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 analyze evaporation and propagation of respiratory droplets of COVID-19 patients

COVID-19 can be transmitted when an infected person talks, coughs, sneezes or sings, expelling virus-containing respiratory droplets that can reach the mouth, nose or eyes of previously uninfected people.

6 Jan 2021

Is one-dose COVID-19 vaccination better than two?

A recent study published on the preprint server medRxiv in December 2020 reflects on the possibility of using a single-dose vaccine regimen to accomplish large-scale vaccination as early as possible.

6 Jan 2021

Low acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine among healthcare workers in USA

A recent preprint research paper published on the medRxiv server in January 2021 reports that vaccine acceptance is low even among healthcare workers (HCWs) in the USA.

6 Jan 2021

In-silico modeling provides new understanding of immune response to SARS-CoV-2

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has crippled global healthcare systems and triggered an economic crisis in many countries. The pandemic is not showing signs of a slowdown even in 2021 with a new and more infectious variant of the virus wreaking havoc in the UK and many other parts of the world.

6 Jan 2021

D-HH and West Health bring geriatric emergency care and telehealth services to rural hospitals

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, New Hampshire's only academic health system serving nearly 2 million patients across northern New England, and West Health, a family of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations working to lower health care costs to enable successful aging, are bringing accredited geriatric emergency care and, for the first time, providing older adults in the region with specialized telehealth services from an accredited emergency department.

6 Jan 2021

Researchers use network-based approach to examine the impact of policies and vaccination strategies

Predicting the spread of COVID-19 using standard statistical models has its challenges, which is why two Iowa State University researchers developed a network-based approach to look at the impact of specific policies and vaccination strategies throughout the many stages of the pandemic.

6 Jan 2021

Neutralization antibodies affected by only a few mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, US researchers mapped in detail how mutations to the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) affected antibody binding in convalescent human serum – and revealed that it is influenced by mutations at only a handful of dominant epitopes.

6 Jan 2021

Older adults with cognitive impairment who live alone are hit hard by pandemic

The pandemic has exacerbated isolation and fears for one very vulnerable group of Americans: the 4.3 million older adults with cognitive impairment who live alone.

6 Jan 2021

Researchers receive £230,000 to develop world's first smart vaccine device

Researchers at Swansea University have received £230,000 to develop the world's first smart vaccine device that will both deliver the COVID-19 vaccine and measure its efficacy through monitoring the body's associated response.

6 Jan 2021

UCI study first to identify and characterize 'pharmacy deserts' in California

In the United States, Black, Latino and low-income communities have historically lacked nearby access to pharmacy services.

6 Jan 2021

NIAID set to conduct large monoclonal SARS-CoV-2 antibody clinical trial

A large clinical trial, known as the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV-2), is set to take place, which aims to test monoclonal antibody efficacy and safety in people who have mild or moderate COVID-19.

6 Jan 2021

Vitamin D supplementation found to reduce COVID-19-related mortality, says study

Researchers have shown that prescribing vitamin D supplementation to COVID-19 patients seems to decrease the mortality rate, the severity of the disease, and serum levels of inflammatory markers.

6 Jan 2021

Disulfide-reducing agents demonstrate potential antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers recently demonstrated that chemical agents capable of reducing disulfide (S-S) bonds can be potentially used as antiviral drugs against SARS-CoV-2, the causative pathogen of COVID-19.

6 Jan 2021

Modified Vaccinia Ankara model vaccine prevents COVID-19 in transgenic mice study

A new study shows the effectiveness of a novel recombinant vaccinia virus that expresses modified SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen, in preventing the replication of the virus in the respiratory tract of transgenic mice, and to prevent lethal disease.

6 Jan 2021

Are SARS-CoV-2 antibodies associated with disease enhancement?

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to wreak its havoc, antibodies that neutralize the virus and protect against infection have become an important focus of research. However, there is a concern as to whether these antibodies can actually enhance the disease.

6 Jan 2021

Ziath Support World Record-Setting Challenge for Charity

Ziath is proud to have sponsored athlete Ben Blowes on his incredible “31 Stars” Guinness World Record-setting challenge to run 31 marathons in 31 consecutive days.

From Ziath Ltd 6 Jan 2021

Black women find healing (but sometimes racism, too) in the outdoors

It would be the last hike of the season, Jessica Newton had excitedly posted on her social media platforms.

6 Jan 2021

Children’s hospitals grapple with wave of mental illness

Krissy Williams, 15, had attempted suicide before, but never with pills.

6 Jan 2021

Food insecurity has increased significantly among older US adults, shows study

From 2007 to 2016, food insecurity--or limited access to nutritious foods because of a lack of financial resources--increased significantly from 5.5% to 12.4% among older US adults, and the increase was more pronounced among individuals with lower income.

6 Jan 2021

One-third of COVID-19 survivors manifest neurological problems

In a longitudinal study recently published on the preprint server medRxiv*, Andrea Pilotto et al. find that one-third of COVID-19 infection survivors have long-term neurological manifestations after hospitalization.

5 Jan 2021