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.

Isolation of potent neutralizing monoclonal antibodies using nanoparticles displaying SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein

A new study aimed to identify several potent neutralizing RBD-directed and NTD-directed mAbs that used a nanoparticle displaying the S glycoprotein to capture SARS-CoV-2-specific B cells.

2 Nov 2021

‘Not quite on board’: Parents proving a tough sell on covid vax for teens

Even as the U.S. prepares to roll out a covid-19 vaccine to elementary school-aged kids, its efforts to inoculate teenagers — who have been eligible for the shot since May — continue to meet with a lackluster response.

2 Nov 2021

What are the risk factors for severe disease in children hospitalized for SARS-CoV-2 infection?

A new preprint describes an effort to describe the risk factors for severe COVID-19 in children.

2 Nov 2021

Identification of common genes in COVID-19 and COPD

Based on protein-protein interactions, the paper shows the presence of ten genes that overlap between the two illnesses, also shared by several other deadly and debilitating diseases.

2 Nov 2021

What do we really know about vaccine effectiveness?

The politicization of covid vaccines — and, well, just about everything else having to do with the pandemic — has led to confusion, if not utter fatigue.

2 Nov 2021

Labs with no one to run them: Why public health workers are fleeing the field

There were days, nights and weekends in the early months of the pandemic when Denise Von Bargen was the only person running covid tests at the public health lab in Ventura County. She once had eight or nine employees to assist her, but, one by one, they had all retired or left for other jobs.

2 Nov 2021

Placental cell-type productively infected with SARS-CoV-2

A new preprint describes the development of a new platform for evaluating the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in placental tissue.

2 Nov 2021

SARS-CoV-2 variants neutralized by camel nanobodies

Researchers from the US recently isolated two VHH nanobodies - 7A3 and 8A2 - from dromedary camels (Camelus dromedaries) using phage display. These nanobodies were found to have a high affinity for the spike RBD and broad neutralization abilities against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants.

2 Nov 2021

New Australian study identifies key barriers to COVID-19 testing and vaccination

A new study aimed to bridge the gap in a culturally and linguistically diverse population concerning COVID-19 testing intentions and vaccine willingness.

1 Nov 2021

New genetic epidemiology tool provides detailed information about viruses, coinfections

With mask wearing and social distancing on the decline and the cold and flu season upon us, researchers have developed a viral panel that enables the simultaneous testing for SARS-CoV-2 along with numerous common respiratory viruses, that tells us whether other viruses also are at play in patients hard hit by COVID.

1 Nov 2021

Evidence antibodies targeting HCoV-OC43 are robustly boosted in response to SARS-CoV-2 but not vaccination

The magnitude of cross-reactive antibodies correlated well with responses to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and the S2 subdomain.

1 Nov 2021

Do weather and climate determine where COVID-19 occurs?

A new study provides information on the associations between weather parameters and seasonal coronavirus cases.

1 Nov 2021

Lehigh’s undergraduate students receive NIH Award for new sickle cell diagnostic device

Their tickets were booked. Their schedules were set. The students were finally going to test their product on real people. But in July, Sierra Leone's COVID-19 level spiked almost overnight, and Lehigh's Sickle Cell Anemia Diagnostic Device team lost yet another opportunity to conduct fieldwork.

1 Nov 2021