Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Latest Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 News and Research

Promising vaccine patch candidate for COVID-19

In a breath of fresh air, scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine reported that they had developed a potential new vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is causing the current COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine has been tested in mice. When administered through a small patch only the size of a fingertip, the vaccine was found to generate protective neutralizing antibodies against the virus, in adequate quantities.

2 Apr 2020

AI to predict risk of an individual patient's need for ventilator

As coronavirus patients are hospitalized, it is difficult for doctors to predict which of them will require intensive care and a respirator. Many different factors come into play, some yet to be fully understood by doctors.

2 Apr 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: All coronavirus all the time

The medical and economic needs laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic are forcing some immediate changes to the U.S. health system. Congress, in its latest relief bill, provided $100 billion in funding for the hospital industry alone.

2 Apr 2020

Nanoneedle technology licensed for early detection of disease, biomarker discovery

A Boston-based startup company, NanoMosaic LLC, intends to commercialize a high-throughput, high-sensitivity platform for analyte detection developed at Harvard University.

2 Apr 2020

Pandemic-stricken cities have empty hospitals, but reopening them is difficult

As city leaders across the country scramble to find space for the expected surge of COVID-19 patients, some are looking at a seemingly obvious choice: former hospital buildings, sitting empty, right downtown.

2 Apr 2020

Penn State engineer developing point-of-care testing device to diagnose COVID-19

A point-of-care testing device that may help diagnose the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is under development by Weihua Guan, assistant professor of electrical engineering in Penn State's College of Engineering.

2 Apr 2020

OXGENE and The Native Antigen Company Announce Collaboration to Increase COVID-19 Antigen Production for Diagnostic Kits and Vaccine Development

OXGENE™ and The Native Antigen Company today announced a collaboration to scale up production of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) reagents.

2 Apr 2020

Study looks at Russian trolls that polarize vaccination efforts

There has always been controversy surrounding vaccines, but in the past, that was usually overridden by fear of the disease itself. The diseases vaccines prevent can be dangerous or even deadly. However, many anti-vaccination groups add to the confusion of people on the benefits of immunization against infectious diseases.

2 Apr 2020

Patients with hypertension, diabetes and heart disease more likely to die from COVID-19

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) evolves, important information emerges, thanks to studies and analyses undertaken by scientists and health experts. With more data available based on patients in actual healthcare settings, scientists have more information on how the virus affects the body and who are at most risk of the disease.

2 Apr 2020

Scientists estimate 2 to 3 percent of Hubei Province’s population has been infected with coronavirus

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has shocked the world. It was first reported in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, in China as a pneumonia-like illness seen in patients who had one thing in common – they visited the Huanan seafood market. Since then, the virus has spread to 180 countries and territories, infecting over 937,000 people worldwide. Now, a new mathematical model developed by scientists at the Universita degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy, shows that about 2 to 3 percent of the total population of Hubei Province has been infected.

2 Apr 2020

India braces for coronavirus onslaught amidst the cries of the poor

India, a nation of 1.3 billion, most of them poor, is braced to meet the coronavirus attack with a mixture of fatalism and active measures. With the 21-day lockdown announced by the Central Government from March 24, 2020, firmly in place, most citizens hesitate to step out of their houses even for perfectly legitimate needs.

2 Apr 2020

Is coronavirus spread through feces?

A startling study from China, published in the journal Gastroenterology in March 2020, reports that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 can spread via feces as well as the more familiar respiratory droplet route or from virus-contaminated surfaces.

2 Apr 2020

How (easily) does the novel coronavirus spread?

Viruses are tiny bundles of DNA or RNA which have the ability to infect host cells, hijack the machinery of the host cell and then replicate. Once the host cell’s resources are exhausted, the viral particles are released to infect other cells. In this way, the viruses ensure their survival, often at the expense of the host.

1 Apr 2020

What are coronaviruses and COVID-19?

The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.

1 Apr 2020

AGA publishes new COVID-19 recommendations for PPE during gastrointestinal procedures

Today, the American Gastroenterological Association published new COVID-19 recommendations in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA: AGA Institute Rapid Recommendations for Gastrointestinal Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

1 Apr 2020

Beards and COVID-19 in the healthcare setting

A new opinion piece in The BMJ published in March 2020 discusses whether healthcare professionals should wear beards because of the risk that they could harbor the novel coronavirus.

1 Apr 2020

Putting an end to the pandemic

From the plagues of medieval Europe to the influenza pandemic of 1918, the specter of the next public health disaster has gripped the minds of scientists, captivated the imaginations of writers and vexed conspiracy theorists.

1 Apr 2020

ECMO support in Shanghai provides guidance for managing COVID-19 patients worldwide

The initial experience of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation management for coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Shanghai, China provides guidance for management of critically ill COVID-19 patients worldwide, reports a study in the ASAIO Journal.

1 Apr 2020

What are the challenges facing palliative care during COVID-19?

The current COVID-19 outbreak affecting 180 countries and territories across six continents is taking its toll on healthcare systems globally. In particular, there is growing pressure on and concern for triage and palliative care departments. Now, researchers from the University of Toronto, Université Laval, Québec, and the University of Ottawa have published a new study titled, “Pandemic palliative care: beyond ventilators and saving lives,” in the latest issue of the journal Canadian Medical Association Journal that looks to address the challenges in providing palliative care during a viral pandemic.

1 Apr 2020