Back-to-School: Preparing Children for a Healthy, Happy Year

The temperature feels like summer is still in full swing, yet this week, thousands of Los Angeles schoolchildren headed back to the classroom.

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.

Early COVID-19 shutdowns helped St. Louis area avoid thousands of deaths

A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis estimates the number of deaths that could have occurred had public health orders been delayed for one week, two weeks or four weeks as the pandemic was first taking hold in St. Louis city and St. Louis County. The analysis suggests that, in the first three months of the pandemic, the region avoided thousands of hospitalizations and deaths with early and coordinated public health measures.

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.

Response to COVID-19 Vaccines Varies Widely in Blood Cancer Patients

Patients with a type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma had a widely variable response to COVID-19 vaccines—in some cases, no detectable response—pointing to the need for antibody testing and precautions for these patients after vaccination, according to a study published in Cancer Cell in June.

New analysis reveals link between birthdays and COVID-19 spread during the height of the pandemic

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection increased 30 percent for households with a recent birthday in counties with high rates of COVID-19

Findings suggest informal social gatherings such as birthday parties played role in infection spread at the height of the coronavirus pandemic

No birthday-bash infection jumps seen in areas with low rates of COVID-19

Households with children’s birthdays had greater risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection than with adult birthdays

UCLA-led Research Finds Connections Between Air Quality and COVID Vulnerability

Even as governments across the United States consider lifting mask mandates and relaxing preventative measures as vaccination numbers creep up, new research from a UCLA-led team has found that such basic techniques significantly reduce the risk of getting COVID-19. In addition, the research found that U.S. counties with higher exposures to poor air quality, historically, saw higher county-level COVID-19 mortality rates in 2020.

Study shows rapid return of respiratory viruses after COVID-19 restrictions relaxed

A new Houston Methodist study shows a rapid return of seasonal respiratory viruses after COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed in Texas, demonstrating the apparent effectiveness of masking, distancing and other precautionary measures at stopping the spread of respiratory illnesses. This rise in infections to pre-pandemic levels followed updated governmental guidelines lifting mask, distancing and occupancy requirements.

Women had “alarmingly high rates” of mental health problems during start of the pandemic

With research increasingly showing the COVID-19 virus is transmissible via smaller droplets suspended in air, there is growing concern current guidelines of mask wearing and social distancing are insufficient in indoor environments where people tend to be in close quarters. In AIP Advances, researchers in India show social distancing is equally as important as mask wearing when people indoors are just breathing or participating in normal conversation, even when there is no risk of coughing or sneezing.

COVID-19 transmission rare in schools with masking, distancing, contact tracing

Wearing masks, social distancing and frequent hand-washing have kept in-school COVID-19 transmission low, according to results of a pilot study in Missouri aimed at identifying ways to keep elementary and secondary schools open and safe during the pandemic. The study is part of a larger, ongoing collaboration involving Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other groups.

Rutgers Expert Available to Discuss Coronavirus Risks a Year After Lockdowns Began

New Brunswick, N.J. (March 11, 2021) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Donald W. Schaffner is available for interviews on the likelihood of becoming infected by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus via shopping, groceries, surfaces and airborne/aerosol transmission after a year of lockdowns due to the global pandemic.…

Irradiating COVID-19 Cough Droplets with UV-C Lamps

The extreme confusion at the beginning of the pandemic inspired Marche Polytechnic University researchers, who happen to be intrigued by saliva droplet diffusion, to search for answers and ways to help. In Physics of Fluids, they describe using a supercomputer to do numerical modeling of cough droplets irradiated by UV-C light. They also report exploring the social distances required to prevent virus transmission.

COVID-19 Vaccine Expert Available: Why You Should Sign up for Your Shot

The images are popping up on our social media feeds: pictures of friends, coworkers, and family members proudly displaying their COVID-19 vaccine card. One might have received Pfizer’s version. Another might have posted a celebratory confirmation of Moderna’s vaccine. It’s…

The Richer You are, The More Likely You’ll Social Distance, Study Finds

The higher a person’s income, the more likely they were to protect themselves at the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, Johns Hopkins University economists find.

When it comes to adopting behaviors including social distancing and mask wearing, the team detected a striking link to their financial well-being. People who made around $230,000 a year were as much as 54% more likely to increase these types of self-protective behaviors compared to people making about $13,000.

Masks Not Enough to Stop COVID-19’s Spread Without Distancing

Simply wearing a mask may not be enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19 without social distancing. In Physics of Fluids, researchers tested how different types of mask materials impacted the spread of droplets that carry the coronavirus when we cough or sneeze. Every material tested dramatically reduced the number of droplets that were spread. But at distances of less than 6 feet, enough droplets to potentially cause illness still made it through several of the materials.

Fast Walking in Narrow Corridors Can Increase COVID-19 Transmission Risk

Simulations have been used to predict droplet dispersal patterns in situations where COVID-19 might be spread and results in Physics of Fluids show the importance of the space shape in modeling how droplets move. The simulations are used to determine flow patterns behind a walking individual in spaces of different shape. The results reveal a higher transmission risk for children in some instances, such as behind quickly moving people in a long narrow hallway.

COVID-19 Crisis Communication Expert Available

In a world where conspiracy theories and political polarization abound, how does one effectively pull off double duty at battling against both the spread of COVID-19 and misinformation about it? For answers, we turned to Rebecca Rice, a UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs professor who specializes in crisis communication.

Chicago neighborhoods with barriers to social distancing had higher COVID-19 death rates

New research has found that Chicago neighborhoods with barriers to social distancing, including limited access to broadband internet and low rates of health insurance, had more COVID-19 deaths in spring 2020. The study, led by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago, is published in the Annals of Epidemiology.

Surgeon General expects COVID-19 vaccine to be available by year’s end

In a wide-ranging talk with UCLA Health physicians, Wednesday, Oct. 28, United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, addressed the politicization of the pandemic and the means of containing the spread of COVID-19. He also offered hope that a vaccine for the virus will be available by year’s end.

Random Effects Key to Containing Epidemics

To control an epidemic, authorities will often impose varying degrees of lockdown. In the journal Chaos, scientists have discovered, using mathematics and computer simulations, why dividing a large population into multiple subpopulations that do not intermix can help contain outbreaks without imposing contact restrictions within those local communities. When infection numbers are high, random effects can be ignored. But subdividing a population can create communities so small that the random effects matter.

Estimating Risk of Airborne COVID-19 with Mask Usage, Social Distancing

In Physics of Fluids, researchers used a model to understand airborne transmission that is designed to be accessible to a wide range of people, including nonscientists. Employing concepts of fluid dynamics and factors in airborne transmission, they propose the Contagion Airborne Transmission inequality model. While not all factors may be known, it can still be used to assess relative risks. The researchers determined protection from transmission increases with physical distancing in an approximately linear proportion.

WashU Expert: Forget plexiglass, debaters just need 4.5 feet, smart airflow

Two people, facing each other, talking — let’s call it “excitedly” — are probably the most important ingredients for a debate. They are also a recipe for disaster if one of those two people has a highly contagious virus that has been shown time and again to be transmitted through the air.Taking a cue perhaps from South Carolina Sen.

Trick-or-treat for Halloween? Here’s What You Need to Know

Terry Adirim, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., in FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine, provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions and offers helpful tips regarding COVID-19 and “trick-or-treating” during the pandemic.

COVID-19: Second Wave for Some; Others Remain in First Wave

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, some locations have experienced decreasing numbers of cases followed by an increase. In the journal Chaos, mathematicians report a method to analyze these numbers for evidence of a first or second wave. The authors studied data from all 50 U.S. states plus D.C. for the seven-month period from Jan. 21 to July 31. They found 31 states and D.C. were experiencing a second wave as of the end of July.