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.

Front-line health care workers tested positive for COVID-19 may not have typical symptoms

The IVY Research Network has completed initial studies evaluating the epidemiology of COVID-19 in health care workers and patients.

9 Jul 2020

Challenges in evaluating the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

With more than 140 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in development, the race is on for a successful candidate to help prevent COVID-19.

9 Jul 2020

Rat plague following COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the widespread closure of many business establishments, including eateries and restaurants. This kind of mass change in human behavior has historically led to changes in animal behavior as well. This is especially observed with respect to urban rat behavior.

9 Jul 2020

Remdesivir potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 in human lung cell cultures

The news about remdesivir, the investigational anti-viral drug that has shown early promise in the fight against COVID-19, keeps getting better.

9 Jul 2020

Study outlines principles for delivering trauma-informed virtual care

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a rapid expansion of telehealth use in the U.S. While articles have been published on telehealth and best practices for patient-centered communication during the crisis, none have focused on applying principles of trauma-informed care until now.

9 Jul 2020

Use of whole blood transcriptomes may improve COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment

In a new paper published on the preprint server medRxiv*, a multinational group of researchers provide the first evidence for the use of whole blood transcriptomics to distinguish coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from other infections, and also to monitor and potentially predict disease outcomes.

9 Jul 2020

Asthma sufferers can use inhalers amid COVID-19 concerns

The benefits of using inhalers and nebulizers containing steroids outweigh the risks despite warnings to the contrary during the COVID-19 pandemic, a study by University of Huddersfield researchers has found.

9 Jul 2020

UNM study sheds new light on transition of fear to anxiety

A deadly coronavirus pandemic, economic instability and civil unrest menace the mental well-being of millions.

9 Jul 2020

Insilico Medicine, Arctoris announce technology partnership to discover new COVID-19 drugs

Insilico Medicine, a biotechnology company developing an end-to-end drug discovery pipeline utilizing next-generation artificial intelligence, today announced a technology partnership with Arctoris, the world's first fully automated drug discovery platform, offering remotely accessible, pre-optimized and fully validated R&D processes for its partners and clients globally.

9 Jul 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: ‘Open the schools, close the bars’

How to safely open the nation's schools this fall has become the latest spat in attempting to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 Jul 2020

As COVID testing soars, wait times for results jump to a week — or more

Elliot Truslow went to a CVS drugstore on June 15 in Tucson, Arizona, to get tested for the coronavirus. The drive-thru nasal swab test took less than 15 minutes.

9 Jul 2020

COVID-19 screening chatbots can ease burden on medical providers

COVID-19 has placed tremendous pressure on health care systems, not only for critical care but also from an anxious public looking for answers.

9 Jul 2020

Amid surge, hospitals hesitate to cancel nonemergency surgeries

Three months ago, the nation watched as COVID-19 patients overwhelmed New York City's intensive care units, forcing some of its hospitals to convert cafeterias into wards and pitch tents in parking lots.

9 Jul 2020

People with arthritis report worsening symptoms during Covid-19 lockdown

People with arthritis experienced a ‘roller coaster’ of emotions and saw their symptoms worsen during the Covid-19 lockdown – according to research from the University of East Anglia.

9 Jul 2020

Cloth face coverings, masks are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19, study says

Cloth face coverings, even homemade masks made with the correct material, are effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 - for the wearer and those around them - according to a new study published today from Oxford’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science.

9 Jul 2020

LGC acquires The Native Antigen Company, strengthening its offer to the IVD sector

Today, LGC announced the acquisition of The Native Antigen Company (NAC), one of the world’s leading suppliers of high quality infectious disease antigens and antibodies.

9 Jul 2020

Economic stimulus meaningless without the public feeling safe: New research shows two-thirds feel safer with masks

The Chancellor announced a range of measures yesterday aiming to stimulate business and consumer spending, but this is only addressing half the battle and more needs to be done to make the public feel safe when out in public.

9 Jul 2020

Measuring the medical impact of COVID-19

The Great Chinese Famine (1959-1962) was probably the greatest man-made disaster in history resulting in tens of millions of deaths.

9 Jul 2020

Research shows how SARS-CoV-2 alters translation

Now, a new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in July 2020 shows that the 5’ end of the RNA molecule is capable of inhibiting the binding of mRNA to the ribosomal 40S subunit, thus preventing translation.

9 Jul 2020

Researchers map RNA structure throughout SARS-CoV-2 genome

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which is currently at the heart of a pandemic that has cost the world more than 550,000 lives, 12 million infections, and uncounted years of productivity, is an RNA virus with the largest genome among all such viruses. This 30 kb size virus has caused many difficulties for scientists in search of a vaccine.

9 Jul 2020