Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe on Thursday urged San Mateo County residents to be on the lookout for COVID-19 vaccine distribution scams. 

And that's because, he said, fraudsters may try to exploit the uncertainty and anxiety associated with emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic to take people's money or steal their identities. 

The scams, so far detected by county authorities, include someone offering, for a fee, to place you in a group of people who are already being vaccinated so they can also receive the immunization.

Also, try to sell you a spot on the waiting list for the COVID-19 vaccine, or try to sell it to you through websites, social media, or by knocking on your door.

Receiving calls, text messages or emails about the vaccine, where a person asks you for personal or financial information, is also part of the strategies used by these types of scammers.

In view of the latter, the authorities request that NEVER share information such as your social security number, bank account or credit card.

Another form of quackery is all those advertisements for bogus vaccines or "miracle cures" using vitamins or other dietary supplements, which are promoted by scammers even though they have not been proven to work. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to many companies for selling products that claim to prevent, treat or cure COVID-19.

The county also states that if a doctor, health care clinic, pharmacy, or so-called county health program, which is not well known in your area, offers you a vaccine, "think twice and consult your doctor"..

"Residents and businesses can protect themselves from becoming victims of COVID-19 scams by relying on vaccines and other medical information only from trusted sources, such as their personal health care providers and county, state and federal public health officials," San Mateo County said in a statement.

It is important to know that if you want to report a COVID-19 scam in San Mateo County, you should contact the District Attorney's Office at (650) 363-4651, https://da.smcgov.org/consumer-and-environmental-protection or your local police department.

It should be emphasized that the use of masks, social distancing and frequent hand washing remain important in combating the spread of the COVID-19 virus. 

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]

After several tests in experimental laboratories in France and the U.S., it was shown that plitidepsin, an antiviral drug produced by the Spanish company PharmaMar, could reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral loads by up to 99 percent.

According to a publication presented Monday in the journal Science, in vitro and in vivo experiments that have already been conducted in animals with this drug, used as an antitumor, have shown promising antiviral efficacy and toxicity profile.

Thus, the authors of the study have concluded that plitidepsin is "by far" the most potent compound discovered so far against SARS-CoV-2, so they have proposed that the drug should be tested in expanded clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.

Similarly, they have determined that "the antiviral activity of plitidepsin against SARS-CoV-2 occurs through the inhibition of a known target -the eEF1A-" and have ensured that the drug has demonstrated, in vitro, a strong antiviral potency compared to others against the virus, and also with limited toxicity.

The assay, conducted in two different types of animals, demonstrated a reduction in viral replication, with a 99 percent decrease in viral loads in the lung of plitidepsin-treated specimens.

And while toxicity is a concern with any antiviral targeting a human cell protein, the safety profile of plitidepsin is well established in humans, the paper notes.

The researchers also noted that the well-tolerated doses of this drug used in the COVID-19 clinical trial are even lower than those used in these experiments.

In this sense, the publication concludes that plitidepsin acts by blocking the aforementioned protein -a eEF1A-, which is present in human cells, and which is used by SARS-CoV-2 as a vehicle to reproduce and infect other cells.

"We believe that our data and the initial positive results from the PharmaMar clinical trial suggest that plitidepsin should be strongly considered for expanded clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19," the researchers said.

In the same note, the Spanish company stressed that the group of researchers who reached these conclusions, was the first to draw a comprehensive map of the genome of COVID-19 and to discover that the virus interacts with 332 proteins in human cells.

The Spanish biopharmaceutical company PharmaMar is currently in negotiations with various regulatory bodies to commence Phase III trials of the drug.

Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P]

Tech giant Google is determined to get involved in the fight against COVID-19, investing $150 million for vaccine education and equitable access, and partnering with One Medical to open vaccination clinics.

"We've seen a five-fold increase in people searching for information about COVID vaccines, which is a sign to us that people are ready for more information," Dr. Karen DeSalvo, Google's chief health officer, told ABC7 Bay Area.

According to an interview by the media outlet, Dr. DeSalvo says Google Maps will soon provide access for people to find a vaccination site near them.

"We will support the World Health Organization (WHO). In the U.S., the CDC Foundation and local community organizations, because that's where trust is built on the front lines of the neighborhood," she added.

Dr. Karen DeSalvo, Google's Chief Health Officer to ABC7 Bay Area

He also noted that Google will provide the facilities, while One Medica will provide the vaccines in partnership with the Department of Public Health.

For the time being, however, Google will begin with vaccination clinics in the Bay Area, which are expected to be ready in the next few weeks.

For his part, Dr. Andrew Diamond, medical director of One Medical, noted that they have been in talks with the Mountain View tech giant since October 2020 so that vaccination sites could become a reality.

According to Diamond, vaccines are being received from the counties, and he said the goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible.

He said the reason for the $199 One Medical membership is to remind people of their second dose and to give them access to their virtual care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, under the partnership with Google, One Medical will offer free trial memberships.

"If you are not already a member of a single doctor, you can get a free membership that lasts 60 days. That's enough time to get your vaccine. The idea is that you can get an appointment, depending on the availability of our schedule, which is based on the amount of vaccine we have.

Dr. Andrew Diamond, Medical Director, One Medical

Google's chief health officer, Karen DeSalvo, said the company is open and willing to work with other medical providers in the future.

"We have facilities in more than 30 states in the U.S., and we can make them available once local public health authorities think they can be useful," he said.