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.

Social distancing is increasing feelings of loneliness in older population

Social distancing introduced in response to COVID-19 is increasing feelings of loneliness in Scotland's older population and impacting their wellbeing, according to a new University of Stirling study.

9 Nov 2020

‘A great day for science and humanity’; Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is found to be 90% effective

Pfizer and BioNTech have today announced their new vaccine candidate (BNT162b2) is 90% effective against SARS-CoV-2.

9 Nov 2020

Study reveals link between food insecurity and increased risk of cardiovascular death

Food insecurity is one of the nation's leading health and nutrition issues--about 13.7 million (10.5 percent) of households in the United States were food insecure at some time during 2019, a trend likely to increase in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Nov 2020

Search for a snakebite drug might lead to a COVID treatment, too

Dr. Matthew Lewin, founder of the Center for Exploration and Travel Health at the California Academy of Sciences, was researching snakebite treatments in rural locations in preparation for an expedition to the Philippines in 2011.

9 Nov 2020

GlobalData: Rapid adoption of AI could have a negative impact due to underlying bias in data

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused rapid adoption, integration and development of artificial intelligence and machine learning into the healthcare industry.

9 Nov 2020

Connect Health introduces new COVID-19 musculoskeletal risk assessment tool

CHART (COVID-19 Connect Health Assessment of Risk Tool) introduced to support MSK clinicians in making the right decisions for managing patient care whilst services are restricted

9 Nov 2020

Cooler temperatures in U.S. may increase COVID-19 cases: New modeling study

How temperature affects the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been a question asked since the pandemic's early days. Just like the flu, which has a substantial seasonal variation, it is believed that SARS-CoV-2 also may be affected by temperature.

9 Nov 2020

Study: Hydroxychloroquine has no effect on abnormal heart rhythm in lupus patients with CKD

New research shows that adults with lupus who take the antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, do not have any differences in their corrected QT (QTc) intervals, an electrocardiogram (EKG) measurement of the heart's electrical signals, even if they have chronic kidney disease (CKD), a complication of lupus that can be associated with increased levels of the medication.

9 Nov 2020

Digital pathology solution from Sectra used for training future pathologists

The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia has reached a milestone in its exam process with trainees now using the digital pathology solution from the international medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra.

9 Nov 2020

Telemedicine appointment cancellations were almost zero during the COVID phase

New research presented at ACR Convergence, the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting, shows that expanded use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic improved cancellation rates, no-shows and completed medical visits for rheumatology ambulatory clinics in one large Ohio health system.

9 Nov 2020

National Covid-19 Resilience Programme in the UK would support older people through pandemic

Public health agencies across the UK should launch a National Covid-19 Resilience Programme to support older people through the pandemic and to keep them healthy and resilient over the winter - that's the recommendation from a leading group of scientists and clinicians working in the fields of physiology, nutrition and physiotherapy.

9 Nov 2020

Pre-existing antibodies created during COVID-19 may protect children against new pandemic strain

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and University College London have found that some antibodies, created by the immune system during infection with common cold coronaviruses, can also target SARS-CoV-2 and may confer a degree of protection against the new viral strain.

9 Nov 2020

Social distancing policies had little effect on lower income people

A new Boston University School of Public Health study of the first four months of America's coronavirus epidemic, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, shows that physical distancing (also called "social distancing") policies had little effect.

9 Nov 2020

Biden wins, but his health agenda dims with GOP likely to hold Senate

Former Vice President Joe Biden secured the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the White House on Saturday, major news organizations projected, after election officials in a handful of swing states spent days in round-the-clock counting of millions of mail-in ballots and early votes.

8 Nov 2020

Successful containment of COVID-19 in a Brazilian archipelago

The team of researchers in May 2020, headed by Ligia Regina Franco Sansigolo Kerr and Prof Costa Mendes, aimed to discuss and report the various control measures taken by FNA authorities in order to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (FNA). Their research is published on the preprint server medRxiv.

8 Nov 2020

As faith in vaccines falters, Biden is under pressure to name new FDA chief stat

President-elect Joe Biden made COVID-19 a linchpin of his campaign, criticizing President Donald Trump's leadership on everything from masks and packed campaign rallies to vaccines.

8 Nov 2020

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 direct heart muscle cell infection, cell death, loss of contractility

In the study, published on the pre-print journal bioRxiv, the researchers revealed that SARS-CoV-2-infected EHTs manifested the typical characteristics of myocarditis or heart inflammation. These include the stimulation of immune cells, heart cell death, and decreased contractile force generation.

8 Nov 2020

Researchers compare rhesus and cynomolgus macaques for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials

A team of researchers at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre based in the Netherlands have aimed to determine the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen on these monkeys and, subsequently, whether they make good animal models for future research in the area.

8 Nov 2020

Study suggests honey and Nigella sativa expedites viral clearance in COVID-19 patients

A team of researchers from various institutes across Pakistan, Chile, Canada, and the USA recently conducted a clinical trial to investigate the potential effectiveness of a combination of honey and Nigella sativa (HNS) in treating COVID-19 patients. Their study is published on the preprint server medRxiv prior to the scientific peer review process.

8 Nov 2020

Study suggests SARS-CoV-2 mutation fingerprints could be used for molecular contact tracing

In a recent groundbreaking study, researchers from Stanford University demonstrated the potential of multiplexed targeted next-generation sequencing assay for detecting SARS-CoV-2 genetic fingerprints used in mutation profiling, with the potential of massive scalability required for population studies. The findings are currently available on the medRxiv preprint server.

8 Nov 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Social distancing is increasing feelings of loneliness in older population

‘A great day for science and humanity’; Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is found to be 90% effective

Study reveals link between food insecurity and increased risk of cardiovascular death

Search for a snakebite drug might lead to a COVID treatment, too

GlobalData: Rapid adoption of AI could have a negative impact due to underlying bias in data

Connect Health introduces new COVID-19 musculoskeletal risk assessment tool

Cooler temperatures in U.S. may increase COVID-19 cases: New modeling study

Study: Hydroxychloroquine has no effect on abnormal heart rhythm in lupus patients with CKD

Digital pathology solution from Sectra used for training future pathologists

Telemedicine appointment cancellations were almost zero during the COVID phase

National Covid-19 Resilience Programme in the UK would support older people through pandemic

Pre-existing antibodies created during COVID-19 may protect children against new pandemic strain

Social distancing policies had little effect on lower income people

Biden wins, but his health agenda dims with GOP likely to hold Senate

Successful containment of COVID-19 in a Brazilian archipelago

As faith in vaccines falters, Biden is under pressure to name new FDA chief stat

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 direct heart muscle cell infection, cell death, loss of contractility

Researchers compare rhesus and cynomolgus macaques for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trials

Study suggests honey and Nigella sativa expedites viral clearance in COVID-19 patients

Study suggests SARS-CoV-2 mutation fingerprints could be used for molecular contact tracing

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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