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.

Reassuring news about the protection that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines offer

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines have proven effective at preventing COVID-19-related mortality and illness. Since no vaccine is 100% effective, breakthrough infections are likely to occur. New research by a group of scientists at Erasmus Medical Center and Radboud University in the Netherlands looked at vaccine-breakthrough infections in a large group of vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs).

25 Aug 2021

Study: Majority of hospital-acquired COVID-19 cases were contracted from other patients

The majority of patients who contracted COVID-19 while in the hospital did so from other patients rather than from healthcare workers, concludes a new study from researchers at the University of Cambridge and Addenbrooke's Hospital.

25 Aug 2021

Compounds from medicinal mushrooms may be our future weapon against SARS-CoV-2

Certain steroid-like compounds from Taiwan's endemic medicinal mushrooms (known as antcins) may inhibit a host cell receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and, thus, prevent viral infection and subsequent development of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), reports a new study published in the MDPI's journal Plants.

24 Aug 2021

UC San Diego Health performed region’s first double lung transplant for a COVID-19 patient

On a July afternoon, Federico Gomez Gil, 56, is dressed in a short-sleeved, collared shirt, sweatpants and a baseball cap. He sits in a chair in a hospital room, surrounded by his wife and two daughters. Given the past five months, this is the moment of a lifetime — a new lifetime.

24 Aug 2021

Psychological capital helps employees to cope with the negative effects of working in a pandemic

Just like the COVID-19 vaccine protects against contracting the contagious virus, the collective elements of self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency helps inoculate employees from the negative effects of working through a pandemic, according to a new West Virginia University study.

24 Aug 2021

COVID-19 economic downturn likely to have prompted an extra 267,000 infant deaths in 2020

An extra 267,000 infants will likely have died in 2020 in low and middle income countries as a result of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, finds a modelling study, published in the online journal BMJ Open.

24 Aug 2021

New clinical trial to test third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people

A new clinical trial to determine whether a third dose of vaccine will improve the immune response for people who have weakened immune systems is launching in the UK.

24 Aug 2021

Lack of inflammatory genes makes carnivores the biggest carriers of zoonotic pathogens

Carnivorous animals lack key genes needed to detect and respond to infection by pathogens, a study has found.

24 Aug 2021

Study shows difference in antibody levels in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and type of vaccination

In a recent study, researchers aimed to monitor the levels of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG levels in populations that were subjected to routine tests.

24 Aug 2021

Researchers conduct population level observational study of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant

In recent study, researchers analyzed COVID-19 data obtained from Israel to determine whether the Alpha variant led to a higher fatality rate.

24 Aug 2021

Which interventions can help prevent SARS-CoV-2's spread in schools?

A new preprint on the medRxiv* server shows that leaving the windows open all day is the most effective intervention.

24 Aug 2021

Higher vaccination coverage is associated with lower COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization

A new preprint on the medRxiv server supports the role of vaccination in reducing the rate of symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

24 Aug 2021

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health and family finances

A new study on the preprint site medRxiv* evaluates how lockdowns affected families with children financially and emotionally.

24 Aug 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant associated with more breakthrough infections

The study highlights that compared to the previously circulating alpha variant, the delta variant is associated with higher infectious virus load and a lower level of humoral immunity in the upper respiratory tract. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server prior to peer review.

24 Aug 2021

UCR researchers gauge social responsibility in reducing COVID-19 spread

Uncertainty and anxiety generated by the COVID-19 pandemic motivated social psychologist Evelyn Vázquez at the University of California, Riverside, to collaborate with UCR Healthy Campus on a study to identify safety measures and public health messaging that reduce the spread of the coronavirus within campus communities.

24 Aug 2021

Study shows higher risk of sarcopenia among older adults who are underweight and lack exercise

Analysis of medical data from around 1800 65-year-old residents of Kobe, a large Japanese city, has shown that at least 3% have possible sarcopenia (*1), revealing that the risks are higher in those who are underweight and don't exercise enough.

24 Aug 2021

Extreme novel pandemics more likely to occur in the future, statistical study reveals

The COVID-19 pandemic may be the deadliest viral outbreak the world has seen in more than a century. But statistically, such extreme events aren't as rare as we may think, asserts a new analysis of novel disease outbreaks over the past 400 years.

24 Aug 2021

Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 vs. SARS-CoV-2

Though vaccination efforts are underway in most countries, there are still limited options for treating COVID-19. Now, researchers at Penn State designed a new COVID-19 therapy that uses a defective synthetic version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to interfere with the actual virus's replication.

23 Aug 2021

Study suggests algorithm may help optimize future COVID-19 vaccine design

Scientists predict the COVID-19 pandemic is on its way to becoming endemic. The rising spread of COVID-19 variants such as Delta has helped infect unvaccinated and some vaccinated individuals. COVID-19 vaccines continue to be the best way to protect against severe illness and death, but there may be a need for vaccines to protect against a specific variant.

23 Aug 2021

Scientists develop a scalable method to harvest exosomes from unpasteurized cow's milk

Exosomes are nano-sized biological capsules that cells produce to protect and courier delicate molecules throughout the body.

23 Aug 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Reassuring news about the protection that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines offer

Study: Majority of hospital-acquired COVID-19 cases were contracted from other patients

Compounds from medicinal mushrooms may be our future weapon against SARS-CoV-2

UC San Diego Health performed region’s first double lung transplant for a COVID-19 patient

Psychological capital helps employees to cope with the negative effects of working in a pandemic

COVID-19 economic downturn likely to have prompted an extra 267,000 infant deaths in 2020

New clinical trial to test third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people

Lack of inflammatory genes makes carnivores the biggest carriers of zoonotic pathogens

Study shows difference in antibody levels in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and type of vaccination

Researchers conduct population level observational study of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant

Which interventions can help prevent SARS-CoV-2's spread in schools?

Higher vaccination coverage is associated with lower COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization

The impact of COVID-19 on mental health and family finances

SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant associated with more breakthrough infections

UCR researchers gauge social responsibility in reducing COVID-19 spread

Study shows higher risk of sarcopenia among older adults who are underweight and lack exercise

Extreme novel pandemics more likely to occur in the future, statistical study reveals

Synthetic SARS-CoV-2 vs. SARS-CoV-2

Study suggests algorithm may help optimize future COVID-19 vaccine design

Scientists develop a scalable method to harvest exosomes from unpasteurized cow's milk

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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