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.

Hospitals, manufacturers team up with Sandia to increase availability of respirator masks

Sandia National Laboratories is teaming with local hospitals and medical device manufacturers to increase the availability of respirator masks for health care workers.

22 Jun 2020

SARS-CoV-2 paradox: Lower death rate during early stages of the pandemic

An analysis of national weekly mortality rates between December 2019 - March 2020, compared to the same period for the previous five years, by researchers at WMG and WMS, University of Warwick, has shown that there have been fewer deaths registered this year during the lead up to the Covid-19 pandemic.

22 Jun 2020

Cardiac care in the era of COVID-19

As Cedars-Sinai expands telehealth and video visits and resumes surgeries, Joanna Chikwe, MD, chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Smidt Heart Institute, has her focus on one thing: ensuring that patients with heart disease understand it is safe to be seen, and treated, by Cedars-Sinai healthcare teams.

22 Jun 2020

Three vaccine candidates race to combat SARS-CoV-2

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ravages across the globe, scientists are racing to develop an effective vaccine to combat the viral infection. Caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the disease has infected nearly 9 million people.

22 Jun 2020

Favipiravir has weak effect on SARS-CoV-2 and Hydroxychloroquine none at all in hamster model

A new study from Belgian researchers shows that antiviral drug Favipiravir could have a weak effect against the dreaded novel coronavirus or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as seen in hamster models. However, the study also finds there is no efficacy of the much-touted drug Hydroxychloroquine.

22 Jun 2020

Socio-economic effects of human mobility restrictions under COVID-19

The lockdown measures introduced in Italy to deal with COVID-19 have produced a mobility contraction which is not homogeneously distributed across Italian municipalities and regions. An examination of the steep fall on the Italian mobility network during the pandemic reveals some counterintuitive results, calling for further analysis.

22 Jun 2020

Novel vaccine platform against COVID-19 based on engineered human mesenchymal stem cells

In a recent groundbreaking bioRxiv paper, Chinese researchers describe a novel approach towards coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine design based on engineered human mesenchymal stem cells, with favorable and promising antibody response.

22 Jun 2020

Computational tool provides growth rate and acceleration analysis of COVID-19 pandemic

Researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Araçatuba, Brazil, have developed a computational tool that acts like a "COVID-19 accelerometer," plotting in real time the rate at which growth is accelerating or decelerating in more than 200 countries and territories.

22 Jun 2020

Reassuring news on the Oxford vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2

A new paper from the UK vaccine research group, currently available on the bioRxiv preprint server, reveals that a single dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222) can induce antigen-specific antibody and T cells responses against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and a booster shot additionally enhances antibody production with an increase in neutralizing titers – particularly in pigs.

22 Jun 2020

Mice study shows how oxytocin can amplify aggression as well as friendliness

During the pandemic lockdown, as couples have been forced to spend days and weeks in one another's company, some have found their love renewed while others are on their way to divorce court.

22 Jun 2020

COVID-19 may delay clean energy investments and innovation

Traveling restraints and shelter-in-place orders that grounded planes and emptied streets during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic brought greenhouse gas emissions down and air quality up.

22 Jun 2020

Further confirmation Holder pasteurization inactivates SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk

Researchers in Australia have shown that a standard pasteurization method commonly used in human milk banks is effective at inactivating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

22 Jun 2020

Lancaster University spearheads social distancing and way-finding model for businesses

Lancaster University is spearheading a unique, automated, social distancing and way-finding model for businesses preparing to re-open safely in the post-pandemic recovery.

22 Jun 2020

Homeless patients with respiratory infections more likely to be treated with ventilators than non-homeless

Researchers from UCLA, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Tokyo found that during a recent six-year period, homeless people in New York state were more likely to hospitalized and treated with mechanical ventilators for respiratory infections than people who are not homeless.

22 Jun 2020

Study looks at how loneliness, perceived support has changed in response to COVID-19

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic has not led to an overall increase in loneliness among Americans.

22 Jun 2020

UAH researchers assess treatment efficacy of naturally occurring compounds against COVID-19

The Baudry Lab at The University of Alabama in Huntsville has identified 125 naturally occurring compounds that have a computational potential for efficacy against the COVID-19 virus from the first batch of 50,000 rapidly assessed by a supercomputer.

22 Jun 2020

Researchers explore notions of animality, illness and humanity

When it became apparent in early 2020 just how serious the COVID-19-pandemic was, prioritization among corona patients became an acute issue.

22 Jun 2020

As problems grow with Abbott’s fast COVID test, FDA standards are under fire

In mid-May, the Food and Drug Administration issued a rare public warning about an Abbott Laboratories COVID-19 test that for weeks had received high praise from the White House because of its speed: Test results could be wrong.

22 Jun 2020

How those with obsessive-compulsive disorder cope with added angst of COVID

Before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States, Chris Trondsen felt his life was finally under control. As someone who has battled obsessive-compulsive disorder and other mental health issues since early childhood, it's been a long journey.

22 Jun 2020

Synthetic peptide could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Ligandal, one of the world’s leading genetic medicine companies, has modeled a synthetic peptide that could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

22 Jun 2020

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Hospitals, manufacturers team up with Sandia to increase availability of respirator masks

SARS-CoV-2 paradox: Lower death rate during early stages of the pandemic

Cardiac care in the era of COVID-19

Three vaccine candidates race to combat SARS-CoV-2

Favipiravir has weak effect on SARS-CoV-2 and Hydroxychloroquine none at all in hamster model

Socio-economic effects of human mobility restrictions under COVID-19

Novel vaccine platform against COVID-19 based on engineered human mesenchymal stem cells

Computational tool provides growth rate and acceleration analysis of COVID-19 pandemic

Reassuring news on the Oxford vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2

Mice study shows how oxytocin can amplify aggression as well as friendliness

COVID-19 may delay clean energy investments and innovation

Further confirmation Holder pasteurization inactivates SARS-CoV-2 in breast milk

Lancaster University spearheads social distancing and way-finding model for businesses

Homeless patients with respiratory infections more likely to be treated with ventilators than non-homeless

Study looks at how loneliness, perceived support has changed in response to COVID-19

UAH researchers assess treatment efficacy of naturally occurring compounds against COVID-19

Researchers explore notions of animality, illness and humanity

As problems grow with Abbott’s fast COVID test, FDA standards are under fire

How those with obsessive-compulsive disorder cope with added angst of COVID

Synthetic peptide could be an effective COVID-19 treatment and SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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