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.

3-dose vaccines deemed ultrapotent against diverse and highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and other variants

A new study found that the presence of a subset of antibodies with broad neutralizing activities against all circulating variants of concern in the three-dose vaccines' memory B-derived antibody repertoire suggests that the Omicron/future variants infection may elicit selective and rapid recall of humoral responses, conferring secondary protection directed by memory etched in the immune system.

29 Dec 2021

Exploring immunogenicity and safety after a homologous booster dose of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike protein vaccine

Research suggests that a single booster dose of NVX-CoV2373 given approximately six months after the primary series induced significant increases in humoral antibodies, while also exhibiting an acceptable safety profile.

29 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant neutralized by third BNT162b2 booster shot

A new preprint* research paper under consideration at Nature Portfolio Journal assesses the susceptibility of the Omicron variant to neutralizing antibody response after booster immunization.

28 Dec 2021

Pre-existing immunity against influenza can lower SARS-CoV-2 infection burden and spread

A recent study by a team of European researchers demonstrated how antibodies induced by currently circulating influenza A H1N1 strains can cross-react with the important part of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein that interacts with the human cell receptor. Their paper is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server while it undergoes peer review.

28 Dec 2021

Third BNT162b2 dose effectively neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 Omicron pseudovirus

The findings reveal that the Omicron neutralizing titers induced by the third vaccine dose are comparable to that achieved against the original Wuhan strain (wild-type SARS-CoV-2) by the two-dose regimen. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

28 Dec 2021

New report on 1.23 million breakthrough symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections by vaccine

A new research letter evaluates whether the estimated vaccine effectiveness changes against infection over time.

28 Dec 2021

Structural blueprint of nanoparticles developed to target neutrophils responsible for acute lung inflammation

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the devastating impact of acute lung inflammation (ALI), which is part of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that is the dominant cause of death in COVID-19.

28 Dec 2021

Researchers discover antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants

An international team of scientists have identified antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. These antibodies target areas of the virus spike protein that remain essentially unchanged as the viruses mutate.

28 Dec 2021

Changes to the health and care visa could boost the recruitment of social care workers

Thousands of additional care workers could be recruited to boost the adult social care workforce following temporary changes to the health and care visa to make social care workers, care assistants and home care workers eligible for a 12-month period.

26 Dec 2021

Cancer patients who had breakthrough COVID-19 remain at high risk for hospitalization, death

The first study to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of fully vaccinated patients with cancer who had breakthrough COVID-19 infections indicates they remained at high risk for hospitalization and death.

26 Dec 2021

Scientists identify a new Achilles' heel of influenza virus

Scientists at Scripps Research, University of Chicago and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified a new Achilles' heel of influenza virus, making progress in the quest for a universal flu vaccine.

24 Dec 2021

Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 evolved mutations to evade the immune system

The Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 - the first "variant of concern" - evolved mutations that allowed it to more efficiently suppress the immune system's early response to infection, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco's Quantitative Biosciences Institute and University College London.

24 Dec 2021

New study provides a mutational analysis of SARS-CoV-2

A new study investigates mutational waves in structural and non-structural protein evolutions of SARS-CoV-2 to better understand the virus’s evolution and epidemiology.

24 Dec 2021

Laws shield hospitals from families who believe loved ones contracted covid as patients

After Amanda Wilson lost her son, Braden, 15, to covid-19 in early 2021, she tried to honor his memory. She put up a lending library box in his name. She plans to give the money she saved for his college education to other teens who love the arts and technology.

24 Dec 2021

Study reveals health impacts of heat waves on people experiencing homelessness

In 2020, amidst a worldwide pandemic, 580,000 people were experiencing homelessness in the United States, marking the fourth consecutive year that homelessness has increased nationwide, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

23 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 spreads through cell-to-cell transmission, study finds

The virus that causes COVID-19 has adopted some stealth moves to stay alive and kicking, and one secret to its success is hiding from the immune system by spreading through cell-to-cell transmission, a new study has found.

23 Dec 2021

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sleep behavior, emotional stability of people with previous pathologies

Selene Valero and José Gil, researchers at the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy of the University of Valencia, have studied the changes in sleep behaviour and emotional stability of healthy patients and with previous pathologies before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

23 Dec 2021

Emergency funding increased by £30 million to support arts, culture and heritage sectors during the pandemic

An additional £30 million in emergency funding has been made available through the Culture Recovery Fund to support museums, cinemas, theaters and heritage organizations with the impact of the Omicron variant this winter.

23 Dec 2021

Researchers identify a key influenza epitope that can targeted for developing universal vaccines

A team led by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine, Scripps Research and the University of Chicago has identified an important site of vulnerability on influenza viruses—a site that future influenza vaccines and antibody therapies should be able to target to prevent or treat infections by a broad set of influenza strains.

23 Dec 2021

Children produce a much more robust antibody response to a SARS-CoV-2 infection than 18+

Scientists compared receptor binding domain antibodies and SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies in children and adults.

23 Dec 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

3-dose vaccines deemed ultrapotent against diverse and highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and other variants

Exploring immunogenicity and safety after a homologous booster dose of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike protein vaccine

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant neutralized by third BNT162b2 booster shot

Pre-existing immunity against influenza can lower SARS-CoV-2 infection burden and spread

Third BNT162b2 dose effectively neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 Omicron pseudovirus

New report on 1.23 million breakthrough symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections by vaccine

Structural blueprint of nanoparticles developed to target neutrophils responsible for acute lung inflammation

Researchers discover antibodies that neutralize omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants

Changes to the health and care visa could boost the recruitment of social care workers

Cancer patients who had breakthrough COVID-19 remain at high risk for hospitalization, death

Scientists identify a new Achilles' heel of influenza virus

Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 evolved mutations to evade the immune system

New study provides a mutational analysis of SARS-CoV-2

Laws shield hospitals from families who believe loved ones contracted covid as patients

Study reveals health impacts of heat waves on people experiencing homelessness

SARS-CoV-2 spreads through cell-to-cell transmission, study finds

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sleep behavior, emotional stability of people with previous pathologies

Emergency funding increased by £30 million to support arts, culture and heritage sectors during the pandemic

Researchers identify a key influenza epitope that can targeted for developing universal vaccines

Children produce a much more robust antibody response to a SARS-CoV-2 infection than 18+

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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