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.

Study: COVID-19 has exacerbated gender differences in unpaid care work

During the height of the first COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, women spent more time on unpaid housework and childcare than men, were more likely to reduce working hours, and reported higher levels of psychological distress, according to a new study published last week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Baowen Xue and Anne McMunn of University College London, UK.

10 Mar 2021

Mass immunization to stop Ebola outbreak in Guinea

As the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Africa this week, another vaccine was being rolled out in Guinea, in a bid to stop a fresh outbreak of Ebola in its tracks.

10 Mar 2021

Accuracy of rapid tests to fight coronavirus

Even with the advent of vaccines, strategies for rapid and affordable testing for COVID-19 are still paramount.

10 Mar 2021

Researcher find an emergent SARS-CoV-2 variant in California

Researchers have found a new SARS-CoV-2 variant in California, USA. This variant is more transmissible than circulating strains but slightly less transmissible than the new N501Y variant and moderately resistant to antibodies in convalescent sera and mRNA vaccines.

10 Mar 2021

Researchers study prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 UK variant at University of Texas

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Santa Fe Institute in the US used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) data from a surveillance testing program on a large university campus to estimate how fast the new variant spreads. The team used the data to provide local situational information on the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Mar 2021

What childhood vaccine rates can, and can’t, teach us about Covid vaccines

Polls show Americans are increasingly interested in getting vaccinated against Covid-19, but such surveys are largely national, leaving a big question: When the vaccines become available to the general public, will enough people get it in your county, city or neighborhood to keep your community safe?

10 Mar 2021

Pfizer’s newest vaccine plant has persistent mold issues, history of recalls

Pfizer's management knew last year there was "a mold issue" at the Kansas facility now slated to produce the drugmaker's urgently needed covid-19 vaccine, according to a Food and Drug Administration inspection report.

10 Mar 2021

For Covid ‘long haulers,’ battling for disability benefits adds aggravation to exhaustion

Rickie Andersen took a brief break from work in March after she fell ill. Her cough, fever and chills were typical covid-19 symptoms, but coronavirus tests were so scarce she could not obtain one to confirm the diagnosis.

10 Mar 2021

Neutralizing antibodies may be evolving to keep up with SARS-CoV-2 mutations

Viruses evolve under increased pressure, and new research from The Rockefeller University and University of Massachusetts Medical School in the U.S. suggests our antibodies can as well.

10 Mar 2021

How likely is SARS-CoV-2 reinfection?

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has already caused over 117.6 million confirmed cases the world over. Yet, researchers debate the exact incidence of reinfection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19’s causative pathogen.

10 Mar 2021

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine elicits antibodies in blood and breastmilk simultaneously, finds study

A new study adds to the sum of knowledge around this issue, showing a highly synchronized and rapid development of an antibody response in breast milk and serum, which reached stable levels around two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine was administered.

10 Mar 2021

Study: COVID-19 pandemic can affect mothers and infants through immune pathways

If past natural disasters have taught us anything about their effects on pregnant women and developing babies, it is to pay close attention, for the added stress will surely have an impact on them.

10 Mar 2021

Decision-making between patient and doctor is crucial before lung cancer screening

In a viewpoint perspective published in JAMA on March 9, 2021, a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher and two other experts endorsed the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) requirement for a patient and their doctor to engage in a shared discussion of benefits and harms before proceeding with a low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) scan as a method for preventing lung cancer death.

10 Mar 2021

COVID-19 pandemic caused changes in people’s physical activity levels and wellbeing

According to an international study published in Frontiers in Psychology, people around the world have reported changes in their physical activity levels, wellbeing, and eating habits during the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Mar 2021

COVID-19 testing can be effectively integrated into K-12 schools' pandemic response plans

A RAND Corporation report funded by The Rockefeller Foundation shows that COVID-19 testing can be effectively integrated into K-12 schools' pandemic response plans, helping families and staff feel more comfortable with in-person instruction.

10 Mar 2021

Survey shows that 43% of respondents have already tested for coronavirus

According to the current BfR-Corona-Monitor of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 43 percent of the respondents have already had themselves tested for the virus.

10 Mar 2021

Researchers investigate compound effects of pandemics/natural disasters on health care systems

Health care systems could save lives and minimize losses by optimizing resource allocation and implementing mitigation strategies, according to two new studies.

10 Mar 2021

Cognitive biases can help create and worsen foodborne disease outbreaks

In the midst of a pandemic that has claimed more than 2 million lives worldwide and disrupted nearly every facet of society since it appeared more than a year ago, understanding the factors that create and facilitate disease outbreaks is more important than ever.

10 Mar 2021

Study provides accurate data on allergic reactions related to mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

Almost immediately after the first mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines were authorized for emergency use and were administered to individuals outside of clinical trials, reports of anaphylaxis--a life-threatening whole-body allergic reaction--raised widespread concerns among experts and the public.

10 Mar 2021