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.

Socioeconomic inequities and structural racism are neglected pieces of SARS-CoV-2 transmission networks

A recent perspective article published in the prestigious journal Science highlights how the use of network-driven strategies for adequately informing rapidly emergent epidemic responses is not only evidence-based but also an equitable way forward for the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and future respiratory pandemics.

12 Jul 2021

Accelerating the design of minibinder therapeutics resilient to SARS-CoV-2 mutations

Multivalent protein-based minibinders hold great promise as potential prophylactic and treatment agents, as they can retain their activity against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern. This was revealed in a recent tour-de-force research study currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server while the article undergoes the peer review process.

11 Jul 2021

Pfizer aims to implement boosters and a new vaccine based on SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant

The drugmaker Pfizer, one of the companies behind the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, or BNT162b2, awaits the green light to develop a COVID-19 booster shot that can protect against emerging variants. Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective in an ongoing large-scale clinical trial against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain.

11 Jul 2021

Novel monoclonal antibody could pave way for future COVID-19 treatments and vaccines

Researchers in the United States have shown that targeting the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral spike protein could achieve broad neutralization of variants of concern.

11 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 immunity due to prior infection or vaccination is similar, study says

A new study finds that the rate of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reinfection is low following one episode of the infection.

11 Jul 2021

Initial SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response may predict BNT162b2 booster response, but not AZD1222

A new study finds that the antibody titer values prior to the booster dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine can predict the final antibody response after two doses.

11 Jul 2021

Restructuring SNAP is a straightforward way to eliminate food insecurity in the U.S.

Food insecurity is a major problem in the U.S., and it worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides some relief, but millions of Americans still lack adequate access to healthy food. A new study from the University of Illinois proposes a potential solution.

9 Jul 2021

Transgender, nonbinary people faced reduced access to gender-affirming care during the pandemic

A survey offered to transgender and nonbinary people across six continents and in thirteen languages shows that during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, many faced reduced access to gender-affirming resources, and this reduction was linked to poorer mental health.

9 Jul 2021

UTIA researchers receive $423,316 grant to study food loss and waste reduction

Research suggests that 40% of food produced in the U.S. is lost or wasted, while approximately one in eight households experiences food insecurity.

9 Jul 2021

UArizona-led center receives $3 million NSF grant to advance at-home health care technology

The last two decades have seen an uptick in people choosing to monitor their health using wearable technologies such as Fitbits and Apple Watches.

9 Jul 2021

Stimulating immune cells to form special structures can potentiate pancreatic cancer chemotherapy

A new study from Queen Mary University of London has demonstrated that immune cells can be stimulated to assemble into special structures within pancreatic cancer such that, at least in a pre-clinical model, researchers can demonstrate an improvement in the efficacy of chemotherapy.

9 Jul 2021

Societies experience a sense of fatigue due to the pandemic

How a pandemic progresses in a country is largely determined by social, political and psychological processes. Predicting these socio-dynamics seems hardly possible until today; thus making it impossible to foresee the course the pandemic takes.

9 Jul 2021

Consumer checklist to support people locate effective treatment for eating disorders

In spite of many clinical options, people with mental health problems including eating disorders often do not access professional help within the crucial first 12 months - in part because of lack of information in the community about accessing targeted services.

9 Jul 2021

Can saliva metabolomics predict COVID-19 severity?

New research suggests that saliva metabolomics may be able to help prognosticate disease severity in COVID-19 positive individuals.

9 Jul 2021

Antiviral activity of long-chain polyphosphates against SARS-CoV-2 infection

A new study has been published in Science Signaling that has examined the potential role that long-chain inorganic polyphosphates (polyPs) play against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

9 Jul 2021

Federal speech rulings may embolden health care workers to call out safety issues

Karen Jo Young wrote a letter to her local newspaper criticizing executives at the hospital where she worked as an activities coordinator, arguing that their actions led to staffing shortages and other patient safety problems.

9 Jul 2021

Researchers model probability of extinction of SARS-CoV-2 variant in an outbreak

However, it cannot be confirmed for certain that the strain has been eliminated, raising the question of how long a strain must go undetected before being considered, in all probability, extinct.

9 Jul 2021

Open talk about negative features of COVID-19 vaccines increases trust

Concerns have been raised about the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines regarding very rare but potentially fatal side effects related to low blood platelet counts and blood clots. Recently, reports also emerged that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may cause a rare yet serious side effect: heart inflammation.

9 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing in oral fluids may be an efficient way forward for research in children

A recent study by researchers from the United Kingdom (UK) and Brazil shows how laboratory assays based on the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in oral fluids can be used as a suitable tool for population-based seroepidemiology studies in children. The paper is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server while it undergoes peer review.

8 Jul 2021

Intranasal COVID-19 vaccine protects animals against lethal COVID-19 infection

In a new study assessing the potential of a single-dose, intranasal COVID-19 vaccine, a team from the University of Iowa and the University of Georgia found that the vaccine fully protects mice against lethal COVID-19 infection.

8 Jul 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Socioeconomic inequities and structural racism are neglected pieces of SARS-CoV-2 transmission networks

Accelerating the design of minibinder therapeutics resilient to SARS-CoV-2 mutations

Pfizer aims to implement boosters and a new vaccine based on SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant

Novel monoclonal antibody could pave way for future COVID-19 treatments and vaccines

SARS-CoV-2 immunity due to prior infection or vaccination is similar, study says

Initial SARS-CoV-2 vaccination response may predict BNT162b2 booster response, but not AZD1222

Restructuring SNAP is a straightforward way to eliminate food insecurity in the U.S.

Transgender, nonbinary people faced reduced access to gender-affirming care during the pandemic

UTIA researchers receive $423,316 grant to study food loss and waste reduction

UArizona-led center receives $3 million NSF grant to advance at-home health care technology

Stimulating immune cells to form special structures can potentiate pancreatic cancer chemotherapy

Societies experience a sense of fatigue due to the pandemic

Consumer checklist to support people locate effective treatment for eating disorders

Can saliva metabolomics predict COVID-19 severity?

Antiviral activity of long-chain polyphosphates against SARS-CoV-2 infection

Federal speech rulings may embolden health care workers to call out safety issues

Researchers model probability of extinction of SARS-CoV-2 variant in an outbreak

Open talk about negative features of COVID-19 vaccines increases trust

SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing in oral fluids may be an efficient way forward for research in children

Intranasal COVID-19 vaccine protects animals against lethal COVID-19 infection

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