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.

Lawmakers pressure Newsom to ‘step up’ on racism as a public health issue

After the killing last year of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared racism a public health crisis. The governors of Michigan and Nevada quickly followed, as have legislative bodies in Minnesota, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

10 Jun 2021

Can a subscription model fix primary care in the US?

In April, San Francisco-based primary care company One Medical revealed an eye-popping compensation package for its chief executive and chairman, Amir Dan Rubin. His $199 million payday, particularly noteworthy at a company that has yet to turn a profit, made Rubin the second-highest-paid CEO in the United States last year — but only on paper.

10 Jun 2021

Study highlights the dynamic role of social media in epidemics

Researchers from York University and the University of British Columbia have found social media use to be one of the factors related to the spread of COVID-19 within dozens of countries during the early stages of the pandemic.

10 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 detection associates with viral RNA prevalence in patients and hospital environment

Watching what was happening around the world in early 2020, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers knew their region would likely soon be hit with a wave of patients with COVID-19, the infection caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

10 Jun 2021

New article explains the pros and cons of nasal vaccines

Vaccines are mostly synonymous with needles, an efficient and effective way to provide immunity to myriad infections. As COVID-19 vaccination efforts roll out across the U.S. and the world, some experts believe that a vaccine administered through the nose could be just as effective and easier to administer.

10 Jun 2021

Study offers new perspective on disproportionate impact of COVID-19

A new analysis by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) offers a novel perspective on the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has had on people of color, low-income populations, and other structurally disadvantaged groups.

10 Jun 2021

Socially engaged older women higher odds of experiencing emotional abuse or mistreatment

For older adults, participating in social activities can protect against physical and mental signs of aging, but it may also pose risks, especially for women.

9 Jun 2021

Study reports on the immunogenicity of single-shot COVID-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 variants

In the three months since Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, more than 10 million Americans have received the vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

9 Jun 2021

Nose-to-brain: Nasal delivery of biopharmaceuticals to the brain

Placing medications as close as possible to the site of the disease: This sounds completely believable in theory, but is unfortunately not so simple in practice. While this works well for many drugs via the bloodstream or the digestive tract, it does not apply to the brain.

9 Jun 2021

Trained dogs can accurately identify COVID-19 by scent

An interesting new medRxiv* preprint reveals that with careful training, the exquisite scent sensitivity of dogs may be exploited to rule out the presence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in human beings in real-time.

9 Jun 2021

Review of COVID-19's long-term effects

In a recent study, Canadian researchers documented the prevalence of post-COVID-19 conditions 4-12 weeks (short-term) and >12 weeks (long-term), by conducting a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature. This work is posted to the medRxiv* preprint server.

9 Jun 2021

Warmer conditions are not enough to prevent COVID-19 transmission, research shows

New research shows transmission of the virus behind COVID-19 varies seasonally, but warmer conditions are not enough to prevent transmission.

9 Jun 2021

SARS-CoV-2 enzyme inhibitors among drugs screened for repurposing

A new bioRxiv* preprint describes the identification of some promising pharmaceutical compounds that could be developed as antiviral drugs against COVID-19.

9 Jun 2021

Childhood stress associated with early emergence of permanent molars

Early in her career neuroscientist Allyson Mackey began thinking about molars. As a researcher who studies brain development, she wanted to know whether when these teeth arrived might indicate early maturation in children.

9 Jun 2021

Researchers identify a common mechanism underlying diverse brain disorders

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified a common mechanism underlying a spectrum of epilepsy syndromes and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, that are caused by variations in a gene encoding a vital transporter protein in the brain.

9 Jun 2021

Research suggests low platelet counts may be associated with Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

A condition that affects the blood, known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), may be associated the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in rare cases, research suggests.

9 Jun 2021

DNA on-off switches for SARS-CoV-2 host receptor as potential therapeutic targets

Researchers in the United States and Canada have identified DNA on/off “switches” within the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene that may control the expression of this host cell receptor before, during and after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

9 Jun 2021