Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Surgery to straighten a crooked septum more effective than nasal sprays, trial suggests

Surgery to straighten a crooked septum (the thin wall of bone and cartilage dividing the space between the two nostrils) is more effective than nasal sprays, and should be offered to adults with at least moderate symptoms such as breathing disruption, suggests a UK trial published by The BMJ today.

18 Oct 2023

Children's immune system better prepared to defend against SARS-CoV-2, study finds

Why are severe courses of SARS-CoV-2 infection much less common in children and adolescents than in adults? Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have now discovered that the immune system in the upper respiratory tract is much more alert and active in children before infection than in adults and is therefore better equipped to fight the virus.

18 Oct 2023

Research reports increase in psychological distress in the UK during first COVID-19 wave

New research published in Economic Inquiry reports substantial increases in psychological distress in the UK during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

18 Oct 2023

Pregnant and addicted: Homeless women see hope in street medicine

Five days after giving birth, Melissa Crespo was already back on the streets, recovering in a damp, litter-strewn water tunnel, when she got the call from the hospital.

18 Oct 2023

Covid relief payments triggered feds to demand money back from Social Security recipients

As the nation reeled from covid-19, the federal government sent many Americans a financial lifeline.

18 Oct 2023

College students of color and first-generation students face unique mental health challenges, study finds

Depression and anxiety among college students is a growing public health problem. And new research from the University of Georgia suggests the problem may be worse for students who aren't the same race as most of their peers.

17 Oct 2023

The potential health and economic impacts of reduced-dose HPV vaccination programs

The benefits of a single dose of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination versus its two-dose schedule.

17 Oct 2023

Lab-grown skin organoids help scientists understand monkeypox infection

Skin organoids offer a powerful platform for drug discovery in the ongoing fight against the virus formerly known as monkeypox.

16 Oct 2023

Virtual driving assessment can identify at-risk young drivers

New research published today by the journal Pediatrics found that driving skills measured at the time of licensure on a virtual driving assessment (VDA), which exposes drivers to common serious crash scenarios, helps predict crash risk in newly licensed young drivers.

16 Oct 2023

Widely available prescription drug can improve IBS symptoms

A cheap and widely available prescription drug can improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome in patients seen in GP surgeries, new research presented today at UEG Week 2023 has found.

16 Oct 2023

Mortality rates during the pandemic significantly reduced in high-performance ICUs

A new study published by CHEST Science Journal shows that high-performance intensive care units (ICUs) might also have better patient outcomes during health crises.

16 Oct 2023

$12.5 million grant awarded to NYU Langone Health for developing digital tool to reduce maternal mortality

The maternal mortality rate in the United States, which has doubled in the past 20 years, is higher than in any other industrialized nation.

16 Oct 2023

Paxlovid treatment provides protection against COVID-19 for both mother and child

A new mouse model of infection with the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy tracks closely the disease course doctors have observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant patients, and suggests that treatment with the antiviral Paxlovid provides protection for both mother and child.

16 Oct 2023

Researchers discover nuanced insights from COVID-19's impact on mortality rates

A multi-institutional team of researchers led by the White River Junction VA, and including the West Haven and Palo Alto VA, analyzed electronic health record data from more than 5.9 million Veterans-spanning both pre-pandemic (March 2018 - February 2020) and pandemic (March 2020 - February 2022) periods-to discover nuanced insights from COVID-19's impact on mortality rates.

16 Oct 2023

Live vaccinations found to be safe for pediatric organ transplant recipients

Live vaccinations provided to children who previously received liver or kidney transplants were found to be safe and prompted an immune response to guard against several life-threatening conditions, according to a new study published Oct. 12, 2023, in JAMA Network Open.

16 Oct 2023

A third of schools don’t have a nurse. Here’s why that’s a problem.

Jodi Bobbitt, the school nurse at William Ramsay Elementary in Alexandria, Virginia, is always ready to see children with a wide range of injuries and illnesses. One day during the first week of school, the parade started before the first bell when a little girl walked in with red, irritated eyes.

16 Oct 2023

New mRNA flu vaccine shows promise: Faster to produce, highly effective in mice

The study evaluates the efficacy of a new quadrivalent mRNA influenza vaccine, finding it to be highly immunogenic and protective in a mouse model. Compared to traditional vaccines, the mRNA-based option offers advantages like reduced production time and elimination of the risk of growth-promoting mutations.

15 Oct 2023

Is it time to rethink COVID-19 boosters? New study dives into variant-specific vaccines

The study explores the efficacy of variant-adapted COVID-19 booster vaccines, particularly against new strains like Omicron. It raises questions about the need for annual updates and the best technologies for long-term, durable immunity.

15 Oct 2023

Early and severe: Kids hit hard by 2022-23 flu season, vaccination rates drop

The 2022-23 influenza season saw a highly severe impact on U.S. adolescents and children, with early peaks in hospitalization rates and outpatient visits. The study underscores the importance of flu vaccination and antiviral treatment, especially as fewer hospitalized children were vaccinated compared to previous seasons.

15 Oct 2023

Are people with HIV at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes?

The research review indicates that people with HIV, especially those with low CD4 cell counts, face greater risks of severe COVID-19 outcomes and have suboptimal immune responses to SARS-CoV-2. Antiretroviral therapy aids in clearing infections, and a third vaccine dose reduces the risk of breakthrough infections among this population.

15 Oct 2023

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Surgery to straighten a crooked septum more effective than nasal sprays, trial suggests

Children's immune system better prepared to defend against SARS-CoV-2, study finds

Research reports increase in psychological distress in the UK during first COVID-19 wave

Pregnant and addicted: Homeless women see hope in street medicine

Covid relief payments triggered feds to demand money back from Social Security recipients

College students of color and first-generation students face unique mental health challenges, study finds

The potential health and economic impacts of reduced-dose HPV vaccination programs

Lab-grown skin organoids help scientists understand monkeypox infection

Virtual driving assessment can identify at-risk young drivers

Widely available prescription drug can improve IBS symptoms

Mortality rates during the pandemic significantly reduced in high-performance ICUs

$12.5 million grant awarded to NYU Langone Health for developing digital tool to reduce maternal mortality

Paxlovid treatment provides protection against COVID-19 for both mother and child

Researchers discover nuanced insights from COVID-19's impact on mortality rates

Live vaccinations found to be safe for pediatric organ transplant recipients

A third of schools don’t have a nurse. Here’s why that’s a problem.

New mRNA flu vaccine shows promise: Faster to produce, highly effective in mice

Is it time to rethink COVID-19 boosters? New study dives into variant-specific vaccines

Early and severe: Kids hit hard by 2022-23 flu season, vaccination rates drop

Are people with HIV at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes?

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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