Flu shot associated with fewer, less severe COVID cases

People who received a flu shot last flu season were significantly less likely to test positive for a COVID-19 infection when the pandemic hit, according to a new study. And those who did test positive for COVID-19 had fewer complications if they received their flu shot.

Sewage-Handling Robots Help Predict COVID-19 Outbreaks in San Diego

UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers develop an automated process to test city sewage for SARS-CoV-2, allowing them to forecast the region’s COVID-19 caseload one to two weeks ahead of clinical diagnostic reports.

FAU Launches COVID-19 Registry and Repository to Advance Research

An essential strategy for managing COVID-19 requires vast amounts of real-world data to enable researchers to find patterns that will help to better understand and manage this disease. Florida Atlantic University has launched a registry and repository to contribute to new discoveries and knowledge related to COVID-19 and is currently enrolling study participants.

Forty studies later, a Keck Medicine of USC radiologist reveals what he has learned about COVID-19

Ali Gholamrezanezhad, MD, a clinical emergency radiologist with Keck Medicine of USC, was one of the first researchers to study COVID-19 in early 2020. Today, Gholamrezanezhad has co-authored more than 40 papers on the disease, gathering and analyzing a wide array of data and patient scans. He offers his unique insights into a virus that has infected more than 43 million people worldwide.

Imitation May Be a Sincere Form of Treatment

The National Institutes of Health will soon launch a phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of potential new therapeutics for COVID-19, including the use of investigational synthetic monoclonal antibodies. Davey Smith of UC San Diego is the protocol chair and answers questions.

Abated Breath: From COVID-19 to Wildfire Smoke and Air Pollution, Multiple Factors Threaten Lung Health This Summer

As we continue to grapple with the global pandemic, rising summer temperatures and wildfire season pose new challenges to our lung health. A team of pulmonologists and researchers at UC San Diego Health offer a wide variety of expertise and…

UC San Diego Health (@UCSDHealth) Reproductive Expert Talks about COVID-19 and Fertility

During the novel coronavirus pandemic, many couples have concerns about reproductive consequences related to COVID-19. Experts say when it comes to the impact of infections similar to coronavirus — such as influenza — on female and male fertility, the evidence…

X-rays size up protein structure at the ‘heart’ of COVID-19 virus

Researchers have performed the first room temperature X-ray measurements on the SARS-CoV-2 main protease—the enzyme that enables the virus to reproduce. It marks an important first step in the ultimate goal of building a comprehensive 3D model of the enzymatic protein that will be used to advance supercomputing simulations aimed at finding drug inhibitors to block the virus’s replication mechanism and help end the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers Develop First Model to Predict Likelihood of Testing Positive for COVID-19 and Outcomes from the Disease

Cleveland Clinic researchers have developed the world’s first risk prediction model for healthcare providers to forecast an individual patient’s likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19 as well as their outcomes from the disease.

According a new study published in CHEST, the risk prediction model (called a nomogram) shows the relevance of age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, vaccination history and current medications in COVID-19 risk.

“Prescribing Art” course teaches med students to recognize bias and better address racial disparities

Can art help doctors better understand their patients and address racial disparities? An innovative collaboration at the University of Alabama at Birmingham uses art to help medical students hone their observational skills, in order to make more accurate diagnoses. “Prescribing Art: How Observation Enhances Medicine” is a partnership between the School of Medicine, the Abroms-Engel Institute for Visual Arts and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

As Businesses Reopen, It’s Crucial We Wear Masks, Safely Distance

In a perspective piece published today in the journal Science, UC San Diego experts describe in detail the growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, can be spread by asymptomatic people via aerosols — a reality that…

Study finds COVID plasma therapy safe, with 76% patients improving

The first convalescent plasma transfusion trial results from Houston Methodist have been released. Of the 25 patients in the study, 19 have improved and 11 have been discharged. With no adverse side effects caused by the therapy, the study concluded that convalescent plasma is a safe treatment option for patients with severe COVID-19. This is the largest cohort assessed for outcomes related to convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19.

Arthritis Drug Presents Promise as Treatment for COVID-19 Pneumonia

UC San Diego Health has launched a Phase III clinical trial to assess whether a medication used to treat rheumatoid might also have therapeutic value for patient with COVID-19 who have developed or are at high risk of developing serious lung damage from SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Research and innovation as an essential function amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Necessity being the mother of invention, Houston Methodist clinicians, researchers and staff have collaborated on a number of clinical device and research innovations in response to COVID-19. Houston Methodist Academic Institute leadership has continually emphasized translational research in new technologies.

Loss of Smell Associated with Milder Clinical Course in COVID-19

Researchers at UC San Diego Health report in newly published findings that olfactory impairment suggests the resulting COVID-19 disease is more likely to be mild to moderate, a potential early indicator that could help health care providers determine which patients may require hospitalization.

UC San Diego Health Emergency Departments Equipped to Safely Treat all Patients During Global Pandemic

With increased awareness and fear of COVID-19, some patients have refrained from going to the Emergency Department, even when most needed. Doctors at UC San Diego Health wish to reassure the public that fear of coronavirus should not deter patients…

UC San Diego Health Launches Novel Coronavirus Blood Testing to Identify Past Exposure

Physicians and scientists at UC San Diego Health have launched a pair of serological tests that will look for novel coronavirus antibodies—evidence in persons tested that they have previously been infected by the viral cause of COVID-19, even if they never experienced tell-tale symptoms.

DePaul University experts available to discuss recovery, life after the COVID-19 pandemic

Recovery. Reentry. Reopen. Return. A new normal. Faculty experts at DePaul University are available for news media interviews about what comes next — after the COVID-19 pandemic. Does the world return to normal or will there be fundamental changes to how we live our lives, work, and travel; and how we are governed?

Two Major COVID-19 Clinical Trials Launched to Determine Effectiveness and Safety of Drugs in Treating Coronavirus

Researchers from Intermountain Healthcare and University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City have launched two vital clinical trials to test the effectiveness and safety of two drugs – hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and azithromycin – to treat patients with COVID-19.

ACADEMY OF NUTRITION AND DIETETICS URGES U.S. GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS SHORTAGE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT DURING GLOBAL MEDICAL CRISIS

CHICAGO – During the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, urges the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address crucial personal protective equipment shortages for frontline health care workers and those providing access to food security programs.

Telehealth can help ‘flatten the curve,’ serve critical role in COVID-19 response, says WVU health expert

West Virginia University is connecting patients, recently discharged from long-term care facilities, with medical professionals who can manage their healthcare remotely via technology. This telehealth approach may now prove to be a more versatile tool as the U.S. responds to the looming threat of the novel coronavirus.

EXPERT PITCH: Disruption of sports has ‘substantial, uncertain’ impact on long-term broadcast rights, ticket sales, fan attendance, says WVU economist

With fears over the novel coronavirus shuttering the sports world, Brad Humphreys, economics professor at West Virginia University, said the long-term economic impact could be “substantial” and “uncertain.”  Humphreys, whose area of expertise is the economics and financing of sports,…

INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERTS RECOMMEND USING ANTIBODIES FROM COVID-19 SURVIVORS AS STOPGAP MEASURE TO TREAT PATIENTS AND PROTECT HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Countries fighting outbreaks of the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 should consider using the antibodies of people who have recovered from infection to treat cases and provide short-term immunity—lasting weeks to months—to critical health care workers, argue two infectious disease experts.