Updated: June 20, 2020

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ICYMI (Week of June 15-20)

• This week, the number of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 8 million.

• Today, Saturday June 20, 2020 is World Refugee Day 2020. This year, the focus is on highlighting “the lives, the work and the societal contributions of refugees and migrants for a united response to a common public health threat: the COVID-19 pandemic”. Read more, here.

• Today, we discuss COVID-19 and pets! Read more in our Recommendations for Industry.

• This past week, we reviewed TAG’s analysis of states’ current statuses based upon available data.

  • More than a few states have moved into a higher-risk status, thus underscoring the importance of maintaining vigilance and continuing all worker protections (wellness checks, six-foot distancing, employee hygiene, and increased sanitation, and mask usage).

  • To better understand what these observed increases in cases really mean, it’s important to interpret the relevant data (that doesn’t just include case counts). One must also consider infection rate, positive test rate, and hospitalizations/ICU capacity. Read more about how TAG has started digging into the data, here.

  • TAG has provided a breakdown of the test positive rate compared to tests provided per 100K population for each state for June 08 – June 14, 2020. See this chart, here.

  • Every week, TAG will release its weekly analysis of state-by-state risk and recommendations based upon released data sources.

  • For a run-down of the analysis, what you can do with the analysis, and for an update of this week’s analysis, see Wednesday’s Recommendations for Industry. We talk about the current status of positive test rates in the U.S. and the importance of maintaining a high-level of vigilance as states continue to open. Read more, here.

  • For analysis and recommendations for high-risk states, please read Thursday’s discussion. These states include Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Oregon, and South Carolina. 

• This week, the CDC also posted new guidance on COVID-19 testing strategies. For a summary of its impacts, check out Tuesday’s Recommendations for Industry.

• Additionally, the CDC and ADA do not permit antibody tests as part of allowing employees to re-enter the workplace. Read more from Friday’s discussion!

• With the number of warning letters issued to CBD companies for making health claims over the last few months, it seems that that “wild west attitude” is still prevalent, and even heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The FDA and FTC have issued 9 warning letters to CBD companies for selling fraudulent COVID-19 cures. Read more about what's happening! 

• FDA has notified states that they can begin to conduct Produce Safety Rule (PSR) inspections on farms, following their state’s, and any federal, safety and reopening guidelines. Inspections will be phased in while still paying attention to the pandemic. Read more to find out what this means for you! 

• News From the CDC:

  • All CDC Communication Resources (from guidance documents to videos, to images, to public service announcements, to resources for limited-English-proficient populations) can be found, here.

  • The CDC has posted new guidance on COVID-19 testing strategies. For a summary of its impacts, check out Tuesday’s Recommendations for Industry.

  • Based on CDC’s Interim guidelines, antibody test results “should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace”. Antibody tests do not meet the ADA’s “job related and consistent with business necessity”. Therefore, antibody tests are not allowed for employees to re-enter the workplace. We will discuss this more, tomorrow. Read more, here.

  • The CDC has developed Communication Toolkits for Migrants, Refugees, and Other Limited-English-Proficient Populations that provide COVID-19 prevention messages in 28 languages (including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Haitian-Creole, Korean, Nepali, Russian, Somali, Tagalog, Thai, etc.). The toolkits provide: (a) Current messaging from at trusted source; (b) information in plant language for downloading and sharing; (c) translated materials so communities can disseminate messages to a broader audience. Find the 28 different languages for the toolkit, here.

  • The CDC has released guidance for “Considerations for use of a testing strategy for COVID-19 infection”.

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• From the FDA:

  • The FDA has revoked emergency use authorization for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. [FDA News Release link].

    • Additionally, the FDA does not recommend the co-administration of remdesivir and chloroquine phosphate or hydroxychloroquine sulfate. Co-administrating remdesivir with either latter compounds can reduce the antiviral activity of remdesivir. Read more, here.

  • The FDA has revoked Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Chembio Antibody Test due to the test generating a higher than expected rate of false results. These false results are higher than that reflected in the authorized labeling for the device. Read more, here.

  • The FDA has a new, easier-to-navigate web section dedicated to Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) for Medical Devices as part of COVID-19. This resource provides information on EUAs.

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