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.

High-affinity SARS-CoV-2 RBD drives mutation spread, forms basis of new COVID-19 inhibitor

Now, an intriguing recent study appeared on the bioRxiv * preprint server describes the use of in vitro evolution to elicit affinity maturation of the viral receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein to bind the host cell angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) with greater affinity.

7 Jan 2021

Credible fact checking can effectively reduce vaccine misinformation on social media

Social media misinformation can negatively influence people's attitudes about vaccine safety and effectiveness, but credible organizations -- such as research universities and health institutions -- can play a pivotal role in debunking myths with simple tags that link to factual information, University of California, Davis, researchers, suggest in a new study.

7 Jan 2021

Potential role of chitinase 3-like-1 in severity of COVID-19

Now, an intriguing preprint research paper on the bioRxiv server reports the identification of an enzyme called chitinase 3-like-1 (CHI3L1) that mediates this age-dependent impact of the virus and could serve as a powerful therapeutic approach in mitigating the severity of COVID-19 in this high-risk group.

7 Jan 2021

Antibodies and inflammatory markers are pervasive in colostrum of SARS-CoV-2 infected women

A recent study, currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server, is among the first to reveal the presence of antibodies against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in colostrum and to demonstrate elevated cytokine levels in colostrum from women exposed to the virus.

7 Jan 2021

Study addresses how to mitigate the mental health impact of Covid-19 lockdown

The Covid-19 pandemic is impacting people's mental health. But what helps and hinders people in getting through a lockdown? A new study led by researchers at the University of Basel addressed this question using data from 78 countries across the world.

7 Jan 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Georgia turns the Senate blue

Surprise Democratic victories in Georgia's two runoff elections this week will give Democrats control of the Senate, which means they will be in charge of both houses of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2010.

7 Jan 2021

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of older adults? A UK case study

A team of researchers at University College London, UK, recently explored how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of older adults across Britain.

7 Jan 2021

Males at higher risk of severe COVID-19 and mortality in Indian case study

A new US-based study by researchers at Dartmouth College, the Development Data Lab, IDFC Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Chicago shows that the infection fatality rate (IFR) could be twice as high for men compared to women and increases much less at older ages compared to high-income countries.

7 Jan 2021

Which strain should SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates target?

A researcher at Clemson University, USA, has recently explored how governments might effectively combat the pandemic through strategic vaccination as new variants and strains of the virus emerge. The study suggests that vaccine candidates should target the fast-spreading variant, even when the initial prevalence is much lower.

7 Jan 2021

San Francisco wrestles with drug approach as death and chaos engulf Tenderloin

In early 2019, Tom Wolf posted a thank-you on Twitter to the cop who had arrested him the previous spring, when he was homeless and strung out in a doorway with 103 tiny bindles of heroin and cocaine in a plastic baggie at his feet.

7 Jan 2021

In Los Angeles and beyond, oxygen is the latest covid bottleneck

As Los Angeles hospitals give record numbers of covid patients oxygen, the systems and equipment needed to deliver the life-sustaining gas are faltering.

7 Jan 2021

Illinois is first in the nation to extend health coverage to undocumented seniors

As a nurse manager for one of Chicago's busiest safety-net hospitals, Raquel Prendkowski has witnessed covid-19's devastating toll on many of the city's most vulnerable residents — including people who lack health insurance because of their immigration status. Some come in so sick they go right to intensive care. Some don't survive.

7 Jan 2021

Covid-19 project receives government funding to expand globally

Supercomputing facilities set up to track the spread and evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic have received £1.2M in government funding to expand globally.

7 Jan 2021

Severe COVID-19 recovered patients do not display long-lasting adaptive immune responses, finds study

A team of scientists from the University of Valencia and INCLIVA Health Research Institute, Spain, has recently investigated the durability of immune responses specifically developed against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative pathogen of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

7 Jan 2021

Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new coronavirus mask model

A US-based research team designed and fabricated electrospun nanofibrous air filters that hold promise for applications in personal protective equipment and indoor environments. The team compared the filtration efficiency of coronavirus and NaCl aerosols to a broad spectrum of electrospun air filters and face masks.

7 Jan 2021

Researchers receive $2.95 million grant to create improved diagnostics for worm infections

Global campaigns to eliminate two tropical parasitic worm infections have been hindered by a lack of good diagnostic tools.

7 Jan 2021

Despite reopening of schools, serious COVID-19 is rare among children

Sweden was one of only a few countries that kept preschools, primary and lower secondary schools open during the spring of the pandemic year of 2020.

7 Jan 2021

Scientific experts help fight the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines

A team of renowned scientific experts has joined forces from across the world to help fight the spread of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines, which hold the key to beating the deadly pandemic and releasing countries from debilitating lockdown restrictions.

7 Jan 2021

Patients with heart failure should take more precautions against COVID-19

Patients with acute heart failure nearly double their risk of dying if they get COVID-19, according to research published today in ESC Heart Failure, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

7 Jan 2021

Danish study suggests local lockdown had no effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection rate

The onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to severe restrictions on public mobility and interaction, national or state-wide lockdowns, school and workplace closures, and curfews. The result was widespread economic hardship, in addition to the toll on health.

7 Jan 2021

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

High-affinity SARS-CoV-2 RBD drives mutation spread, forms basis of new COVID-19 inhibitor

Credible fact checking can effectively reduce vaccine misinformation on social media

Potential role of chitinase 3-like-1 in severity of COVID-19

Antibodies and inflammatory markers are pervasive in colostrum of SARS-CoV-2 infected women

Study addresses how to mitigate the mental health impact of Covid-19 lockdown

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Georgia turns the Senate blue

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health of older adults? A UK case study

Males at higher risk of severe COVID-19 and mortality in Indian case study

Which strain should SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates target?

San Francisco wrestles with drug approach as death and chaos engulf Tenderloin

In Los Angeles and beyond, oxygen is the latest covid bottleneck

Illinois is first in the nation to extend health coverage to undocumented seniors

Covid-19 project receives government funding to expand globally

Severe COVID-19 recovered patients do not display long-lasting adaptive immune responses, finds study

Researchers use nanotechnology to develop new coronavirus mask model

Researchers receive $2.95 million grant to create improved diagnostics for worm infections

Despite reopening of schools, serious COVID-19 is rare among children

Scientific experts help fight the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines

Patients with heart failure should take more precautions against COVID-19

Danish study suggests local lockdown had no effect on SARS-CoV-2 infection rate

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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