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.

Did COVID-19 mortality differ between patients with cancer and the general US population depending on which SARS-CoV-2 variant was dominant?

Researchers comparatively evaluated COVID-19 mortality among cancer patients during different periods of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak.

4 Sep 2023

Coronavirus fusion peptide could be important target for vaccine development

Although the COVID-19 pandemic was the first time most of humanity learned of the now infamous disease, the family of coronaviruses was first identified in the mid-1960s.

4 Sep 2023

ChatGPT can debunk vaccine myths and increase vaccine uptake, study finds

ChatGPT could help to increase vaccine uptake by debunking myths around jab safety, say the authors of a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics.

4 Sep 2023

Early life high fructose exposure is associated with increased prevalence of adolescent anxiety disorders

Researchers investigated whether exposure to high fructose in early life directly affects essential microglia function.

4 Sep 2023

Faster mental health treatment could reduce financial burden on the NHS, improve outcomes

The study, which is one of the largest of its kind to date, analysed anonymised data, and was conducted by ieso Digital Health Ltd in partnership with Dorset HealthCare University NHS Trust and York Health Economics Consortium (part of the University of York).

4 Sep 2023

Disparities in COVID-19 outcomes persist for American Indians/Alaska Natives

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept into New Mexico in the spring of 2020, seriously ill patients from all over the state were brought to The University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where many wound up in intensive care, breathing with the help of ventilators.

1 Sep 2023

Biden administration proposes new standards to boost nursing home staffing

The nation's most thinly staffed nursing homes would be required to hire more workers under new rules proposed on Friday by the Biden administration, the greatest change to federal nursing home regulations in three decades.

1 Sep 2023

Lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic can help confront future epidemics

Where did COVID-19 originate? Prof Angus Dalgleish shows that the virus that emerged in Wuhan, China in 2019 had been modified in a laboratory to make it more infectious (for the construction of a more effective vaccine).

1 Sep 2023

Biomarkers unveil insights into post-COVID-19 syndrome variability

Researchers studied a prospective observation cohort of patients with post-coronavirus disease 2019 syndrome.

1 Sep 2023

Boosters slow antibody waning but hit a ceiling: Long-term COVID study reveals limits of immunity

The study tracks the long-term kinetics of antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 after vaccination and infections in New York healthcare workers from 2020 to 2023. It reveals that antibody waning is slower after booster shots, but there's an upper limit to antibody levels, which gradually lowers with repeated SARS-CoV-2 exposures and vaccinations.

31 Aug 2023

Is the rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer complicating our fight against the pandemic?

New study reveals rapid evolution of SARS-CoV-2 in Ohio's white-tailed deer population, with a 25% seroprevalence rate. The findings suggest a significant risk of animal-to-human transmission and indicate the virus evolves faster in deer than in humans.

31 Aug 2023

Socioeconomic distress linked to worse outcomes after heart transplantation

People from socioeconomically distressed communities who underwent heart transplantation between 2004 and 2018 faced a 10% greater relative risk of experiencing graft failure and dying within five years compared to people from non-distressed communities.

31 Aug 2023

Coronavirus fusion peptide plays more invasive role in infection than previously thought

Although the COVID-19 pandemic was the first time most of humanity learned of the now infamous disease, the family of coronaviruses was first identified in the mid-1960s.

31 Aug 2023

KFF Health News' 'What The Health?': 3 health policy experts you should know

In this special episode, host Julie Rovner, KFF Health News' chief Washington correspondent, interviews three noted health policy experts.

31 Aug 2023

Pandemic may have altered gut microbiome of infants, study finds

Infants who spent most of their first year in the pandemic have fewer types of bacteria in their gut than infants born earlier, according to a team of developmental psychology researchers.

31 Aug 2023

Peer-delivered psychotherapy effective for postpartum depression

An innovative model of care that offers new mothers psychotherapy delivered by other mothers who have also experienced post-partum depression (PPD) should be implemented in clinical practice, according to researchers at McMaster University.

31 Aug 2023

Study finds link between dehumanization and burnout in first responders

From medical professionals who were on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic to firefighters rescuing victims of the Maui wildfires, first responders are often hailed as heroes.

31 Aug 2023

Study suggests sepsis as a considerable burden to public health

A research team at Lund University in Sweden has found that more than four percent of all hospital admissions in southern Sweden are associated with sepsis.

31 Aug 2023

Fourth COVID-19 booster supercharges antibody defense in older adults, study says

The study finds that the fourth dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine significantly boosts neutralizing antibody levels in the elderly, providing enhanced protection against new SARS-CoV-2 variants like Omicron. This supports the efficacy of booster shots for older populations in combating COVID-19.

31 Aug 2023

Children may have experienced “excess” doubling up during COVID-19 pandemic

Grandparents appeared to serve as an important private safety net when COVID-19 first hit the U.S., according to a study led by a Washington State University researcher.

30 Aug 2023