Alyson Kelvin in her containment lab.Credit: Danny Abriel

Autopsy results change US coronavirus timeline

The first COVID-19 death in the United States might have occurred in California on 6 February — more than three weeks before the first reported death in Washington state. Three deaths in Santa Clara County between 6 February and 6 March have now been attributed to COVID-19 after autopsies. Similar reports have surfaced elsewhere in recent weeks, including Italy. (Nature | continuously updated)

US vaccine chief in bitter row over hydroxychloroquine

Senior US-government official Rick Bright says he was abruptly ousted as the chief of the agency in charge of coronavirus-vaccine development because he did not support unproven treatments promoted by US President Donald Trump. “I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the Covid-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit,” said Bright in a statement. Following his resignation, unnamed colleagues in the agency have criticized Bright for his leadership style, and for the strategy and pace of decision-making in his department. (Politico | 7 min read)

“It’s hard. It’s complicated. But we’ve got to do this right.”

Jim Yong Kim is building on his reputation for tackling problems that we thought were intractable, earned as director of the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS programme and president of the World Bank. With luminaries such as top US doctor Tony Fauci on speed dial, Kim is now dedicating himself to the COVID-19 response — in particular, by spearheading a robust public-health response in Massachusetts. Kim speaks passionately to Nature about his fears for low- and middle-income countries, and why the best thing for the economy is to get the virus under control. (Nature | 6 min read)

Life as a coronavirus-vaccine researcher

Virologist Alyson Kelvin is at the forefront of efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine in Canada. She describes her whirlwind journey across the country with her laboratory members to join forces with other vaccine researchers and quickly gain funding and permits to work with the virus. (Nature | 4 min read)

Climate scientist: there is no silver lining to coronavirus

Climate-scientist Kate Marvel brings her straight-talking analysis to the question of whether we should be happy that the pandemic is reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. “All this suffering will not make the planet any cooler,” says Marvel. “If the air quality is better now, if fewer people die from breathing in pollution, this is not a welcome development so much as an indictment of the way things were before.” (Drilled News | 3 min read)

Read the latest coronavirus news, continuously updated on Nature.

Read Nature’s continuously updated selection of the must-read papers and preprints on COVID-19.