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.

Political institutions had larger impact on COVID-19 plans than institutions organizing national healthcare

Political institutions such as the timing of elections and presidentialism had a larger influence on COVID-19 strategies than the institutions organizing national healthcare, according to a research team led by a professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

23 Jun 2021

New study enrolls young adults to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 infection

The Prevent COVID U study, which launched in late March 2021 to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission among university students vaccinated with the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, has expanded beyond the university setting to enroll young adults ages 18 through 29 years and will now also include people in this age group who choose not to receive a vaccine.

23 Jun 2021

Lack of spectators during pandemic has noticeable effect on athletes’ performance

Without an audience, men run slower and women faster: The lack of spectators during the coronavirus pandemic appears to have had a noticeable effect on the performance of athletes at the 2020 Biathlon World Cup, a new study by Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in Psychology of Sport and Exercise shows. According to the new analysis, women also performed better in complex tasks, such as shooting, when an audience was present while men did not.

23 Jun 2021

Vaccine side effects should be viewed as a sign of efficacy, say immunologists

The rapid development of safe and efficacious vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 has offered hope that the global COVID-19 pandemic may soon be under control. However, vaccinations remain incomplete in many developed nations, and lag further still in the developing world.

23 Jun 2021

More than 16 million Americans had undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infections during first wave

As many as 16.8 million Americans had undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infections - 5 times the rate of diagnosed infections - by the end of July of 2020, according to an analysis of antibodies from more than 8,000 previously undiagnosed adults collected during the pandemic's first wave.

23 Jun 2021

First spatial scan analysis helps identify hotspots of undervaccinated children

The map of Montana Kayla Irish pulls up is peppered with red circles, each cluster providing details behind one of today's timely topics - childhood vaccination.

23 Jun 2021

GenScript and Duke-NUS announce notice of allowance for “Surrogate Virus Neutralization Technology”

GenScript Biotech Corporation ("GenScript", Stock Code: 1548.HK), a world-leading life sciences research and application service and product provider, and Duke-NUS Medical School, a premier, research intensive medical school, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trade Office has issued a notice of allowance for the patent application for a novel Surrogate Virus Neutralization Technology (sVNT).

23 Jun 2021

Partisanship guided Americans' health decisions at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic

What motivated Americans to wear masks and stay socially distanced (or not) at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic? More often than not, it was partisanship, rather than perceived or actual health risk, that drove their behavior, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at Brown University.

23 Jun 2021

Face-to-face interaction, distrust in preventative medicine caused "excess deaths" in Amish communities in 2020

Sunday church service in Amish country is more than just belting out hymns, reading Bible passages and returning home an hour later to catch a football game or nap.

23 Jun 2021

Experts address workforce issues in long-term care

"Workforce issues are the most significant challenges facing the long-term care industry," states the opening editorial of a new special issue of The Gerontologist titled "Workforce Issues in Long-Term Care."

22 Jun 2021

Using environmental fluid dynamics to correct COVID-19 pandemic's first wave data inaccuracies

Two COVID-19 pandemic curves emerged within many cities during the one-year period from March 2020 to March 2021.

22 Jun 2021

New universal vaccine protects mice against COVID-19 and other coronaviruses

Scientists at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health have developed a universal vaccine that protected mice not just against COVID-19 but also other coronaviruses and triggered the immune system to fight off a dangerous variant.

22 Jun 2021

Engineering nanobodies to fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Scientists are pursuing a new strategy in the protracted fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus by engineering nanobodies that can neutralize virus variants in two different ways.

22 Jun 2021

Do the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines elicit different antibody responses?

A recent study led by scientists from the United States has compared the anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody response among clinicians who have been immunized with Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine.

22 Jun 2021

What is the optimal dosing regimen for remdesivir in COVID-19 patients? A computational model

A team of scientists from the Pennsylvania State University, USA, recently analyzed the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of antiviral drug remdesivir using computational models. Based on the study findings, which are yet to be peer-reviewed, the scientists recommend that for effective inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection, remdesivir should be used with other antiviral medicines, or its dosing regimen should be optimized to improve bioavailability.

22 Jun 2021

Is liquid chalk an effective disinfectant of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses?

A recent study, published in the American Society for Microbiology’s journal, mSphere, evaluated the use of many liquid chalk products as antiseptics against the transmission of highly pathogenic human viruses such as influenza A virus (H1N1), SARS-CoV-2, (IAV), and norovirus in a mouse norovirus (MNV) model. The researchers applied chalk before or after virus inoculum and determined the recovery of infectious virus to mimic its use in the gym setting.

22 Jun 2021

Have maternal pre-pandemic stress levels influenced children’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic?

A recent study, published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, assessed the role of maternal daily perceived stress on the mental health of children during the pandemic.

22 Jun 2021

Researchers screen Chinese herbal medicines and plant compounds for anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

A review published in Phytotherapy Research discussed the natural anti-SARS-CoV-2 products identified based on in silico prediction. The review’s authors also illustrate the impact of many phytochemicals either alone or in combination with traditional treatments and their potential molecular mechanisms involved in SARS-CoV-2 prevention and treatment.

22 Jun 2021

In a murky sea of mental health apps, consumers left adrift

In the eyes of the tech industry, mental health treatment is an area ripe for disruption.

22 Jun 2021

Hospitals, insurers invest big dollars to tackle patients’ social needs

When doctors at a primary care clinic here noticed many of its poorest patients were failing to show up for appointments, they hoped giving out free rides would help.

22 Jun 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Political institutions had larger impact on COVID-19 plans than institutions organizing national healthcare

New study enrolls young adults to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 infection

Lack of spectators during pandemic has noticeable effect on athletes’ performance

Vaccine side effects should be viewed as a sign of efficacy, say immunologists

More than 16 million Americans had undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infections during first wave

First spatial scan analysis helps identify hotspots of undervaccinated children

GenScript and Duke-NUS announce notice of allowance for “Surrogate Virus Neutralization Technology”

Partisanship guided Americans' health decisions at the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic

Face-to-face interaction, distrust in preventative medicine caused "excess deaths" in Amish communities in 2020

Experts address workforce issues in long-term care

Using environmental fluid dynamics to correct COVID-19 pandemic's first wave data inaccuracies

New universal vaccine protects mice against COVID-19 and other coronaviruses

Engineering nanobodies to fight against the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Do the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines elicit different antibody responses?

What is the optimal dosing regimen for remdesivir in COVID-19 patients? A computational model

Is liquid chalk an effective disinfectant of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses?

Have maternal pre-pandemic stress levels influenced children’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Researchers screen Chinese herbal medicines and plant compounds for anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity

In a murky sea of mental health apps, consumers left adrift

Hospitals, insurers invest big dollars to tackle patients’ social needs

Discover how SciY empowers scientists

Why use light scattering to analyze proteins and viral vectors?

Changing the landscape of R&D to build clinical success from the ground up

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