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.

Stevens researchers aim to develop AI tool capable of detecting COVID-19 related “fake news”

As the COVID-19 pandemic surged, the World Health Organization and the United Nations issued a stark warning: an "infodemic" of online rumors and fake news relating to COVID-19 was impeding public health efforts and causing unnecessary deaths.

28 Oct 2021

Chatbot could be an effective tool to help reduce vaccine hesitancy

What if a few minutes of interaction with a chatbot could effectively address vaccine concerns? In an article published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (28 October 2021), researchers from the CNRS, INSERM, and ENS-PSL show that such an interface is indeed capable of swaying the vaccine-hesitant.

28 Oct 2021

More strategic COVID-19 testing can reduce reliance on costly preventative interventions

Strategically increasing testing capacity, either by making diagnostic tests faster or more available, can reduce reliance on costly preventative interventions, such as distancing and shutdowns, according to a team of researchers led by Penn State.

28 Oct 2021

How long does natural or vaccine-induced immunity to COVID last?

Researchers present a comprehensive assessment on SARS-CoV-2 induced immunity.

28 Oct 2021

Study suggests third dose of the Pfizer vaccine could reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission

A new study examined protection against symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from non-Delta variants using data from randomized control trials.

28 Oct 2021

Structure of human-infecting canine coronavirus HuPn-2018 spike glycoprotein

As CCoV-HuPn-2018 has been recently isolated in a child's respiratory swab, researchers from the University Of Washington have been examining the structure of the virus.

28 Oct 2021

Malaria: An Interview with the World Health Organization

In this interview, we spoke to Dr. Akpaka Kalu, the World Health Organization's team leader for malaria in Africa, about the groundbreaking malaria vaccine rollout announcement.

28 Oct 2021

Panel of broadly neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 nanobodies for immune assay application

In this study, a team of researchers from Japanese institutions provide a panel of broadly neutralizing nanobodies that detect four VOCs.

28 Oct 2021

Medicare punishes 2,499 hospitals for high readmissions

The federal government's effort to penalize hospitals for excessive patient readmissions is ending its first decade with Medicare cutting payments to nearly half the nation's hospitals.

28 Oct 2021

Using fluvoxamine to treat COVID-19 patients reduces the need for prolonged hospitalization, trial shows

The results of a new randomized clinical trial, published in The Lancet Global Health, have demonstrated that using fluvoxamine to treat high-risk outpatients with early-diagnosed COVID-19 reduced the need for prolonged observation in an emergency setting or hospitalization, compared to a control group who received a placebo.

28 Oct 2021

Japanese study on SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections

Researchers evaluated SARS-CoV-2 incidence in Japan regarding the timing of the vaccination program and surge in COVID-19 cases among the staff of a large referral hospital in Tokyo. This study is posted to the medRxiv* preprint server.

28 Oct 2021

N antibodies following SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta infections by vaccination status

A new study, published on the medRxiv* preprint server, has focused on the use of anti-nucleocapsid (N) antibody positivity as a marker of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the present study, these antibody markers were evaluated using serological surveillance studies post-vaccination amidst circulation of variants of concern.

28 Oct 2021

COVID vaccines deployed in US highly effective at reducing hospitalizations and deaths

Researchers in the United States have conducted a large-scale study showing that the two-dose regimen vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) appear to be highly effective and durable in reducing the risk of hospitalizations and deaths following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

28 Oct 2021

A low-cost repurposed drug can save COVID-19 patients' lives

An inexpensive repurposed drug called fluvoxamine can save the lives of COVID-19 patients and cut hospital admissions by up to 30 per cent, says a study co-led by McMaster University.

27 Oct 2021

Survey: Young adults with chronic pain more likely to use cannabis or CBD oil to manage the condition

Young adults, ages 18-34, are more likely to report experiencing chronic pain compared to older adults (65% vs. 52% ages 35+), with a large majority of them (73%) saying they are in pain every day, according to a new survey conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the Samueli Foundation.

27 Oct 2021