Novel Coronavirus

SIU researchers have discovered a new variant of the coronavirus. I sat down with assistant professor of biochemistry, Keith Gagnon, whose RNA lab discovered the new strain.

Gagnon said the new variant appears to be unique and widespread.

“It has a set of mutations that are distinct and different from those that we've seen previously, including the UK variants,” Gagnon said. “So we're going to give it a different name. And it appears to have emerged in the US and spread to the US pretty widely and is now one of the most dominant forms”

As COVID-19 cases rise in our region, hospitals are filling up.

Governor JB Pritzker has warned that it will be difficult for hospitals to meet the needs of patients if COVID continues to spread at the current rate.

Locally, Southern Illinois Healthcare hit a record with 54 patients currently admitted due to COVID, up from 45 last week. Since March, SIH has had more than 380 patients hospitalized with COVID. While beds are filling up with the increase in patients, as of now, SIH leaders say they’re able to meet the demand.

Researchers at SIU are taking part in an effort to help further understand the novel coronavirus by sequencing it’s genome.

Associate professor Keith Gagnon heads the lab working on the project, which is mapping the RNA of the coronavirus in an effort to understand how the virus is changing. These changes can also help researchers understand how the virus has traveled from place to place, because different mutations may be more common in different areas of the world.

Residents of Gallatin County won’t have to wait as long for COVID-19 test results, as the Gallatin County Wellness Center is now offering a rapid COVID-19 test for residents.

The rapid COVID test gives results in 15 minutes. Regular COVID tests can take anywhere from 1 day to more than a week to process, depending on the volume of tests being conducted.

Researchers at SIU School of Medicine are exploring possible links between Alzheimer’s Disease and COVID-19.

Kevin Hascup runs a research lab on the effects of aging and Alzheimer’s.His project recently received funding from the National Institutes of Health to study how COVID impacts brain aging.

COVID-19 cases in Williamson county have been rising significantly since mid-August. On September 10th, the Franklin-Williamson Bicounty Health Department reported 46 new cases in Williamson county.

While some of the cases are connected to outbreaks in long-term care facilities, Director of Health Education Carrie Eldridge said community spread is a significant factor.

In his COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, Governor JB Pritzker said nine out of 11 regions in the state are showing decreased positivity rates of the virus.  However, he added, region four, in the Metro East, is continuing to see high rates of community spread.

The FDA has recently issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19. Southern Illinois Healthcare has been participating in an extended access program, treating southern Illinoians with plasma.

The FDA is continuing to warn consumers about contaminated hand sanitizer.

Over 150 hand sanitizers are currently included on the FDA’s warning list. These products are contaminated with methanol or 1-propanol, both of which are toxic if ingested. Methanol can also be absorbed through broken skin on the hands.

Carol DesLauriers with the Illinois Poison Center said there’s a particular concern about young children ingesting these products, which often come in colorful containers or have added scents that smell appetizing.

With COVID-19 cases on the rise, Illinois doctors are urging people to wear masks in public to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Doctor Robert Panton, president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said wearing a mask is about protecting the community.

Jackson County reported record numbers of COVID-19 cases over the weekend.

With 31 cases reported on Saturday and 38 on Sunday, the department issued a public health alert directed toward young people. Almost seventy percent of recent cases have been in people in their teens to mid-twenties. The department warns that younger people need to take action immediately to halt the spread of the coronavirus..

Even during a pandemic, it’s important for kids to get their yearly check-ups.

Dr. Jodi Bryant, with Heartland Regional Medical Center, says kids need to have in-person visits and telehealth can’t substitute when it comes to back-to-school physicals.

The Carbondale Public Library is offering a virtual reading program this summer.

The theme of this year’s program is Dig Deeper: Read, Investigate, Discover. Kids who take part will explore mountain ranges in a variety of ways.

Francine Wine-Frakowski, children’s librarian, said they’ve adjusted the program to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The FDA is warning consumers about hand sanitizers which may be toxic - because they're made with methanol. There have been no reports of injuries from these hand sanitizers so far, but methanol is not an approved ingredient for hand sanitizer.

Community Health and Emergency Services, Inc. is one of several organizations receiving grant money to help provide dental services during the coronavirus pandemic.

The money will be used to bring on additional staff. CEO Fred Bernstein said they are expecting the extra help will be needed to handle back-to-school dental appointments.

As Illinois continues to re-open, one challenge facing many families is childcare.

Lori Longueville, director of Child Care Resource and Referral at John A. Logan College, said there has been an increase in families looking for childcare, as their traditional options, like summer camps, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

It’s a problem that continues to grow, she said, as people who have been furloughed or working remotely return to their offices.