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.

SARS-CoV-2-RNA viremia is a robust marker of critical illness in COVID-19

A new study by a large team of Spanish researchers and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 reports that the presence of viral RNA in the blood is a useful marker of impending acute disease and can help triage COVID-19 disease patients who will require hospital care.

1 Sep 2020

Addressing food insecurity in school children during COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a number of challenges to schools, which were forced to close in the spring to help slow the spread of infection.

1 Sep 2020

Training community health workers to improve research in underserved communities

Community health workers are an important resource for providing basic health care needs for the community, as well as helping facilitate clinical research.

1 Sep 2020

Negligible ACE2 expression in human beta-cells

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv reports that even though the fatality rate is significantly higher in diabetics, there is no evidence that this is due to direct viral infection of pancreatic beta cells, which produce the key hormone in glucose homeostasis, namely insulin.

1 Sep 2020

HSS physicians offer practical advice for educators and surgical trainees on reaching peak performance

Studies show that athletes and musicians achieve peak performance not only by constant practice but also by setting specific goals, engaging with strong mentors and cultivating the attributes of perseverance, stoicism and grit.

1 Sep 2020

Health expert warns of the increasing threat of animal-to-human coronaviruses

The coronavirus outbreaks, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), and the currently spreading coronavirus disease (COVID-19), all came via animal-to-human transmission or zoonosis.

1 Sep 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is more resistant on surfaces in spring and autumn than in summer

In a recent bioRxiv* preprint paper, researchers from Kansas State University demonstrate astonishing persistence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on various types of surfaces – especially under spring/fall climate conditions.

1 Sep 2020

COVID-19 testing and reporting needs improving in United States prisons

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Cornell University have conducted a study showing that many states across the US are not reporting fully on the number of people being tested for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in prisons, with some also not reporting on cases of fatalities.

1 Sep 2020

Dr. Fauci says COVID vaccine trials could end early if results are overwhelming

A COVID-19 vaccine could be available earlier than expected if ongoing clinical trials produce overwhelmingly positive results, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease official, in an interview Tuesday with KHN.

1 Sep 2020

Promising new candidate 'virus-like particle' vaccine for COVID-19

Researchers in the UK and Taiwan have demonstrated the potential of a new candidate vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the virus responsible for the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

1 Sep 2020

BCG vaccine offers protection for elderly people against respiratory infections

The BCG vaccine has a broad, stimulating effect on the immune system. This gives it an effective preventive action against various infections - possibly also against COVID-19. New studies are investigating that.

1 Sep 2020

Research project to understand the psychological aspects of COVID-19

SMU Office of Research and Tech Transfer - In response to the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator issued a call on March 13th for rapid and impactful proposals to understand the psychological and behavioural aspects of the pandemic.

1 Sep 2020

Cannabis-impaired driving among topics to be addressed at forensic toxicology nonprofit’s first virtual event

The Society of Forensic Toxicologists will host SOFTember, its virtual event in lieu of its annual meeting, which would have celebrated its 50th anniversary.

1 Sep 2020

Survey shows pandemic will limit access to pediatric eye care

Pediatric ophthalmologists are a rarity in medicine. There are only about a thousand of them to serve America's 75 million children. And as other physicians fled private practice for hospitals or have been gobbled up by private equity firms, most pediatric ophthalmologists remain in private practice.

1 Sep 2020

Majority of Americans fear health-related bankruptcy, show surveys

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to put lives and livelihoods at risk, 1 in 2 Americans say they fear a major health event could lead them to file for bankruptcy, marking a 5% increase since 2019.

1 Sep 2020

Public health officials are our COVID commanders. Treat them with respect.

As a veteran who served back-to-back tours in Iraq, I initially cringed when commentators compared the COVID-19 crisis to wartime — no bullets, no blood and no one volunteered for this.

1 Sep 2020

Human antibody response to SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in August 2020 reports on the human antibody response in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which is key to developing vaccines and managing the pandemic, as well as designing and executing serologic testing and interpreting their results.

1 Sep 2020

Spike ferritin nanoparticles show potential as SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in August 2020 reports the induction of neutralizing antibodies in mice by a single dose of a ferritin nanoparticle-based vaccine containing the spike protein.

1 Sep 2020

Diminished biological arousal before global pandemic may predict PTSD symptoms

People who did not have a large heart rate response to a stress task surprised researchers later -- after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic -- when they showed more symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder related to the crisis than others who also did the stress task and COVID-19 stress ratings.

1 Sep 2020

Study: Impact of COVID-19 virus goes far beyond the pulmonary system

Described as a novel, "once-in-a-century" disease, COVID-19 research is evolving to include a growing body of evidence that the virus's impact goes far beyond the pulmonary system.

1 Sep 2020