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.

Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutation with no associated increase in epidemiological fitness

Researchers from the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas have been investigating one of the mutations that typically appear in the Delta variant.

9 Dec 2021

Challenges of bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic

A new study aims to generate an understanding of the overall challenges that the people experiencing bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic face.

9 Dec 2021

Novel waveform-based approach to determine the propensity of betacoronaviruses to infect humans

Scientists attempt to understand the evolution of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.

9 Dec 2021

Disparities in COVID-19 burden among high-risk communities

New study findings demonstrate that non-Whites, lower-income individuals, and individuals with lower education levels have the highest SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and lowest vaccination seroprevalence.

9 Dec 2021

Never mind toys, it’s time to ask Santa for crutches and catheters

America's hospitals, strained by nearly two years of fighting the covid-19 pandemic, are now scrounging for basic medical supplies.

9 Dec 2021

Health experts worry CDC’s covid vaccination rates appear inflated

For nearly a month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's online vaccine tracker has shown that virtually everyone 65 and older in the United States — 99.9% — has received at least one covid vaccine dose.

9 Dec 2021

COVID-19 led to increased depression and anxiety among urban, ethnic minority children

New research has determined that the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic led to increased depression, anxiety and social risks among urban, racial, and ethnic minority children aged five to 11 years old compared to the prior six months.

9 Dec 2021

Effect of SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence on efficacy of neutralizing antibodies and vaccines

A review article focuses on the efficacy of neutralizing antibodies and vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 variants.

9 Dec 2021

Youths did not seek healthcare both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

New study results show that although healthcare access patterns among youth were similar before and during the pandemic, COVID-19 has added some new barriers to seeking medical care when needed.

9 Dec 2021

Potential association between senescence and aging in COVID-19

A review published in Cells discussed characteristics of cellular senescence and its potential role in COVID-19.

9 Dec 2021

Immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 subunit vaccine Nanocovax in animal models

Researchers have developed Nanocovax, a COVID-19 subunit vaccine based on recombinant protein technology to produce the extracellular (soluble) portion of the S protein of SARS-CoV-2.

9 Dec 2021

New report provides data on the wellbeing of working-age Australians with chronic conditions

Chronic health conditions are the leading cause of poor health and mortality in Australia but they also have a major impact on other parts of people’s lives.

9 Dec 2021

Positive results from Phase 3 study of Medicago’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate announced

Medicago, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Quebec City, and GlaxoSmithKline today announce positive efficacy and safety results from the global Phase 3 placebo-controlled efficacy study of Medicago’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate in combination with GSK’s pandemic adjuvant, conducted in over 24,000 subjects, adults 18 years and above, across six countries.

9 Dec 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants are evolving new ways to evade antibodies and vaccines

Continued replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) under selective pressure from natural and vaccine-induced immunity has led to the emergence of variants of concern (VOCs) with increased transmissibility or virulence.

8 Dec 2021

Neutralization antibodies elevated in nursing home residents after COVID-19 mRNA boosters

Researchers from the United States, in their recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv*, have evaluated the humoral responses to third vaccine dose in nursing home residents and healthcare workers (HCW) and found that that second booster (or third vaccine dose) significantly increased anti-spike, anti-receptor binding domain (RBD), and neutralization titers in almost all nursing home residents and HCW to considerably higher levels than what was attained after the completion of the initial two-dose vaccine series.

8 Dec 2021

Routine immunization coverage declined in first year of COVID

A new study published on the medRxiv* preprint server investigated changes in RI coverage using two key indicators – diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis first-dose (DTP1) and third-dose (DTP3). DTP3 serves as a general marker for immunization system performance, while DTP1 is used as a proxy for inequity - quantifying Zero Dose (ZD) children––those that receive no childhood vaccinations

8 Dec 2021

Researchers identify a molecular culprit for COVID-19's seasonal nature

Not to pile on, but winter is coming and the COVID-19 pandemic is about to get worse. Not necessarily because of omicron – scientists are still working that one out – but because there’s more evidence than ever that COVID-19 is a seasonal disease.

8 Dec 2021

WHO announces new commitments to accelerate progress on 2025 nutrition targets

COVID-19 and climate change have exacerbated malnutrition in all its forms and threatened the sustainability and resilience of food systems around the world. At the Nutrition for Growth Summit in Tokyo on 7 – 8 December 2021, the World Health Organization has announced six new commitments to accelerate progress on the 2025 nutrition targets which have been pushed even further off course during the pandemic.

8 Dec 2021

COVID-19 disruptions linked to increase in malaria cases and deaths

New data from the World Health Organization reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted malaria services, leading to a marked increase in cases and deaths.

8 Dec 2021

Thousands of the UK’s most vulnerable people to receive cutting-edge COVID-19 treatments at home

Thousands of the UK's most vulnerable people will be among the first in the world to access life-saving, cutting-edge antiviral and antibody treatments from today, the government has announced.

8 Dec 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutation with no associated increase in epidemiological fitness

Challenges of bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic

Novel waveform-based approach to determine the propensity of betacoronaviruses to infect humans

Disparities in COVID-19 burden among high-risk communities

Never mind toys, it’s time to ask Santa for crutches and catheters

Health experts worry CDC’s covid vaccination rates appear inflated

COVID-19 led to increased depression and anxiety among urban, ethnic minority children

Effect of SARS-CoV-2 variant emergence on efficacy of neutralizing antibodies and vaccines

Youths did not seek healthcare both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Potential association between senescence and aging in COVID-19

Immunogenicity and safety of COVID-19 subunit vaccine Nanocovax in animal models

New report provides data on the wellbeing of working-age Australians with chronic conditions

Positive results from Phase 3 study of Medicago’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate announced

SARS-CoV-2 variants are evolving new ways to evade antibodies and vaccines

Neutralization antibodies elevated in nursing home residents after COVID-19 mRNA boosters

Routine immunization coverage declined in first year of COVID

Researchers identify a molecular culprit for COVID-19's seasonal nature

WHO announces new commitments to accelerate progress on 2025 nutrition targets

COVID-19 disruptions linked to increase in malaria cases and deaths

Thousands of the UK’s most vulnerable people to receive cutting-edge COVID-19 treatments at home

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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