English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
Esperanto
French
German
Greek
Italian
Japanese
Korean
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish
UrduA study of more than 1,000 health care workers was unable to establish whether medical masks are significantly less effective at preventing COVID-19 infection than N95 respirators in hospital settings. The findings varied across countries, which were studied during different times in the pandemic, and uncertainty in the estimates of effect limit definitiveness of findings. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
Tag: COVID -19
APEC University Leaders’ Forum 2022 Successfully Concludes with High-level Discussions on Preparing for the Next Pandemic
Business leaders, policy makers, and university presidents from APRU, a network of 60 leading research universities from 19 economies around the APEC region, convened at the Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, on 16 November for the APEC University Leaders’ Forum (AULF) 2022, under the theme: “Preventing the Next Pandemic.”
Risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms remains throughout pregnancy, study finds
A UT Southwestern study of more than 1,300 pregnant women diagnosed with COVID-19 found that just 1 in 10 developed moderate, severe, or critical illness and that COVID-19 symptoms and severity were similar across all trimesters.
Should You Take Your Child to the Emergency Room, Urgent Care—or Call the Doctor?
As a parent, your number one goal is keeping your child safe and healthy. When is it time to head to the emergency department (ED)—and when is it best to call your child’s doctor, or go to an urgent care center?If it’s not an emergency, calling your pediatrician or going to urgent care are the best ways to address a variety of medical concerns.
COVID-19 reactivates several latent viruses – particularly in ME patients
COVID-19 reactivated viruses that had become latent in cells following previous infections, particularly in people with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as ME/CFS.
Study Finds Risk of Seizures Is Higher After COVID-19 Than After Influenza
People who have a COVID-19 infection are more likely to develop seizures or epilepsy within the next six months than people who have an influenza infection, according to a study published in the November 16, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Early Mobility Improved Survival Rates for COVID-19 Patients Receiving ECMO
Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital, Plano, Texas, changed its treatment paradigm for its COVID-19 patients receiving ECMO during the pandemic, finding that progressive mobility and a more aggressive application of rehabilitation therapies contributed to significantly higher survival rates.
Residents of assisted living facilities lost significant, concerning weight during the COVID-19 quarantine
Older adults residing in assisted living facilities and quarantined to their rooms during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lost significant weight, according to gerontology care providers and researchers from McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.
Forum of International Respiratory Societies Calls for Collaborative Efforts to Fight Pneumonia
This World Pneumonia Day, Nov. 12, 2022, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the American Thoracic Society is a founding member, is calling on governments and other stakeholders to take urgent action to tackle pneumonia – focusing on those who are at greatest risk of severe illness.
Multiple Stressors Contributed to Physician Burnout During First Wave of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Front-line physicians who cared for COVID-19 patients during the first wave of the pandemic in New York City and New Orleans reported multiple factors that contributed to their occupational stress during this extraordinarily trying time in their careers.
Holding Mycophenolate Mofetil for 10 Days or More May Improve COVID-19 Vaccine Response
New research presented this week at ACR Convergence 2022, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, demonstrated that withholding mycophenolate mofetil for 10 days significantly increased antibody response after 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, without a significant increase in flares.
Preterm Birth More Common in Unvaccinated Pregnant Patients with Rheumatic Disease and COVID-19
New research presented this week at ACR Convergence 2022, the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting, found a greater number of preterm births in unvaccinated versus fully vaccinated pregnant patients with rheumatic disease and COVID-19.
Study Explores Sex Differences in the Effects of SARS-CoV-2 in Young Adults
Suggests a more proactive, innate immune response among females
Inequities in access to bereavement support in the UK persists, new research finds
There continues to be inequities in access to bereavement support in the UK. In particular, even though minoritised ethnic communities were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, overall, proportions of ethnically minoritised clients did not increase, according to bereavement services.
Study reveals vaccine confidence declined considerably during COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers comparing pre and post-pandemic surveys have found confidence in vaccinations is considerably lower post pandemic amongst all demographic groups.
Paxlovid and COVID Rebound – Ochsner Health Experts Available
When Paxlovid became available for wider use earlier this year, multiple reports of COVID rebound in patients who had taken the antiviral treatment soon followed, leading some doctors to reconsider prescribing it for lower-risk patients. However, a new study has…
COVID lockdown affected early childhood development – Expert Available
A study out of Ireland has finally shed light on a question that many parents and caregivers have shared since the start of the pandemic: how COVID lockdown could affect their children. Results showed that many “lockdown babies” may be…
Infants less likely to contract COVID, develop severe symptoms than other household caregivers
In one of the first studies to explore how COVID-19 specifically affects older infants, researchers from the University of Washington and at institutions at four other locations in the Western and Southern U.S. found that the number of infected people in a household was the factor most closely linked with the infant’s likelihood of being infected.
Study: Concerns over COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness, not general medical mistrust, slowed early uptake in Black, Latinx communities
New research on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Black, Latinx communities could help shape more persuasive messages to boost uptake.
Alcoholic Pancreatitis Patients with Continued Alcohol Intake May Finally Have Therapeutic Options
Researchers at the Miller School are looking for solutions to the continued effects of alcohol use, its harmful impact, and treatment. Understanding the mechanisms of alcohol abuse has gained importance, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher alcohol consumption led to an increased burden of pancreatic diseases in society.
Potential therapy derived from a banana protein works against SARS-CoV-2
A paper in Cell Reports Medicine details the efficacy of H84T-BanLec against all known human-infecting coronaviruses, including MERS, the original SARS, and SARS-CoV2, including the omicron variant.
Why do COVID-19 conspiracy theories persist on social media?
IIASA researchers have analyzed the discussion on eight different conspiracy theories that was spread widely on Twitter during the pandemic.
Penn State scientists one step closer to adaptation-proof COVID-19 vaccine
A vaccine that could protect against new variants of SARS-CoV-2 and also potentially protect against other coronaviruses is one step closer to reality thanks to College of Medicine researchers.
UAlbany Study: Pandemic Had Disproportionate Impact on Female Educators
A new study by University at Albany researchers found that female educators experienced the COVID-19 pandemic more negatively than their male counterparts. The study, which was conducted by NYKids, a research-practice partnership housed within the University’s School of Education, adds to emerging research that is finding the pandemic had a disproportionate impact on women in the workforce, who have dropped out at much higher rates than men.
Blessing or curse? How the pandemic and the war impact energy transitions
The Covid-19 pandemic and the return of military conflict to Europe are two of the present’s defining crises. A new IIASA-led study sheds light on their ramifications for the global energy system.
Fewer patients sent to hospital rehabilitation facilities for recovery after colorectal operations early in the COVID pandemic
The first months of the COVID pandemic had a profound effect on hospital discharge practices and use patterns for patients with colorectal disease.
Miller School of Medicine Researchers Find Clues for Potential ‘Long COVID’ Therapies
A team of researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine have uncovered a potential approach for treating patients with serious long-term COVID conditions. In two recent studies using experimental models, they found that placing a peptide “net” around the spike protein on the virus reduced deaths from organ failure and improved overall outcomes.
COVID-19 virus-human protein network provides new tools and strategies for screening host-targeting therapies
A Cleveland Clinic-led research team used artificial intelligence to map out hundreds of ways that the virus that causes COVID-19 interacts with infected cells. Through this analysis, they identified potential COVID-19 medicines within thousands of drugs already approved by the FDA for other treatments.
The research focused on host-targeting therapies, which operate differently from other antivirals by disrupting the mechanisms viruses use to multiply and survive, rather than just blocking specific proteins within the cell. The research, published in Nature Biotechnology, presents a network called an “interactome,” the interactions between COVID-19 virus proteins and host cell proteins.
Other SARS-CoV-2 Proteins are Important for Disease Severity, Aside from the Spike
University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have identified how multiple genes of SARS-CoV-2 affect disease severity, which could lead to new ways in how we develop future vaccines or develop newer treatments. The genes control the immune system of the host, contributing to how fiercely the body responds to a COVID-19 infection.
Smoking increases the risk of illness and viral infection, including type of coronavirus
New findings published in the Nicotine and Tobacco Research journal by UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer tobacco researchers may lead to urgent recommendations for doctors to help patients quit smoking as a way of countering COVID-19.
Study Provides Further Evidence That Immune Cell Dysregulation is a Driver of COVID-19 Severity Study Provides Further Evidence That Immune Cell Dysregulation is a Driver of COVID-19 Severity
In one of the largest single-center COVID-19 cohort studies to date, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, using samples collected during the peak of the pandemic in New York City, have identified a key driver of COVID-19 disease severity.
Method for detecting waves of COVID-19 infections can shape critical public health decisions during a pandemic
A method that combines case investigation data from local health departments and hospitalizations records from local institutions allows for the objective detection of new waves of infection during a pandemic, according to research from UTHealth Houston.
Incidence of Myocarditis/Pericarditis Following mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination Among Children and Younger Adults in the United States
In this population-based surveillance, the authors found that myocarditis/pericarditis 0 to 7 days after mRNA vaccination in persons aged 5 to 39 years occurred in approximately 1 in 200,000 doses after the first dose and 1 in 30,000 doses after second dose of the primary series, and 1 in 50,000 doses after the first booster. The incidence varied markedly by age and sex, however, with a disproportionate number of cases occurring in male persons, notably among adolescents after dose 2 and first boosters.
Initiative Reduces Pressure Injuries From Noninvasive Oxygen Delivery Devices
A short-term quality improvement initiative at Nebraska Medicine quickly reduced the incidence of facial pressure injuries and led to institution-wide adoption of different types of noninvasive oxygen delivery devices.
Young Women Who Reduce Binge Drinking Could Decrease Risk of COVID-19 Infection, Study Shows
Rutgers research correlates substance-use patterns and personal characteristics with COVID-19 impacts.
Can I Get the Flu From Touching Surfaces? Rutgers Researcher Says No.
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the coronavirus was everywhere – stuck to our cellphone screens, smeared on our mail, dangling from doorknobs, even clinging to our cereal boxes. Except that it wasn’t.
Despite public health guidance suggesting surfaces be disinfected to stop the spread of COVID-19, the virus wasn’t significantly transmitted through inanimate surfaces and objects, what microbiologists call “fomites.” As with all respiratory viruses – from the flu to the common cold – transmission was and remains almost exclusively airborne.
Emanuel Goldman, a professor of microbiology at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, was among the first scientists to challenge conventional wisdom by warning that hygiene theater – overzealous disinfection of surfaces – had “become counterproductive” for public health.
COVID-19 associated with increase in new diagnoses of type 1 diabetes in youth, by as much as 72%
Children who were infected with COVID-19 show a substantially higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D), according to a new study that analyzed electronic health records of more than 1 million patients ages 18 and younger.
Long COVID in Kids: A Path to Recovery
A new service at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is providing comprehensive care for children with a debilitating post-COVID condition. Some teens can’t get back to the sports they love. Other children can no longer get through a school day—or even walk up a flight of stairs. Still others feel “off”—and anxious and depressed, too.
A smartphone’s camera and flash could help people measure blood oxygen levels at home
Conditions like asthma or COVID-19 make it harder for bodies to absorb oxygen from the lungs. In a proof-of-principle study, University of Washington and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels down to 70%. This is the lowest value that pulse oximeters should be able to measure, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Lab experiments support COVID-19 bradykinin storm theory
A new paper published in Nature Communications adds further evidence to the bradykinin storm theory of COVID-19’s viral pathogenesis — a theory that was posited two years ago by a team of researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
NIH-funded team develops method to identify future SARS-CoV-2 mutations that could affect rapid antigen test performance
A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health has shown that commercially available rapid antigen tests can detect past and present variants of concern and has identified potential mutations that may impact test performance in the future.
Cleveland Clinic Researchers Discover New Signal for Triggering Human Immune Response
Researchers from Cleveland Clinic’s Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) found that disruption of a cellular structure, known as the actin cytoskeleton, is a “priming signal” for the body to respond to a virus. These findings, published in Cell this week, potentially lay the groundwork for development of new anti-viral vaccines and treatments.
COVID-19 and people with epilepsy: The latest on infection risk and vaccines
Does COVID-19 infection affect people with epilepsy differently? Are people with epilepsy less likely to get vaccinated? A session at the European Epilepsy Congress in July 2022 covered these topics, and more.
UCLA leads CDC-funded study on effectiveness of vaccines, boosters in ‘next phase’ of COVID
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has been awarded a $13.6 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue to study the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and the long-term impact of infection among U.S. health care workers. The new yearlong grant project follows the 2020–21 Preventing Emerging Infections Through Vaccine Effectiveness Testing study, or PREVENT I, which was among the first to demonstrate the real-world benefit of mRNA vaccines in preventing symptomatic infection following their authorization by the Food and Drug Administration.
Risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease increases by 50-80% in older adults who caught COVID-19
Older people who were infected with COVID-19 show a substantially higher risk—as much as 50% to 80% higher than a control group—of developing Alzheimer’s disease within a year, according to a study of more than 6 million patients 65 and older.
Hurricane Harvey’s hardest hit survivors five times as likely to experience anxiety from COVID-19 pandemic
Researchers at the University of Notre Dame with collaborators at Rice University and the Environmental Defense Fund, deployed new surveys to assess the economic and health impacts of the pandemic nationally, but with a special focus on those hit by back-to-back climate disasters.
An infusion of public health ethics could have improved COVID policy
Distrust and, at times, outright dismissal of public health’s evolving pandemic guidance might have been minimized by relying more heavily on input and guidance from ethicists, argue the authors of a new perspective piece in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Mount Sinai Researchers Unravel the Crystal Structure of a Key Enzyme of SARS-CoV-2, Paving the Way for New Antivirals
Mount Sinai researchers have produced a high-resolution crystal structure of an enzyme essential to the survival of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The discovery could lead to the design of new antivirals to combat current and future coronaviruses.
Vaccines dramatically reduce the risk of long-term effects of COVID-19
Being vaccinated with at least two doses of Pfizer vaccines dramatically reduces most of the long-term symptoms individuals reported months after contracting COVID-19, a new study shows.
Technology that simulates complex molecular interactions could lead to better treatments for diseases like cancer and COVID-19
A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities biomedical engineers has developed a universally accessible application that can simulate complex molecular interactions, which will allow researchers to design better treatments for diseases like cancer and COVID-19.