This Washington Post story included in previous highlights has been reprinted in national and international publications. UTMB’s Vineet Menachery was a story contributor. “With respiratory infections like this, we usually see a U-shaped curve on who gets hit the hardest. Young children at one end of the U because their immune systems aren’t developed and old people at the other end because their immune systems grow weaker,” said Menachery. “With this virus, one side of the U is just completely missing,” The story has appeared in MSN Ireland, The Nation Thailand, KDFW Dallas, The New Zealand Herald, Anchorage Daily News, Stars and Stripes and MiDIARIO Panama.

Reporting on UTMB efforts to develop new tests for diagnosing COVID-19 cases and another to better understand the history and mutation of the virus. “It’s basically the same kind of test that CDC and others have put forward,” said UTMB’s Jim Le Duc. “We’ve tried to improve it just a little bit. We are just at the stage of validating that.”

A COVID-19 town hall meeting was held in UTMB’s Levin Hall, Friday, March 6. The meeting was conducted to provide an update on what we know about the new virus, how our world-class infectious disease scientists are studying it, and how UTMB plans to respond if and when our region is affected.

Austin’s NBC affiliate examines the role that telemedicine plays in the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, which includes patients being remotely diagnosed via video visits with physicians. “When it comes to telemedicine, it’s most important strength is to keep healthy people safe,” said UTMB’s Alexander Vo. “It allows patients to access clinicians and transmit reliable healthcare information while avoiding crowds and hospital setting where potential contamination could occur.”

In 2016, a team of scientists in Texas had helped develop a vaccine to protect against a deadly strain of coronavirus but could not get funding to begin testing in humans. Dr. James Le Duc, director of the Galveston National Laboratory at UTMB, said work has resumed on the SARS vaccine UTMB researchers helped develop.

A report on work being done at Texas Medical Center Institutions to combat COVID-19. This virus “shares some similarities with other known viruses, but it’s new to science,” said UTMB’s James Le Duc.

Victor Sierpina writes that readers may be grateful for things did not happen. He explains he and his wife are grateful they were on board the Diamond Princess the week before a patient carrying COVID-19 was onboard.

The Galveston County Daily News, March 4, 2020 - Grant will expand HPV vaccine outreach - Brain Awareness Week - Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month - Volunteers needed

UTMB’s Jim Le Duc spoke to KPRC about the coronavirus research being done at UTMB. A vaccine will take at least a year he said but scientists are also working on better tests and therapeutics.

Multiple virologists say there are clues from previous outbreaks that may help determine how the COVID-19 outbreak may end. “With SARS, once they figured out the animals responsible in China, they were able to start culling them from the live markets,” said UTMB’s Vineet Menachery. “It’s like a burst water pipe. You have to find the source in order to shut it off.” The New Zealand Herald, Anchorage Daily News and The Washington Post also published this story.