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.

How effective has rapid COVID-19 vaccination been in Israel?

Despite high vaccination rates, analysis shows a definite positive impact, but patience is needed to see the real-world impacts in Israel, a pattern that may hold true in other countries also.

19 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 spike stimulates hyperinflammation via Toll-like receptor 2

A new study, released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, describes the mechanism of inflammation in severe COVID-19, besides revealing a potential new therapeutic target to modulate the severity of COVID-19.

19 Mar 2021

DNA spike-ins increase reliability of amplicon-based sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes

In the interests of cost-effectiveness and rapidity, amplicon-based sequencing of the viral genome has been used to provide a sensitive means of genomic surveillance. A new preprint, which was released on the bioRxiv* server, shows how this can be tweaked to make it a reliable source of genomic data by reducing the known potential for contamination.

19 Mar 2021

Covid-inspired Montana health insurance proposal wouldn’t kick in for 2 years

For employees of small businesses in Montana suddenly laid off during the covid-19 pandemic, maintaining health insurance coverage could be a struggle.

19 Mar 2021

The case for donating US Covid vaccines overseas

A Senate committee grilled federal officials about the shortage of vaccines to protect Americans against a pandemic virus. Two months later, the U.S. public had lost interest in the virus, and millions of vaccines were sitting in warehouses — although poor countries still needed them.

19 Mar 2021

New variant may not have changed COVID-19 pandemic course in UK, says study

A new study examines the effect of the new "Kent variant" of SARS-CoV-2 on the epidemic course within the UK.

19 Mar 2021

Researchers explore nanotechnology’s potential to deliver synergistic therapeutics for COVID-19

A team of scientists reviewed the nanoencapsulation approaches of synergistic compounds (Lectins, Caffeine, Cocoa, Flavonoids, Quercetin) and the role of nanotechnology in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 Mar 2021

Study examines efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine across demographic groups

A new study examines data from Israel's vaccination campaign to assess the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine across different demographics.

19 Mar 2021

Researchers investigate the effect of COVID-19 vaccines on residents of long-term care homes

Long-term care homes have been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, with 70 percent of COVID-19 deaths having occurred in long-term care or nursing homes.

19 Mar 2021

New autonomous technology helps track the daily patterns of isolated older relatives

Researchers are developing new autonomous technologies that can help people check that isolated elderly family members are okay.

19 Mar 2021

Study reveals how SARS-CoV-2 spread in Wuhan before the lockdown

Using molecular dating tools and epidemiological simulations, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues at the University of Arizona and Illumina, Inc., estimate that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was likely circulating undetected for at most two months before the first human cases of COVID-19 were described in Wuhan, China in late-December 2019.

19 Mar 2021

N-terminal domain antibodies play a key role in COVID immunity

Scientists are learning that a lesser-studied region on the pandemic coronavirus is recognized by COVID-19 infection-fighting antibodies. These antibodies were identified in blood samples from previously infected patients, and were found to potently prevent the virus from infecting cells.

19 Mar 2021

Study shows COVID-19 denial depends on people's trust in governments, social institutions

An international team of scholars studied how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Europeans' stress levels and their trust in their national governments and the healthcare systems.

19 Mar 2021

Online learning platform about COVID-19 pandemic aids frontline workers, educates the public

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced medical students out of classrooms and clinical rotations this time last year, the state of Georgia's only public medical school had to quickly rethink its traditional curriculum.

19 Mar 2021

Researchers use combined approach to estimate the timing of first SARS-CoV-2 case

Researchers who simulated early stages of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Wuhan, China, conclude that the virus was likely circulating earlier than has been described, possibly even in mid-October 2019.

19 Mar 2021

Study shows fragile countries had lower COVID-19 incidence, fatality rates

During a pandemic like COVID-19, vulnerable countries are traditionally the focus of global attention and concern. However, new research suggests that we need to rebuild our understanding.

19 Mar 2021

Mass vaccination needed to protect against future resurgences of COVID-19

The first long-term seroprevalence study of residents in Wuhan, China, has found that 6.9% of people in the city had antibodies against COVID-19 in April 2020, and 82% of these people had an asymptomatic infection.

19 Mar 2021

“Crisis Response” is the motto of the 2021 Local Health Authority Day

Coping with the pandemic is a task for the society as a whole. In this connection, the around 400 municipal health authorities are a central pillar for the protection of public health in Germany.

19 Mar 2021

Study shows how ACE2 mutations influence SARS-CoV-2 spike binding in humans and animals

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison aimed to better understand how SARS-CoV-2 interacts with various mammalian angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors. This way, they can identify the factors that influence intra- and cross-species virus transmission.

18 Mar 2021

Engineering immunogens to focus immune response to SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have designed constructs by adding more glycans and adding the receptor-binding motif from related sarbecoviruses to focus the immune response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) receptor-binding motif. Such immunogens could potentially also neutralize other variants and coronaviruses.

18 Mar 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

How effective has rapid COVID-19 vaccination been in Israel?

SARS-CoV-2 spike stimulates hyperinflammation via Toll-like receptor 2

DNA spike-ins increase reliability of amplicon-based sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes

Covid-inspired Montana health insurance proposal wouldn’t kick in for 2 years

The case for donating US Covid vaccines overseas

New variant may not have changed COVID-19 pandemic course in UK, says study

Researchers explore nanotechnology’s potential to deliver synergistic therapeutics for COVID-19

Study examines efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine across demographic groups

Researchers investigate the effect of COVID-19 vaccines on residents of long-term care homes

New autonomous technology helps track the daily patterns of isolated older relatives

Study reveals how SARS-CoV-2 spread in Wuhan before the lockdown

N-terminal domain antibodies play a key role in COVID immunity

Study shows COVID-19 denial depends on people's trust in governments, social institutions

Online learning platform about COVID-19 pandemic aids frontline workers, educates the public

Researchers use combined approach to estimate the timing of first SARS-CoV-2 case

Study shows fragile countries had lower COVID-19 incidence, fatality rates

Mass vaccination needed to protect against future resurgences of COVID-19

“Crisis Response” is the motto of the 2021 Local Health Authority Day

Study shows how ACE2 mutations influence SARS-CoV-2 spike binding in humans and animals

Engineering immunogens to focus immune response to SARS-CoV-2

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