Pandemic News and Research

RSS

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.

Strides against HIV/AIDS falter, especially in the South, as nation battles COVID

Facing a yearlong siege from the coronavirus, the defenses in another, older war are faltering.

21 Apr 2021

Censorship or misinformation? Desantis and YouTube spar over Covid roundtable takedown.

In early April, YouTube took down a video featuring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and a group of controversial scientists at a March 18 coronavirus roundtable. The online video platform, owned by Google, cited as its rationale that the video contained false statements about the efficacy of children's mask-wearing.

21 Apr 2021

Another soda tax bill dies. Another win for Big Soda.

A rogue industry. A gun to our head. Extortion. That's how infuriated lawmakers described soft drink companies — and what they pulled off in 2018 when they scored a legislative deal that bars California's cities and counties from imposing taxes on sugary drinks.

21 Apr 2021

Researchers examine antiviral responses in children infected with COVID-19 in South Brazil

New research has been published that focuses on the characterization of innate and adaptive immune responses in adult patients with different degrees of severity and also in pediatric patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19. In this study, researchers have developed an immune profile in children to understand the difference in COVID-19 infection in children and adults.

21 Apr 2021

Listen: A rookie doctor starts her career, forged by the pandemic

On this week's episode of "America Dissected," host Dr. Abdul El-Sayed spoke with Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez, an emergency medicine resident at UCSF Fresno, and KHN senior correspondent Jenny Gold about the challenges Marin-Nevarez faced as a new doctor learning the ropes during a devastating pandemic.

21 Apr 2021

Can a single BNT162b2 vaccine dose confer protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants?

A team of researchers in Germany aimed to determine if the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine mRNA vaccine (also known as the BNT162b2 vaccine) induces robust antibody responses against emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the United Kingdom (or B1.1.7) variant; the South African (or B.1.351) variant; and the Brazilian (or P.1) variant.

21 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic underscores importance of understanding evolution of RNA genomes

The current COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), underscores the importance of understanding the evolution of ribonucleic acid (RNA) genomes.

21 Apr 2021

Antibody response induced by mRNA vaccination differs from natural SARS-CoV-2 infection

Researchers tested the antibodies elicited from mRNA vaccination and compared them to those from natural SARS-CoV-2 infection. They found the vaccine did not have antibodies to the virus nucleocapsid protein but had potent RBD antibodies.

21 Apr 2021

People who regularly use psychoactive substances experienced negative impacts during COVID-19

People who regularly use psychoactive substances report experiencing a variety of negative impacts since the COVID-19 pandemic began, including increased usage and fear of relapse or overdose, highlighting the need for improved supports and services, including better access to safe supply programs, according to a new CAMH survey published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

21 Apr 2021

Characterization of lab-produced neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2

A new study led by Hans-Martin Jäck of the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany engineered clusters of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies using a transgenic mouse model. A unique characteristic for the antibodies was the different ways it bound to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the overall reduction in the viral spread for human ACE2.

21 Apr 2021

Researchers explain how online symptom checkers generate probable diagnoses and suggestions

Have you recently turned to your mobile device or computer to find out if your cough, sniffle or fever could be caused by COVID-19?

21 Apr 2021

Researchers identify differences in immune response in asymptomatic versus severe COVID-19 cases

The largest study of its type in the UK has identified differences in the immune response to COVID-19, between people with no symptoms, compared to those suffering a more serious reaction to the virus.

21 Apr 2021

Curbing mass evictions during pandemic have played key role in preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Renter protection policies that have curbed mass evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have played a key role in preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in U.S. cities, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.

21 Apr 2021

Widely available HIV testing and treatment services increase life expectancy

Life expectancy among adults living with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Latin America and the Caribbean has increased significantly since HIV testing and treatment services became more widely available, according to research published today in The Lancet HIV journal.

21 Apr 2021

Struggles caused by COVID-19 pandemic can guide towards more equitable, sustainable society

Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä highlight how the struggles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can guide us towards an equitable use of our shared environment and a transition towards sustainability.

21 Apr 2021

Seroprevalence studies monitoring SARS-CoV-2 among vaccinees require more than spike assays

Researchers in the United States have shown that an antibody test measuring host reactivity to the nucleocapsid protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may better detect natural infection among vaccinated individuals than an assay that measures reactivity to the viral spike protein.

21 Apr 2021

Study explores how lessons from past crises could improve the pandemic response

The lack of accountability, poor communication and insufficient planning plaguing the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic -- especially in its early months -- have roots in how the nation responded to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the H1N1 swine flu, a new study involving the University of Washington found.

20 Apr 2021

FDA takes steps to add molecular tests using pooled nasal specimens in serial testing program

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took steps to further facilitate the authorization of molecular tests for screening asymptomatic individuals using pooled anterior nasal respiratory specimens in serial testing programs.

20 Apr 2021

All-in-one test provides a promising solution for COVID-19 detection and mutational surveillance

A new type of COVID-19 testing strategy could help streamline the process of identifying cases, tracking variants and detecting co-infecting viruses.

20 Apr 2021

Study identifies higher mortality risk for women with back pain

New research from Boston Medical Center identifies elevated mortality risk for women with back pain when compared to women without back pain. Back pain was not associated with mortality among men indicating long-term consequences of back pain may differ by sex.

20 Apr 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Strides against HIV/AIDS falter, especially in the South, as nation battles COVID

Censorship or misinformation? Desantis and YouTube spar over Covid roundtable takedown.

Another soda tax bill dies. Another win for Big Soda.

Researchers examine antiviral responses in children infected with COVID-19 in South Brazil

Listen: A rookie doctor starts her career, forged by the pandemic

Can a single BNT162b2 vaccine dose confer protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 variants?

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic underscores importance of understanding evolution of RNA genomes

Antibody response induced by mRNA vaccination differs from natural SARS-CoV-2 infection

People who regularly use psychoactive substances experienced negative impacts during COVID-19

Characterization of lab-produced neutralizing antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2

Researchers explain how online symptom checkers generate probable diagnoses and suggestions

Researchers identify differences in immune response in asymptomatic versus severe COVID-19 cases

Curbing mass evictions during pandemic have played key role in preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission

Widely available HIV testing and treatment services increase life expectancy

Struggles caused by COVID-19 pandemic can guide towards more equitable, sustainable society

Seroprevalence studies monitoring SARS-CoV-2 among vaccinees require more than spike assays

Study explores how lessons from past crises could improve the pandemic response

FDA takes steps to add molecular tests using pooled nasal specimens in serial testing program

All-in-one test provides a promising solution for COVID-19 detection and mutational surveillance

Study identifies higher mortality risk for women with back pain

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

Latest News