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.

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may not be associated with adverse effects on fertility and breastfeeding, says study

A recent study by researchers in Singapore shows the absence of evidence for adverse effects on fertility or the presence of the vaccine mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) in breast milk, following the administration of the Pfizer BNT162B2 COVID-19 vaccine. This supports efforts to prevent the spread of false information about the effects of the vaccine.

27 May 2021

Negative peripartum experiences with the onset of COVID-19: Belgian midwifery case study

It is well known that the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted most non-essential healthcare services, including antenatal care. A new study from Belgium presents a snapshot of the experiences of midwives in that country during the months of May and June 2020.

27 May 2021

Researchers develop “cell encapsulation” technology to stimulate immunity to fight cancer

Immunotherapy techniques developed in oncology to combat cancerous cells have great potential for fighting viruses.

27 May 2021

Could the marine compound plitidepsin promote recovery from moderate COVID-19?

A new paper by an international team of researchers describes experimental evidence of the antiviral efficacy of a marine compound called plitidepsin against SARS-CoV-2. The findings show that plitidepsin inhibits SARS-CoV at low concentrations, as observed by a thousand-fold reduction in genomic RNA and viral titers in cells exposed to the virus in culture when treated.

27 May 2021

Nanobody inhalation found to be effective against COVID-19 in hamsters

In a recent paper, researchers describe an aerosolized nanobody formulation that was found to effectively block SARS-CoV-2 in Syrian hamsters.

27 May 2021

Waters Introduces the SARS-CoV-2 LC-MS Kit (RUO) to Advance Clinical Research of Infectious Diseases

Waters Corporation today introduced a new RUO LC-MS test method to advance critical infectious disease research.

From Waters Corporation 27 May 2021

New DNA COVID-19 vaccine proven effective in mice

A new study has shown that a new DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine successfully induced immunization against SARS-CoV-2 in mice and hamsters.

27 May 2021

Study shows CoronaVac to have high seroconversion rate after 40 days

Researchers from the Federal University of Paraná, Brazil, looked into the seroconversion rate after vaccination with the CoronaVac. Using immunoassays, they measured the immunoglobulins (IgG) for anti-nucleocapsid protein (anti-N) antibodies and anti-spike-1 (anti-S1) protein antibodies.

27 May 2021

Online survey provides key insight into the spread of COVID-19 infection

A pilot project using an online survey to gather data on COVID-19 symptoms received more than 87,000 responses from around the world, providing important insight into the spread of disease. Project leaders from Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University and Microsoft believe these questionnaires could be a valuable tool for population health.

27 May 2021

Lifting FDA restrictions on mifepristone could normalize medication abortion

In a new study published online in spring 2021 and in the July issue of the journal Contraception, University of Chicago Medicine investigators and colleagues interviewed primary care providers in Illinois about their interest in providing medication abortion care and found that lifting FDA restrictions on mifepristone to allow pharmacy dispensing could normalize medication abortion, facilitate its use in primary care facilities, and address disparities in reproductive health access.

27 May 2021

Vagus nerve stimulation may be a potential adjunct therapy for COVID-19

COVID-19 was initially described as lung inflammation, or pneumonia, in older adults. However, we now know that SARS-CoV-2 infections can cause a wide range of symptoms in people of all ages, ranging from no symptoms at all to systemic inflammation and even death.

27 May 2021

Caffeine can boost energy and mood but does not fight sleep deprivation

Rough night of sleep? Relying on caffeine to get you through the day isn't always the answer, says a new study from Michigan State University.

27 May 2021

New plasmofluidic chip could speed up diagnosis during current and future pandemics

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been the gold standard for diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

27 May 2021

Protein-RNA interactions in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells reveal key regulators of infection

Researchers in the UK, including the University of Oxford and Glasgow, as well as the University of Heidelberg, published their analysis of protein-RNA interactions in SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent significance in the journal Molecular Cell. This research could help to uncover novel antiviral strategies for COVID-19 due to a broader understanding of how the virus works.

27 May 2021

Diet quality and food security are affected by home food procurement during COVID-19

Home food procurement (HFP), including fishing, gardening, hunting, foraging, backyard livestock, and canning, have been important ways for people to obtain food historically. Research shows that some HFP activities such as gardening have recently increased, while others such as hunting have decreased in the US.

27 May 2021

Strict social distancing, non-pharmaceutical methods are still needed to end second wave of COVID-19

Current vaccination programmes alone will have a limited effect in stopping the second wave of COVID infections in the US, according to a study conducted by scientists from Reykjavik University, University of Lyon, University of Southern Denmark and University of Naples Federico II, and published in the Nature Group journal Scientific Reports today.

27 May 2021

Study sheds new light on complex dynamics involved in microbial infections

Included in the vast fallout stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists are paying closer attention to microbial infections and how life forms defend against attacks from pathogens.

27 May 2021

Study details challenges and progress toward creating a COVID-19 drug

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen scientists perform incredible feats in a short amount of time, from developing tests to new types of vaccines.

26 May 2021

Astodrimer sodium exhibits potent virucidal and antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Researchers from the US and Australia recently conducted some studies to assess the in vitro antiviral and virucidal (irreversible) activity of astodrimer sodium against SARS-CoV-2.

26 May 2021

Neurocognitive symptoms persist 6 months post-infection with long COVID

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 long-haulers are people who experience symptoms such as body ache, fatigue, shortness of breath, headache, difficulty concentrating, loss of taste or smell, or other health issues long after they test negative for the virus. It can be defined as having serious and prolonged symptoms three months after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

26 May 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may not be associated with adverse effects on fertility and breastfeeding, says study

Negative peripartum experiences with the onset of COVID-19: Belgian midwifery case study

Researchers develop “cell encapsulation” technology to stimulate immunity to fight cancer

Could the marine compound plitidepsin promote recovery from moderate COVID-19?

Nanobody inhalation found to be effective against COVID-19 in hamsters

Waters Introduces the SARS-CoV-2 LC-MS Kit (RUO) to Advance Clinical Research of Infectious Diseases

New DNA COVID-19 vaccine proven effective in mice

Study shows CoronaVac to have high seroconversion rate after 40 days

Online survey provides key insight into the spread of COVID-19 infection

Lifting FDA restrictions on mifepristone could normalize medication abortion

Vagus nerve stimulation may be a potential adjunct therapy for COVID-19

Caffeine can boost energy and mood but does not fight sleep deprivation

New plasmofluidic chip could speed up diagnosis during current and future pandemics

Protein-RNA interactions in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells reveal key regulators of infection

Diet quality and food security are affected by home food procurement during COVID-19

Strict social distancing, non-pharmaceutical methods are still needed to end second wave of COVID-19

Study sheds new light on complex dynamics involved in microbial infections

Study details challenges and progress toward creating a COVID-19 drug

Astodrimer sodium exhibits potent virucidal and antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro

Neurocognitive symptoms persist 6 months post-infection with long COVID

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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