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.

Study shows effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the health of women aged 50 to 70 years

In a study involving 34 women aged 50-70, researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil performed objective measurements of the impact on the subjects' health of the decrease in physical activity observed during the period of social distancing and isolation imposed by COVID-19.

30 Jun 2021

Solar irradiation inactivates SARS-CoV-2 and other human coronaviruses, finds study

Coronaviruses irradiated with simulated sunlight used to infect cells showed reduced infectivity and reduced viral replication compared to viruses that were not irradiated.

30 Jun 2021

Intranasal COVID-19 vaccine developed from bacterial extracellular vesicle induces robust antibody response in preclinical trials

A team of US-based scientists recently developed a novel vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen of COVID-19. The vaccine is composed of extracellular vesicles of Salmonella typhimurium incorporated with the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2. Upon intranasal administration in hamsters, the vaccine induces strong blood antibody titers and protects against severe COVID-19.

30 Jun 2021

Is the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant threatening vaccine efficacy?

A new study in the UK, by researchers at Imperial College London, The Francis Crick Institute and the University of Glasgow, explores the loss of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine efficacy against the virus behind the current pandemic caused by the emergence of newer variants that have undergone mutational escape.

30 Jun 2021

Effectively monitoring COVID-19 in reopened educational institutions: the San Diego model

An interesting new study from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) shows that using preventive measures to block viral transmission, coupled with repeated testing and rapid turnaround times for the results, can successfully prevent outbreaks associated with the reopening of educational institutions.

30 Jun 2021

Is mild COVID-19 in children due to stronger antiviral innate immunity in the upper airway?

A new preprint on the medRxiv* server adds fuel to this train of thought, showing that the required cell program is already active in children – namely, a higher expression of specific pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which mediate an interferon (IFN) response.

30 Jun 2021

Researchers create Tensiobot to help patients monitor their blood pressure at home

Hypertension is a chronic disease that canlead toserious health problems.Patients with arterial hypertensionare required to measure their blood pressure at home, which can have some drawbacks, such as forgetting to checkitor recordingthe values, errors inwriting downthe figures,the inabilityto immediately notify health care staff aboutout-of-range blood pressure values, etc.

30 Jun 2021

Researchers launch a new smell training device for rehabilitation after Covid-19

Smell training used to be mainly a thing for wine enthusiasts, gourmets, and perfumers. But Covid-19 changed all that, and now Malmö University researchers have launched a new smell training device.

30 Jun 2021

Desperate for home care, seniors often wait months with workers in short supply

For years, Louise Shackett has had trouble walking or standing for long periods, making it difficult for her to clean her house in southeastern Maine or do laundry. Shackett, 80, no longer drives, which makes it hard to get to the grocery store or doctor.

30 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 inhibited by pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitors in conjunction with nucleoside analogs

In an effort to hasten the research on identifying antiviral drugs for SARS-CoV-2 infection, researchers from the U.S. and Switzerland performed extensive drug screening for antiviral activity using live virus infection in human respiratory cells. As a result, they identified a set of possible drug candidates that could potentially be tested in clinical trials.

30 Jun 2021

COVID-19 prevalence among hospitalized infants may depend on levels of community transmission

How common COVID-19 is among infants may depend on the degree of the pandemic virus circulating in a community, a new study finds.

30 Jun 2021

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections fewer among fully vaccinated

A team of researchers at Indiana University reports genomic evidence of breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated individuals. The study, posted to the pre-print server medRxiv*, suggests that fully vaccinated individuals, including those with asymptomatic infections, are less likely to serve as a source of infection for others.

30 Jun 2021

Alpha (B.1.1.7) SARS-CoV-2 variant associated with more severe disease in hospitalized women

Researchers in the UK have conducted a study showing that infection with the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) lineage of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be associated with an increased risk of death or intensive care unit (ITU) admission among women, compared with non-B.1.1.7 infection.

29 Jun 2021

Widespread SARS-CoV-2 mutation escapes vaccine- and infection-induced CD8 T-cell responses

Researchers in the UK have warned that a widespread mutation that has arisen in the spike protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) appears to escape recognition by CD8 T-cell responses in both convalescent patients and recipients of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines.

29 Jun 2021

Innovative corona test offers great potential for systematic testing

A new corona test developed at the University Hospital Bonn can analyze a large number of swabs simultaneously using sequencing technology and has a similarly high sensitivity as the common qPCR test.

29 Jun 2021

Heart attacks during COVID-19 pandemic more likely to result in worse outcomes

Heart attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic were more likely to result in heart failure compared with heart attacks one year earlier, according to research presented today at Heart Failure 2021, an online scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology.

29 Jun 2021

IU School of Medicine wins $30 million NIA funding to study Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias grant has been renewed for another five years with funding expected to total $30 million from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), within the National Institutes of the Health.

29 Jun 2021

Study reveals public health risks posed by household fireworks

Fireworks are synonymous in the United States with the celebration of Independence Day and other special events, but the colorful displays have caused a growing risk to public safety in recent years, according to a study by environmental health researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

29 Jun 2021

Major study set to compare the use of surgical robots and standard methods in knee replacement

A major national study will pitch human skill against machine precision as it compares the benefits of knee replacement surgery performed using a robot to a surgeon using traditional methods.

29 Jun 2021

More evidence that mixing COVID-19 vaccines may help elicit a robust immune response

Eight volunteers who received a complete dose or a single dose of an mRNA vaccine or the ChAdOx1 vaccine after a dose of a trial gorilla adenovirus vaccine showed a significantly high level of antibodies and T cell response against SARS-CoV-2.

29 Jun 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Study shows effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the health of women aged 50 to 70 years

Solar irradiation inactivates SARS-CoV-2 and other human coronaviruses, finds study

Intranasal COVID-19 vaccine developed from bacterial extracellular vesicle induces robust antibody response in preclinical trials

Is the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant threatening vaccine efficacy?

Effectively monitoring COVID-19 in reopened educational institutions: the San Diego model

Is mild COVID-19 in children due to stronger antiviral innate immunity in the upper airway?

Researchers create Tensiobot to help patients monitor their blood pressure at home

Researchers launch a new smell training device for rehabilitation after Covid-19

Desperate for home care, seniors often wait months with workers in short supply

SARS-CoV-2 inhibited by pyrimidine biosynthesis inhibitors in conjunction with nucleoside analogs

COVID-19 prevalence among hospitalized infants may depend on levels of community transmission

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections fewer among fully vaccinated

Alpha (B.1.1.7) SARS-CoV-2 variant associated with more severe disease in hospitalized women

Widespread SARS-CoV-2 mutation escapes vaccine- and infection-induced CD8 T-cell responses

Innovative corona test offers great potential for systematic testing

Heart attacks during COVID-19 pandemic more likely to result in worse outcomes

IU School of Medicine wins $30 million NIA funding to study Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Study reveals public health risks posed by household fireworks

Major study set to compare the use of surgical robots and standard methods in knee replacement

More evidence that mixing COVID-19 vaccines may help elicit a robust immune response

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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