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.

COVID babies score slightly lower on developmental screening test

In this interview, we speak to Dr. Dani Dumitriu about her latest research that investigated the development screening test scores for babies born during COVID-19.

25 Feb 2022

The stress of restaurant work is reaching a boiling point. Could a staff therapist help?

Restaurant jobs have always been difficult, but the mental stress has gotten worse during the pandemic as restaurants closed or cut hours — or became ground zero for the fight over mask-wearing.

25 Feb 2022

Effluent, sludge and biosolids pose potential risk of COVID-19 for farmers and wastewater workers

In a recent peer-reviewed study, posted to the journal Geoscience Frontiers, researchers conducted a systematic meta-analysis on several studies that assessed the viral RNA load of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in effluents, sludge, and biosolids, and found that the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA is highest in sludge, followed by biosolids and effluent respectively.

25 Feb 2022

Vaccinated adults were less likely to land in intensive care during the omicron surge

The highly contagious omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 became the dominant strain in the United States in mid-December 2021, coinciding with a rise in hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19.

24 Feb 2022

COVID-19's impact on the hopes and dreams of Australians

Researchers investigate the effect of COVID-19 on the hopes and dreams of Australians.

24 Feb 2022

A comparison of COVID-19 vaccines by neutralizing antibody potency

Researchers use an international standardized assessment method to compare the efficacy of antibody responses to the major COVID-19 vaccines.

24 Feb 2022

Melatonin as a safe and potentially life-saving treatment for COVID-19

A new study discusses the possible role of melatonin, an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, in treating COVID-19.

24 Feb 2022

COVID-19–related discrimination more prevalent among racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S.

People from all major racial and ethnic minority population groups in the United States report experiencing more COVID-19-related discrimination than white adults, a new study shows.

24 Feb 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contemplating a post-‘Roe’ world

With those on both sides of the abortion debate anticipating that the Supreme Court this year will weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade, which established the right to the procedure, activists are arguing about how best to proceed.

24 Feb 2022

Abortion services in England to return to pre-pandemic arrangements

Abortion services will return to pre-pandemic arrangements from August, following the end of temporary measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic which allowed the access of pills for early medical abortion via a teleconsultation and to take both pills at home.

24 Feb 2022

UK funding will support CEPI’s drive to accelerate vaccine development

The UK will pledge £160 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to speed up vaccine development, as the Foreign Secretary and Health and Social Care Secretary urge international partners to step up and support this vital work.

24 Feb 2022

Study explores the boosting of SARS-CoV-2 adenovirus vaccine-induced immunity by capsid decoration

Researchers demonstrated that decorating the capsid surface of adenovirus vaccine vectors with a newly discovered protein superglue, DogTag/DogCatcher generates potent SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral and cellular immunity.

24 Feb 2022

Foundational characterization of a new bat-borne ebolavirus and its potential as a human pathogen

Researchers sought to evaluate the zoonotic potential of BOMV to assess the level of risk to public health.

24 Feb 2022

Study finds two doses of COVID-19 vaccines were insufficient to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

Researchers determined the neutralization potency of sera from people vaccinated with BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, or ChAdOx1 against the novel SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

24 Feb 2022

Antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein up to 12 months after COVID-19 infection in non-vaccinated individuals

A recent study assessed the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 antibody five and 12 months post-infection in non-vaccinated patients.

24 Feb 2022

Why pregnant people were left behind while vaccines moved at ‘warp speed’ to help the masses

Kia Slade was seven months pregnant, unvaccinated, and fighting for breath, her oxygen levels plummeting, when her son came into the world last May.

24 Feb 2022

Watch: Seniors share how they’ve made it through the pandemic

Too often the voices of older people are not heard. Judith Graham, KHN’s Navigating Aging columnist, invited nine seniors from across the country to talk candidly about their highs and lows as they enter Year 3 of the pandemic, with lives reordered by risk and restriction.

24 Feb 2022

Covid aid to protect Montana prisons and jails sits unused

Last summer, Montana created a list of more than a dozen upgrades for its state prison facilities to protect inmates and staffers from covid-19 infections, all of which would be paid for with nearly $2.5 million in federal covid relief money.

24 Feb 2022

Immune responses in patients with varying degrees of SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a recent research article published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers looked at immunological responses in relation to established risk factors for serious illness. This prospective cohort study reports on long-lasting SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody and T-cellular immune responses six months after infection in rt-PCR confirmed cases of different illness severity (community and hospitalized patients).

24 Feb 2022

First reported case of a cat infected with SARS-CoV-2 Delta AY.3 variant

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is hurting our loved ones — even those that walk on four legs. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania documented the recovery of an 11-year old indoor housecat living in Delaware who first presented to the veterinary hospital after experiencing distressing gastrointestinal symptoms.

23 Feb 2022

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

COVID babies score slightly lower on developmental screening test

The stress of restaurant work is reaching a boiling point. Could a staff therapist help?

Effluent, sludge and biosolids pose potential risk of COVID-19 for farmers and wastewater workers

Vaccinated adults were less likely to land in intensive care during the omicron surge

COVID-19's impact on the hopes and dreams of Australians

A comparison of COVID-19 vaccines by neutralizing antibody potency

Melatonin as a safe and potentially life-saving treatment for COVID-19

COVID-19–related discrimination more prevalent among racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contemplating a post-‘Roe’ world

Abortion services in England to return to pre-pandemic arrangements

UK funding will support CEPI’s drive to accelerate vaccine development

Study explores the boosting of SARS-CoV-2 adenovirus vaccine-induced immunity by capsid decoration

Foundational characterization of a new bat-borne ebolavirus and its potential as a human pathogen

Study finds two doses of COVID-19 vaccines were insufficient to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

Antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein up to 12 months after COVID-19 infection in non-vaccinated individuals

Why pregnant people were left behind while vaccines moved at ‘warp speed’ to help the masses

Watch: Seniors share how they’ve made it through the pandemic

Covid aid to protect Montana prisons and jails sits unused

Immune responses in patients with varying degrees of SARS-CoV-2 infection

First reported case of a cat infected with SARS-CoV-2 Delta AY.3 variant

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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