June 30 coronavirus news

US vaccine maker Inovio said on Tuesday that its coronavirus vaccine already has shown some positive early data in a Phase 1 trial. However, the company released few details, and the preliminary information was shared in a press release, not a peer-reviewed publication. 

The company said that 94% of people in the Phase 1 trial demonstrated overall immune responses by six weeks after receiving two doses of the vaccine INO-4800 and by eight weeks, the vaccine regimen was found to be safe and well-tolerated with no serious reactions.

There were 40 healthy adult volunteers, ages 18 to 50, in those preliminary analyses, the company noted. Since then, the Phase 1 trial has been expanded to include older adults in additional cohorts and there are plans to launch a Phase 2/3 trial this summer.

The vaccine is among those selected to be part of the US government's Operation Warp Speed, a national program aimed at delivering a Covid-19 vaccine to the nation by next year.

"We look forward to urgently advancing INO-4800, as it is the only nucleic-acid based vaccine that is stable at room temperature for more than a year and does not require to be frozen in transport or for years of storage, which are important factors when implementing mass immunizations to battle the current pandemic," Kim said in part.

More about the trial: The Phase 1 clinical trial of INO-4800 enrolled volunteers across two US locations who were assigned to either a 1.0 mg or 2.0 mg dose group— and in those groups, each participant received two doses of INO-4800 four weeks apart, the company said.

Some participants said they experienced redness where the vaccine was injected into their skin, but "there were no reported serious adverse events," Inovio's announcement said.

According to the World Health Organization, there are 17 coronavirus candidate vaccines in clinical evaluation globally.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen explains:

There are at least 2,612,259 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 126,512 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

On Tuesday, Johns Hopkins has reported 21,707 new cases and 372 reported deaths. 

There’s no evidence that testing people before they come back to campus would do anything to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said — and so it’s recommending against it. 

While colleges and universities can feed “rapid and pervasive spread” of the virus, there may be better ways to control it, the CDC said in updated guidance for institutions of higher learning.

“Testing of all students, faculty and staff for COVID-19 before allowing campus entry (entry testing) has not been systematically studied,” the CDC said in the new guidance posted Tuesday. 

The agency said it's not known if entry testing at colleges "provides any additional reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus beyond what would be expected" with other preventive measures, such as social distancing and mask wearing.

But, the CDC noted, some universities are going to do it, anyway. They should take into account that doing one test, once, is likely to miss cases. People can catch the virus later, or may have early stage infections that don’t show up on tests.

Plus, some campuses may be at lower risk. “Residential college communities that do not have frequent interaction with surrounding communities might have less potential exposure" than a campus with commuter students, the CDC noted.

But there are high-risk settings at most colleges or universities, including “Residence halls, laboratory facilities, and lecture rooms," the CDC said.

What can colleges do? Smart testing would include contact tracing approaches. “Expanded testing might include testing of all people who were in proximity of an individual confirmed to have COVID-19 (e.g., those who shared communal spaces or bathrooms), or testing all individuals within a shared setting (e.g., testing all residents on a floor or an entire residence hall),” the CDC said. 

“Testing in these situations can be helpful because in high density settings it can be particularly challenging to accurately identify everyone who had close contact with an individual confirmed to have COVID-19. For example, students who do not know each other could potentially be close contacts if they are both in a shared communal space.”

At least 7.8 million Brazilians lost work between March and May, according to new figures released by the country’s statistical agency on Tuesday.  

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, IGBE, released its report for the trimester, showing a record number of people lost work in the country, 5.8 million of which were in the informal sector.

IGBE put the figure for people working in the formal and informal sectors at 49.5% at the end of May.

Since data collection started in 2012, “this had never happened” wrote Beringuy in the IGBE statement. “This means that less than half of the working age population is working," he added. Brazil’s legal working age is 14.

The total number of Brazilians in the work force stands at 85.9 million, an 8.3% contraction from the same period past year.

Some context: The unemployment rate in Latin America’s largest economy rose to 12.3% at the end of May, affecting 12.7 million people, the highest level since the same three-month period in 2018. 

Economists are pointing to a historic economic recession in Brazil due to Covid-19. The Brazilian Central Bank estimates a 6.4% drop in GDP for this year, while The Monetary International Fund is more pessimistic and predicts a 9.1% fall for 2020.

A growing number of US states have mandated the use of masks and face coverings while in public.

With many states starting to lift coronavirus restrictions, more people are venturing out in public, but the number of cases is still rising in nearly half of them.

That's where masks come in. A recent study found that the use of masks and face coverings has been the most effective way to reduce person-to-person spread of coronavirus.

Here are the states that require the use of masks or face coverings in public settings:

Read more about the individual state mandates here.

More than 6,300 coronavirus cases were reported in California in the last day.

The total number of new cases in California is now at least 222,917 and nearly 6,000 people have died from the virus in the state. People between the ages of 18 and 49 represent a majority of the cases.

Hospitalizations and intensive care rates are also at an all-time high in California.

With more than 4.1 million tests having been performed, the state’s positivity rate stands at 5.6%.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said there are 101 new cases of coronavirus statewide and the seven-day average of positive cases remains at 1.9%.

There are also 762 patients hospitalized, including 138 in intensive care.

Baker said he will decide by the end of the week if the state will move forward with phase three of reopening.

In phase three, fitness centers, museums, theaters and some other businesses can begin to reopen, according to the state's reopening website.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden slammed President Trump and his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic during a speech in Wilmington, Delaware.

Biden added that there needs to be a clear message about the importance of wearing masks.

"We absolutely need a clear message from the very top of the federal government that everyone needs to wear a mask in public. Period," he said.

Biden went on to say that "it's a simple measure. It's also one of the most effective ways we can do the right thing."

Authorities in Brevard County, Florida, say beaches will remain open for the Fourth of July holiday. 

Don Walker, spokesperson for the county, tells CNN that they are expecting a high number of people on their beaches. Walker says the county has 72 miles of shoreline which is ample space for people to safely socially distance. 

The county is recommending all beachgoers follow all social distancing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Walker says hotel bookings are down as they head into the holiday weekend which leads them to believe people are watching the numbers and are either opting to stay home or they're making last minute plans based on their own "risk tolerance."

Brevard County officials are expected to meet later today to determine if they will issue a mandate for face masks, Walker said.