The Northwestern Medicine Neuro COVID-19 research team discovered patients who continued to test positive more than 14 days after their initial positive test were more likely to experience delirium, longer hospital stays, were less likely to be discharged home, and had a greater six-month mortality than those without persistent viral shedding of COVID-19.
Tag: covid 19
Used Face Masks – Infectious Waste that Requires Proper Disposal
Chula Engineering professor proposes ways to manage used masks and ATK test kits by choosing reusable masks, separating infectious waste, and preparing it properly before discarding it to be destroyed in a non-polluting disposal system to reduce overflowing waste problem.
Seniors Should Stay Fit, Body & Mind – Chula Suggests Ways to Exercise Safely at Home to Keep COVID-19 Away
Chula physical therapy specialist invites seniors to exercise to boost their immunity against COVID-19 and stay fit even during home quarantine with easy ways to exercise at home during the lockdown.
“Automated Vaccine Filling Machine”, An Innovation from Chulalongkorn University, Helps Boost the Number of Vaccinations by 20 Percent, and Reduce the Workload of Medical Personnel
The Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University has developed an automated vaccine filling machine that can fill AstraZeneca vaccine into syringes with precision, speed, and safety, helping to increase the number of vaccinated people by 20 percent. The prototype is now operating at Chula Vaccination Center and more machines are planned to be built to support frontline medical personnel in many vaccination centers soon.
Breast milk of mothers who received COVID-19 vaccine contains antibodies that fight illness
The breast milk of lactating mothers vaccinated against COVID-19 contains a significant supply of antibodies that may help protect nursing infants from the illness, according to new research from the University of Florida.
CDI Director Perlin Named to Modern Healthcare’s Class of Top 25 Innovators
The nomination of Perlin focused on the CDI’s achievements during the COVID-19 era, which included testing, tracking, and therapeutic breakthroughs to benefit patients across Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive health network.
Cancer Guidelines Organization Supports Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Workers
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) COVID-19 Vaccination Advisory Committee calls for healthcare workforce vaccine requirements to assure healthcare community is doing all it can to prevent exposure to COVID-19.
Treating newly infected COVID-19 patients with plasma from COVID survivors demonstrates no significant benefit, study finds
A NIH study co-led and designed by Michigan Medicine researchers found that using convalescent plasma to treat newly infected #COVID-19 patients demonstrated no significant benefit. The trial was stopped in February 2021 due to lack of efficacy based on planned interim analysis
Treating newly infected COVID-19 patients with plasma from COVID survivors demonstrates no significant benefit, study finds
A NIH study co-led and designed by Michigan Medicine researchers found that using convalescent plasma to treat newly infected #COVID-19 patients demonstrated no significant benefit. The trial was stopped in February 2021 due to lack of efficacy based on planned interim analysis
American Society of Anesthesiologists and Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Say Preoperative Testing for COVID-19 is Essential, Regardless of Vaccination
All patients undergoing non-emergency surgeries or procedures should continue to have preoperative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2, irrespective of vaccination status, according to an updated guidance from the American Society of Anesthesiologists and Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.
Don’t Let the Raging Virus Put Life in Jeopardy. Chula Recommends How to Build an Immunity for Your Heart Against Stress and Depression
Cumulative stress, denial, and chronic depression are the byproducts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Center for Psychological Wellness, Chulalongkorn University recommends ways to cope by harnessing positive energy from our heart.
Appropriate Technologies: The COVID-19-Era Heroes Yet to Come to “Center Stage”
The COVID-19 outbreaks in Thailand have seen an ever-increasing number of infections as new clusters are emerging. The faculty members of Sasin School of Management — Prof. Dr. Kua Wongboonsin, Asst. Prof. Dr. Piyachart Phiromswad, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pattanaporn Chatjuthamard, Asst. Prof. Dr. Pattarake Sarajoti, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Sabin Srivannaboon, with financial support from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), jointly present ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 sustainably in a study to identify technologies that can instantly and appropriately help professionals who find social distancing difficult.
2 in 1 Face Mask Against Dust and Virus – Chula Health Innovation in the New Normal
Chula’s Faculty of Engineering joins hands with PTT to develop a 2 in1 face mask, an innovation that protects against PM2.5 dust particles and COVID-19 virus that can be reused more than 15 times, helps reduce waste, is pollution-free, and will be available for sale soon.
Study of Cancer Patients and COVID-19 Highlights Health Disparities
Findings from a study led by researchers at Henry Ford Cancer Institute, in collaboration with Advocate Aurora Health, the Food and Drug Administration and Syapse®, show an elevated risk for severe COVID-19 effects or death among patients with cancer, with the highest risk being among low-income and Black patients.
COVID-19 SCAN: An Innovative, Proactive, Fast, Accurate, and Affordable Screening Kit by Chula Doctors
As the COVID-19 outbreaks continue to skyrocket with new clusters in numerous dark red areas in many provinces across the country, a research team led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sanchai Payungporn, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, has, therefore, accelerated the development of the innovative COVID-19 screening kits – “COVID-19 SCAN” that are convenient, fast, inexpensive, with efficiency, accuracy close to the Real-time PCR standards mandated by the Ministry of Public Health.
Study Finds “Thriving Gap” Between Students Who Attended High School Remotely Versus in Person
New research finds that high school students who attended school remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic suffered socially, emotionally, and academically compared with those who attended in person.

New CSUCCESS Initiative Will Enhance Equity and Student Achievement for CSU Students
Largest-ever CSU device distribution will provide iPad Air for up to 35,000 first-year and new transfer students at eight campuses
NCCN Policy Summit Explores How COVID-19 Pandemic Can Lead to Improvements in Cancer Care
NCCN Policy Summit examines the impact of the past year on oncology policy in the U.S., such as resuming recommended screening and clinical trials, applying health innovations from the COVID-19 pandemic to cancer treatment, and addressing systemic inequalities that lead to disparities in outcomes.
NCCN Cancer Experts Answer Questions about COVID-19 Vaccines
National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s patient information team provides a patient and caregiver version of recently-updated, evidence-based expert consensus recommendations for vaccinating people with cancer against COVID-19.

MASSACHUSETTS DERMATOLOGIST ESTABLISHES COVID-19 VACCINATION SITE FOR SCHOOL NURSES
Local board-certified dermatologist Louis Kuchnir, MD, FAAD, was honored as an American Academy of Dermatology Patient Care Hero for establishing a COVID-19 vaccination site in Marlborough, Mass. for school nurses at a time early in the vaccine rollout when vaccines were in short supply.
Registration Opens for Collaborative Food Safety and Nutrition Institute’s Annual Meeting
Dynamic science meeting to address critical food safety, nutrition topics
What to Expect From COVID-19
Throughout the country, states are opening up and lifting COVID-19 restrictions that have been in place for more than a year at a time when only about a third of Americans have been fully vaccinated and less than a half have received at least one dose.
Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, discusses how to interpret new guidelines, what to expect in the coming months, and if this is an indication that life is returning to normal.
Nearly 3% of Americans take immune-weakening drugs that may limit COVID vaccine response
A study of more than 3 million insured U.S. adult patients under 65 found that nearly 3% take immunosuppressive drugs that may elevate risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms and hospitalization if they became infected. There is growing evidence that immunosuppressive drugs may also reduce the COVID vaccine’s efficacy.
Five benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine
UAB experts explain some of the benefits of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Chula to Accelerate Research on “Rutin” — An Herbal Extract Against COVID-19
Chula researchers have found that “rutin” extract from orange peel can kill the COVID-19 virus. They are developing it into drugs while pointing out that drug research is still necessary along with vaccine research and suggesting that Thai people should adjust their views on herbs to create added value.
UVC Sterilizer – A Must-Have in the New Normal
The magical ultraviolet C (UVC) sterilizing devices are proven to kill 99.99% of germs, but may pose a risk of skin cancer and cataracts, Chula professors cautioned consumers to use them carefully and by being fully informed.
Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research Publishes New Data on Impacts of Mask Wearing on Sports Performance
Baylor Scott & White Sports Therapy & Research at The Star in Frisco has published new findings from a study designed to determine the effects of wearing a cloth mask on sports performance. The data from this randomized controlled trial, conducted through Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, has been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and shows that participants who wore cloth masks during exercise experienced a reduction in performance as intensity levels increased.
Hackensack Meridian Health’s Center for Discovery and Innovation Develops Advanced Test to Track and Diagnose COVID-19 Variants
The test can detect the known UK, Brazil, and South African variants, as well as others containing the key E484K mutation, which are gaining prominence as the virus evolves.

What’s Next for Restaurant Industry?
Kathleen O’Brien, chair and lecturer in Buffalo State’s Hospitality and Tourism Department, and founder of the on-campus dining club, Campus House, talks about the current environment for restaurants as country emerges from COVID, and what may lie ahead.
Texas Biomed Scientists partner with DoD to test decontamination technologies against SARS-CoV-2
Texas Biomedical Research Institute received two Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Health Agency subcontracts, totaling nearly $2 million, to assess the efficacy of surface coating and aerosolized decontamination technologies to combat SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces and in the air.

Chula Pharmaceutical Science Developed Herbal Nasal and Throat Spray to Prevent COVID-19 Infection
Chula Pharmaceutical Science, in collaboration with leading a Austrian institute, came up with a special intensive longan extract formula (P80) for throat and nasal spray that can reduce the amount of viruses that attach to the mucous membranes that may enter the body. Helps safely prevent all kinds of viral infections including the COVID-19 virus, with no side effects.

What have we learned? Notre Dame experts reflect on COVID-19, one year later
In the age of the coronavirus, time has proven to be a difficult construct. The first official sign of a novel coronavirus with the potential to spread quickly, causing severe illness, came in late December 2019, when health officials in…
Hackensack Meridian Health Publication: COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma with Greater Antibody Levels is Safe and Shows Promise
The treatment was safe, transferred the survivors’ antibodies, and did not prevent the recipients from making their own antibodies, according to the results published recently in the journal JCI Insights.

LifeBridge Health Launches Mobile Van to Provide Vulnerable Communities Access to COVID-19 Testing, Senior and Pediatric Care
LifeBridge Health recently announced the launch of its “Care Happens Here” mobile unit, which will bring a wide range of healthcare testing and treatment services, including COVID-19 vaccinations, to vulnerable communities throughout central Maryland.

Equitably Allocating COVID-19 Vaccine
Equitable implementation of COVID‐19 vaccine delivery is a national and global priority, with a strong focus on reducing existing disparities and not creating new disparities. But while a framework has been recognized for equitable allocation of COVID‐19 vaccine that acknowledges the rights and interests of sexual and gender minorities (SGM), it fails to identify strategies or data to achieve that goal.

Why Some Coronavirus Strains are More Infectious Than Others May be Due to Spike Protein Movements
ROCKVILLE, MD – Coronavirus outbreaks have occurred periodically, but none have been as devastating as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study suggests COVID-19 pandemic may have led to increased legal cannabis use in at-risk communities
The aim of the current study is to examine whether communities reporting an increased risk for developing mental health issues showed differential patterns of legal cannabis use as the pandemic began. A secondary goal is to examine the feasibility of using anonymized location data to uncover community consumption patterns of potential concern.
April 2021 Issue of AJPH highlights COVID-19 as it relates to unemployment and excess deaths in Florida, Medicaid expansion, and misinformation spread by crowdfunding campaigns
April 2021 highlights from AJPH Issue includes COVID-19-related articles around deaths linked to unemployment, higher than reported death toll in Florida and crowdfunding campaigns spreading misinformation
Global Vaccine Symposium Press Conference
Press conference will discuss COVID-19 vaccine research, development, rollout in conjunction with the COVID-19 Vaccine Development, Strategy and Implementation Virtual Global Health Symposium, organized by Columbia University, running from 22-26 February

The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Offers Free Online Course in Administering COVID-19 Vaccination
The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON) has launched a free online course to help individuals, health departments, and other community organizations be trained to administer COVID-19 vaccination. The course covers vaccine safety, hesitancy, preparation, administration, and side effects.

Promoting and Protecting Human Milk and Breastfeeding During COVID-19
With stressors mounting daily on the health care system due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a de-prioritization of the childbearing family has been noted. Their care has changed, resulting in mothers forced to go through labor and birth without their partners, parents barred from NICU visitation, and discharge of mothers and newborns early without enough expert lactation care. There is great concern that these changes in childbearing families’ care may become permanent – to the detriment of the health of both mother and child.
Vaccine Prioritization Dashboard Launches @JohnsHopkins for People with Disabilities
A new Johns Hopkins data tool helps people with disabilities determine when they qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine and compares how different states prioritize the disability community in the vaccine rollout.
Created by researchers, students and advocates who themselves are disabled and have personally experienced how inequitable and inaccessible the pandemic response has been, the COVID-19 Vaccine Prioritization Dashboard launched to not only help the disability community get vaccinated, but also to arm policymakers with data to improve the system.
Negligible Detection of SARS-CoV2 found in Environmental Surface Testing of Hematology/Oncology Inpatient and Outpatient Settings
Researchers from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey evaluated the frequency of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, on various environmental surfaces in outpatient and inpatient hematology/oncology settings located within Rutgers Cancer Institute and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. The study, published in Cancer, revealed extremely low detection of SARS-CoV-2 on environmental surfaces across multiple outpatient and inpatient oncology areas, including an active COVID-19 floor.

Researchers Studying Wearable Device to Help Detect COVID-19 Upon Infection
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine researchers are recruiting health care workers to study whether a wearable device, a wristwatch, can capture real time data that can be used to alert wearers of subtle physiological changes that may indicate they have become infected with COVID-19.
New Report Offers Fixes for the Unemployment Insurance System in Massachusetts
A report released today by the Center for State Policy Analysis (cSPA) at Tufts University’s Tisch College describes a range of evidence-based options for fixing Massachusetts’ troubled unemployment insurance (UI) system.

SLU Expert Offers 7 Tips to Maintain a Healthy Gut
ST. LOUIS – The gut is like your second brain and can have a significant impact on your overall health, advises a nutrition expert. Whitney Linsenmeyer, Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University and spokesperson for…

Study: COVID-19 infection rates high in pregnant women
The study also showed that the number of COVID-19 infections in pregnant patients from nearly all communities of color in Washington was high. There was a twofold to fourfold higher prevalence of pregnant patients with COVID-19 infections from communities of color than expected based on the race-ethnicity distribution of pregnant women in Washington in 2018.
How to talk to skeptical relatives about the vaccine
Got a friend or family member who is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine but not sure they want to get it? Here are a few strategies to get them to reconsider.
It’s morally wrong for rich nations to hoard COVID-19 vaccine
Rich nations should not engage in “vaccine nationalism” and keep the COVID-19 vaccine to themselves when poorer nations need them, according to Nicole Hassoun, professor of philosophy at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

Targeting Nsp1 Protein Could Be A Pathway For COVID-19 Therapy
DALLAS – Feb. 16, 2021 – A study that identifies how a coronavirus protein called Nsp1 blocks the activity of genes that promote viral replication provides hope for new COVID-19 treatments.