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.

What happens after a campus suicide is a form of prevention, too

Ethan Phillips was 13 years old when he first heard the term "suicide contagion." It's the scientific concept that after one person dies by suicide, others in the community may be at higher risk.

19 Nov 2021

A covid head-scratcher: Why lice lurk despite physical distancing

The Marker family opened their door on a recent evening to a woman dressed in purple, with a military attitude to cleanliness.

19 Nov 2021

Population-based risk compensation may have been a driving force in UK's COVID pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has irreversibly altered our lives in many ways. However, available COVID vaccines are effective against (symptomatic) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, hospitalizations, and even death. Despite a diminishing protective effect against infection and onward transmission after vaccination, and a slightly diminished effect with the Delta variant compared to the Alpha variant, protection against severe outcomes remains high.

19 Nov 2021

UCLA study shows how COVID vaccination is critical to controlling the pandemic

A study currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server has demonstrated that the incidence and mortality rates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the US can be significantly reduced at the population level by increasing vaccinate rates from 40% to 80%.

18 Nov 2021

A nasal COVID vaccine using a weakened influenza vector

The authors of a new study, published on the bioRxiv* preprint server, constructed a COVID-19 nasal vaccine candidate by inserting a gene encoding the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, named CA4-dNS1-nCoV-RBD (dNS1-RBD) in a live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) vector.

18 Nov 2021

Seroprevalence study in Tamil Nadu shows antibody decline following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination

In the sixth-most populated state of India – Tamil Nadu, three rounds of a district-level serological study were conducted through two COVID waves.

18 Nov 2021

Air filter and floor sampling to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in schools

A study recently published on the medRxiv* preprint server observed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in five schools (96 classrooms) in Davis, California (USA), by collecting weekly surface-swab samples from classroom floors and/or portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) units.

18 Nov 2021

Long-term glycemic levels predict the risk of COVID-19 severity among diabetics

People with type 2 diabetes who contract COVID-19 are nearly 50% more likely to wind up in intensive care if they have poorly managed their blood sugar levels over the long-term than those with better long-term glycemic control, according to a study using anonymized health care data.

18 Nov 2021

Public health measures should be continued alongside covid-19 vaccination, suggest experts

Several personal protective and social measures, including handwashing, mask wearing, and physical distancing are associated with reductions in the incidence covid-19 and should be continued alongside vaccination, suggest experts after reviewing the latest evidence in The BMJ today.

18 Nov 2021

New strategies for dealing with future pandemics

In a recent study, researchers explore strategies for managing pandemics as well as model potentially optimal solutions.

18 Nov 2021

What is the public perception surrounding COVID immunity certificates?

Researchers investigate views on immunity certificates and how they interact with other opinions on the pandemic.

18 Nov 2021

NIH study finds naturally acquired immunity is weak against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Immunity acquired after recovering from SARS-CoV-2 infection is not sufficient in protecting against reinfection from variants.

18 Nov 2021

SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection in farmed mink

A new study finds that farmed mink acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection, freely transmit it among themselves, and were reinfected, despite being seropositive.

18 Nov 2021

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week: An Interview with the World Health Organization

For World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2021, we spoke to Dr. Liz Tayler from the World Health Organization about antimicrobial resistance.

18 Nov 2021

Stranded by the pandemic, he had only travel insurance. It left him with a $38,000 bill.

Duy Hoa Tran, a retired Vietnamese schoolteacher, arrived in Los Angeles in February 2020 to visit his daughter and 2-month-old grandson.

18 Nov 2021

Schools, pediatricians look to make up lost ground on non-covid vaccinations

Melissa Blatzer was determined to get her three children caught up on their routine immunizations on a recent Saturday morning at a walk-in clinic in this Denver suburb. It had been about a year since the kids' last shots, a delay Blatzer chalked up to the pandemic.

18 Nov 2021

Public opinion is unified on lowering prescription drug prices. Why are leaders settling for less?

Democrats and Republicans are crystal clear in polls that they want government to be allowed to negotiate down high drug prices. Americans pay nearly three times as much for drugs as patients in dozens of other countries.

18 Nov 2021

COVID-19 in open schools and preschools in Norway

A new study describes the cases and outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools and preschools in Norway to evaluate the strategy of keeping them open with control measures in place.

18 Nov 2021

Blood proteomic survey in undiagnosed population with COVID-19

In this study, scientists have profiled 276 circulating proteins that are associated with cardiovascular and metabolic functions.

18 Nov 2021

Real-world effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines

A new study published in Infectious Diseases of Poverty aimed to systematically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines in the real world as well as establish a reliable evidence-based basis to determine the actual protective effect of the COVID-19 vaccines, especially considering the new waves of infection brought about by the variants.

18 Nov 2021