</a>&nbsp;it had published new language in error.The recommendation to stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) apart — some authorities cite about half that distance — is based on the idea that larger particles fall to the ground before they can travel very far. They are like the droplets in a spritz of a window cleaner, and they can infect somebody by landing on their nose, mouth or eyes, or maybe being inhaled.But some scientists are now focusing on tinier particles, the ones that spread more like cigarette smoke. Those are carried by wisps of air and even upward drafts caused by the warmth of our bodies. They can linger in the air for minutes to hours, spreading throughout a room and build up if ventilation is poor.The potential risk comes from inhaling them. Measles can spread this way, but the new coronavirus is far less contagious than that.For these particles, called aerosols, “6 feet is not a magic distance,” says Linsey Marr, a leading researcher who is studying them at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. But she says it’s still important to keep one’s distance from others, “the farther the better,” because aerosols are most concentrated near a source and pose a bigger risk at close range.Public health agencies have generally focused on the larger particles for coronavirus. That prompted more than 200 other scientists to publish a&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciaa939/5867798" target="_blank">plea</a>&nbsp;in July to pay attention to the potential risk from aerosols. The World Health Organization, which had long dismissed a danger from aerosols except in the case of certain medical procedures, later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-how-is-covid-19-transmitted" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;that aerosol transmission of the coronavirus can’t be ruled out in cases of infection within crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.The issue drew attention recently when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted and then deleted statements on its website that highlighted the idea of aerosol spread. The agency said the posting was an error, and that the statements were just a draft of proposed changes to its recommendations.Dr. Jay Butler, CDC’s deputy director for infectious disease, told The Associated Press that the agency continues to believe larger and heavier droplets that come from coughing or sneezing are the primary means of transmission.Last month Butler told a scientific meeting that current research suggests aerosol spreading of the coronavirus is possible but it doesn’t seem to be the main way that people get infected. Further research may change that conclusion, he added, and he urged scientists to study how often aerosol spread of the coronavirus occurs, what situations make it more likely and what reasonable steps might prevent it.Marr said she thinks infection by aerosols is “happening a lot more than people initially were willing to think.”As a key piece of evidence, Marr and others point to so-called “superspreader” events where one infected person evidently passed the virus to many others in a single setting.In March, for example, after a choir member with coronavirus symptoms attended a rehearsal in Washington state, 52 others who had been seated throughout the room were&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.15.20132027v2" target="_blank">found</a>&nbsp;to be infected and two died. In a crowded and poorly ventilated restaurant in China in January, the virus evidently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067728v1" target="_blank">spread&nbsp;</a>from a lunchtime patron to five people at two adjoining tables in a pattern suggesting aerosols were spread by the air conditioner. Also in January, a passenger on a Chinese bus apparently&nbsp;<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2770172" target="_blank">infected</a>&nbsp;23 others, many of whom were scattered around the vehicle.Butler said such events raise concern about aerosol spread but don’t prove it happens.There could be another way for tiny particles to spread. They may not necessarily come directly from somebody’s mouth or nose, says William Ristenpart of the University of California, Davis. His&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17888-w" target="_blank">research&nbsp;</a>found that if paper tissues are seeded with influenza virus and then crumpled, they give off particles that bear the virus. So people emptying a wastebasket with tissues discarded by somebody with COVID-19 should be sure to wear a mask, he said.Scientists who warn about aerosols say current recommendations still make sense.Wearing a mask is still important, and make sure it fits snugly. Keep washing those hands diligently. And again, staying farther apart is better than being closer together. Avoid crowds, especially indoors.Their main addition to recommendations is ventilation to avoid a buildup of aerosol concentration. So, the researchers say, stay out of poorly ventilated rooms. Open windows and doors. One can also use air-purifying devices or virus-inactivating ultraviolet light.Best of all: Just do as much as you can outdoors, where dilution and the sun’s ultraviolet light work in your favor.“We know outdoors is the most spectacularly effective measure, by far,” says Jose-Luis Jimenez of the University of Colorado-Boulder. “Outdoors it is not impossible to get infected, but it is difficult.”The various precautions should be used in combination rather than just one at a time, researchers say. In a well ventilated environment, “6 feet (of separation) is pretty good if everybody’s got a mask on” and nobody stays directly downwind of an infected person for very long, says Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, whose lab houses the Gesundheit II machine.Duration of exposure is important, so there’s probably not much risk from a short elevator ride while masked or being passed by a jogger on the sidewalk, experts say.Scientists have&nbsp;<a href="https://nicholas.duke.edu/news/online-tool-calculates-risk-classroom-transmission-airborne-covid-19" target="_blank">published</a>&nbsp;online&nbsp;<a href="https://cires.colorado.edu/news/covid-19-airborne-transmission-tool-available" target="_blank">tools</a>&nbsp;for calculating risk of airborne spread in various settings.At a recent meeting on aerosols, however, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, noted that preventive steps can be a challenge in the real world. Keeping apart from other people can be difficult in homes that house multiple generations. Some old buildings have windows that were “nailed shut years ago,” he said. And “we have far too many communities where they simply don’t have access to clean water to wash their hands.”It might seem strange that for all the scientific frenzy to study the new coronavirus, the details of how it spreads can still be in doubt nine months later. But history suggests patience.“We’ve been studying influenza for 102 years,” says Milton, referring to the 1918 flu epidemic. “We still don’t know how it’s transmitted and what the role of aerosols is.”___

Coronavirus Update