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.

COVID-19 studies should provide sex-disaggregated data, researchers warn

Researchers have warned that studies examining sex-specific responses to infection with SARS-CoV-2 must provide sex-disaggregated data.

21 Jun 2021

Zinc inhibits SARS-CoV-2’s main protease in vitro

Zinc has antiviral properties. However, the detailed kinetics and the mechanism of zinc in the inhibition of viruses, particularly SARS-CoV-2 – the causative virus of COVID-19 – is unclear. To probe the role of zinc as an anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent at the structural and molecular level, researchers in India studied the binding kinetics and the inhibition mechanism of zinc with SARS-CoV-2’s viral proteins.

21 Jun 2021

‘It’s a mission’: Volunteers treat refugees massing at the border

El Chaparral Plaza once teemed with tourists, street vendors and idling taxis. But the plaza, just outside the San Ysidro port of entry on the Mexican side of the border, now serves as a sprawling refugee camp where migrants from Mexico, Central America and Haiti wait in limbo while they seek asylum in the U.S.

21 Jun 2021

What it means when celebrities stay coy about their vaccine status

When two St. Louis Blues hockey players were sidelined because of covid-19 just days before this year's NHL playoffs, the team said young defenseman Jake Walman had been vaccinated against the deadly illness. But it was mum about the vaccination status of a more well-known player: star forward David Perron.

21 Jun 2021

Montana tribe welcomes back tourists after risky shutdown pays off

Millions of people will flock to Montana's Glacier National Park this summer after last year's pandemic-caused tourism skid, and they will once more be able sightsee and camp nearby on the recently reopened Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

21 Jun 2021

COVID-19 vaccine uptake low among pregnant women in U.S., study finds

Despite the availability of vaccines, the U.S. CDC reports that there has been a lack of pregnant women who are getting vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2.

21 Jun 2021

Study shows that COVID-19 was present in five U.S. states in December 2019, even before the first reported case in China

In a recent study, a group of researchers aimed to identify exactly how early SARS-CoV-2 was circulating throughout the United States.

21 Jun 2021

Anti-coronavirus molecules from microbes could be key to new treatments

Microbes in the gut that produce beneficial compounds could hold the key to treating coronavirus symptoms.

21 Jun 2021

Effects of COVID-19 infection persist in patients even post-treatment

Patients infected by COVID-19 suffer cognitive and behavioral problems lasting even 2 months post-hospital release.

21 Jun 2021

How symptom reporting among hospital employees can be used to monitor the spread of COVID-19 within the community

A recent study discusses the potential utility of daily symptom tracking tools to estimate the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations that will occur within one week.

21 Jun 2021

Social anxiety can increase distress related to mask-wearing during and after COVID-19

People who struggle with social anxiety might experience increased distress related to mask-wearing during and even after the COVID-19 pandemic.

21 Jun 2021

Satellite data explains the extent of lockdown effect on nitrogen oxides

COVID-19 has changed the world in unimaginable ways. Some have even been positive, with new vaccines developed in record time. Even the extraordinary lockdowns, which have had severe effects on movement and commerce, have had beneficial effects on the environment and therefore, ironically, on health.

21 Jun 2021

Increased screen time during COVID-19 correlated with a rise in pandemic-related distress

Increased screen time among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic correlated with a rise in pandemic-related distress, according to research led by investigators at the Saint James School of Medicine on the Caribbean island nation, Saint Vincent.

21 Jun 2021

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust partners with Luscii to provide at-home monitoring platform for heart failure patients

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is working with remote healthcare innovator, Luscii to provide a cutting-edge, at-home monitoring platform to support patients with heart failure.

21 Jun 2021

New interactive resources launched to support the mental health of new mothers and fathers

On International Fathers' Mental Health Day, the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV), in partnership with Dr Ranjana Das and Dr Paul Hodkinson from the University of Surrey, is delighted to announce the launch of three new 'Factographics' interactive resources - designed to better support the mental health of new mothers and fathers.

21 Jun 2021