Coronavirus company news summary – Ford sailors test Covid-19 positive – US Army awards $287m vaccine contract to AstraZeneca

30 October

Fitbit has received a $2.5m contract from the US Department of Defense to advance the development of a wearable diagnostic device for detecting Covid-19 infection. As part of the award, Fitbit plans to carry out a study Northwell Health to validate its algorithm for the detecting of the virus.

Sailors aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford have tested positive for  Covid-19. Though an exact count of the infected sailors has not been released, Cmdr. Jennifer Cragg, a Naval Air Force Atlantic spokesperson, stated that the number is small. USS Gerald R Ford has 2,700 sailors aboard. Infected personnel have been isolated, and close contacts quarantined for safety measures.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have reported a spike in Covid-19 cases, according to reports from the country’s Medical Forces Command. Approximately 5,403 Covid-19 cases have been reported since the start of the pandemic. 171 new cases were recorded yesterday.

The US Department of Defence (DoD) has awarded AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals a $287m contract to supply approximately 200 million doses of AZD1222, a potential Covid-19 vaccine currently in its development stage.