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.

Nasopharyngeal microbiota influences SARS-CoV-2 infection status and severity

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* pre-print server, Canadian researchers investigated how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection altered the microbiota composition of the host’s nasopharyngeal region.

16 Jun 2022

Obesity causes COVID vaccines to lose their efficacy more rapidly

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* pre-print server, researchers examined a clinical cohort of severely obese people vaccinated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines to determine the relationship between an individual's body mass index (BMI) and COVID-19-related hospitalization and mortality.

16 Jun 2022

Countries with female leaders recorded fewer COVID-19 deaths, study finds

Countries with female leaders recorded 40 per cent fewer COVID-19 deaths than nations governed by men, according to University of Queensland research.

15 Jun 2022

UQ researchers call for an urgent review of low vaccination rates during pregnancy

University of Queensland researchers are calling for an urgent review of low influenza vaccination rates for pregnant women and whooping cough vaccinations for young and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander mothers-to-be.

15 Jun 2022

Loss of a grandmother may have repercussions for the loved ones she leaves behind

Losing a beloved family member is never easy, but a new study suggests the loss of a grandmother in particular may have repercussions for the loved ones she leaves behind.

15 Jun 2022

Two broadly neutralizing antibodies show promise to provide long-acting immunity against SARS-CoV-2

Two broadly neutralizing antibodies show great promise to provide long-acting immunity against COVID-19 in immunocompromised populations according to a paper published June 15 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM).

15 Jun 2022

More than £15 million funding will help local authorities to implement new social care charging reforms

More than £15 million will be given to local authorities across England today (Wednesday 15 June) to help them implement new social care charging reforms to bring an end to the unpredictable cost of care for the public.

15 Jun 2022

More than 1,000 genes linked to severe COVID-19 identified

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists and clinicians have struggled to understand why some people with the infection become seriously ill or die while others have few, if any, symptoms.

15 Jun 2022

Flexible model of care can be effective in treating opioid use disorder

Did you know that more than 26,500 Canadians died from opioid intoxication between January 2016 and September 2021? Or that more than 350,000 people who used drugs containing opioids to relieve their pain did so problematically?

15 Jun 2022

Survey data provides insights into how many students are experiencing long COVID

New data from the School Infection Survey (SIS) showed that 1.8% of primary school pupils and 4.8% of secondary school pupils experienced long COVID following their most recent COVID-19 infection (since March 2020).

15 Jun 2022

Will the US overcome its covid complacency even as the threat returns?

A few months ago, it seemed as though the country was poised to finally tame the pandemic, after two years of restrictions and tens of billions in government spending.

15 Jun 2022

Buy and bust: When private equity comes for rural hospitals

When the new corporate owners of two rural hospitals suddenly announced they would stop admitting patients one Friday in March, Kayla Schudel, a nurse, stood resolute in the nearly empty lobby of Audrain Community Hospital: "You'll be seen; the ER is open."

15 Jun 2022

Global study yields new insights into the effectiveness of social distancing messaging

A massive, global study of social distancing motivations has yielded new, psychology-based insights into the effectiveness of different styles of social distancing messaging.

15 Jun 2022

Study describes how coronavirus subverts a host cell pathway to infect human cells

An international team of scientists, led by the University of Bristol, has been investigating how the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, manipulates host proteins to penetrate into human cells.

15 Jun 2022

Medicare for all in the U.S. could have saved over 338,000 lives during COVID pandemic

In a recent study published in the journal PNAS, researchers propose a single-payer universal healthcare system in the United States (US) as a pandemic preparedness measure.

15 Jun 2022

New studies examine the causes and effects of COVID-19-related food insecurity

The COVID-19 pandemic affected people at all stages of life from seniors to newborns. New studies presented at NUTRITION 2022 LIVE ONLINE examine the causes and effects of COVID-19-related food insecurity, how the pandemic affected breastfeeding practices and more.

14 Jun 2022

Scotland's monitoring program for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater

In a recent study, researchers reported on the use of the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach to evaluate the levels of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ribonucleic acid (RNA) shed into the Scottish sewage network.

14 Jun 2022

EMS workers experiencing poorer sleep quality report greater anger levels

It's no secret that sleep and emergency medical services (EMS) work do not go hand in hand. The profession is notorious for long and oftentimes odd hours, with overnight shift work a part of the job. It's bound to effect one's mood and now, new research shows just how much.

14 Jun 2022

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron breakthrough infection less immunogenic than Delta

Scientists investigate the sequence and dynamics of recalled immune memory in convalescent individuals who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

14 Jun 2022

Omicron led to higher rates of death in rural America than urban areas

The omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2021 and early 2022 spread like a grass fire in America's densely populated cities but led to higher rates of death in rural counties where vaccinations are lagging.

14 Jun 2022

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Nasopharyngeal microbiota influences SARS-CoV-2 infection status and severity

Obesity causes COVID vaccines to lose their efficacy more rapidly

Countries with female leaders recorded fewer COVID-19 deaths, study finds

UQ researchers call for an urgent review of low vaccination rates during pregnancy

Loss of a grandmother may have repercussions for the loved ones she leaves behind

Two broadly neutralizing antibodies show promise to provide long-acting immunity against SARS-CoV-2

More than £15 million funding will help local authorities to implement new social care charging reforms

More than 1,000 genes linked to severe COVID-19 identified

Flexible model of care can be effective in treating opioid use disorder

Survey data provides insights into how many students are experiencing long COVID

Will the US overcome its covid complacency even as the threat returns?

Buy and bust: When private equity comes for rural hospitals

Global study yields new insights into the effectiveness of social distancing messaging

Study describes how coronavirus subverts a host cell pathway to infect human cells

Medicare for all in the U.S. could have saved over 338,000 lives during COVID pandemic

New studies examine the causes and effects of COVID-19-related food insecurity

Scotland's monitoring program for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater

EMS workers experiencing poorer sleep quality report greater anger levels

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron breakthrough infection less immunogenic than Delta

Omicron led to higher rates of death in rural America than urban areas

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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