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.

Salk Institute expands research to find treatments and cures for COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across the globe, the Salk Institute joins in efforts to understand the fundamental science behind the novel coronavirus to pave the way to treatments and cures.

30 Jun 2020

Newly identified molecules can help develop COVID-19 therapeutics

SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing the global COVID-19 pandemic, uses a protein called polymerase to replicate its genome inside infected human cells.

30 Jun 2020

‘More than physical health’: Gym helps 91-year-old battle isolation

Most mornings, like clockwork, you could find Art Ballard pumping iron.

30 Jun 2020

Spike protein and human ACE2 binding ability shows SARS-CoV-2 viral adaptation

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports some important findings that could shed light on this question. As the pandemic marches on, having claimed over 500,000 lives and caused well over 10 million infections to date, the task of defining and predicting factors that predispose to infectivity across species becomes ever more critical.

30 Jun 2020

Researchers search for SARS-CoV-2 fomites on an operational Italian bus

A new study reports the results of a viral detection study carried out in buses used for public transport across the final week of lockdown, as travel restrictions were being lifted step by step. This study by Italian researchers and published on the preprint server bioRxiv* in June 2020, may help to understand how a virus can spread within a city bus during normal operation and how effective are the measures used to protect against such transmission.

30 Jun 2020

Study: Even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus

A new study from researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) shows that even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus.

30 Jun 2020

Identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in healthcare HVAC units

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020 reports that viral RNA has been found to occur in HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and AC) units in healthcare facilities. However, it is not clear if this represents a possible mechanism of viral transmission.

30 Jun 2020

Modified Vaccinia Ankara-based vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2

Now, a new study by researchers at Emory University, the University of Texas Medical Branch and the Ragon Institute and published on the preprint server bioRxiv in June 2020 reports the development of a promising new vaccine candidate that may rapidly and effectively induce the production of neutralizing antibodies against the spike protein of the virus.

30 Jun 2020

China imposes lockdowns as new coronavirus cases surge

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic first emerged in a seafood market in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Since then, it has spread to 188 countries and territories and infected more than 10 million people. The viral infection has so far killed more than 500,000 people worldwide.

29 Jun 2020

COVID-19 survivors should be screened for PTSD, experts warn

Contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be a stressful and traumatic experience. Patients who became seriously ill with the viral infection should be screened for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to their experiences in fighting for their lives, mental health experts recommended.

29 Jun 2020

WHO says worst is yet to come as COVID-19 pandemic speeds up

The true number of global infections and deaths, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is likely to be significantly higher due to lack of testing. Some people are also asymptomatic, which means they had no symptoms of the illness.

29 Jun 2020

Stanford's Nobel Laureate develops a prediction model for SARS-CoV-2

The researchers from Stanford School of Medicine and ShangaiTech University show that the growth of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak does not behave in accordance with an exponential growth law, but instead slows down exponentially with time from the very first days. Their thought-provoking findings can be currently found in the medRxiv* preprint server.

29 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 circulating in Italy in December 2019

Researchers at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian National Institute of Health) have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had already been circulating in Italy many weeks before the first autochthonous (native) case was documented on February 21st this year.

29 Jun 2020