Personal Protective Equipment News and Research

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Surgery rates in U.S. hospitals bounced back to normal after initial COVID-19 shutdown

Stanford Medicine researchers found that after the March 2020 COVID-19 shutdown, nonurgent surgery rates dropped, but within months they bounced back and remained at pre-pandemic levels, even as coronavirus infections peaked during the fall and winter of 2020.

13 Dec 2021

Challenges of bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic

A new study aims to generate an understanding of the overall challenges that the people experiencing bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic face.

9 Dec 2021

Never mind toys, it’s time to ask Santa for crutches and catheters

America's hospitals, strained by nearly two years of fighting the covid-19 pandemic, are now scrounging for basic medical supplies.

9 Dec 2021

Impact of infection control measures and vaccines in protecting healthcare workers from COVID-19

New study findings highlight the importance of COVID-19 vaccination in reducing the risk of infection among healthcare workers.

7 Dec 2021

Lessons learnt from the pandemic: Nurse-scientists share strategies for expanding capacity and staffing

Since March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has put an unprecedented strain on the American health care system as large surges of intensive care unit patients overwhelmed hospitals.

30 Nov 2021

Face mask sewing related to well-being at start of pandemic

During a critical face mask shortage at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, home sewers responded by pulling out fabric stashes, threading their machines and getting to work.

30 Nov 2021

Using metal nanoparticles to fight SARS-CoV-2

A recent review article looks at the potential of nanotechnology in fighting severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2), with several possibilities of strategies in therapeutics, vaccines, and prevention.

25 Nov 2021

Healthcare workers at increased SARS-CoV-2 infection risk during second wave

A new study evaluates the SARS-CoV-2 infection rates among healthcare workers during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

24 Nov 2021

New study improves safety conditions during laparoscopic operations to avoid contagion by COVID-19

A team of researchers from the Department of Medicine of the Universitat Jaume I and health professionals from the Multidisciplinary Unit of Abdominopelvic Oncological Surgery together with the rest of the services that make up the surgical block of the General University Hospital of Castellón, have carried out a study (CovidLap) that has improved safety conditions during laparoscopic interventions to avoid contagion by COVID-19 among both health personnel and patients.

22 Nov 2021

Impact of ultraviolet disinfection on nosocomial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases

A new review article determines the role of UV disinfection for nosocomial transmission of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

22 Nov 2021

Population-based risk compensation may have been a driving force in UK's COVID pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has irreversibly altered our lives in many ways. However, available COVID vaccines are effective against (symptomatic) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, hospitalizations, and even death. Despite a diminishing protective effect against infection and onward transmission after vaccination, and a slightly diminished effect with the Delta variant compared to the Alpha variant, protection against severe outcomes remains high.

19 Nov 2021

Efficacy of UVC light prototype devices for inactivating SARS-CoV-2

Researchers examined the efficacy of UVC light prototype devices to understand the duration and wavelength of UVC radiation needed for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation.

17 Nov 2021

Air filtration device removes almost all traces of airborne SARS-CoV-2

When a team of doctors, scientists and engineers at Addenbrooke's Hospital and the University of Cambridge placed an air filtration machine in COVID-19 wards, they found that it removed almost all traces of airborne SARS-CoV-2.

16 Nov 2021

Recipe to decontaminate disposable facemasks

Here's the recipe to decontaminate a disposable facemask: Heat it at 160 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven for five minutes. You can use your own oven.

12 Nov 2021

The impact of interventions and contact patterns on SARS-CoV-2 transmission

A recent study investigates the impact of varying interventions, consequent contact patterns, and the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2.

9 Nov 2021

Can COVID-19 spread through water while swimming?

Scientists explore the evidence on COVID-19 transmission associated with swimming-related activities and the effect of recommended strategies to restrict it.

1 Nov 2021

Harnessing the genetics of hookworms to develop next generation of PPE for combat troops

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a grant to develop the next generation of personal protective equipment (PPE) for combat troops.

30 Oct 2021

Routine surveillance helps detect asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 vaccine breakthrough infections

In a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers from Italy systematically monitored 2,397 HCWs who were fully vaccinated with BNT162 at the ASST Settelaghi hospitals in Lombardy, Italy during February 2021. HCWs who worked in 8 wards deemed at “high risk” for infection from attending patients had to undergo mandatory nasopharyngeal swab testing with SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction every two weeks. HCWs working in 8 “moderate-risk” wards were tested every four weeks.

28 Oct 2021

U.S. life expectancy may drop for the second year, minorities most affected

Scientists estimate the effect of the pandemic on life expectancy at birth, at 65 years overall, as well as for individual populations.

21 Oct 2021

Regular testing of SARS-CoV-2 positive vaccinated HCWs may reduce need for long quarantines

A new study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine conducted systematic surveillance involving 2,397 HCWs who were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162 vaccine at the ASST Settelaghi hospitals, Italy, in February 2021.

19 Oct 2021