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.

A new vaccine approach that could prevent future pandemics

News-Medical speaks to Professor Tomohiro Kurosaki about how he has developed a new vaccine approach that could prevent future pandemics.

25 Oct 2021

Development of light-based tool for the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2

Researchers from EMIT bio have developed a biological light unit that can sterilize surfaces, killing SARS-CoV-2.

25 Oct 2021

Are non-human primates at risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure through wastewater contact?

Researchers have been investigating the potential for SARS-CoV-2 to spread to NHP through wastewater.

25 Oct 2021

Molecular features of SARS-CoV-2 variant receptor binding

Researchers have been investigating the changes in receptor binding in these variants that increase the danger they pose.

25 Oct 2021

Study finds FDA-approved drug has potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern

A new study aimed to examine the antiviral potential of atovaquone against the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and other variants of concern.

25 Oct 2021

How pregnancy influences SARS-CoV-2 immune response

A focus article published in Science Translational Medicine highlighted two recently published studies that investigated the response of pregnant women to natural infections and COVID-19 vaccines.

25 Oct 2021

Study suggests seropositive individuals produce anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies with improved potency and breadth

Researchers isolated single cells among individuals with and without prior infection with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccinated with BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine and compared the nature of the neutralizing antibody response against the original Wuhan virus and the subsequent variants.

25 Oct 2021

Telemedicine approach remains a viable alternative for lung cancer screening

A novel telemedicine lung cancer screening effort during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that virtual single-visit screenings are just as effective as single-visit screenings done in person at the hospital, according to a study presented at the American College of Surgeons Virtual Clinical Congress 2021.

25 Oct 2021

How COVID-19 affects household food security

A new study published on the bioRxiv* preprint server investigates changes in household food insecurity throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this, researchers followed a cohort of Vermonters and examined the socio-demographic characteristics correlated with increased odds of experiencing food insecurity.

25 Oct 2021

Cancer patients have impaired antibody responses to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines

A new study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server studies the neutralizing antibody response in cancer patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), lung cancer, breast cancer, and various non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL), post-reception of two doses of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines.

25 Oct 2021

COVID lockdowns affect preschoolers' eating, activity and sleep routines, parents say

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought in its wake a slew of restrictions on leaving the house, social interactions and educational or business opportunities. For very young children growing up under these conditions, the change is marked. A new study from the UK reports the effect of these changes in the typical pattern of life on preschool children.

24 Oct 2021

A comparison between Pfizer/BioNTech's and Sinopharm's SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

Researchers compare antibody titers elicited the Pfizer‐BioNTech mRNA and the classic inactivated virus Sinopharm vaccines.

24 Oct 2021

Immune evasion by SARS-CoV-2 facilitated by a mutational hotspot in the NTD

Researchers discuss mutations in the NTD of the spike protein, which contains an antigenic “supersite” and is the target for nAbs.

24 Oct 2021

Study findings may lead to new treatments to fight deadly C. difficile infections

A University of California, Irvine-led study suggests that the glucosyltransferase domain (GTD) is an ideal molecular target for therapeutic interventions for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). These findings may lead to new treatments to fight this deadly disease.

22 Oct 2021