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.

Quantification of antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 variants elicited by BNT162b2 vaccine

A new study discusses the development of dedicated reagents against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein through the use of an automated CLEIA system.

28 Sep 2021

A retrospective surveillance study of Pfizer–BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in Israel

One recent study provided nationwide estimates of the burden of SARS-CoV-2 that could be averted by Israel's vaccination campaign.

28 Sep 2021

The role of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning in virus transmission, including SARS-CoV-2

A new study provides an overview of reviews to identify previous systematic reviews on HVAC systems and airborne transmission of infectious agents.

28 Sep 2021

New findings highlight the need to expand the toolbox to fight against COVID-19

When Kamlendra Singh flew back to Missouri from India in April, he developed a cough and fever on the plane, despite being vaccinated for COVID-19 and testing negative for the virus right before departure.

28 Sep 2021

Salt substitutes are effective in reducing stroke, major cardiovascular events

A salt substitute that includes less sodium reduced rates of stroke and heart attack in rural China, according to a trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

28 Sep 2021

NIAID awards approximately $36.3 million to fuel vaccine research for coronaviruses

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded approximately $36.3 million to three academic institutions to conduct research to develop vaccines to protect against multiple types of coronaviruses and viral variants.

28 Sep 2021

Researchers find cliché-sounding behavioral patterns from first coronavirus lockdown

In a crisis, women make significantly longer phone calls and adhere more closely to governmental measures than men; men are less likely to have their mobility restricted and return to normal more quickly than women.

28 Sep 2021

Higher fruit and veg intake associated with better mental health in secondary school pupils

Nutritious breakfast and lunch linked to emotional wellbeing in pupils across the age spectrum Include good nutrition in public health strategies for kids' mental health, urge researchers.

28 Sep 2021

Research uncovers exclusion of people with disabilities from COVID-19 planning and relief efforts

Three new publications by Inclusive Futures have revealed how people with disabilities were not only disproportionately and 'catastrophically' excluded from COVID-19 pandemic planning and relief efforts, but that representative disability groups were vital in aiding those left behind by the systems that are supposed to support them.

28 Sep 2021

COVID-19 vaccination reduces risk and duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection

In a study conducted at the European Institute of Oncology, scientists have found that the risk and duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection reduced significantly after COVID-19 vaccination.

28 Sep 2021

Scientists create new compliance-based model for SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Researchers from Utrecht University have been investigating the interactions between compliance social distance measurements, infection, and vaccination coverage in order to inform public health policy further. A research paper covering their work is available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

28 Sep 2021

Study shows link between smoking and COVID-19 severity, death

Smoking is highly likely to worsen the severity of COVID-19 and the risk of dying from the infection, finds a large UK Biobank study published online in the respiratory journal Thorax.

28 Sep 2021

COVID-19 lockdown linked with important changes in people's thought patterns

Prolonged social isolation and changes to work opportunities during the first UK lockdown were linked with important changes in people's thought patterns, a new study suggests.

28 Sep 2021

COVID Moonshot receives key funding to accelerate drug discovery efforts

The COVID Moonshot, a non-profit, open-science consortium of scientists from around the world dedicated to the discovery of globally affordable and easily-manufactured antiviral drugs against COVID-19 and future viral pandemics has received key funding of £8 million from Wellcome, on behalf of the Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.

28 Sep 2021

Confinement drastically reduced the transmission of COVID-19 variants in Spain during first wave

The most complete studies on the variants of the coronavirus that dominated the first waves in Spain have just been published in Nature Genetics. The study was carried out by the SeqCOVID consortium, which includes more than 50 Spanish institutions led by the University of Valencia, the Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (IBV, CSIC), and the Fisabio Foundation.

28 Sep 2021

Scientists identify potential antibody candidate with broad-spectrum neutralizing efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 variants

A team of scientists from China and the USA has recently described the antiviral efficacy of a monoclonal antibody candidate targeting the spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Importantly, they have observed that emerging spike mutations could not affect the potency of this antibody. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

27 Sep 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appears effective against SARS-CoV-2 mu variant

Researchers in Japan have conducted a study showing that the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech to protect against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) seems to be adequately effective against the B.1.621 (mu) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

27 Sep 2021

New 'reporter viruses' make it easier to observe SARS-CoV-2 in real time

A version of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease, has been successfully modified to glow brightly in cells and animal tissues, providing a real-time way to track the spread and intensity of viral infection as it happens in animal models, researchers at Texas Biomedical Research Institute report in the journal The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Sep 2021

UK's top rugby players support COVID-19 vaccine roll out

Some of the country's top rugby players have today (Tuesday 28 September) encouraged young people to get their COVID-19 vaccine as they discuss their personal experiences of the pandemic.

27 Sep 2021

Third COVID-19 mRNA vaccine booster dose indicated for myelofibrosis patients

A new study discusses the utility of a third booster dose in patients with myelofibrosis.

27 Sep 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Quantification of antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2 variants elicited by BNT162b2 vaccine

A retrospective surveillance study of Pfizer–BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in Israel

The role of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning in virus transmission, including SARS-CoV-2

New findings highlight the need to expand the toolbox to fight against COVID-19

Salt substitutes are effective in reducing stroke, major cardiovascular events

NIAID awards approximately $36.3 million to fuel vaccine research for coronaviruses

Researchers find cliché-sounding behavioral patterns from first coronavirus lockdown

Higher fruit and veg intake associated with better mental health in secondary school pupils

Research uncovers exclusion of people with disabilities from COVID-19 planning and relief efforts

COVID-19 vaccination reduces risk and duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Scientists create new compliance-based model for SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Study shows link between smoking and COVID-19 severity, death

COVID-19 lockdown linked with important changes in people's thought patterns

COVID Moonshot receives key funding to accelerate drug discovery efforts

Confinement drastically reduced the transmission of COVID-19 variants in Spain during first wave

Scientists identify potential antibody candidate with broad-spectrum neutralizing efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine appears effective against SARS-CoV-2 mu variant

New 'reporter viruses' make it easier to observe SARS-CoV-2 in real time

UK's top rugby players support COVID-19 vaccine roll out

Third COVID-19 mRNA vaccine booster dose indicated for myelofibrosis patients

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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