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.

New method predicts if COVID-19 clinical trials will be completed or suspended

In order to win the battle against COVID-19, studies to develop vaccines, drugs, devices and re-purposed drugs are urgently needed.

21 Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by cats

Researchers in The Netherlands have warned that domestic cats may play a role in the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

21 Jul 2021

Study evaluates ICU workers' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

A high proportion of staff working in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic have experienced mental health conditions, according to a new study.

21 Jul 2021

Combination antibody therapies retain potency against SARS-CoV-2 variants, FDA / HHS research

Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that while variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can compromise the effectiveness of single therapeutic antibodies at preventing severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), many combination antibody products remain potent against the variants.

21 Jul 2021

Global consortium publishes findings on all-cause mortality during COVID-19 pandemic in 22 countries

A global consortium representing 27 institutions has published findings comparing mortality in the previous five years to deaths between January and August 2020 in the first wave of the pandemic.

21 Jul 2021

Doctors have a poor understanding of long COVID in children, report says

The clinical definition of long COVID in children is at present very limited and poorly understood by doctors, according to a new report published today [21 July].

21 Jul 2021

WFP and WHO launch joint project to improve emergency response to health crises

Following the recent G20 side event co-hosted by the Italian Government and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) focusing on the role of logistics in current and future health emergencies, WFP and the World Health Organization (WHO) are launching INITIATE2, a joint project to bring together emergency actors, research and academic institutions, and international and national partners to promote knowledge sharing and skills transfer for improved emergency response to health crises.

21 Jul 2021

U.S. sees sharp decrease in life expectancy largely due to COVID-19 pandemic, CDC says

New preliminary data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that average life expectancy in the United States fell by 1.5 years over 2020.

21 Jul 2021

Intestinal organoids demonstrate variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility

Three-dimensional organoid structures grown in the lab allow deeper, almost in situ investigation of a biological system, without the use of living animals. In a paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv*, organoids generated from human specimens are utilized to investigate the way in which SARS-CoV-2 interacts with the numerous cells of the intestinal epithelium, finding great heterogeneity in the susceptibility of the organoids and the cells within to infection.

21 Jul 2021

Study examines the host and viral factors that drive SARS-CoV-2 evolution

In a new paper recently uploaded to the preprint server bioRxiv*, two clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2 are monitored by whole genome sequencing as they are passaged through several generations of Vero cells or human-derived primary nasal epithelial cells (PNEC), allowing direct observation of the occurrence of virus enhancing mutations and the way in which host cell factors shape virus evolution.

21 Jul 2021

Study associates feelings of discrimination and low status with long COVID-19 symptoms

A recent study, released as a preprint on the medRxiv* server, examines the correlation of these symptoms with the patient’s socioeconomic status (SES) and perception of social discrimination, along with other social factors. The researchers found that the first two factors are associated strongly with long-term symptoms of COVID-19.

21 Jul 2021

How to run a COVID-19 vaccination campaign: lessons from other infectious outbreaks

A new paper, available on the medRxiv* preprint server, presents lessons learned from the implementation of three adult vaccine programs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Africa and South America.

21 Jul 2021

COVIDcast API: An open repository of real-time COVID-19 indicators

A new preprint available on the medRxiv* server reports the utility of the COVIDcast API, a database of all COVID-19 indicators that are constantly being updated, dating from April 2020.

21 Jul 2021

The delta variant thrives in a state of political and public health discord

The day after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson finished his bicentennial bus tour to drum up tourism to the state in mid-July, Chicago issued a travel advisory warning about visiting Missouri.

21 Jul 2021

World Brain Day 2021: An interview with Professor Alan Thompson

In commemoration of World Brain Day 2021, News-Medical spoke to renowned neurology expert Professor Alan Thompson about his incredible career in brain research.

21 Jul 2021

Study looks into COVID-19 partial school closures and mental health problems among students

A new study published in JCPP Advances has compared the wellbeing of UK students who remained at home for schooling during the first lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic with those who accessed school in person.

21 Jul 2021

Virginia Tech's in-house development of novel SARS-CoV-2 test shows the power of academic labs

In the early days of the pandemic, scientists at Virginia Tech created a COVID-19 testing laboratory and novel test for the virus from scratch.

21 Jul 2021

Study explores COVID-19 transmission risk during school bus transportation

Although in-school transmission of COVID-19 among K-12 students is low when safeguards are in place, the risk of acquiring COVID-19 during school bus transportation is unclear. A study published in the Journal of School Health reports on the bus transport experience of an independent school in Virginia.

21 Jul 2021

Human coronaviruses need organic materials to transfer efficiently between surfaces

This study, published in the journal Viruses, indicated that human coronaviruses do not transfer effectively from contaminated hands to contact surfaces without the presence of any organic material.

21 Jul 2021

Scientists explore susceptibility of different animals to SARS-CoV-2 infection

A team of researchers at the Institute of Infectious Diseases (IFIK) at the University of Bern and the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) has utilized a unique collection of advanced cell culture models of cells lining the airways from various domesticated and wildlife animals. This way, the team can determine which animals are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

20 Jul 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

New method predicts if COVID-19 clinical trials will be completed or suspended

SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted by cats

Study evaluates ICU workers' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Combination antibody therapies retain potency against SARS-CoV-2 variants, FDA / HHS research

Global consortium publishes findings on all-cause mortality during COVID-19 pandemic in 22 countries

Doctors have a poor understanding of long COVID in children, report says

WFP and WHO launch joint project to improve emergency response to health crises

U.S. sees sharp decrease in life expectancy largely due to COVID-19 pandemic, CDC says

Intestinal organoids demonstrate variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility

Study examines the host and viral factors that drive SARS-CoV-2 evolution

Study associates feelings of discrimination and low status with long COVID-19 symptoms

How to run a COVID-19 vaccination campaign: lessons from other infectious outbreaks

COVIDcast API: An open repository of real-time COVID-19 indicators

The delta variant thrives in a state of political and public health discord

World Brain Day 2021: An interview with Professor Alan Thompson

Study looks into COVID-19 partial school closures and mental health problems among students

Virginia Tech's in-house development of novel SARS-CoV-2 test shows the power of academic labs

Study explores COVID-19 transmission risk during school bus transportation

Human coronaviruses need organic materials to transfer efficiently between surfaces

Scientists explore susceptibility of different animals to SARS-CoV-2 infection

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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