Topics Discussed Include:

• Promising vaccines will soon be available to health care and essential workers. However, it won’t be until summer or fall of 2021 that vaccines are available to most of the population.
• We must continue practices for stopping viral spread, including wearing masks, washing our hands, and maintaining distancing. Cases are surging in the Bay Area and around the country.
• The surge in COVID-19 cases is tied to a decrease in concern about catching the virus across all demographics. Most transmission is occurring in groups of 5-10 people.
• Our facilities are prepared for a surge and we know how to safely manage virus cases. We have contingency plans for elective and emergency care, and we maintain a reliable PPE supply.
• New guidance from Santa Clara County requires individuals to quarantine for 14 days after travel from more than 150 miles away.

Topics Discussed Include:

• One or more vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) should be available within the next year to year and a half.
• SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development must be rigorous and the data gathered must be publicly available, to ensure safety and earn trust.
• Current data indicates SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies wain within months of infection. A vaccine, leveraging adjuvants, could give immunity for a year or more.
• Ethical questions around treatment for COVID-19 include who should have first access to the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and how to balance the collective good that comes from clinical trials with the health of individuals.
• Stanford Medicine will participate in two SARS-CoV-2 vaccine clinical trials starting this fall, for an adenovirus vectored vaccine and a protein subunit vaccine. The trials will be open to the public.
• Individuals 6 months and older should get the flu vaccine. Flu season is nearing, and we can protect ourselves against infection. To learn about vaccines, visit immunize.org.

Q&A with Stanford Health Care Leaders II

• We are very proud of our people, their innovation, and their ability to rise to this challenge to be a resource to our community. They are our greatest asset.
• Our values and mission have remained the same through this pandemic. Our top priority is the safety of our staff and patients.
• Currently, about 60% of our appointments are on-site and 40% are virtual visits. We expect telehealth to remain part of our approach to care.
• Stanford Medicine recently stood up a Commission on Justice and Equity to inform best business practices. We are committed to diversity in our faculty and staff.
• Stanford Health Care will be a site for two SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials. Clinical trial enrollment will likely begin in October. We are uniquely positioned to study the precise immune response in vaccine candidates.
• The Coronavirus does not abide by boundaries. To keep cases down, we need to wear masks in public, keep distanced from others, and maintain hand hygiene.

Q&A with Stanford Health Care Leaders

• Despite the current surge in cases, we are prepared and ready for each and every patient. We have the ability to increase our hospital’s capacity, if needed.
• We have proven that we can safely treat patients and protect them from COVID-19 transmission. It is safe to come to Stanford Health Care.
• There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about vaccine and treatment research. We hope to have solid results by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021.
• We are expanding our testing and access to care as well as looking into future vaccine distribution to target populations that have been hardest hit by this virus.

We recommend that parents of schoolchildren become engaged with their school districts on virus safety for the new school year. The American Academy of Pediatrics has more information for families at aap.org.

Anthony Fauci, MD, the nation’s top infectious disease expert spoke with School of Medicine Dean Lloyd Minor about the challenges posed by COVID-19, the hope for emerging vaccines and treatments, and what’s still unknown about the virus.

Topics discussed include:

• Predictions on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine
• Additional therapeutics in clinical trials to hold off the mortality rate of COVID-19 until there is a vaccine, such as monoclonal antibodies and antivirals
• Redesigning the clinical trial infrastructure to maximize therapeutic benefits
• Strategies in place to quickly ramp up production of a vaccine for equitable and global distribution
• Slowing the resurgence of cases both nationally and within the State of California
• Addressing the population disadvantages in society during a pandemic

Co-existing with COVID-19:

• COVID-19 cases are on the rise in California and three Stanford Medicine physicians in the field talk about the consequences
• The demographics of COVID cases in California are discussed, recently averaging over 5000 cases per day
• Most of the COVID cases are in Southern California, while numbers in the Bay Area are much smaller
• Two tests offered at Stanford are the SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test which detects active infection, and the SARS-CoV-2 Serology IgG & IgM test which detects exposure to the virus and development of an immune response
• In collaboration with UCSF and Zuckerberg San Francisco General, Stanford Medicine is conducting The CHART Study to understand the rate of new infections

Experiences on the Front Lines:

• Discussion of COVID-19 front line experiences and advice from clinical and research leaders.
• How our services and experiences have been affected and how each member of our team has adapted during this time of COVID-19.
• Appreciation for the recognition expressed from the community.
• Stanford Medicine has come together as a whole to address this crisis and has enhanced the way we all work and connect.

Topics Discussed Include:

• Discussion of key faculty initiatives that may help inform decisions as government officials consider easing shelter-in-place orders.
• Call for the community to help our research by participating in the COVID-19 National Daily Health Survey.
• Clinical testing updates from Stanford Medicine Pathology.
• Contact tracing information for COVID-19 to support safe reopening.
• Updates on epidemiology and population health COVID-19 studies.

Topics Discussed Include:

• Stanford University researchers speak on their efforts to study the COVID-19 pathogen.
• Discussion on the challenges of working with COVID-19.
• A brief overview of the history of pandemics.
• The immune response of COVID-19 infection in humans.
• How we can help accelerate the creation of a vaccine through crowdsourcing at eternagame.org.

Topics Discussed Include:

• Stanford Medicine is collaborating broadly across our entire university for COVID-19 research.
• We are working with UCSF and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub to provide policy makers with information on lifting the shelter-in-place.
• Stanford Health Care has started to safely resume elective surgical cases.
• Safety measures continue to include masking, PPE, and testing all employees for COVID-19.
• Updated data shows that 99.7% of our employees have tested negative for COVID-19, indicating that our infection control measures are effective and Stanford Health Care is safe.

Topics Discussed Include:

• Stanford Health Care Receives an ‘A’ for Patient Safety for the Spring 2020 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade.
• We will be ramping up procedures, aligning with the request of California’s Governor, based on evidence-based safety protocols.
• Infection control measures are in place, which are working well.
• We are fortunate at Stanford Medicine to have physician-scientists who have created testing and clinical trials to monitor the spread of COVID-19.

Topics Discussed Include:

• Shelter-in-Place has led to dramatic reduction in the number of patients with COVID-19.
• Do not neglect emergency and urgent health needs - Stanford Medicine is a safe place to receive care
• Working on a phased reintroduction of procedures at Stanford Medicine
• Stanford has developed an accurate antibody test for COVID-19

Topics Discussed Include:

• Projection data modeling for COVID-19
• We need your help to detect COVID-19 hotspots: take our National Daily Health Survey
• The Stanford School of Medicine first responder COVID-19 guide
• COVID-19 antibody testing updates
• Staff support for childcare

Topics Discussed Include:

• Preparing extra patient capacity in our hospital
• Using video visits to connect with our patients
• The current donated blood supply at the Stanford Blood Bank
• Testing of people who are asymptomatic
• Staff support for childcare

Topics Discussed Include:

• Stanford Medicine’s supply and use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• PPE donation guidelines
• Transition of many routine patient appointments to video visits
• Inventory and projections of ICU bed and ventilator numbers
• Data modeling for COVID-19 and predictions for the Bay Area