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.

Researchers characterize India’s devastating second wave of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on human health worldwide. The second wave in India has caught everyone by surprise, showing up the total lack of foresight or precautions. With well over 0.2 million deaths in India, and infections raging out of control, a new study predicts 0.35 million daily cases at the peak of the second wave.

26 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response robust in nursing home residents after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

However, with the waning of the immune response, it is not clear if these older people respond to the vaccine as well as younger individuals do. A recent study explored this question and found that though the antibody levels were somewhat lower in this group, they were still robust. This is a promising observation.

26 Apr 2021

Host cell transmembrane protein MARCH8 targets lysine residues to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses

A new study deals with the inhibitory activity of a membrane protein that has broad-spectrum activity against multiple viruses, showing that this is due to its effect on cytoplasmic lysine residue incorporation into replicating virions.

26 Apr 2021

Could pooled testing really improve COVID-19 transmission management and decrease costs?

Pooled testing for SARS-CoV-2 detection is instrumental for increasing test capacity while decreasing test cost. A team of researchers at Yale School of the Environment determined the barriers to implementing pooled testing in United States laboratories. The study showed that many laboratories use many instruments in their testing procedures, varying in the number of samples each can process.

26 Apr 2021

Time to say goodbye to some insurers’ waivers for Covid treatment fees

Just as other industries are rolling back some consumer-friendly changes made early in the pandemic — think empty middle seats on airplanes — so, too, are health insurers.

26 Apr 2021

Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with more adverse events following mRNA vaccination

The phase 3 trials of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines did not include those with a known previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Recent evidence indicates that mRNA vaccines may induce more adverse events in these individuals. In a recent study, 947 individuals, 265 of which have previously reported SARS-CoV-2 infection, were monitored post-vaccination for adverse events, finding that there could be a link between previous infection and greater incidence of these events.

26 Apr 2021

Cleavage site recognition by SARS-CoV-2 main protease as new antiviral drug target

Many research groups have and are investigating main protease inhibitors as antiviral drugs, and in a paper recently uploaded to the bioRxiv* preprint server, a team of researchers examine the crystal structure of the protein while bound to various viral substrate peptides (P1-4). In doing so, they reveal the way in which the bound peptide sequence can direct and modulate enzyme activity, providing new templates towards antiviral drug design.

26 Apr 2021

Researchers examine potential SARS-CoV-2 antivirals using a drug repurposing library

A new study deals with the screening of the Drug Repurposing Hub (DRH) library for identifying small compounds which are capable of inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 using both in vitro and in vivo experimental studies. These molecules could be used for designing a novel therapeutic system against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

26 Apr 2021

Fighting malaria in 2021: Where are we now and where are we going?

In support of World Malaria Day, News-Medical spoke to Dr. Laurence Slutsker, an internationally recognized expert in malaria, about fighting this disease in 2021.

26 Apr 2021

Single dose of J&J's Ad26.COV2.S vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2 including in South Africa variant

One of these vaccines, the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine by Johnson & Johnson and Janssen, is a recombinant, replication-incompetent human adenovirus type 26 vector that encodes full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in a prefusion-stabilized conformation.

26 Apr 2021

The potential of CRISPR-based diagnostic assays and treatment approaches against COVID-19

In their review paper recently published in the Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, a group of authors discusses currently available and forthcoming CRISPR-based diagnostic assays, as well as the possibility of using the CRISPR/Cas system as a salient treatment or prevention strategy in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

25 Apr 2021

Study focuses on SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Wuhan and COVID-19 controls

Since the emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread worldwide via transmission among close human contacts. Early on, several public health interventions were implemented in Wuhan city and Hubei Province, including lockdowns, social distancing, traffic restrictions, stay-at-home policies, face mask requirements, building temporary hospitals, and centralized quarantine. There were 50,355 confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Wuhan as of 28 January 2021.

25 Apr 2021

Two repurposed drugs and a blue dye show potential as SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors

A new multidisciplinary study from Australia, published in the open-access journal mBio, shows that three compounds used to treat cystic fibrosis, dry eye, and a specific medical dye may lead to future strategies for the treatment of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

25 Apr 2021

Single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine induces immunity in CML patients

Researchers in the UK have shown that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) induced antibody and cellular responses in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who were taking tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

25 Apr 2021

Disruptions to essential health services due to COVID-19 pandemic persist in 90% of countries

The second round of a World Health Organization "pulse survey" reveals that over one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial disruptions persist, with about 90% of countries still reporting one or more disruptions to essential health services, marking no substantial global change since the first survey conducted in the summer of 2020.

23 Apr 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers characterize India’s devastating second wave of COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response robust in nursing home residents after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

Host cell transmembrane protein MARCH8 targets lysine residues to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses

Could pooled testing really improve COVID-19 transmission management and decrease costs?

Time to say goodbye to some insurers’ waivers for Covid treatment fees

Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with more adverse events following mRNA vaccination

Cleavage site recognition by SARS-CoV-2 main protease as new antiviral drug target

Researchers examine potential SARS-CoV-2 antivirals using a drug repurposing library

Fighting malaria in 2021: Where are we now and where are we going?

Single dose of J&J's Ad26.COV2.S vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2 including in South Africa variant

The potential of CRISPR-based diagnostic assays and treatment approaches against COVID-19

Study focuses on SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Wuhan and COVID-19 controls

Two repurposed drugs and a blue dye show potential as SARS-CoV-2 entry inhibitors

Single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine induces immunity in CML patients

Disruptions to essential health services due to COVID-19 pandemic persist in 90% of countries

Virtual care spreads in Missouri health system, home to ‘hospital without beds’

Only one vaccine is OK for older teens. It’s also the hardest to manage in rural America.

Michigan’s outbreak worries scientists. Will conservative outposts keep pandemic rolling?

Study reports on safety of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines in pregnancy

Study highlights need to integrate critical care-specific needs into disaster response planning

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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