news
August 29, 2023
JAMA
Social media has been the subject of intense scrutiny, particularly how the lay public uses social media for their health needs and consumes or shares misinformation. However, for health professionals, social media has become a valuable resource for medical education and knowledge translation.
April 28, 2023
UC San Diego Today
A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine led by John W. Ayers, Ph.D., from the Qualcomm Institute at University of California San Diego provides an early glimpse into the role that AI assistants could play in medicine.
“ChatGPT might be able to pass a medical licensing exam,” said study co-author Davey Smith, M.D., M.A.S., a physician-scientist, co-director of the UC San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute and professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, “but directly answering patient questions accurately and empathetically is a different ballgame.”
To read the list of all press; follow this link: https://jamanetwork.altmetric.com/details/146820735/news
April 17, 2023
Education Diary
In June 2022, senior author Davey Smith, MD, chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine and an infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego Health, Carlin and colleagues published data suggesting the so-called “Paxlovid rebound” was likely due to insufficient drug exposure.
January 19, 2023
Healthwatch – CBS We Are GreenBay.com
Davey M Smith, MD, Infectious Diseases at UCSD School of Medicine says, “So Paxlovid is an antiviral that specifically works on the virus.”
In clinical trials, Paxlovid was nearly 90 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk patients. However, studies show COVID-19 rebound seems to be more common in people who take Paxlovid.
January 3, 2023
Nature
When clinical trial data for the antiviral drug Paxlovid emerged in late 2021, physicians hailed its astonishing efficacy — a reduction of nearly 90% in the risk of severe COVID-19. But more than a year later, COVID-19 remains a leading cause of death in many countries, and not only in low-income nations where the drug is in short supply. In the United States, for example, hundreds of people still die from COVID-19 each day.
December 28, 2022
STAT News
Pfizer presented data at ID Week, an annual infectious disease conference, this year showing high-risk unvaccinated patients who took Paxlovid recovered faster than patients on placebo, said Davey Smith, an infectious disease physician at University of California-San Diego. But the company acknowledged this year that vaccinated, standard-risk patients who received Paxlovid didn’t recover significantly faster than placebo in a separate trial.
December 7, 2022
The Why-Newsy
The fda could approve a vaccine for rsv in the next year. Fighter says it’s shot currently in trial is effective and safe. The vaccine would be given to pregnant women in the late second to third trimester and expecting moms would pass those antibodies are two babies and trial data shows 82% efficacy in preventing severe sickness during the 1st 90 days of life and 69% efficacy in the first six months with us to talk.
October 31, 2022
San Diego Union Tribune
You’ve been free of COVID-19 symptoms for two days. Then the coughing, fatigue and headaches return. Join the growing number of people experiencing what’s being called COVID rebound.
While some research has linked recurring symptoms to the antiviral drug Paxlovid, a new study by a team of UC San Diego researchers found that many experienced symptom return even if they were not treated.
October 31, 2022
UC San Diego Health Newsroom
”It is clear that COVID-19 has waxing and waning of symptoms, whether they are treated or not,” said the study’s lead author Davey M. Smith, MD, head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine and an infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego Health.
September 19, 2022
STAT News
It seemed interminably slow then, what with all the haze and fear of fresh plague, but in hindsight it was a medical marvel: From January 2020 to February 2021, researchers proved four different effective therapies for patients hospitalized with Covid-19 — a lightning pace for drug research, where progress is often measured in decades.
August 22, 2022
Nature Communications
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), continues to exert an enormous global public health and economic toll, and in the U.S. case-fatality rates exceed estimates for the 1918 influenza pandemic1. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based therapies have shown sufficient clinical efficacy to receive emergency authorization (EUA) by regulatory agencies for the treatment of COVID-19 in non-hospitalized persons2,3,4,5.
Bamlanivimab is a neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG)−1 mAb directed to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-26. On November 9, 2020, based on data from the Blocking Viral Attachment and Cell Entry with SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies (BLAZE-1) trial (NCT04427501)2, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an EUA for its use as a one-time 700 mg intravenous (IV) infusion for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in non-hospitalized adults with risk factors for progression to severe disease who were within 10 days of symptom onset7. Since then, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with decreased susceptibility in vitro to bamlanivimab8,9 led to withdrawal of the EUA.
August 22, 2022
Medical Press
The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, which expanded its focus to conduct research into COVID-19, today announced the initiation of ACTIV-2d, a global, phase 3, multicenter trial to evaluate the impact of S-217622, an investigational oral COVID-19 antiviral agent. ACTIV-2d will evaluate the safety and efficacy of S-217622 as a once-daily treatment to reduce the duration of COVID-19 symptoms in non-hospitalized adults with early COVID-19.
August 21, 2022
Community 99
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is offering free COVID-19 testing for pets that may have been exposed to the virus.
Los Angeles health officials announced the initiative on Aug. 20, stating that it has recently received funding to conduct the free COVID-19 tests on pets.
August 16, 2022
News AZI
As the world has witnessed firsthand, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, is difficult to control because of its ability to rapidly mutate and produce many different variants. Scientists at Scripps Research have now identified antibodies that are effective against many different SARS-CoV-2 variants, as well as other SARS viruses like SARS-CoV-1, the highly lethal virus that caused an outbreak in 2003. The results showed that certain animals are surprisingly more able to make these types of “pan-SARS virus” antibodies than humans, giving scientists clues as to how to make better vaccines.
August 13, 2022
San Diego Union Tribune
Four decades after a very different health crisis put a spotlight on the gay community, some San Diegans feel as though they’ve been time-warped back to the 1980s. They’re also calling on the support networks they have built since.
August 3, 2022
Contagion Live
Some people with COVID-19 taking Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir, NM/R) have been experiencing a “rebound” of symptoms and testing positive for COVID-19 after a regimen of the antiviral. President Joe Biden was recently diagnosed with COVID-19, was treated with Paxlovid, and had the “Paxlovid rebound” phenomenon. He has had to quarantine for a few extra days until symptoms subside and he tests negative.
Davey Smith, MD, MAS, head, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, and a team of investigators studied Paxlovid in a small study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases looking at the Paxlovid rebound and if resistance was taking place.
July 7, 2022
STAT
Smith, the UCSD professor, said he’s seen physicians prescribe the drug after a patient is exposed but before they test positive, “even though the study is fairly clear it didn’t have a benefit as prophylaxis.”
June 22, 2022
Mirage News
The research team, led by senior author Davey M. Smith, MD, chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine and infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego Health, set out to better understand the causes of COVID-19 rebound following Paxlovid treatment.
They first isolated the SARS-CoV-2 BA.2 virus from a COVID-19 rebound patient and tested whether it had developed any drug resistance. They found that after Paxlovid treatment, the virus was still sensitive to the drug and showed no relevant mutations that would reduce the drug’s effectiveness.
June 21, 2022
UC San Diego News Center
Paxlovid is the leading oral medication for preventing severe cases of COVID-19 in high-risk individuals. However, symptoms returned in some patients after treatment was completed, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a health advisory on this so-called “COVID-19 rebound.”
June 7, 2022
ABC 10 News San Diego
Researchers around the world are studying the effects of nasal vaccines. They believe it will offer a better way to prevent infection, since the SARS-CoV-2 virus typically enters the body through people’s noses and upper respiratory systems.
“The whole idea is to get a vaccine to train the immune cells in our nose and throat, which are the first immune cells to see the virus when it comes in, in how to fight it,” explains Dr. Davey Smith, an infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego.
June 6, 2022
inewsource
Dr. David Smith, head of infectious diseases at University of California San Diego, said the increase in infections isn’t surprising.
“When new variants come through and immunity wanes within the community, then we should expect to see an increase in cases,” he said. Still, he said he was caught off guard by how early the new wave hit. “I was thinking that we weren’t going to be hitting an uptick until July. … That was the surprising part to me.”
Smith said it’s important to look closely at new variants spreading locally and abroad to determine how it will affect the population. The Omicron wave that hit the U.S. over the winter generally caused milder symptoms, but turned out to be deadlier for older Americans than the Delta variant. Smith said he expects the coronavirus to continue to evolve for the rest of his career.
June 3, 2022
ABC 10 News San Diego
The latest numbers for June 1 from the San Diego County’s COVID-19 website show that there were 1,620 new cases reported, which was the highest in the last seven-day period.
Per the county, there were 711 new cases on May 31.
Dr. Davey Smith of UC San Diego said he believes the spike in cases could be due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
May 30, 2022
PBS NewsHour
When the patient came back 10 days later, coughing repeatedly and complaining of headache, Davey Smith feared the worst.
Smith had prescribed the patient Pfizer’s new antiviral pill, Paxlovid, on the previous visit, after a COVID-19 test came back positive. A resurgence of symptoms probably meant one thing, especially after Smith tested the patient and got another positive.
May 24, 2022
STAT
In these cases, a patient diagnosed with Covid-19 was typically prescribed Paxlovid, took it, felt better, perhaps even tested negative, and then suddenly tested positive days or even more than a week later. For some, the resurgences were asymptomatic. But for others, they were as bad or worse than the original illness.
“There were a lot of symptoms associated with the rebound, actually, almost as much as there was for the original infection,” said Davey Smith, an infectious disease specialist at University of California, San Diego, who recently documented one such case. “Headache, fatigue, cough.”
May 12, 2022
CBS News 8 San Diego
Scientists around the world are studying those who have never had COVID to see what is in their body that is giving them immunity and if it could be a rare genetic variant.
“I am sure that there are people out there who are built, or who will not get coronavirus, and why that is, I do not know,” said Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases at University of California San Diego. “But that is the reason why we do science, and if it is something that we can make a drug from, that mimics that, then that would be great, and if we could make a vaccine that could mimic that, then we would all benefit,”
March 25, 2022
NBC News 7
San Diego County has confirmed 140 BA.2 cases. Researchers believe it’s critical for them to monitor new variants and study their impacts so the community can be prepared for future surges.
“We’ve made it through the omicron wave and now we’re having the Omicron2 bump, as I would say,” Dr. Davey Smith told NBC 7.
February 16, 2022
San Diego Union Tribune
Dr. Davey Smith, chief of infectious disease research at UC San Diego, said he trusts the state’s public health apparatus to react to trends in disease data by adjusting the responses it asks for, and sometimes demands, from the public.
February 10, 2022
Science Daily
“A human antibody reveals a conserved site on beta-coronavirus spike proteins and confers protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection” was co-authored by Panpan Zhou, Meng Yuan, Ge Song, Nathan Beutler, Namir Shaabani, Deli Huang, Wan-ting He, Xueyong Zhu, Sean Callaghan, Peter Yong, Fabio Anzanello, Linghang Peng, James Ricketts, Mara Parren, Elijah Garcia, Stephen Rawlings, Davey Smith, David Nemazee, John Teijaro, Thomas Rogers, Ian Wilson, Dennis Burton and Raiees Andrabi, all of Scripps Research.
February 6, 2022
NBC News 7 San Diego
“So, in San Diego County, COVID-19 cases seem to be dropping pretty dramatically. And this is kind of what we would expect. As we’ve seen this particular wave of omicron go across the world. We saw it dramatically decrease every time that it peaked really high it would go down,” UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases Dr. Davey Smith said.
February 1, 2022
Healthline
One challenge with developing an HIV vaccine is that once the virus infects a cell, it replicates wildly, so an effective vaccine would need to essentially block all infection.
“If [HIV] gets through to start an infection, even if somebody has been vaccinated, then that infection is life-long,” said Dr. Davey Smith, an infectious disease specialist and translational research virologist at University of California, San Diego.
January 29, 2022
NBC News 7 San Diego
“It worries me,” said Dr. Davey Smith, infectious disease specialist at UCSD. “We know that this new variant omicron and the son of omicron are more infectious.”
Smith says there are several factors to blame for this.
January 20, 2022
NBC News 7 San Diego
But doctors say the worry is that new variants won’t be as mild as omicron, and potentially more contagious.
“Maybe the variant that comes afterward, Pi, might actually be as infectious or more infectious than omicron and yet deadly like delta,” said Dr. Davey Smith, Head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UCSD. “It is very likely that we’re going to need shots and boosters over our lifetime and that the virus is not going away.”
Smith says it’s possible we’ll treat COVID more like the flu – creating new versions of the vaccine each year to keep up our immunity.
January 19, 2022
Los Angeles Times
Their 227-passenger ship was just half full, they reasoned, and everyone, including the crew, had to be immunized. The La Jolla couple avoided onboard activities and shore excursions, choosing instead to sunbathe on white-sand beaches and snorkel in the azure waters of the Grenadines. They should have arrived home a week ago from their six-night cruise but instead they spent the last seven days quarantining in a 350-square-foot hotel room in Barbados after Paul tested positive for the coronavirus upon disembarking from their ship. Although asymptomatic, he cannot reenter the U.S. until he produces a negative test, which he finally received on Friday.
January 18, 2022
CNSI
COVID-19 pandemic continues, the development of antiviral drug treatments has become a critical weapon in our arsenal against the virus.
Harnessing the research and scientific brainpower needed to treat and prevent the next pandemic is the University of California – National Labs Antiviral Treatments Targeting All Coronaviruses and Key RNA viruses (ATTACK) Consortium.
The group integrates expertise and resources from six University of California (UC) campuses at Los Angeles, San Diego, Davis, Berkeley, Irvine and Riverside; two national laboratories, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia, and 13 industry partners.
“Putting such expertise under one roof will help alleviate much of the silos that have plagued previous antiviral drug development,” said Brigitte Gomperts, professor of pediatrics and pulmonary medicine and a center director and co-principal investigator of a recent ATTACK Consortium funding proposal to develop antiviral drugs to treat and prevent future pandemics.
January 16, 2022
NBC News 4 Los Angeles
In November, a CDC study found that people who had been immunized by the vaccine had stronger protection against COVID in the future than natural immunity alone.
Another problem? It’s not clear how long natural immunity lasts after someone has been infected with COVID-19. Davey Smith, MD, translational research virologist at UCSD said in a previous story with NBC that data shows there’s good protection after somebody has COVID for about six months.
January 10, 2022
ABC 10 News San Diego
New research shows COVID-19 impacts nearly every part of the body, and doctors in San Diego say that shows treatment needs to do the same. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed and was published as a pre-print, found “while that the highest burden of SARS-CoV-2 is in the airways and lung, the virus can disseminate early during infection and infect cells throughout the entire body.ABC 10
January 7, 2022
NBC News 7 San Diego
According to public health specialists, it’s hard to know the precise amount of risk being incurred while waiting in a COVID-19 testing line.
“We don’t know exactly what that risk would be, but we can imagine that there will be quite a few of those people in line with other people who have omicron COVID, but there’s just tons of the virus floating out in San Diego at the moment,” said Dr. Davey Smith, UC San Diego’s chief of infectious diseases.
Despite the concerns of some who are anxious about being in a long COVID-19 testing line, Smith stressed the importance of testing.
January 7, 2022
CBS News 8 San Diego
Though, San Diego County only includes PCR results in their numbers and antigen tests if observed by a medical professional.
“What I think they should do is go tell their doctor,” said Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at UC San Diego. “The doctors often do report it, I report it to the county when my patients tell me they are positive. It’s a complicated process but it helps with our overall understanding how much COVID is out there.”
Dr. Smith says regardless of your vaccination status, what type of test, or if you were exposed, you should notify your physician.
“For someone with high-risk conditions and don’t even know they are high risk, their doctor should know there are therapies they may be eligible to get and prevent them from getting in the hospital and dying,” said Dr. Smith.
December 22, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
But scientists say the new variant could greatly reduce the effectiveness of existing therapeutic drugs. And the new drugs going before the FDA for approval might be of limited value. The drugs include Pfizer’s Paxlovid, which was approved on Wednesday by the FDA for use in patients who have mild to moderate coronavirus disease. It can be used in patients who are 12 or older. The Union-Tribune discussed the situation with Dr. Davey Smith, director of infectious diseases at UC San Diego. He also helps develop COVID-19 drugs.
December 21, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
Local health officials are also urging San Diegans to get vaccinated and boosted to protect against the new dominant COVID-19 variant, omicron. With most COVID-19 infections in the U.S. now being omicron, there are concerns over what the winter months will bring.
“These vaccines work by keeping people out of the hospital. People who are vaccinated can still get infected. They have always been able to get infected. I know we’ve always been taught that if you’re vaccinated, you don’t get infected. These vaccines work to keep people out of the hospital,” said Dr. David “Davey” Smith, an Infectious Disease Specialist at UC San Diego Health.
December 20, 2021
Fox 5 News San Diego
Smith said because omicron is heavily mutated, it’s more likely to infect people even if they’re vaccinated. But he said booster shoots literally boost immunity, so even if you catch the virus you’re more likely not to get deathly ill.
December 13, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
California is bringing back indoor mask mandates (regardless of vaccination status) in response to climbing coronavirus cases across the state. So, what’s the science behind implementing them, especially in a county like San Diego where the vaccination rate is nearly 76% of the eligible population?
“For most people, that’s great that the virus isn’t going to hurt them. They’re vaccinated. They’re going to do great. But there are some people who still haven’t been vaccinated,” explained Davey Smith, M.D., MAS, head of infectious diseases and global public health at UC San Diego. “There are also some people who the vaccine is just not going to work for. And when they come in contact with the virus, they’re going to get into real trouble, in which case we could have 76% of the population still vaccinated and still have lots of hospitalizations and deaths.”
December 12, 2021
The Medical News
Officials at the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, working in collaboration with scientists at University of California San Diego and Scripps Research, have announced the second confirmed case — and first locally acquired infection — of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The San Diego County man, in his 30s, does not have a travel history or known exposure. He had mild symptoms at testing, which have resolved, but he remains at home in isolation. He did not require hospitalization. He was fully vaccinated and had received his booster shot two weeks before the infection was diagnosed.
December 10, 2021
UC San Diego Health News
“If a person has mild symptoms and tests negative, and then their symptoms continue or get worse, they should retest.”
Davey Smith, MD, a translational research virologist and head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said that despite numerous pressing questions, the overall situation with the Omicron variant is better than in the past with other emerging variants.
“We are in much better shape than last year at this time, but how much better is still unclear.”
December 8, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
The preliminary results, based on laboratory experiments, don’t tell the full story of vaccine responses in people. And there’s not a surefire connection between having a certain level of virus-fighting antibodies and being protected against COVID-19. But the findings are nonetheless telling, according to Dr. Davey Smith, UC San Diego’s chief of infectious disease research.
December 4, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
Dr. Davey Smith was munching on popcorn, trying to enjoy a quiet lunch break two days after Thanksgiving, when an email popped open on his iPad with news that filled him with a deep, dark dread.
The chief of infectious diseases at UC San Diego was learning from colleagues in South Africa that Omicron, the new strain of COVID-19 that had been discovered there, might be a real troublemaker.
December 3, 2021
MedicalNEWSToday
Whether the cross-reactivity of antibodies on antigens revealed in this study works in the opposite direction is still unknown. Does immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus also confer immunity against weaker forms of the coronavirus?
MNT spoke with Dr. David Smith, MAS, FACP, from University of California San Diego Health in La Jolla, who discussed the study’s clinical implications. He stated, “It’s hard to directly interpret these data through a clinical lens. The study does suggest that more related coronavirus immunity helps with SARS-CoV-2 immunity.”
December 2, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
UC San Diego on Thursday sent a message to its nearly 43,000 students telling them that they should get tested for COVID-19 “as soon as possible” if they traveled over the Thanksgiving break, whether they are vaccinated or not.
“While cases have not increased significantly in San Diego County or on our campus, they are expected to trend upward due to Fall Break travel,” the message said.
The statement reflects concern about the newly discovered Omicron variant, which scientists say could be more contagious than the Delta strain and potentially more harmful.
December 2, 2021
La Jolla Light
Dr. Davey Smith, head of infectious-disease research at UCSD, agreed that “people should be getting vaccinated and getting their boosters.”
Amid concern about the newly discovered Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Smith said scientists are just beginning to understand Omicron but “the vaccines we have now should work quite well against it.”
December 2, 2021
La Jolla Light
Dr. Davey Smith, head of infectious-disease research at UCSD, agreed that “people should be getting vaccinated and getting their boosters.”
Amid concern about the newly discovered Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Smith said scientists are just beginning to understand Omicron but “the vaccines we have now should work quite well against it.”
December 2, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
Scientists are racing to whether omicron will impact the effectiveness of the upcoming antiviral pills, but there are reasons to believe it will not. The pills target other regions of the virus that are largely unchanged in omicron.
“The drugs should still work for this variant in exactly the same way as it did for alpha or delta or any of the other Greek letters,” said UC San Diego professor Dr. Davey Smith, the chief of infectious disease research.
December 2, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
Dr. Davey Smith, the Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Health at UC San Diego, said of the omicron variant: “Omicron is different than the other variants because it has a lot more mutations in it, and that’s become a little worrisome.”
November 30, 2021
RepublicWorld.com
Several health experts in the United States are urging eligible adults to get their boosters to protect children as boosters are available for everyone 18 and older. Dr. Davey Smith, a virologist and head of the division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego told the local NBC 7 that while the early reports of Omicron do not give much information on the variant’s total behaviour, the newly evolved strain has mutated heavily in an effort to evade an immune-system response and at this time, since it’s spread may have been limited, the variant is depicting a selection bias;” and therefore is causing milder symptoms. “The variant might not have reached the most vulnerable people yet,” warned Smith. “The people who are getting infected first are the younger group and, perhaps, the vaccinated,” he told WDTN.
November 29, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
“Early reports say that people who now have this variant omicron have less symptoms than people who had delta or even alpha before,” said Dr. Davey Smith, a virologist and head of the division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego. “Right now, I think we just say its serious and we keep looking at it.”
November 29, 2021
KUSI News San Diego
Dr. Davey Smith, Virologist, MD, Infectious Disease Researcher at UC San Diego, joined KUSI’s Logan Byrnes on Good Evening San Diego to discuss details of the Omicron variant.
The World Health Organization has warned that the variant, which was first identified in South Africa, poses a very high risk.
November 29, 2021
CBS News 8 San Diego
Omicron has officially been detected in at least 14 countries, including Canada.
“It’s here in the United States, I’m pretty sure,” said Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego. “It’s just a matter of us finding it.”
Dr. Smith said his department is hoping to get a sample of the Omicron variant as soon as possible.
“We want to see whether or not the medications that we have for treatment of COVID still work… so those monoclonal antibodies everyone talks about, we want to test those,” he said.
Dr. Smith said they also want to take blood from vaccinated people to see if it can still neutralize the virus.
November 29, 2021
KPBS Midday Edition
While existing fears over a potential holiday surge in COVID-19 cases were already generating concern, health officials are now sounding the alarm over a new variant.
First detected in South Africa, the omicron variant is believed to have more mutations than previous COVID-19 variants.
That could make it more contagious and possibly more resistant to vaccine immunity, but researchers say much remains to be learned about Omicron.
November 29, 2021
KPBS Midday Edition
First detected in South Africa, the omicron variant could be more contagious and resistant to the vaccine, but researchers say much remains to be learned about this latest coronavirus variant. Plus, an appeals court has temporarily halted San Diego Unified’s vaccine mandate. Also, records show there’s a vast disparity in where police shootings occur. They tend to happen more in communities where more Black and Latino people live. And, UC and CSU applications are due tomorrow, but as with many things during the pandemic, things look a bit different this year. For one, SATs and ACTs are no longer required. Finally, in this excerpt from the Cinema Junky podcast, host Beth Accomando and guest Nora Fiore look past the iconic femme fatale character type to explore the diversity of women in noir.
November 29, 2021
VC Star
“The more people who are vaccinated in the world the less chance the virus has to evolve,” said Dr. Davey Smith, infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego.
People should continue to wear masks indoors in public places and stay socially distant, Levin said. If they gather in groups inside, they should open windows for ventilation.
November 29, 2021
La Jolla Light
Scientists at UC San Diego and Scripps Research in La Jolla say they’re geared up to help in the worldwide effort to assess whether the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus is more transmissible and harmful than earlier versions of the virus.
The new variant could be found in San Diego County through the genetic analysis that UCSD is doing on positive coronavirus tests, according to a campus official. The county health department and some hospitals also are conducting such testing.
November 28, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
According to TSA 2 million people passed through U.S. airport security in the seven days leading up to Thanksgiving, taking a dip on Thanksgiving and the day after, before seeing an uptick again in travelers on Saturday.
Many people said they are happy to once again be visiting friends and family and that they feel safe doing so during an ongoing pandemic.
November 28, 2021
News 9 ABC Chattanooga
Medical experts nationwide, like Dr. Davey Smith, believe it will inevitably reach the United States if it hasn’t already.
November 28, 2021
San Diego Union-Tribune
UC San Diego scientists said Sunday night they’re hustling to find samples of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus to help in the worldwide effort to assess whether it is more transmissible and harmful than earlier versions of the virus.
It’s possible that the new variant could be discovered this week in San Diego County through the genetic analysis that UC San Diego is doing on positive coronavirus tests, a campus official said.
The county health department and some hospitals also are conducting such testing.
“It’s only a matter of time and testing before we find it here,” said Dr. Davey Smith, head of infectious diseases at UC San Diego, which was one of the first universities to broadly test students, faculty and staff for COVID-19.
November 26, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
“I’m cautiously optimistic. I think that the vaccine, if everybody is vaccinated and people take precautions, such as eating outside as much as possible, limiting the number of people indoors at one time — those are logical ways to keep everybody safe,” Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases at UC San Diego, said.
November 19, 2021
VC Star
They say holiday gatherings are relatively safer now than they were a year ago when vaccination levels were much lower and a surge of COVID-19 infections flooded hospitals and mortuaries.
They nonetheless urge people to serve their dinners outside if possible and limit the size and length of their celebrations.
Most importantly, people should ask about the vaccination status of other guests, said Dr. Davey Smith, infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego.
November 11, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
“I think over time, we probably all will need a booster, but that’s really going to be related to those underlying conditions like age, or weight, or diabetes, and all those sorts of things will play into the mix,” UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases Dr. Davey Smith said.
November 11, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
“It’s good that people are getting vaccinated. There’s a lot of pent-up demand for people to see families and friends so I can see why it would be near record-breaking,” said Davey Smith, chief of infectious disease research at UC San Diego. “I do think we’re going to have a winter surge, and the first thing that kicked us off last year was Thanksgiving, and I’m sure it’ll kick us off this time.”
November 10, 2021
SciTech Daily
“The development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments is moving fast, but we still have a lot to learn,” said Davey Smith, M.D., University of California, San Diego, A5404 study chair. “A5404 aims to help us better understand how people who have had COVID-19 and may have been treated for it respond to vaccination to prevent reinfection with COVID-19. As such, this study has the potential to fill in a major gap in our knowledge about the relationship between COVID-19 treatment and vaccination.”
November 7, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
Pfizer and Merck rolled out data from their clinical trials showing their antiviral pills are effective in fighting COVID-19.
“I’m excited both of the drugs seem to be very active and very effective for people,” UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases Dr. Davey Smith said.
Pfizer ended their clinical trial early after seeing very promising data that they will submit to the FDA.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 antiviral pill is 89% effective against serious illness when taken within three days of infection.
Merck’s COVID-19 antiviral pill is under review by regulators now and according to the pharmaceutical company, their pill is 50% effective when taken within five days of infection.
November 6, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
“I’m excited that the children are now able to get vaccinated. The data looks pretty darn good for this age group, 5 to 11, getting vaccinated, and hopefully what I’m really excited about is that I hope that it tamps down any transmission that goes on in the community,” UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases Dr. Davey Smith said.
November 5, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
Approximately 3 million people have received COVID-19 booster shots as of November 5, according to the Department of Public Health, but some officials are warning of a potential COVID-19 surge this upcoming Winter.
Infectious disease doctors are urging people who are eligible for booster shots to get one.
“There’s just a bunch of viruses that like to interrupt our holiday plans in the winter, but we will be prepared and one of those new ones to the party is now COVID-19,” UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases, Dr. Davey Smith said.
November 4, 2021
NBC News 7 San Diego
Over the past 20 months, hundreds of thousands have been infected with the coronavirus, many of whom have wondered the same thing;
“The most common question I get from people who’ve had the virus and they’re thinking about getting the vaccine is, ‘Do I need to get it?” said Davey Smith, MD, translational research virologist at UCSD.
According to a recent study by the CDC, previous infection of the virus provides some degree of immunity and protection against getting COVID-19 again.
“The data from the CDC and others shows that there’s really good protection after somebody has sars COVID for about six months, at least,” said Smith.
October 30, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
A decline in the number of people who have gotten flu shots, combined with few infections last year, has San Diego health officials worried that there will be a surge in cases this winter.
Through this week, about 72,000 fewer people across the county have gotten their flu shots, causing concern among those who predict a severe season this winter due in large part to the lack of influenza activity last year.
October 7, 2021
UC San Diego News Center
Many medical advances lay at least partial claim to greatest of all time, from older achievements like anesthesia (1846) and antibiotics (1928) to more modern triumphs like organ transplants (1954), stem cell therapy (1970s) and artificial intelligence (21st century).
Vaccines often make these lists—they are both old and new—but they are also overlooked because their power is primarily in prevention, and a disease dodged is harder to count, though the World Health Organization estimates 2.5 million deaths are prevented each year due to vaccinations.
September 27, 2021
EurekaAlert
The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, which recently expanded its focus to include evaluating outpatient treatment for COVID-19, today announced that SAB-185, a novel polyclonal antibody therapy, has demonstrated safety and efficacy in phase 2 that meet the criteria for graduation to phase 3 in the ACTIV-2 Outpatient Monoclonal Antibodies and Other Therapies Trial (ACTG A5401).
September 22, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
Thousands of San Diegans have already gotten coronavirus booster shots, even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are still debating when and how to recommend extra vaccine doses.
As of Sept. 16, about 43,000 booster doses have been doled out across the region, according to local immunization registry data provided by San Diego County. Roughly 40 percent of these shots have been administered through CVS and Rite Aid, with most of the rest coming through a mix of local health systems, pharmacies and county-run vaccine clinics.
September 12, 2021
NBC 7 News San Diego
The Cathy Hopper Clairemont Friendship Center will be a new COVID-19 testing, monoclonal antibody and post-exposure treatment site. The Clairemont site will be the fourth MARC site in San Diego County.
September 9, 2021
Newsweek
These changes between COVID variants also mean that they are pitted against one another in a situation that is, essentially, survival of the fittest. This is because new variants may have some advantage over the one or ones that were there before them.
“The viruses that have the biggest advantage in terms of infecting people and spreading is the one that ‘wins’,” Dr Davey Smith, head of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, told Newsweek.
September 8, 2021
CBS 8 News San Diego
The Mu variant is pronounced “mew” rhyming with “new” not “moo” like the sound of a cow. While more studies need to be done to determine its severity, a San Diego infectious disease doctor predicts it will be similar to Delta that has ravaged the country. “That means it’s remodeling its kitchen, dining room, etc. to be able to live inside of us and spread to other people,” said Dr. Davey Smith, UCSD Chief of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health.
September 1, 2021
NBC 7 News San Diego
“This variant has picked up a bunch of mutations, that’s what we call evolution and selection, etc. So as much as this virus has been growing with us it has learned to adapt to the immune responses that we have, and that’s concerning because that is exactly how we are trying to defeat it,” said Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases at UC San Diego. Along with showing signs of being able to evade immunity there is a concern that the Mu variant may be resistant to some treatments as well.
September 1, 2021
FORBES Magazine
“It is a plausible mechanism, and it could help clear the upper respiratory tract of the virus, and perhaps that’s why it makes people feel better,” says Dr. Davey Smith, chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at University of California at San Diego. Smith is not affiliated with EmitBio but reviewed data the company had released. “I think this data is promising enough to pursue bigger studies,” he adds.
One question he has about the company’s approach, though, is how it could stop the disease from progressing in the lungs where the light can’t reach. “What we really need is something to keep people out of the hospital and from dying, and that’s really a lower respiratory disease process.”
August 27, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
A growing body of research suggests it’s time to rethink those anti-COVID plastic barriers used as fortifications in retail stores, restaurants and countless other indoor settings. Studies on aerosols and airflow reveal these screens are “unlikely to provide any direct benefit,” according to a group of scientists who advise the U.K. government. And there is some evidence the barriers can actually increase the risk of infection.
August 26, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
A virus with all four of these mutations might never emerge in nature, experts said. Even if it did, it might not be as fearsome as it looks in lab experiments. Sometimes mutations in one region of a virus weaken another region, said Dr. Davey Smith, a virologist and infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Diego.
August 10, 2021
KPBS San Diego
The requirement for healthcare workers across the state to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Sept. 30 has led to some pushback. There were protests at children’s hospitals around the state on Monday, including at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Rady Children’s registered nurse, Lisa Silvera was one of about 100 people at the protest, and said current COVID-19 safety protocols should be enough.
August 2, 2021
NBC 7 News San Diego
A UC San Diego professor believes the window to eradicate the coronavirus has passed. “I’ll be seeing COVID-19 as an infectious disease doctor for the rest of my career,” epidemiologist and Chief of Infectious Diseases at UC San Diego, Dr. Davey Smith said. The virus that has infected more than 35 million people across the country has mutated into multiple variants, making it harder to control and harder to eradicate, Smith said.
“This virus was able to evolve during the time where we were trying to get vaccinations together, and now the number needed is near 80 to 90% of people vaccinated,” Dr. Smith said.
July 31, 2021
NBC 7 News San Diego
The Covid-19 virus has mutated and continued to evolve over the course of time. “Now we have a whole bunch of variants alpha, beta, gamma, lambda is now a big one,” University of California San Diego Infectious Disease Doctor Davey Smith said.
Experts have identified each known variant and its origins explaining that each mutation offers the virus another opportunity to become more infectious thus leading to more spreading.
July 25, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
Unlike Los Angeles County, San Diego has not reinstated an indoor mask mandate for all residents, regardless of vaccination status. But exploding local case rates are making many wonder whether it’s just a matter of time.
After a mid-week update from the county health department showed that daily case totals are now essentially where they were in mid-July of 2020, the situation grew even more dramatic Friday with an announcement that more than 1,200 positive test results were received Thursday.
Despite the full vaccination of nearly 2 million San Diegans — nearly 70 percent of all who are eligible — it’s the largest single-day number since Feb. 5, and nearly double Wednesday’s count.
July 14, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — As COVID-19 vaccinations slow to a trickle in the U.S., a growing chorus of scientists is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to stop delaying what they consider the single best solution for vaccine hesitancy: full approval of the mRNA vaccines. As of Tuesday, the U.S. had the slowest pace of COVID-19 vaccinations of any large, developed country, according to Our World in Data.
July 12, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – COVID-19 case numbers continue to creep back up in San Diego County. “We had gotten a little sleepy and hadn’t had a few cases in a while and we were enjoying that time but after July 4th, this is when we would expect it,” said UC San Diego Health Infectious Disease expert Dr. Davey Smith. ABC 10News spoke to him on Monday.
July 12, 2021
NBC 7 News San Diego
For the second time since its release, the FDA is issuing a warning for the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine — this time over concerns it could lead to an increased risk of a rare neurological condition known as Guillain-Barre syndrome.
For some, the vaccine was considered a one-shot wonder. Now though, at least one San Diego woman is wondering whether she should get any more J&J vaccine shots. In a social media post, Sarah King made a video chronicling her role in the Johnson and Johnson vaccine trial.
June 29, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Despite Los Angeles County public health officials advising everyone, fully vaccinated or not, to wear face coverings indoors due to the delta variant of COVID-19, San Diego County will not be doing the same.
County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher said San Diego County will continue to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that fully vaccinated people can safely go without masks indoors.
June 27, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
Experts say there’s a far bigger problem brewing. While current vaccines differ in the level of protection they provide against specific variants, they’ve generally been safe and effective. Sinovac’s vaccine, for instance, has been shown to be between 50 percent to 84 percent effective in keeping people from getting sick with COVID-19, depending on the country where the vaccine was tested.
“It’s not about the type of vaccine at all,” said Dr. Davey Smith, UC San Diego’s head of infectious disease research. “There’s just so many people who haven’t gotten any vaccine; that’s allowing the fire to keep burning.”
June 15, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
For the last couple of months, San Diego County residents have grown accustomed to more relaxed pandemic regulations as they increasingly dine out indoors, catch the latest flick at the movie theater, ride a roller coaster and cheer on the Padres at Petco Park.
So when California fully reopens today — minus the state’s often bewildering, color-coded blueprint for daily life — the long-awaited moment is going to feel a bit anti-climactic.
June 15, 2021
KPBS
Tuesday marks the state’s official reopening. Occupancy restrictions inside offices, stores, restaurants, bars and stadiums are gone and mask requirements greatly relaxed. Californians are celebrating their rediscovered freedoms. Except for Bernice and others who are in similar circumstances.
It’s already been difficult for Bernice, who won’t be able to get a vaccine until her course of treatments ends in August. Her company went back to in-person work a few months ago, and even with the guidelines that have been in place, almost all of her co-workers aren’t wearing masks.
June 15, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
For the last couple of months, San Diego County residents have grown accustomed to more relaxed pandemic regulations as they increasingly dine out indoors, catch the latest flick at the movie theater, ride a roller coaster and cheer on the Padres at Petco Park.
So when California fully reopens today — minus the state’s often bewildering, color-coded blueprint for daily life — the long-awaited moment is going to feel a bit anti-climactic.
May 22, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a long and rocky road, and two words have come to symbolize its exit ramp: herd immunity.
Since the start of the vaccine rollout, public officials have stressed that immunizing enough of the population would eventually stop the spread of the coronavirus. Each day, an online dashboard tracks San Diego County’s progress toward that goal.
May 18, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
UC San Diego virologist Dr. Davey Smith is overseeing government-sponsored trials on two of those pills.
“It has become one of those holy grails, if we could have a therapy that people could take at home once they have early COVID,” he said.
Currently, the best early treatments we have for COVID are lab-made antibodies. The problem is that these monoclonal antibodies are expensive and challenging to administer.
May 12, 2021
National Geographic
For instance, Davey Smith, a virologist at UC San Diego, says that childhood illnesses that are spread through breathing in viruses from coughs and sneezes, like the flu, would likely decrease if kids continue to wear masks indoors or socially distance in school. But for diseases such as norovirus—more commonly spread by touching things like doorknobs and countertops—parents would need to revert to the old days of COVID-19, back when we were sterilising every single surface.
May 12, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
New research from a team of prominent scientists suggests the pandemic coronavirus doesn’t just hijack our cells; in some cases it can actually alter our DNA.
It’s a controversial claim. When an early version of the research first appeared online in December, many scientists dismissed the evidence as too thin and potentially the result of a faulty experiment. But last week, the team of researchers led by noted MIT biologist Rudolf Jaenisch published new experiments to bolster their hypothesis.
May 5, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – As San Diego nears the 1.1 million mark for people who are fully vaccinated, several local doctors think there will be a need for a third COVID-19 “booster” shot. “At some point, I think it’s very likely,” says UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases Dr. Davey Smith. “When that point is, I don’t know.”
A lot is unknown about the need for a booster shot, as the vaccines have only been around for six months. That’s barely given researchers time to determine how long they provide complete protection against COVID-19.
April 27, 2021
NBC 7 San Diego
Dr. Davey Smith, the chief of infectious diseases and global public health at UC San Diego, said it’s not the one-fix solution everyone has been waiting for. He said a pill being researched renews hope that another item will be added to the fight against COVID-19, which he says will likely not be defeated with vaccines alone. If anything, the pill is another weapon to add to the arsenal.
April 20, 2021
KPBS San Diego
People often look to their faith leaders for guidance on big decisions — who to marry, how many kids to have, whether to change jobs. These days, parishioners are asking another big question: Should I get a COVID-19 vaccine?
The answer San Diego area faith leaders give could impact when we reach herd immunity and the severity of future outbreaks.
Many are actively encouraging followers to get vaccinated. They’re including the message in sermons, hosting information sessions with scientists and helping people book vaccine appointments — even sometimes vaccinating congregants on church grounds.
April 6, 2021
NBC 7 News San Diego
The vaccine process is complicated, and variants might throw off an already complex process of determining the vaccine’s efficacy.
Dr. Davey Smith, the chief of infectious diseases and global public health at UC San Diego, told NBC 7 that there’s no way to formulate a timeline for future COVID-19 shots this early in the game.
March 31, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
What is a double mutant?
The name “double mutant” is misleading, says UC San Diego virologist Dr. Davey Smith.
All of the variants you’ve heard of — U.K., South Africa, Brazil — carry multiple mutations (between 5 and 11 mutations in their spike proteins alone).
In this case, the phrase “double mutant” has nothing to do with the total number of mutations the variant carries. Instead, Indian health officials gave the variant this nickname because it carries two important mutations in a critical part of the virus: the part of the virus that attaches to cells, officially called the “receptor-binding domain.”
March 30, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
When vaccines started rolling out, local governments shifted their focus, closing mass testing locations in favor of mass vaccination sites.
Another factor has to do with human behavior, said UC San Diego infectious disease expert Dr. Davey Smith. In many places, there is adequate testing available through private providers. The challenge is encouraging people to utilize it.
March 29, 2021
Tony on the Mic Podcast
Today we sit down with Davey Smith, infectious disease and viral researcher. We discuss his 12-16 hours a day in the field researching infectious disease, including his detailed work on Covid-19, and HIV before them. We talk treatments and progress about the disease, and about vaccines and variants. We talk about his journey in medicine and life.
March 26, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
Clinical trial results released this week by British pharma giant AstraZeneca reported that its vaccine is safe and effective, yet the data raised fresh concerns around a vaccine poised to play a major role in quelling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company announced results from a trial of more than 32,000 volunteers spanning Saint Louis to San Diego to Santiago, Chile. But an independent scientific team tasked with reviewing the data told AstraZeneca and the U.S. government that it had concerns with how those results were reported.
March 25, 2021
NBC 7 News San Diego
Helping in the fight: Starting next week, Californians who are 50 and older will be eligible for vaccines starting April 1. Then, by April 15, eligibility expands to those 16 and older.
“The more vaccine we have out there in the public, the less likely that variant can get through our population. And the less likely it is to evolve,” Dr. Davey Smith told NBC 7. “What we see in the lab, at least, is not that the vaccines don’t completely work, they just don’t work as well as they did for the original strain.”
March 24, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego joins 18 regions nationwide that have reported cases of Brazilian coronavirus variants which have the ability to reinfect people who have been infected by other viral varieties.
County officials announced that two cases of the COV2 lineage dubbed “P.1″ have been confirmed in the San Diego region.
One case is a person who recently entered the country from Mexico and is not a local resident. The second person lives in the area.
Case investigators have found no connections between the two people, said Dr. Eric McDonald, medical director of the county’s epidemiology department.
“The resident of San Diego County had no travel history, so that means that there must be at least one other case in San Diego,” McDonald said.
March 18, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Scientists have made big strides in the fight against COVID-19, but there is still only one fully approved treatment — and it’s not a breakthrough cure.
That treatment is remdesivir. Outside of a few blends of monoclonal antibodies that have emergency authorizations, remdesivir is our only FDA-approved antiviral that can attack SARS-CoV-2 head-on. Other treatments try to resolve the cascade of domino effects that come with severe disease like out-of-control inflammation, not the virus itself.
Studies show remdesivir shortens illness time in hospitalized patients but it doesn’t improve survival rates. That’s why scientists continue to race to develop better, stronger antivirals that can save lives.
UC San Diego virologist Dr. Davey Smith is helping lead the charge.
March 15, 2021
Forbes
There are limited options for treating “long haulers,” COVID-19 victims who continue to suffer virus-related problems. It is not clear whether existing vaccines will stave off the California, South Africa and Brazilian variants of the coronavirus. Several new generations of vaccines might be needed. A broad, effective array of anti-viral drugs have yet to be created. And sophisticated COVID-19 surveillance is still sketchy across the nation.
“We appear to have gotten through the deadliest part of the pandemic, but this is not some flash-in-the-pan event,” said Dr. Davey Smith, director of infectious diseases at UC San Diego. “I expect to be dealing with COVID-19 on some level for the rest of my career.”
March 14, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
There are limited options for treating “long haulers,” COVID-19 victims who continue to suffer virus-related problems. It is not clear whether existing vaccines will stave off the California, South Africa and Brazilian variants of the coronavirus. Several new generations of vaccines might be needed. A broad, effective array of anti-viral drugs have yet to be created. And sophisticated COVID-19 surveillance is still sketchy across the nation.
“We appear to have gotten through the deadliest part of the pandemic, but this is not some flash-in-the-pan event,” said Dr. Davey Smith, director of infectious diseases at UC San Diego. “I expect to be dealing with COVID-19 on some level for the rest of my career.”
March 12, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
California opens coronavirus vaccination to more than 4 million residents with high-risk medical conditions and disabilities Monday, allowing those age 16 to 64 to make appointments if they have a range of different medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and severe obesity.
While many have been working to document their illnesses so they will be able to get an appointment as quickly as possible, the California Department of Public Health said late this week that documentation will not be necessary. To “protect confidentiality,” vaccination clinics will ask those with qualifying conditions to “sign a self-attestation that they meet the criteria for high-risk medical conditions or disabilities” before receiving their shot.
March 11, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
The number of San Diegans in the hospital with COVID-19 is less than a third of what it was a month ago, according to the county’s latest coronavirus report.
On Thursday, the county reported 24 new hospitalizations, with 314 San Diegans currently hospitalized from a coronavirus infection; on Feb. 9, there were 992 in the hospital with COVID-19.
“We’re pretty happy,” said Dr. Davey Smith, UC San Diego’s chief of infectious disease research, of the steady decline in hospitalizations since around the start of the new year.
March 6, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Anxiety looms around San Diegans unable to get their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Adding to the stress, Del Mar’s Vaccination Super Station shut down Saturday and this week’s wet weather could cause more delays.
Sandra Gustafson, 67, got her first Moderna shot from a local Vons on February third. She was due for her second shot last Wednesday.
“About a week ago I received a cancellation notice that there were no doses available at my pharmacy,” she said.
Gustafson searched feverishly for another location to get her second dose to no avail.
March 3, 2021
Healthline
In this scenario, contact tracing involves studying the close contacts of vaccinated and unvaccinated people to see whether vaccinated people who contract an infection are less likely to transmit the virus.
“That kind of study is more time and labor intensive,” she said, especially since you have to rule out close contacts contracting an infection who are outside the household.
Dr. Davey Smith, MD, MAS, an infectious disease researcher at the University of California, San Diego, is leading this type of study. It will involve collecting data on household contacts of people who have been vaccinated, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.
February 27, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
After countless hours spent searching for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, Elizabeth Kostas is days away from getting her second and final shot. And like many San Diegans, she’s wondering what she’ll be able to do next.
“I just look back longingly and with such good memories of hanging out with friends and doing fun things,” said the 69-year-old Carmel Valley resident. “I want to get back to that.”
But Kostas plans to keep playing it safe for now, and will continue to wear a mask, stay at home and avoid traveling. She’s worried about unwittingly spreading the virus to family, friends and neighbors who haven’t gotten their shot yet.
February 15, 2021
ABC 10 News San Diego
A team of scientists are declaring that a total of seven coronavirus variants spotted around the United States are carrying the same mutation, as reported in a study published over the weekend.
“These variants tell us that the virus is adapting to us,” said UC San Diego’s Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health.
February 14, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
In the early 1980s, as AIDS was beginning its deadly tear, a Catholic priest told a radio audience in Boston that he sympathized with people who didn’t want to be around anyone who had the disease.
Robert “Chip” Schooley about popped a vein.
The young Harvard physician and infectious disease expert got in touch with the station and relayed a blunt message to the priest: If you ever make a comment like that again, I will reveal that the church is keeping priests who have AIDS out of sight at a monastery in Newton.
February 6, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
Like many other San Diegans, Patricia Horvath has been daydreaming for months about what life will be like once she gets the COVID-19 vaccine. Hug the grandkids. Take an international cruise with friends. It’ll be a real shot in the arm, the 81-year-old Point Loma resident figured, in more ways than one.
Except now that she’s received the vaccine, she’s finding out it’s not that simple. “It’s a two-sided coin,” she said. “Of course I’m happy to get it. I feel more comfortable now. But at the same time, there’s still a lot of uncertainty.” Uncertainty about whether she can get asymptomatic infections and pass them on to others. Uncertainty about how well the vaccines will work against new variants. Uncertainty about how long the inoculation will last.
January 25, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
Weeks after gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park contracted COVID-19, park officials said Monday the animals will make a full recovery.
The troop of eight gorillas was likely exposed to the coronavirus by a keeper who tested positive for COVID-19 in early January. Days later, a few gorillas began coughing. Nearly the entire troop seemed a bit less energetic than usual, according to Lisa Peterson, executive director of the Safari Park.
San Diego’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout boosted by more doses and a second mass immunization site
January 21, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
After a sluggish start to San Diego County’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the region has received 173,000 doses over the past few days, coinciding with the launch of a mass inoculation site in Chula Vista on Thursday.
Sharp HealthCare will run the site, located in a former Sears department store, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. County Supervisor Nora Vargas said that 1,800 people made appointments Thursday, and a Sharp spokesperson added that the site will vaccinate 5,000 people a day by next week.
San Diego scientists hustle to find out if 'California' strain of coronavirus poses big threat
January 20, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego scientists are hustling to help find out whether a new strain of the novel coronavirus that’s spreading in California is more infectious than the original virus and likely to cause more sickness and fatalities.
The strain, tentatively named the California variant, or CAL.20C — was discovered last summer. But scientists say it didn’t begin to spread widely across the state until late last year and that it recently began showing up in San Diego County, where various strains of the virus have killed more than 2,100 people.
San Diegans struggle to know if they can get a COVID-19 vaccine
January 19, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
While the county’s latest COVID-19 numbers fuel further hope that a post-holiday surge is leveling off, San Diegans are still struggling to learn when and where they can get a coronavirus vaccine.
The answer, filled with caveats and contradictions, seems to change from day to day — sometimes, within the course of a day.
Case in point: On Monday morning, UC San Diego Health staff announced that the county’s mass vaccination site near Petco Park was accepting appointments from those 65 and up for the day.
How soon you get COVID-19 vaccine may depend on where in California you live
January 15, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego County health systems are dealing with overwhelming demand for the vaccine.
UC San Diego Health began immunizing older patients on Thursday, beginning a new phase in the region’s vaccine rollout. Members of the health system who are 65 or older are being contacted to schedule appointments, according to a statement from UCSD.
“Patients are asked to wait for their vaccination invitations to avoid overwhelming phone lines and to accommodate ongoing services and care …. Eligible patients will be contacted as soon as possible, based on availability of vaccine.”
San Diego County reaches 2,000 COVID-19 deaths; vaccine trickles out to those 65 and up
January 14, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
UC San Diego Health began immunizing older patients against COVID-19 on Thursday, marking the beginning of a new phase in the region’s vaccine rollout. Members of the health system who are 65 or older are being contacted to schedule appointments, according to a statement from UCSD.
“Patients are asked to wait for their vaccination invitations to avoid overwhelming phone lines and to accommodate ongoing services and care … Eligible patients will be contacted as soon as possible, based on availability of vaccine.”
County plans to vaccinate 1.9 million San Diegans by July
January 13, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego County residents 65 and older can now get vaccinated against COVID-19 provided their health care provider has the doses1. But with vaccine demand far exceeding supply, that’s likely to be an issue.
UCSD says new strain of coronavirus found in Japan also likely present in U.S.
January 12, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
A new variation of the coronavirus discovered in Japan is “very likely already in the U.S.” as well, according to Davey Smith, director of infectious diseases at UC San Diego.
Finding medicines for COVID-19 with UCSD’s Head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health Dr. Davey Smith
January 11, 2021
KTLA Los Angeles
Head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego Dr. Davey Smith joined us live to talk about Activ-2, a study that he’s leading that is testing different medicines to see if they are safe and can help adults with COVID-19. For more info on Activ-2, you can go to RiseAboveCovid.org
Commentary: Why you can, and should, trust the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines
January 7, 2021
San Diego Union Tribune
We believe that the public’s confidence in, and adoption of, COVID-19 vaccines — two of which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved last month — can be enhanced by increasing public knowledge about how scientific peer review, regulation and surveillance work together to ensure the safety and efficacy of vaccines. A September report by a consortium of Northeastern, Harvard, Rutgers and Northwestern universities about public trust in institutions and vaccine acceptance demonstrated that acceptance depends on the level of trust in scientists and researchers, so increasing trust should be a top public health priority. The report also noted that concerns about vaccine safety reduce uptake and therefore effectiveness of vaccines.
UCSD says COVID-19 vaccines should work against scary new strain of coronavirus
December 22, 2020
San Diego Union Tribune
UC San Diego says the COVID-19 vaccines should be able to defeat the new strain of coronavirus that has spread through much of England, helping throw the country into a frustrating and fearful lock down.
It is also possible that the strain, called B.1.1.7., could have entered the U.S., says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But there aren’t definitive signs that has happened.
Advisory panel recommends FDA authorizes vaccine
December 11, 2020
ABC San Diego
An advisory committee made up of medical experts met Thursday virtually and recommended that the FDA authorize the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use for Americans 16 and older. The vote was 17 to 4. Hospitals across the San Diego County are preparing their staff and most vulnerable patients for the rollout of the vaccine. They are in the first groups of people to be vaccinated.
Local Doctor Explains CDC's Process for Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccinations
December 4, 2020
NBC San Diego
NBC 7’s Jackie Crea spoke to a global health expert about the vaccine distribution process.
Doctor Explains CDC's Process for Prioritizing COVID-19 Vaccinations
November 30, 2020
NBC Los Angeles
A panel of advisers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will have an emergency meeting Tuesday to talk about how the vaccine will be given out, and who should receive it first. Although some manufacturers have started stockpiling the vaccine, relatively speaking there won’t be a lot to go around, making that first wave critical.
Potential travelers flood San Diego COVID-19 test sites ahead of Thanksgiving
November 23, 2020
10 News San Diego (KGTV)
With Thanksgiving just days away, local health officials are seeing long lines at San Diego County COVID-19 test sites with many San Diegans hoping to get tested before the holiday. With the sudden surge of testing, some experts, such as UC San Diego Chief of Infectious Diseases Dr. Davey Smith, warn that getting a test is not enough to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
So you just got a COVID-19 antibody test. Now what?
November 3, 2020
San Diego Union Tribune
“We don’t know if having a positive antibody test means that you have any immunity whatsoever,” said Dr. Davey Smith, an infectious disease expert at UC San Diego. Scientists are still figuring out what kinds of antibodies work best against the coronavirus, how much antibody you need and how long immunity lasts. Smith and researchers at La Jolla Immunology are trying to answer many of these questions.
The Long-Term Fight Against The Coronavirus
October 29, 2020
WUTC
Dr. Davey Smith is conducting one of the dozens of clinical trials now in progress across the country to find a cure – not a preventative vaccine – for the coronavirus. He is a professor of medicine – and chief of infectious diseases and global public health at the University of California-San Diego. Davey earned his biology degree from this campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
The Biggest Difference Between a Vaccine and a Treatment
October 27, 2020
Men’s Health
As the coronavirus continues to shake the country without proven medications to fight the novel disease, doctors and scientists are racing for a breakthrough in developing both vaccines and treatments. But as dozens of COVID-19 vaccines enter advanced clinical trial stages and the FDA approves possible treatment drugs (such as Remdesivir) and continues to review others, we’ve noticed that there’s confusion around what a vaccine does and what a treatment does.
We’re getting closer to having a COVID-19 vaccine. Hold onto that mask, though
October 25, 2020
San Diego Union Tribune
It’s unclear how effectively and quickly a vaccine would quell a pandemic that has killed more than 223,000 Americans. Some vaccines have totally or nearly eradicated diseases — think smallpox and polio. But don’t expect a COVID-19 vaccine to be a panacea, says Dr. Davey Smith, UC San Diego’s director of infectious diseases and global public health.
In a pandemic, the need for speed challenges old standards of the scientific process
October 19, 2020
Washington Post
Soon after the novel coronavirus began circulating on the West Coast, a team of researchers began an urgent quest to find out how the pathogen might affect pregnant women, beginning their work before they had figured out how to pay for it. Concerned that it might take months to go through the grant-application process, with no guarantee of success, the team at the University of California at San Francisco turned to philanthropy and crowdfunding.
Infectious disease expert urges flu shots, cautions San Diegans this Fall
October 17, 2020
ABC News San Diego
As winter approaches, doctors are worried about more than the novel coronavirus. “When winter comes we all tend to go indoors, and [viruses are] more likely to spread between us in school, in workplaces it’s just going to happen,” Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases at UC San Diego, said.
ACTIV-2 and Operation Warp Speed: An Interview With COVID-19 Investigator, Davey Smith, MD
October 14, 2020
Infectious Disease Advisor
Davey Smith, MD, MAS, professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, met with Sara Gianella Weibel, MD, on behalf of Infectious Disease Advisor, to discuss where scientists are in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 and what might come next.
2 things we know (and 3 we don’t) about Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly pausing COVID-19 trials
October 13, 2020
San Diego Union Tribute
Johnson & Johnson announced Monday that it has halted its massive COVID-19 vaccine trial after a participant became ill. Less than 24 hours later, Eli Lilly paused a study of a COVID-19 antibody treatment for the same reason. What does this all mean?
California health officials ease limits on private gatherings
October 10, 2020
ABC News San Diego
California health officials have released new guidance Friday night increasing the limit on the number of households allowed to attend private outdoor gatherings. According to the California Department of Public Health website, the new guidance allows no more than three households to gather outdoors, including hosts and guests, and gatherings should be kept to two hours or less.
New study tests drugs on COVID-19 patients
October 8, 2020
ABC News San Diego
“So this trial is specifically designed to find those agents to keep people from going to the hospital,” Dr. Davey Smith said. He is the Chief of Infectious Diseases at UC San Diego and the Protocol Chair for the study. “If your symptoms started within ten days and your test is positive in seven days, then you are eligible for the study,” Dr. Smith said.
Take Negative COVID-19 Tests Seriously, But Not Literally
October 7, 2020
FiveThirtyEight article
Kayleigh McEnany tested negative for COVID-19 last Thursday. She tested negative again on Friday. And on Saturday. And also on Sunday. But she wasn’t negative on Monday. And that presents a quandary even if you’re not the White House press secretary. What if you get tested because someone close to you tested positive, but your test shows you’re negative … yet three days later you aren’t, and, unlike McEnany, you have no idea you have COVID-19 because you don’t get tested daily?
Coronavirus in Context: Are Treatments More Important Than a Vaccine?
October 5, 2020
WebMD
JOHN WHYTE: Welcome, everyone. You’re watching Coronavirus in Context. I’m Dr. John Whyte, chief medical officer at WebMD. Can’t turn on the news and not hear about a potential COVID vaccine. But should we really be talking more about potential treatments? Is that one of the most effective strategies to return to some sense of normal? To help provide answers and insights into the role of therapeutics, I’ve asked Dr. Davey Smith. He is the head of the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Health at UC San Diego. Dr. Smith, thanks for joining me.
UC San Diego virus expert says this is what Trump might face with COVID-19 diagnosis
October 1, 2020
San Diego Union Tribune
Late Thursday night, President Trump disclosed he had tested positive for COVID-19. By Friday afternoon, he was being flown by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., for treatment. The rapid-fire events raised new questions about what we know about the novel coronavirus eight months into the pandemic.
Possible COVID-19 exposure at ministry on UTC's campus reveals gray area for some students
September 27, 2020
WTVC – ABC News Channel 9
We’ve heard it countless times from experts: To wear masks and social distance. But in many scenarios, including on UT Chattanooga’s campus, we’ve seen this become an either/or situation. A recent event hosted by a ministry on campus reflects this struggle, and now it’s taking measures following a COVID-19 exposure.
Statins Reduce COVID-19 Severity, Likely by Removing Cholesterol That Virus Uses to Infect
September 23, 2020
UC San Diego Health News
Analyzing anonymized patient medical records, UC San Diego researchers discovered that cholesterol-lowering statins reduced risk of severe COVID-19 infection, while lab experiments uncovered a cellular mechanism that helps explain why
Possible COVID-19 exposure at ministry on UTC's campus reveals gray area for some students
September 22, 2020
STAT – First Opinion
A few months ago, one of us (S.B.) found himself staring up into the bright lights of an operating room. He wasn’t sick or injured — far from it. Instead, he was about to undergo surgery to donate a kidney to a stranger. Why? He knew it could save the life of someone who would otherwise die. He recognized his choice carried the risks and costs, including a 3 in 10,000 risk of dying and slightly increased long-term odds of developing kidney disease. In the last decade, nearly 2,000 other Americans have made the same choice, believing these risks are worth the benefit2
Researchers warn of COVID-19 and flu 'twindemic'
September 18, 2020
Medical Press
Even as the first wave of the pandemic still roils, fears are rising of a second crush of COVID-19 infections. But because the novel coronavirus is, well, novel, no one can yet say if that will happen. One thing is certain, though, another viral wave is coming: flu season.
UC San Diego Kicks Off Testing In First of Kind Outpatient Worldwide COVID-19 Trial
September 18, 2020
KPBS
UC San Diego began to recruit patients this month for a worldwide trial of treatments for coronavirus patients who are in the early stage of their infection, and local San Diego scientists are spearheading the effort.
Get to know Davey Smith, chief of infectious diseases at UC San Diego
September 15, 2020
San Diego Union Tribune
Dr. Davey Smith was already doing the difficult work of HIV research when the novel coronavirus came along. Now the chief of infectious disease research at UC San Diego is not only working on a cure for HIV, but treatments for COVID-19. These days, Smith spends most of his time working on Operation Warp Speed, a federal initiative to deliver coronavirus vaccines and treatments.
DNA Firm With History of Errors Botched Nursing-Home Covid Tests
September 4, 2020
Bloomberg
Botched Covid-19 tests from a single Massachusetts laboratory led to about 300 flawed and misleading results at nursing homes across the state, a casualty of the nationwide rush to get diagnostics to the public after initial attempts to supply them went awry.
Imitation May Be a Sincere Form of Treatment
August 5, 2020
UC San Diego Health News
NIH to launch study of experimental monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19; a Q&A with the trial’s protocol chair: Davey Smith, MD, at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
ACTG launches novel clinical trial testing multiple therapeutics to treat COVID-19
August 4, 2020
Eureka
The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the world’s largest and longest established HIV research network, today announced the initiation of the ACTIV-2 Outpatient Monoclonal Antibodies and Other Therapies Trial, which will be conducted by the ACTG. ACTIV-2 includes both phase 2 and phase 3 evaluations of multiple promising investigational agents for treating early COVID-19 in a single trial. There is currently no approved vaccine or therapeutic to prevent or treat COVID-19…
NIH Clinical Trials to Test Antibody Treatments in COVID-19 Patients
August 4, 2020
NIH Press Conference
NIH launched clinical trials for the use of monoclonal antibodies in treating COVID-19, the first prioritized therapeutics under ACTIV. To learn about these investigative treatments, watch NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Coronavirus Travel Advice: Sharing Summer Rentals and More
July 24, 2020
The Wall Street Journal
WSJ’s travel editor answers reader questions about the challenges facing two families who want to share one vacation home and the wisdom of booking winter flights now.
San Diego universities, biotechs relieved Trump won’t try to deport foreign students
July 14, 2020
San Diego Union Tribune
San Diego County universities, which deeply rely on international students for tuition, talent and diversity, collectively exhaled Tuesday after the Trump administration rescinded a rule that could have driven thousands of foreigners out of the country.
Antibody testing explained
June 30, 2020
China Plus America
Antibody tests can indicate whether a person has been infected by COVID-19 in the past. However, experts are debating how the results should be used. Check it out.
CNN Newsroom With Brooke Baldwin - Operation "Warp Speed" aims to have vaccine by January
June 29, 2020
CNN
Dr. Davey Smith interviews with CNN Brooke Baldwin to discuss Operation “Warp Speed” under Dr. Fauci. He further talks about herd immunity and having a potential vaccine by January. Dr. Smith hopes to launch his clinical trial testing by the end of this month to start testing new drugs available.
‘I became a full-throttled warrior.’ Frontline workers on their fight against COVID-19
June 26, 2020
PBS
The fight against the coronavirus pandemic has depleted resources, resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and put continued strain on health care workers who are on the frontlines of the crisis. Doctors and nurses are fighting for the lives of their patients, helping some make it back to their families and witnessing others succumb to their symptoms, which all takes a serious mental and physical toll. Dr. Davey Smith is featured in a diary from the frontline. See video here or click “read more” for the whole article.
Chattanooga native leads new, 'larger' NIH clinical trial for COVID-19 treatment
June 23, 2020
News 9 ABC
A Chattanooga native who heads the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at the University of California San Diego will be leading another National Institutes of Health clinical trial that will evaluate new COVID-19 agents in July. Dr. Davey Smith was previously leading a National Institutes of Health clinical trial back in May to examine whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, could prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19.
Slowing the Spread of COVID-19
June 22, 2020
Fox 5 News San Diego
Dr. Davey Smith joins Fox 5 News San Diego for an interview about slowing the spread of COVID-19, current research, and the possible timeline for a vaccine.
COVID-19 clinical trials and research efforts with UCSD’s head of infectious diseases Dr. Davey Smith
June 18, 2020
KTLA
Head of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego Dr. Davey Smith joined us live to talk about the clinical trials he’s leading and other research he’s doing to slow and stop the spread of coronavirus. For more info on Dr. Davey Smith, visit UC San Diego School of Medicine’s website or his UCSD profile.
The FDA knocks down two drugs promoted by President Trump
June 15, 2020
KNX Los Angeles Radio In Depth
With COVID-19 cases on the rise all over the country, it seems like this pandemic is showing no signs of ending anytime soon. A former acting CDC director talks about how the country and states are handling the virus. LA County public health officials are being criticized following an LA Times report that questions how well they carried out contact tracing back in March before the number of cases exploded. So what went wrong?
Isolation of potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies and protection from disease in a small animal model
June 15, 2020
Science
Countermeasures to prevent and treat COVID-19 are a global health priority. We enrolled a cohort of SARS-CoV-2-recovered participants, developed neutralization assays to interrogate antibody responses, adapted our high-throughput antibody generation pipeline to rapidly screen over 1800 antibodies, and established an animal model to test protection. We isolated potent neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) to two epitopes on the receptor binding domain (RBD) and to distinct non-RBD epitopes on the spike (S) protein.
In close contact: UC San Diego groups working on contact tracing in COVID-19 battle
June 10, 2020
La Jolla Light
In the fight against the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, scientists are taking testing data and looking at ways to enhance contact tracing. Contact tracing is the process in which people who have been in contact with an infected patient are identified and warned of potential exposure to the virus and encouraged to stay home to prevent further spread.
Q&A: UC San Diego’s Dr. Davey Smith thinks a coronavirus vaccine is at least a year away
June 6, 2020
San Diego Union Tribute, La Jolla Light.
The work day is never short for Dr. Davey Smith, chief of infectious diseases at UC San Diego. He’s part of the Herculean effort among scientists to find ways to slow and eventually stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 4,400 people in California. It’s a daunting situation. Smith welcomed the Union-Tribune to his lab on Tuesday and discussed where scientists are in the fight against the virus and what might come next.
Click links above to view the articles.
Scientists are struggling to quickly find a vaccine that can vanquish coronavirus
June 6, 2020
San Diego Union Tribute
From San Diego to Beijing to London and Moscow, scientists are working at breakneck speed to create a vaccine that will stop the spread of a virus that has killed nearly 400,000 people worldwide in the past six months. There are few parallels in history to the war scientists are waging against the novel coronavirus, which is formally known as SARS-CoV-2. Researchers quickly came up with reasonably good tests to identify who is infected.
The Lancet’s Politicized Science on Antimalarial Drugs
June 1, 2020
The Wall Street Journal
President Trump has often mentioned hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for Covid-19. Last month he announced that he was taking the antimalaria drug, also known as HCL, as a prophylaxis after two White House staffers tested positive for the virus. Mr. Trump’s critics in the press seem to be on a mission to discredit the therapy. Now a prestigious medical journal may be joining in. The Lancet published a study on May 22 that purported to find a 30% increased risk of death for hospitalized Covid-19 patients treated…
Safety fears over drug hyped to treat the coronavirus sparked global confusion
May 29, 2020
Nature
A study suggesting that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine is dangerous to people with severe cases of COVID-19 is sowing confusion among researchers — and halting clinical trials that are crucial to finding out whether the medication is effective at treating people infected with the novel coronavirus. In light of the study, this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) has paused enrolment in its trial of the drug as a treatment for COVID-19, as have regulators in the United Kingdom, France and Australia, where similar trials are under way.
$1M Gift Speeds COVID-19 Testing and Tracking at UC San Diego
May 29, 2020
UC San Diego News Center, ABC News San Diego, Fox 5 San Diego, Patch, KUSI
A $1 million gift from the John and Mary Tu Foundation is helping to increase the number of people tested for COVID-19, as well as develop new ways to track and treat the virus. The award supports the clinical research activities of University of California San Diego translational research virologist Davey Smith, M.D., M.A.S., who is advancing new diagnostics, therapies and ways to monitor the spread of the virus.
Click links above to view the articles.
Quillen College of Medicine alumni on the front lines of COVID-19 research
May 27, 2020
Johnson City Press
Dr. Davey Smith (’96) is leading a clinical trial to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring the trial, which is being conducted by the NIAID-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Group. Teva Pharmaceuticals is donating medications for the study.
Detection of Nucleocapsid Antibody to SARS-CoV-2 is More Sensitive than Antibody to Spike Protein in COVID-19 Patients
May 19, 2020
Journal of Infectious Diseases
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is associated with respiratory-related disease and death. Assays to detect virus-specific antibodies are important to understand the prevalence of infection and the course of the immune response.
NATIONAL CLINICAL COVID-19 DRUG TRIAL LED BY CHATTANOOGA NATIVE
May 18, 2020
News 12 Now
Since the discovery of the coronavirus in the United States this year, teams of doctors and scientists have been hard at work searching for a treatment A clinical trial out of San Diego is being conducted by a native of Chattanooga, Dr. Davey Smith. The trial is evaluating whether two drugs, Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin- when used in combination, can prevent hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19.
Chattanooga native leads NIH clinical trial for COVID-19 treatment, locals share thoughts
May 16, 2020
News 9 ABC
NewsChannel 9 spoke with Dr. Davey Smith to get his explanation on the study for COVID-19 treatment, how it could help and why it’s important the trial is done as soon as possible. “We do regular treatment for COVID-19, and most people will do OK — but some people will have to get hospitalized or actually pass away,” Smith said. “This trial is trying to prevent that with these medications.”
COVID-19 Test Results: Don't Discount Clinical Intuition
May 16, 2020
Medscape
Recently, a patient arrived at the UC San Diego Health medical center with what are now classic symptoms of COVID-19: a history of coughs, pneumonia, and severe respiratory distress that required immediate intubation.
First Detailed Analysis Of Immune Response To SARS-CoV-2 Bodes Well For COVID-19 Vaccine Development
May 15, 2020
Ortho.Spine.News
Scientists around the world are racing to develop a vaccine to protect against COVID-19 infection, and epidemiologists are trying to predict how the coronavirus pandemic will unfold until such a vaccine is available. Yet, both efforts are surrounded by unresolved uncertainty whether the immune system can mount a substantial and lasting response to SARS-CoV-2 and whether exposure to circulating common cold coronaviruses provides any kind of protective immunity.
NIH Begins Clinical Trial of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin to Treat COVID-19
May 15, 2020
UC San Diego Health News
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a much-anticipated Phase IIb clinical trial to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus 2019 or SARS-CoV-2.
Targets of T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in humans with COVID-19 disease and unexposed individuals
May 14, 2020
Cell
Understanding adaptive immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is important for vaccine development, interpreting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis, and calibration of pandemic control measures. Using HLA class I and II predicted peptide “megapools,” circulating SARS-CoV-2-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T cells were identified in ∼70% and 100% of COVID-19 convalescent patients, respectively. CD4+ T cell responses to spike, the main target of most vaccine efforts, were robust and correlated with the magnitude of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgA titers.
NIH begins clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to treat COVID-19
May 14, 2020
NIH
A clinical trial has begun to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring the trial, which is being conducted by the NIAID-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). Teva Pharmaceuticals is donating medications for the study.
Why Are Some Young, Healthy People Getting Severe COVID-19?
April 23, 2020
FiveThirtyEight
Most young people who get COVID-19 get pretty nasty flu-like symptoms but fight off the infection on their own with bed rest and over-the-counter pain medication. Some, though, have a severe, even deadly, case. Why is it that someone who seems healthy and has no underlying conditions could be killed by this virus when so many of their peers pull through just fine? Let’s break down what we know and what research is needed to answer this COVID-19 mystery.
UCSD Researchers Evaluating ‘One-Hour’ Covid-19 Diagnostic Test by Indian American-founded Fluxergy
April 22, 2020
India-West
Physician-scientists at U.C. San Diego are the first to evaluate a new diagnostic testing system designed by Irvine, California-based Fluxergy, which holds promise for identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus in as little as 45 minutes and typically within one hour. Initial tests by researchers at Indian American-founded Fluxergy using a synthetic SARS-CoV-2 virus suggest this system has the potential to change the landscape for Point of Care diagnostic testing for COVID-19, dramatically reducing the time it takes to get results, and delivering those results directly at the patient bedside, according to a news release.
There Are Not Enough COVID-19 Tests. There Are Also Too Many COVID-19 Tests.
April 21, 2020
FiveThirtyEight
There are still not enough Americans being tested for COVID-19, but there are now many, many ways to be tested. The U.S. started this pandemic with a single diagnostic test, administered solely by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But there are now 57 different tests that have been granted emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration and more than 190 laboratories are conducting them. The FDA says it is aware of hundreds more tests in various stages of development.
Coronavirus tests: how they work and what they show
April 20, 2020
The Guardian
There’s a lot of talk about coronavirus testing at the moment, but some people are getting confused about what they actually are. How is the antibody test different to the PCR antigen test? What do they do? And why are they important? Josh Toussaint-Strauss speaks with Professor David Smith to answer some of these covid-19 questions.
What's A 'Reagent' And Why Is It Delaying Expanded Coronavirus Testing?
April 18, 2020
Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty
They’re the tip of the testing spear in the fight against the coronavirus. Reagents. It’s a fancy word for the main ingredients of any chemical-based test, which in this pandemic includes inorganic solutions as well as enzymes, probes, and primers created to match the coronavirus’s genome. And they are a necessity for the coronavirus test kits that are vital to combating COVID-19, the pneumonia-like disease that by April 18 had killed more than 156,000 of its 2.2 million confirmed sufferers since the coronavirus jumped to humans in central China in November.
Revolution in medical devices expected, as feds chop decades-old rules
April 9, 2020
Zenger
Computer-delivered health care is about to boom, experts say, pointing to dramatic deregulation by the Trump administration. This means that new products could come to market, new telehealth startups could be funded and test results for coronavirus could show results faster. Telehealth is more than video chat with doctors. The Health Resources Services Administration’s definition includes any use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies that support long-distance clinical health care.
OC Company Applies for FDA Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 Rapid Result Test
April 9, 2020
Spectrum News 1
As more COVID-19 tests become available, speeding up result waiting times is what some companies are working on. Some companies have developed tests that can deliver results within minutes. A company in Orange County has developed a rapid test from things the co-founders learned from race cars. The system may look just look like a computer tower, a tablet, and a cartridge. But aerospace engineer Tej Patel says the system he co-created can cut down on COVID-19 coronavirus test result wait times. And not just by a little. “It’s under an hour to get the full test result,” Patel said. “That’s from actual sample collection to actual answer.”
Company Founded by Engineering Alumni Advances 1-hour COVID Test
April 7, 2020
UC San Diego News
As businesses are forced to close their doors and communities hunker down to ride out the coronavirus pandemic, many people in the tech and engineering industries are looking for ways to help. One such group includes the engineers behind Fluxergy, a medical diagnostic company based in Irvine, California, that designs and builds rapid point-of-care diagnostic testing devices. Over the last several weeks and in collaboration with UC San Diego Health faculty, they’ve been testing a system to diagnose COVID-19 in under an hour.
Covid-19: how do we test for it? – Science Weekly Podcast
March 31, 2020
The Guardian
Hannah Devlin speaks with Prof David Smith about the various ways in which clinicians can test whether or not someone is infected with Sars-CoV-2. And, following the recent announcement that the UK government has bought millions of antibody tests, explores what these might be able to tell us
UCSD and Orange County Firm Seek Emergency FDA Approval for New COVID-19 Test
March 30, 2020
Times of San Diego, KUSI News, L.A. Biz, Cision PR Newswire
UC San Diego researchers and Orange County-based medical diagnostic company Fluxergy have taken the next step toward getting a high-speed test for COVID-19 available for use, the company announced Monday. Irvine-based Fluxergy submitted an emergency use authorization request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center For Devices and Radiological Health, seeking an authorization that would permit medical professionals to begin using the company’s test system as a COVID-19 diagnostic at the point-of-care.
Click links above to view the articles.
A Recipe for an Epidemic
March 24, 2020
Medium
Concerns about the US response to the COVID19 epidemic prompted us to propose how NOT to contain an epidemic, with the hopes these lessons are learned before it’s too late.
1-hr coronavirus test made by Irvine’s Fluxergy being tested
March 17, 2020
L.A. Biz
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego are evaluating a new diagnostic testing system for the new coronavirus designed by Fluxergy that could potentially be put in place in a week. The new test, which uses a synthetic SARS-CoV-2 virus, may be able to confirm COVID-19 in as little as 45 minutes and typically within one hour at the patient’s bedside, Irvine, California-based Fluxergy said.
Researchers At UC San Diego Evaluating Potential "One-Hour" COVID-19 Diagnostic Test Developed By Irvine-Based Innovator Fluxergy
March 17, 2020
Yahoo Finance!
Physician-scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) are the first to evaluate a new diagnostic testing system designed by Irvine, CA-based Fluxergy, that holds promise for identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus (also known as the novel coronavirus) in as little as 45 minutes and typically within one hour.
Cedars-Sinai sets up medical tents in parking garage to screen patients for COVID-19
March 17, 2020
ABC7
Poke your head into the parking garage attached to the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and you won’t see any cars. Instead you’ll see three tents lined up right next to each other which are being used as a makeshift ER for people who are suspected to have novel coronavirus. The goal: keep the virus from spreading to other people in the complex.
UC San Diego Researchers Working On Fast Test For COVID-19
March 17, 2020
CBS8, KPBS, Times of San Diego, Fox 5 San Diego, Patch,
Researchers at UC San Diego are evaluating a new diagnostic testing system designed by an Orange County company that holds promise for identifying the novel coronavirus in as little as 45 minutes and typically within one hour. Davey Smith shares his thoughts on COVID-19 testing during the interview. Smith said that UCSD can currently get test results back in around eight hours. San Diego County was taking a day or longer to get results and other labs sending to central labs could range from three days to two weeks.
Click links above to view the articles.
Researchers Evaluating One-Hour Test
March 17, 2020
10 News San Diego
Last week, the research team at UC San Diego began an initial benchtop evaluation of the Fluxergy system using the SARS-CoV-2 virus from patients in San Diego the company said. Davey gives insight on a one-hour COVID-19 test on 10 News San Diego. “We need to test and test,” said UC San Diego’s Dr. Davey Smith. “The countries that have done best to lower their mortality have done best by flattening the curve by testing where the infections are happening and knowing who’s getting infected.”
Doctor's Advice
March 9, 2020
Big Picture Science
Medical professionals are trained to not panic, says physician Davey Smith (in fact it’s his favorite quote from the “Hitchhiker’s Guide”). Molly talks to him about controlling fear when treating patients with infectious diseases.
FDA Panel: Thumbs Up for Cefiderocol in Urinary Tract Infections
October 16, 2019
Medpage Today
An FDA advisory panel voted 14-2 to recommend approval for cefiderocol, a novel antibiotic for complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), including pyelonephritis, in patients with limited or no other treatment options. While members of the FDA’s Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee were mostly impressed by the data submitted for the drug, they raised concern about a mortality imbalance disfavoring cefiderocol in the CREDIBLE-CR study, which compared the drug to best available therapy in patients with a variety of carbapenem-resistant infections.
HIV family trees reveal viral spread
June 12, 2015
Science Magazine
The very trait that makes HIV so good at dodging the immune system—and at thwarting efforts to develop an effective vaccine—might also turn out to be an Achilles’ heel.
Drs. Joachim Ix, Davey Smith Elected to American Society for Clinical Investigation
June 10, 2015
UCSD Med News
Two Department of Medicine physician-scientists have been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) this year. Translational research virologist Davey M. Smith, MD, MAS, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases, directs the Center for AIDS Research Translational Virology Core and is medical director of the Early Intervention Program at the UC San Diego Antiviral Research Center. ASCI membership is a distinction that recognizes the nation’s most outstanding physician-scientists.
Local Efforts Underway To Prevent and Treat HIV/AIDS
July 25, 2012
UCSD Health
Dr. Davey Smith, an associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego, said high risk communities in San Diego have been “very generous” about participating in studies. Smith just won a $2.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to track how HIV spreads through a population. He focuses his work on San Diego and the border region and looks for hotspots of HIV outbreaks.
UC San Diego Researcher Receives $2.5 million Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
July 24, 2012
UCSD Health
Davey Smith, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Health System is one of three recipients of the 2012 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS research. This prestigious award, announced today by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, is intended to stimulate high-impact research that may lead to groundbreaking opportunities for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in drug abusers.
Avant-Garde Award Program for HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Disorder Research
2012
NIH
The The NIDA Avant-Garde Award Program for HIV/AIDS and Substance Use Disorder Research supports individual scientists of exceptional creativity who propose high-impact research that will open new areas of HIV/AIDS research and/or lead to new avenues for prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS among drug users. The term “avant-garde” is used to describe highly innovative approaches that have the potential to be transformative.
Project: Molecular epidemiology for HIV prevention for drug users and other risk groups: Dr. Smith’s group will develop a novel system that integrates information regarding patient demographics, geographic location, drug use, and HIV viral strain in order to map patterns of new HIV infections as they occur in real time.
Innovative research will study how to prevent transmission among the newly infected and identify genetic influences in disease progression
July 23, 2012
NIH
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced the recipients of the 2012 Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research. The three scientists, Drs. David Smith, Samuel Friedman and Jeremy Luban, will each receive $500,000 per year for five years to support their research. NIDA’s annual Avant-Garde award competition, now in its fifth year, is intended to stimulate high-impact research that may lead to groundbreaking opportunities for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in drug abusers.