Vaccination has limited SARS-CoV-2 spread and prevented major illness and death during the COVID-19 pandemic.1 However, certain adverse events, such as an increased incidence of myocarditis, particularly in young men, have been associated with vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech).2,3 On July 30, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Health approved the administration of a third vaccine dose for the general population in response to increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases. We assessed whether a third vaccine dose was associated with the risk of myocarditis. googletag.cmd.push(function() { if (!App.suppressAds && (App.isAbstract || ((App.isSplitScreen || App.isMag) && !App.hasAccess))) { App.Ads.Mappings.dualMobile = googletag.sizeMapping() .addSize([1023, 600], [0, 0]) .addSize([0, 600], [[300, 250], [300, 600]]) .addSize([0, 0], [300, 250]) .build(); App.Ads.slots[8] = googletag.defineSlot(App.Ads.adPath + '/textbreak', [300, 250], 'ad-dual-box-mobile') .setTargeting('pos', ['bta']) .defineSizeMapping(App.Ads.Mappings.dualMobile) .addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.display('ad-dual-box-mobile'); } else { $(".ad-dual-box-mobile").removeClass("ad-text"); } });

He has repeatedly declared the pandemic is in retreat. He has cast doubt on masks. And he has one of the biggest platforms at The New York Times.

We hypothesized that resilience would buffer people from depression caused by loneliness and social isolation during the COVID pandemic. Capitalizing on a unique longitudinal dataset of 447 American adults, we used well established self-report instruments to find that resilience at time 1 buffered individuals against the effects of loneliness at time 2 causing depression at time 3. Effects were robust across age, sex, and education level, and generalized to trait variables we believe are partly constitutive of resilience: conscientiousness, extraversion, and (negatively) neuroticism. However, our results were relatively specific to depression as the outcome, and did not generalize to other adverse outcomes, such as stress and anxiety. Future studies can use the open dataset provided together with the new resilience factors that we propose in order to further test the interventional potential of our findings.

The aim of the current study was to explore whether the COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s perceptions of other vaccines and diseases than COVID-19. In two samples of Finnish adults (N = 205 in Study 1 and N = 197 in Study 2), we longitudinally investigated whether there has been a change from before the COVID-19 pandemic to during the pandemic in: 1) influenza vaccination behavior and intentions, 2) the perceived benefit of childhood vaccines and influenza vaccines, 3) the perceived safety of childhood vaccines and influenza vaccines, 4) the perceived severity of measles and influenza, and 5) trust in health care professionals and health authorities in vaccine-related matters. The results indicated that more people had taken or had wanted to take the influenza vaccine during the pandemic than before. The respondents also considered influenza as more severe, and influenza vaccines as more beneficial and safe during the pandemic. For childhood vaccines, by contrast, there was only an increase in the perceived safety of the vaccines. Finally, in one of the studies, trust in health care professionals was higher during the pandemic than before. Taken together, these results suggest a spillover of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s perceptions of other vaccines and diseases.

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of parents and children in the general population has been well-documented. This study investigated wellbeing in parents of and children with rare neurogenetic conditions, who may have been at greater risk of negative impact on mental health and behavioural challenges during the first UK lockdown. Method: An online survey data was completed by parents of children with a rare neurogenetic condition between May and July 2020 (CoIN sample; N=123) and compared to responses from parents of children in the wider population (Co-SPACE sample; N=2121). Measures of wellbeing included the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for parents and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for child behaviour. Results: Parent anxiety was significantly higher in CoIN (MedianAnx = 4) than Co-SPACE (MedianAnx = 2). Parent-rated internalising, externalising and impact of child behavioural difficulties were also significantly higher in CoIN (MedianInt = 9.5; MedianExt = 11, MedianImp = 8) than Co-SPACE (MedianInt = 6; MedianExt = 7, MedianImp = 1). Only group differences in child behaviour and impact remained significant when matching for demographic factors and were also larger than previously reported pre-pandemic differences. Discussion: Families of children with rare neurogenetic conditions reported poorer wellbeing during the first lockdown compared to the wider population, affecting both parents and children. This likely reflects pre-existing complex needs, which should be prioritised during future national crises. Investigation of changes in wellbeing in this population over the course of the pandemic is warranted.

The impact of physical disability on protective behaviors during COVID-19 has been little studied. This retrospective study compared 699 disabled respondents’ self-declared behaviors before and after the relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions in England. We found that individuals who self-identified as disabled in England exhibited high compliance with protective behaviors and mitigation strategies during a period of legal restrictions. Following the lifting of restrictions, respondents engaged in greater social mixing, more distancing and hygiene behaviors, and made less use of face coverings. Hierarchical regressions revealed however that resources (health and socio-economic status) moderated protective behaviors, with lower socio-economic status, severe disability status, being clinically extremely vulnerable, and higher levels of anxiety, all associated with greater continued use of mitigation strategies across behavioral domains. This suggests that the removal of restrictions had an unequal impact on the population of England, placing a disproportionate burden on some disabled people.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on societies with possible consequences for their fundamental political values. Modernization theory links societal values to the underlying subjective sense of existential security in a given society (‘scarcity hypothesis’), while also claiming that values remain stable once individuals reach adulthood (‘socialization hypothesis’). An acute existential crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic offers a rare opportunity to test these assumptions. In three sets of analyses, we reveal that the pandemic and the experienced psychological distress are negatively associated with emancipative and secular values, entailing a reversal to traditionalism, intolerance, and religiosity. First, we document a substantial decline in both emancipative and secular values in the first months of the pandemic compared to five months earlier, and this decline remained stable a year later. Second, we show that the value change was stronger in prefectures more severely affected by the pandemic. Third, individuals who experienced stronger psychological distress emphasized the same values more strongly, as evident in two surveys from May 2020 and April 2021. In support of the scarcity hypothesis, our study provides evidence that, under extraordinary environmental conditions, values can change even within a negligibly short time period.

Background: Schools have adapted to the online environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the factors influencing access to online resources and the impact of these changes on youth mental health are largely unknown. The current study has two aims (1) to investigate if mental health problems previous to COVID-19 pandemic are associated with access to online learning; (2) to investigate whether those accessing online learning have lower levels of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The sample consisted of 672 young people (16 - 24 years of age) from the Brazilian High-Risk Cohort that were enrolled in an educational institution and had access to the internet. Participants were evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic and in a previous time point. A total of 511 students were enrolled in online classes, while 161 were not enrolled. Psychopathology was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in both time points. Attendance to online classes during COVID-19 was obtained by self-report. Data were analyzed using multiple regression models. Results: Prospective analysis revealed that every one-point increase in the total SDQ score before the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with an increase of 6% in the chance of a participant not accessing online classes, above and beyond previous negative school events, such as suspensions and grade repetition and other confounders (adjusted OR 0.94; 95%CI 0.91-0.98; p=0.0009). Cross-sectional analysis revealed that participants that accessed online classes had a slightly lower number of inattention/hyperactivity problems if compared to those without online classes (Cohen's d=0.25; β=-0.63, p=0.006); however, those results were fully explained by previous symptoms of inattention/hyperactivity. Conclusion: Children with pre-pandemic mental health problems have disproportionately lower access to educational resources during the pandemic if compared with the general population, which might widen the gap of opportunities for this underserved population to thrive.

The spread of misinformation online is a global problem that requires global solutions. To that end, we conducted an experiment in 16 countries across 6 continents (N = 33,480) to investigate predictors of susceptibility to misinformation and interventions to combat misinformation. In every country, participants with a more analytic cognitive style and stronger accuracy-related motivations were better at discerning truth from falsehood; valuing democracy was also associated with greater truth discernment whereas political conservatism was negatively associated with truth discernment in most countries. Subtly prompting people to think about accuracy was broadly effective at improving the veracity of news that people were willing to share, as were minimal digital literacy tips. Finally, crowdsourced accuracy evaluation was able to differentiate true from false headlines with high accuracy in all countries. The consistent patterns we observe suggest that the psychological factors underlying the misinformation challenge are similar across the globe, and that similar solutions may be broadly effective.

Introduction: Coronavirus vaccines remain the most effective protection against COVID-19. However, many people are hesitant to be vaccinated. It is necessary to understand factors that lead to unwillingness to be vaccinated to ensure most Americans receive the vaccine. Methods: Participants completed a series of online surveys asking about the vaccine and the physical, social, economic, and mental health effects of COVID-19. Baseline responses were entered into a logistic regression model to identify psychosocial, economic and physical factors that had an impact on vaccine intent. Results: The model revealed participants were more willing to be vaccinated if they spent time reading or talking about COVID, feared COVID infection, had health insurance or had a family member suffer a COVID-19 infection. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccine intent is closely connected to one’s personal experience of the pandemic. It is crucial to disseminate factual information about the benefits and risks of both COVID-19 and vaccination.

Although vaccines are crucial for giving pandemic-stricken societies the confidence to return to socioeconomic normalcy, vaccination may also induce laxity in personal protective behaviours (e.g., handwashing, facemask use). We use the quasi-experimental context of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout across the United States to quantify the impact of different stages of personal vaccination on people’s risk perceptions, daily activities, and risk mitigation behaviours, which we measure in a three-wave national panel study (N wave-1 = 7,358, N wave-2 = 3,000, N wave-3 = 2,345) from March to June, 2021, and validate using vaccination, infection, and human mobility data. Socializing rebounded after only partial vaccination. After full vaccination, communal activities recovered; however, the propensity for protective behaviours declined. The effects were heterogenous depending on vaccination level, demographics, and infection history. We further use a utility theory framework to model risk-value trade-offs and risk-construction for different behaviours.

Delusions are pathological beliefs, often with bizarre content. They feature in neurological disorders and in psychoses associated with psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia). In this chapter we review two apparently opposing ways that the research literature characterizes delusions. While delusions are often defined as beliefs that are rigid and unaffected by evidence, they are also frequently conceptualized as beliefs that are unduly swayed by minimal, insufficient evidence. We review empirical studies and theory from psychology, neuroscience and computational psychiatry which embody this contrast. Prevailing perspectives, we show, frame belief formation as a process of integrating new evidence into existing beliefs. This view tends to sculpt hypotheses about delusions (and other psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations) into two types. First, relevant evidence fails to affect prior beliefs, which are too entrenched. Second, evidence overly dominates prior beliefs, which have too weak an influence. This paradox, we argue, calls for a profound rethinking of these perplexing and distressing symptoms.

The Open Science Framework (OSF) is an important and useful platform for researchers to practice open science. However, the OSF has recently been misused for criminal purposes, especially search boards for watching pirated copyright works and leading to phishing sites. This misuse can negatively influence the OSF server function; therefore, it is important to take measures. To protect the sound base of open science in the future, the present paper reports the two cases where the OSF has been abused for illegal activities and discusses various measures including those that the OSF management already has in place.

Delayed gratification refers to the willingness to sacrifice smaller, short-term reward for greater, long-term reward. There are suggestions that this proclivity may be impacted by stress and can be predictive of other real-world behaviors. In this article, we outline four large-scale online experiments (total $N = 12,906$) we conducted over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which we asked individuals to perform Money Earlier or Later (MEL) decisions (e.g. $5 today versus $10 tomorrow), and to also report stress measures and pandemic mitigation behaviors. We found that behavior in the MEL paradigm correlates with self-reported stress, and that these measures predict the extent of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic despite having opposite effects.N=12,906N=12,906N = 12,906) we conducted over the

Background: Test, Trace and Isolate (TTI) is a key strategy in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic response. There is limited experimental evidence on how to improve uptake of COVID-19 testing. In this study we manipulate test site proximity to evaluate its impact on test uptake. Methods: We conducted two quasi-experimental studies (from February 8th to March 21st, 2021) during a community-wide testing initiative in The Netherlands. In Study 1 we placed a test site in one village (reducing distance to test site from 8.4km to 800m) but not in a matched control village (distance to test site 9.9km). In Study 2 a mobile test bus alternated between two areas codes, changing distance to the test site from 3.5km to 200m and from 1.6km to 850m. The trial is registered at the Netherlands Trial Register (number NL9365). Findings: In Study 1 (n=11,317 eligible inhabitants), a logistic regression controlling for baseline differences (8.6% control vs 10% intervention) found a significant effect of reducing test site proximity (17.5% control vs 29% intervention) [Odds Ratio =1.84 {95% CI 1.68-2.02}]; p < 0.0001]. In Study 2 (n=1,880 eligible inhabitations), a Poisson regression revealed higher test uptake when the mobile test bus was present (33.6% when absent vs 42.6% when present, Incidence Rate Ratio = 1.35, [95% CI 1.14-1.59]; p < 0.0001). Interpretation: Reducing the distance to COVID-19 test facilities increased test uptake, at least when the distance was reduced from an average of 3.5km to 200 metres. Localising test facilities can substantially increase testing for COVID-19, and thus the effectiveness of TTI in general. Funding: The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) of the Netherlands.

In early 2020, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla had a mission: to produce three billion doses of a vaccine that hadn’t even been developed, within nine months

Background: Digital technologies are creating unprecedented opportunities to improve and increase support to older people with cognitive and mental health problems, and to their family and carers. However, barriers that preclude the implementation of technology driven programs for the assessment and intervention of adults at risk of cognitive decline need to be better understood. This study investigated these outstanding issues, as well as considering the impact that the COVID-19 Pandemic has had on such barriers. Methods: A sample of 105 participants completed an online survey. Their ages ranged from 18 to 92 years. Of these,72%were female,83%had higher education and beyond, 42% were working, 42% were retired, and 14% were unemployed. The questionnaires assessed IT experience alongside awareness, attitudes, and stigmas regarding the use of technologies, particularly those used to support cognitive and mental health. Questionnaires also explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these technology-related factors. We compared these across groups of young (n=45), middle age (n=12) and older adults (n=48). Results: Relative to younger participants, older participants were less aware of, and held stronger stigmas against healthcare technologies, even though they reported more IT experience. IT awareness was associated to more positive (r=0.619, p<0.001) and less negative IT Attitudes (r=-0.271, p=0.015), more acceptability (r=-0.374, p=0.001) and receptiveness towards technologies (r=-0.610, p<0.001). Male participants appeared to be more aware of such technologies than female participants. However, relative to men, women had increased the number of ways and frequency with which they used technologies since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and older people in general felt more inclined to endorse the need to learn more about healthcare technologies. Conclusions: Having more accumulated IT experience throughout our lives may not necessarily lead to better acceptance of healthcare technologies. More awareness about such specific technologies will help overcome stigmas, and challenging environments such as those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemicmay lead to positive changes in perception and acceptance of such technologies. These are necessary steps towards the personalisation of healthcare technologies to support vulnerable adults at risk of dementia.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, face masks have been required in most public locations. A study led by teams at Baylor College of Medicine and the Public Health Informatics, Computational and Operations Research (PHICOR) at the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) shows how maintaining face mask use could bring multiple benefits, including saving healthcare costs. The results were published in The Lancet Public Health.

We apply a novel crowdsourcing approach to provide rapid insights on the most promising interventions to promote uptake of COVID-19 booster vaccines. In the first stage, international experts proposed 46 unique interventions. To reduce noise and potential bias, in the second stage, experts and representative general population samples from the UK and the US rated the proposed interventions on several criteria, including expected effectiveness and acceptability. Sanctions were evaluated as potentially most effective but least accepted. Interventions that received the most positive evaluations regarding both effectiveness and acceptability across evaluation groups were a day off after getting vaccinated, financial incentives, tax benefits, benefit campaigns, and mobile vaccination teams. The results provide useful insights to help governments in their decision which interventions to implement.

This time last week, nearly all Americans were still being urged by the nation’s leadership to please, keep those darn masks on. Then the Great American Unmasking Part Deux began. On Friday, the CDC debuted a new set of COVID-19 guidelines that green-lit roughly 70 percent of us—effectively, anyone living in a place where hospitals are not being actively overrun by the coronavirus—to doff our masks in most indoor public settings. The stamina of mask policy had been flagging for quite some time: Governors and mayors had already been weeks deep into vanishing their own mask mandates (and other pandemic precautions), including in schools. But the CDC’s decision still marks a substantial cross-continental change, delivering a final blow to what little remained of the country’s collective approach to quashing the pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 induced marked lymphopenia in severe patients with COVID-19. However, whether lymphocytes are targets of viral infection is yet to be determined, although SARS-CoV-2 RNA or antigen has been identified in T cells from patients. Here, we confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 viral antigen could be detected in patient peripheral blood cells (PBCs) or postmortem lung T cells, and the infectious virus could also be detected from viral antigen-positive PBCs. We next prove that SARS-CoV-2 infects T lymphocytes, preferably activated CD4 + T cells in vitro. Upon infection, viral RNA, subgenomic RNA, viral protein or viral particle can be detected in the T cells. Furthermore, we show that the infection is spike-ACE2/TMPRSS2-independent through using ACE2 knockdown or receptor blocking experiments. Next, we demonstrate that viral antigen-positive T cells from patient undergone pronounced apoptosis. In vitro infection of T cells induced cell death that is likely in mitochondria ROS-HIF-1a-dependent pathways. Finally, we demonstrated that LFA-1, the protein exclusively expresses in multiple leukocytes, is more likely the entry molecule that mediated SARS-CoV-2 infection in T cells, compared to a list of other known receptors. Collectively, this work confirmed a SARS-CoV-2 infection of T cells, in a spike-ACE2-independent manner, which shed novel insights into the underlying mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-induced lymphopenia in COVID-19 patients.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals have depended on risk information to make decisions about everyday behaviors and public policy. In this online informational intervention, we assessed whether an interactive website influenced individuals' risk tolerance to support public health goals. We collected data from 10,891 unique users who interacted with the online COVID-19 Event Risk Tool (https://covid19risk.biosci.gatech.edu/), which featured interactive elements (a dynamic risk map, survey questions, and a risk quiz with accuracy feedback). After learning about the risk of COVID-19 exposure, participants reported being less willing to participate in potentially risky events. This increase in risk aversion was most pronounced for large event sizes and for individuals who had underestimated risk. We also uncovered a bias in risk estimation: Participants tended to overestimate the risk of small events, but underestimate the risk of large events. Our results bear implications for risk communication and insights for broader research on risky decision-making.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of long COVID in children and adolescents and identify the full spectrum of signs and symptoms present after acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: Two independent investigators searched PubMed and Embase in order to identify observational studies that met the following criteria: 1) a minimum of 30 patients, 2) ages ranged from 0 to 18 years, 3) published in English, 4) published before February 10th, 2022, and 5) meets the National Institute for Healthcare Excellence (NICE) definition of long COVID, which consists of both ongoing (4 to 12 weeks) and post COVID 19 (≥12 weeks) symptoms. For COVID symptoms reported in two or more studies, random-effects meta-analyses were performed using the MetaXL software to estimate the pooled prevalence, and Review Manager (RevMan) software 5.4 was utilized to estimate the Odds Ratios (ORs) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed using I2 statistics. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviewers and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) reporting guideline was followed (registration PROSPERO CRD42021275408). Results: The literature search yielded 68 articles for long COVID in children and adolescents. After screening, 21 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review and meta-analyses. A total of 80,071 children and adolescents with COVID-19 were included. The prevalence of long COVID was 25.24% (95% CI 18.17-33.02), and the most prevalent clinical manifestations were mood symptoms (16.50%; 95% CI 7.37-28.15), fatigue (9.66%; 95% CI 4.45-16.46), and sleep disorders (8.42%; 95% CI 3.41-15.20). When compared to controls, children infected by SARS-CoV-2 had a higher risk of persistent dyspnea (OR 2.69 95%CI 2.30-3.14), anosmia/ageusia (OR 10.68, 95%CI 2.48, 46.03), and/or fever (OR 2.23, 95%CI 1.22-4.07). The main limitation of these meta-analyses is the probability of bias, which includes lack of standardized definitions, recall, selection, misclassification, nonresponse and/or loss of follow-up, and the high level of heterogeneity. Conclusion: These meta-analyses provide an overview of the broad symptomatology of long COVID in minors, which may help improve management, rehabilitation programs, and future development of guidelines and therapeutic research for COVID-19.

Nearly 3,400 cases were reported on Sunday, forcing shutdowns for millions of people and closure of schools in Shanghai

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Thursday that she will soon end public health disaster proclamations that Iowa has operated under since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic nearly two years ago.

A new campaign appears to be spreading falsehoods about the potential for forced inoculations against Covid-19.

Many countries are declaring an end to this phase of the covid-19 pandemic, yet the underlying weaknesses that hampered our response remain unsolved, says Abraar Karan

Imaging before and after infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus reveals substantial changes in the brain after infection. The work sets an example for the high standards required in large longitudinal neuroimaging studies.

Following years of growing vaccine opposition and several outbreaks of measles—a vaccine-preventable disease—Facebook established in 2019 its first policy to stop the spread of misinformation about vaccines. Researchers at the George Washington University wondered if the new policies actually worked to stop the spread of misinformation. Jiayan Gu, Ph.D. student along with Lorien Abroms, Professor of Prevention and Community Health and their colleagues created a new paradigm for evaluation of the policy. The team found that Facebook's policy did reduce people's interactions with vaccine misinformation.

What is more important: your comfort, or a person’s life? These are the stakes of the move to unmask in the U.S. 

Covid leads as Pharmaceutical Technology lists the top five terms tweeted on infectious diseases in February 2022, based on data from GlobalData’s Pharmaceuticals Influencer Platform. The top trends are the most mentioned terms or concepts among Twitter discussions of more than 150 infectious diseases experts tracked by GlobalData’s Pharmaceuticals Influencer platform during February 2022.

(CNN)There have been an estimated 140 million Covid-19 infections in the US, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, even though only 74.3 million cases have been reported as of January 31.

Figures have soared by 1.2m in two years of pandemic as long Covid takes its toll

While Covid-19 causes relatively mild disease in most children, previously healthy youngsters are showing signs of longer-term issues related to the virus.

A vaccine’s value isn’t just in its peak performance.

Mass media and policy makers are pushing for a return to pre-COVID times while trying to normalize a staggering death toll

The usual deluge of invective prompted by coronavirus and vaccine issues is absent – Russia’s invasion may be a factor

We probably will need additional shots. But just how many depends on our immune systems, the virus, and how often they collide.

Two doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford, Pfizer/BioNTech, or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine offered limited protection against symptomatic infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, and although a third dose with any of the three vaccines boosted effectiveness substantially, it waned a bit over time.

For years, I repressed thinking about three things that shaped my life and my body. But the fourth blow of coronavirus pushed it all out into the open

In a trial in 73 workplaces, the tests detected hundreds of people with asymptomatic COVID-19 and generated very few false positives.

Experts hope research can lead to development of drugs that stop people catching Covid or passing it on

Strikingly higher rates of decline in effectiveness for younger children suggest the lower dose they receive may be the reason

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline’s covid-19 vaccine has 57.9% (95% confidence interval 26.5% to 76.7%) efficacy against any symptomatic disease, the companies have reported.

This week the government announced additional vaccine booster jabs for the over-75s and suggested a further shot is likely to be needed in the autumn. But imagine if the next Covid vaccine jab you have were the last you would ever need. That’s a dream being actively pursued now by researchers, who feel it could be possible to make a “universal” vaccine against the Sars-CoV-2 virus that would work well not only against all existing variants but any that the virus could plausibly mutate into in the future.

As omicron has increased infections, sickened workers and closed schools, public policy experts have questioned the Biden administration’s emphasis on vaccinating as many Americans as possible — a focus that has only convinced 60% of Texans to get vaccinated. Aerosol experts have increasingly called for more attention on air quality as a way to reduce the number and density of tiny particles of coronavirus floating through indoor air in schools, offices and hospitals. And among the numerous expensive, resource-heavy interventions, an increasingly popular option is a tool that can be built with a box fan, some tape, and a few high-quality air filters for a total cost of about $65. The Corsi-Rosenthal box, also called the Corsi-Rosenthal cube, takes its name from Jim Rosenthal, a Fort Worth resident and CEO of Tex-Air Filters, which Rosenthal founded in Fort Worth in 1997.

Why our current pandemic has arguably been the worst in modern history

Background: Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to other mammals, including pet animals, has been reported. However, with the exception of farmed mink, there is no previous documentation that these infected animals can infect humans, nor of further onward spread among humans. Following a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection of a pet store worker, animals in the store and the warehouse supplying it were tested for evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection.Methods: Viral swabs and blood samples from pet animals were collected in a pet shop and the warehouse supplying it and tested by SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and serological assays, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR positive samples were studied by full genome sequencing analysis.Findings: Over 50% of individually tested Syrian hamsters in the pet shop (8/16) and warehouse (7/12) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection in RT-PCR or serological tests. None of dwarf hamsters (n=77), rabbits (n=246), Guinea pigs (n=66), chinchilla (n=116) and mice (n=2) were confirmed positive in RT-PCR tests. SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes deduced from human and hamster cases in this incident all belong to Delta variant of concern (AY.127) that had not been circulating locally prior. These sequences are highly similar, but distinct. The viral genomes obtained from hamsters are phylogenetically related with some sequence heterogeneity and phylogenetic dating suggest infection in these hamsters occurred around 21 November 2021. Two separate transmission events to humans are documented, one leading to onward household spread.Interpretation: Pet hamsters can be naturally infected in “real-life” settings. The virus can circulate within hamsters and lead to human infections. Both genetic and epidemiological results strongly suggest that there were two independent hamster-to-human transmission and that such events can lead to onward human transmission. Importation of infected hamsters was the most likely source of virus infection.

A new large, controlled, randomized ivermectin study has come out, and depending on who you ask it either means that ivermectin works perfectly or has little to no benefit at all. Given that ivermectin remains the most hotly-debated topic of the last few years (coming second only to whether Britney Spears was unfairly treated), the new randomized trial seems pretty important.Unfortunately, in reality, this study gives us very little information about ivermectin and doesn’t answer our most important questions at all.

During the investigation of a pet shop outbreak of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with probable hamster-to-human transmission, the environmental and hamster samples in epidemiologically linked pet shops were found positive for SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant AY.127 strains which are phylogenetically closely related to patients and reported European strains. This interspecies' spill-over has triggered transmission in 58 patients epidemiologically linked to three pet shops. Incidentally, three dwarf hamsters imported from the Netherlands and centralized in a warehouse distributing animals to pet shops were positive for SARS-CoV-2 spike variant phylogenetically related to European B.1.258 strains from March 2020. This B.1.258 strain almost disappeared in July 2021. While no hamster-to-human transmission of B.1.258-like strain was found in this outbreak, molecular docking showed that its spike receptor-binding domain (RBD) has a similar binding energy to human ACE2 compared to that of Delta variant AY.127. Therefore, the potential of this B.1.258-related spike variant for interspecies jumping cannot be ignored. The co-circulation of B.1.258-related spike variants with Delta AY.127, which originated in Europe and was not previously found in Hong Kong, suggested that hamsters in our wholesale warehouse and retail pet shops more likely have acquired these viruses in the Netherlands or stopovers during delivery by aviation than locally. The risk of human-to-hamster reverse zoonosis by multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants leading to further adaptive spike mutations with subsequent transmission back to humans cannot be underestimated as an outbreak source of COVID-19. Testing imported pet animals susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 is warranted to prevent future outbreaks.

Has global health been subverted?” This question was asked exactly a year ago in The Lancet. At the time, the pandemic had already spread across the globe, but mortality remained concentrated in richer economies. Richard Cash and Vikram Patel declared that “for the first time in the post-war history of epidemics, there is a reversal of which countries are most heavily affected by a disease pandemic.”

A decision by Alberta’s largest county to no longer work with businesses that have a COVID-19 vaccination policy in place will make workplaces less safe, a University of Calgary law professor says.

Symptoms of COVID-19 in outpatients are widely heterogeneous. To evaluation progression of existing symptoms it is recommended their assessment over course of time. We slightly modified existing COVID-19-related symptoms assessment tool ready to used in clinical environment and for research purposes.

The newly found Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern has rapidly spread worldwide. Omicron carries numerous mutations in key regions and is associated with increased transmissibility and immune escape. The variant has recently been divided into four subvariants with substantial genomic differences, in particular between Omicron BA.1 and BA.2. With the surge of Omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.2, a large number of reinfections from earlier cases has been observed, raising the question of whether BA.2 specifically can escape the natural immunity acquired shortly after a BA.1 infection.To investigate this, we selected a subset of samples from more than 1,8 million cases of infections in the period from November 22, 2021, until February 11, 2022. Here, individuals with two positive samples, more than 20 and less than 60 days apart, were selected. From a total of 187 reinfection cases, we identified 47 instances of BA.2 reinfections shortly after a BA.1 infection, mostly in young unvaccinated individuals with mild disease not resulting in hospitalization or death.In conclusion, we provide evidence that Omicron BA.2 reinfections do occur shortly after BA.1 infections but are rare.

Starting next month, Discord is taking a tougher stance on Covid-19 misinformation.

Final analysis of the global VAT02 booster trial confirms universal ability to boost neutralizing antibodies 18- to 30-fold across vaccine platforms (mRNA, adenovirus)

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant is highly transmissible with potential immune escape. We conducted a test-negative case-control study to evaluate mRNA-1273 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and hospitalization with Omicron or Delta. The large, diverse study population included 26,683 SARS-CoV-2 test-positive cases with variants determined by S-gene target failure status (16% Delta, 84% Omicron). The 2-dose VE against Omicron infection at 14–90 days was 44.0% (95% CI, 35.1–51.6%) but declined quickly. The 3-dose VE was 93.7% (92.2–94.9%) and 86.0% (78.1–91.1%) against Delta infection and 71.6% (69.7–73.4%) and 47.4% (40.5–53.5%) against Omicron infection at 14–60 days and >60 days, respectively. The 3-dose VE was 29.4% (0.3–50.0%) against Omicron infection in immunocompromised individuals. The 3-dose VE against hospitalization with Delta or Omicron was >99% across the entire study population. Our findings demonstrate high, durable 3-dose VE against Delta infection but lower effectiveness against Omicron infection, particularly among immunocompromised people. However, 3-dose VE of mRNA-1273 was high against hospitalization with Delta and Omicron variants.

Feb 24 (Reuters) - The European Union's health regulator on Thursday backed giving a booster shot of Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents aged 12 and over, as well as the expanded use of Moderna's (MRNA.O) shot in children ages six to 11.

The spread of misinformation seems to intensify with each passing week. From social media to cable news to popular podcasts, science-free bunk is everywhere. The ongoing “infodemic” is doing tangible harm to public health, public discourse, and public trust.

/1 Hi Lucy and your colleagues. Your advocacy toolkit contains poorly sourced, contexted, and biased information on mental health during the pandemic/schooling. And I have receipts too! (thread) #urgencyofnormal

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has tried to distinguish himself from Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole on the issue of vaccination proof.

Once again ⁦@DouthatNYT⁩ misframes a debate for his own partisan goals. 1/

New rules on the validity of EU Digital COVID Certificate and the coordination of safe travel in the EU

Using online surveys, we collected data regarding COVID-19-related loss of smell or taste from 69,841 individuals. We performed a multi-ancestry genome-wide association study and identified a genome-wide significant locus in the vicinity of the UGT2A1 and UGT2A2 genes. Both genes are expressed in the olfactory epithelium and play a role in metabolizing odorants. These findings provide a genetic link to the biological mechanisms underlying COVID-19-related loss of smell or taste.

Sie blieb bewusst in Kontakt mit positiven Familienmitgliedern, um mit dem geheilten Pass leben zu können, ohne sich impfen zu lassen

BACKGROUND Following the emergence of the Omicron variant of concern, we investigated immunogenicity, efficacy and safety of BNT162b2 or mRNA1273 fourth dose in an open-label, clinical intervention trial.METHODS Primary end-points were safety and immunogenicity and secondary end-points were vaccine efficacy in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 symptomatic disease. The two intervention arms were compared to a matched control group. Eligible participants were healthcare-workers (HCW) vaccinated with three BNT162b2 doses, and whose IgG antibody levels were ≤700 BAU (40-percentile). IgG and neutralizing titers, direct neutralization of live VOCs, and T-cell activation were assessed. All participants were actively screened for SARS-CoV-2 infections on a weekly basis.RESULTS Of 1050 eligible HCW, 154 and 120 were enrolled to receive BNT162b2 and mRNA1273, respectively, and compared to 426 age-matched controls. Recipients of both vaccine types had a ∼9-10-fold increase in IgG and neutralizing titers within 2 weeks of vaccination and an 8-fold increase in live Omicron VOC neutralization, restoring titers to those measured after the third vaccine dose. Breakthrough infections were common, mostly very mild, yet, with high viral loads. Vaccine efficacy against infection was 30% (95%CI:-9% to 55%) and 11% (95%CI:-43% to +43%) for BNT162b2 and mRNA1273, respectively. Local and systemic adverse reactions were reported in 80% and 40%, respectively.CONCLUSIONS The fourth COVID-19 mRNA dose restores antibody titers to peak post-third dose titers. Low efficacy in preventing mild or asymptomatic Omicron infections and the infectious potential of breakthrough cases raise the urgency of next generation vaccine development.

YouTube’s decision last week to remove RT’s German-language channels for violating the platform’s coronavirus misinformation policy sparked an outcry from Moscow, with the foreign ministry claiming that the move was “fully in line with the logic of the information warfare unleashed against Russia.” The ban, which came about after RT Deutsch attempted to circumvent a short-term suspension by posting to an affiliated channel (a clear violation of YouTube’s terms of service), was nonetheless framed by the Kremlin and its media outlets as “a declaration of media war” and “a media version of Barbarossa”—a reference to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Whether YouTube’s enforcement of its policies is consistently and equitably applied across channels is perhaps debatable; what is not debatable is that over the past year RT Deutsch has cultivated a sizeable audience—not just on YouTube but across multiple social media platforms—by promoting content critical of vaccines and other public health measures. This is particularly evident on Facebook, where the common denominator in groups and pages that most actively share RT Deutsch content is not an interest in politics, geopolitics, or Russia, but an opposition to vaccines.  

Online anti-vaccination sources are using Russian state-funded media videos targeting the Pfizer vaccine to discredit coronavirus vaccination campaigns more broadly.

The coronavirus S-protein mediates receptor binding and fusion of the viral and host cell membranes. In HCoV-229E, its receptor binding domain (RBD) shows extensive sequence variation but how S-protein function is maintained is not understood. Reported are the X-ray crystal structures of Class III-V RBDs in complex with human aminopeptidase N (hAPN), as well as the electron cryomicroscopy structure of the 229E S-protein. The structures show that common core interactions define the specificity for hAPN and that the peripheral RBD sequence variation is accommodated by loop plasticity. The results provide insight into immune evasion and the cross-species transmission of 229E and related coronaviruses. We also find that the 229E S-protein can expose a portion of its helical core to solvent. This is undoubtedly facilitated by hydrophilic subunit interfaces that we show are conserved among coronaviruses. These interfaces likely play a role in the S-protein conformational changes associated with membrane fusion.

Objectives: To investigate: changes in beliefs and behaviours following news of the Omicron variant and changes to guidance; understanding of Omicron-related guidance; and factors associated with engaging with protective behaviours. Design: Series of cross-sectional surveys (1 November to 16 December 2021, 5 waves of data collection). Setting: Online. Participants: People living in England, aged 16 years or over (n=1622 to 1902 per wave). Primary and secondary outcome measures: Levels of worry and perceived risk, and engagement with key behaviours (out-of-home activities, risky social mixing, wearing a face covering, and testing uptake). Results: Beliefs about worry and perceived risk of COVID-19 fluctuated over time, with worry, perceived risk to self and perceived risk to people increasing slightly around the time of the announcement about Omicron. Understanding of the new rules in England was low, with people over-estimating the stringency of the new rules. Rates of wearing a face covering increased over time, as did testing uptake. Meeting up with people from another household decreased around the time of the announcement of Omicron (29 November to 1 December), but then returned to previous levels. Associations with engagement with protective behaviours was investigated using regression analyses. There was no evidence for significant associations between out-of-home activity and worry or perceived risk (COVID-19 generally or Omicron-specific). Engaging in highest risk social mixing and always wearing a face covering in hospitality venues were associated with worry and perceived risk about COVID-19. Always wearing a face covering in shops was associated with having heard more about Omicron. Conclusions: Almost two years into the COVID-19 outbreak, the emergence of a novel variant of concern only slightly influenced worry and perceived risk. The main protective behaviour (wearing a face covering) promoted by new guidance showed significant re-uptake, but other protective behaviours showed little or no change.

LIVE NOW: Independent SAGE will discuss #LongCovid in children, with @lizWWyld and @BinitaKane and the numbers from @chrischirp

Before leaving the house, we’ve all gotten used to double-checking that we have four essential items: phone, keys, wallet, mask. After two exhausting years of living in a pandemic, grabbing a mask (or two) on the way out the door has become a routine part of our mental checklist.  But at this point in the pandemic, many people are wondering if it’s safe to ditch mask-wearing in schools, offices, and other indoor places, or if COVID-19 will ever fade away. According to BU epidemiologist Ellie Murray, the answer is complicated—and very much depends on the actions we take collectively. Even if COVID-19 transitions from a pandemic to an endemic disease—where infections occur in seasonal or predictable cycles, like the flu—that does not necessarily mean we’ll be mask-free or that vaccinations will no longer be needed. To move from a pandemic to endemic, says Murray, a BU School of Public Health assistant professor of epidemiology, the world needs “to have some predictable sense of where that disease is going to go next.” COVID-19, she says, will likely remain prevalent for the foreseeable future, but we have the public health tools—like testing and masking—to continually monitor and manage it. In this video, Murray explains the difference between pandemic and endemic, how we might learn to live with COVID-19 in the future, and why she sees reason to be optimistic.

Researchers note need to follow patients after recovery for any emerging disorders

People should not throw caution to the wind over Covid, the prime minister has said, as England is expected to end all virus restrictions in the coming days.

Overall, in a national database study in Qatar, we found that the effectiveness of previous infection in preventing reinfection with the alpha, beta, and delta variants of SARS-CoV-2 was robust (at approximately 90%), findings that confirmed earlier estimates.1-3 Such protection against reinfection with the omicron variant was lower (approximately 60%) but still considerable. In addition, the protection of previous infection against hospitalization or death caused by reinfection appeared to be robust, regardless of variant.

Today we publish our latest analysis where we stratify by age to investigate vaccine effectiveness (VE) against Omicron in adults aged 65 years and older in England. https://twitter.com/UKHSA/status/1479526192428503044… 1/14

So a brief thread on the state of the pandemic in the Boston area. It is quite plausible that about 10% of the population is currently infected, more in some age groups than others. A *lot* of omicron. What next? 1/n

Vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez is worried about the instability of our health care system in the face of Omicron. We discuss with Dr. Irwin Redlener.

The Omicron variant of concern (VOC) is a rapidly spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is likely to overtake the previously dominant Delta VOC in many countries by the end of 2021.We estimated the transmission dynamics following the spread of Omicron VOC within Danish households during December 2021. We used data from Danish registers to estimate the household secondary attack rate (SAR).Among 11,937 households (2,225 with the Omicron VOC), we identified 6,397 secondary infections during a 1-7 day follow-up period. The SAR was 31% and 21% in households with the Omicron and Delta VOC, respectively. We found an increased transmission for unvaccinated individuals, and a reduced transmission for booster-vaccinated individuals, compared to fully vaccinated individuals. Comparing households infected with the Omicron to Delta VOC, we found an 1.17 (95%-CI: 0.99-1.38) times higher SAR for unvaccinated, 2.61 times (95%-CI: 2.34-2.90) higher for fully vaccinated and 3.66 (95%-CI: 2.65-5.05) times higher for booster-vaccinated individuals, demonstrating strong evidence of immune evasiveness of the Omicron VOC.Our findings confirm that the rapid spread of the Omicron VOC primarily can be ascribed to the immune evasiveness rather than an inherent increase in the basic transmissibility.

The emergence of Omicron underscores the consequences of vaccine inequity. Experts say it will take more than donations to fix the problem.

After two years of the pandemic, an aspect of the disease remains a stubborn mystery: Why have some places fended off the contagion so much better than others?America was ranked first, on paper, for being ready for a virus outbreak. When a real pandemic hit, though, we have been among the worst in the world in both infections and deaths.“The United States’ poor response to the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world,” the Global Health Security Index wrote recently. “How could a country with so much capacity at the start of the pandemic have gotten its response so wrong?”We’ve been debating versions of this question the whole time — or finger-pointing about them — but we don’t really know the reasons why.A team at the University of Washington has now taken a crack at some answers.

Key PointsQuestion  Was statewide school closure associated with decreased incidence and mortality for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?Findings  In this US population–based time series analysis conducted between March 9, 2020, and May 7, 2020, school closure was associated with a significant decline in both incidence of COVID-19 (adjusted relative change per week, −62%) and mortality (adjusted relative change per week, −58%). In a model derived from this analysis, it was estimated that closing schools when the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was in the lowest quartile compared with the highest quartile was associated with 128.7 fewer cases per 100 000 population over 26 days and with 1.5 fewer deaths per 100 000 population over 16 days.Meaning  There was a temporal association between statewide school closure and lower COVID-19 incidence and mortality, although some of the reductions may have been related to other concurrent nonpharmaceutical interventions.

LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - As many as 1 in 7 children may have symptoms linked to the coronavirus months after testing positive for COVID-19, the authors of an English study on long COVID in adolescents said on Wednesday.

The U.S. production company that runs RT's American operations has received more than $100 million in Russian government funding since 2016, according to public filings, the largest subsidy of any recipient in the United States of so-called "foreign agent" funding from any country over that period.

Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode until the question and answer portion of today’s call. During that time, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one. Today’s conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect this time. We now would like to turn the meeting over to Benjamin Haynes. You may now begin.

A rapid evidence briefing

What is already known about this topic? COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is recommended to prevent severe illness and death in pregnant women. Infants are at risk for COVID-19–associated complications, including respiratory failure and other life-threatening complications. What is added by this report? Effectiveness of maternal completion of a 2-dose primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy against COVID-19 hospitalization among infants aged <6 months was 61% (95% CI = 31% to 78%). Effectiveness of completion of the primary COVID-19 vaccine series early and later in pregnancy was 32% (95% CI = –43% to 68%) and 80% (95% CI = 55% to 91%), respectively. What are the implications for public health practice? Completion of a 2-dose mRNA COVID-19 vaccination series during pregnancy might help prevent COVID-19 hospitalization among infants aged <6 months.

EMA said to be unlikely to grant marketing authorisation to molnupiravir this month after ‘problematic’ data

Hamsters are only the second species known to have spread SARS-CoV-2 to humans.

The exploitation reflects America’s longstanding history of medically abusing vulnerable communities of color

Influenza, polio and more have shown that infections can change lives even decades later. Why the complacency over possible long-term effects of COVID-19?

What does society owe immunocompromised people?

The CEO of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants told CNBC on Wednesday that unruly diners have cost his business $750,000 a year in security costs.“We never spent a dollar on security in our restaurants prior to Covid,” Cameron Mitchell said.“It’s difficult for managers,” on top of short staffing as well as rising costs and supply chain issues, he added.

We evaluate the impact of government mandated proof of vaccination requirements for access to public venues and non-essential businesses on COVID-19 vaccine uptake. We find that the announcement of a mandate is associated with a rapid and significant surge in new vaccinations (more than 60% increase in weekly first doses) using the variation in the timing of these measures across Canadian provinces in a differencein-differences approach. Time-series analysis for each province and for France, Italy and Germany corroborates this finding, and we estimate cumulative gains of up to 5 percentage points in provincial vaccination rates and 790,000 or more first doses for Canada as a whole as of October 31, 2021 (5 to 13 weeks after the provincial mandate announcements). We also find large vaccination gains in France (3 to 5 mln first doses), Italy (around 6 mln) and Germany (around 3.5 mln) 11 to 16 weeks after the proof of vaccination mandate announcements.

(This lecture is the summary of my research on climate journalism which has led me to co-found the new Oxford Climate Journalism Network together with the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Find out more: about the new Oxford Climate Journalism Network, about our first cohort of 100 Journalists from more than 60 countries and on where to apply.)

Masks are the most visible reminders that we are still in a pandemic, and the debate over their use and other public health measures has been present since March 2020, largely along partisan lines.

Soon after the emergence and global spread of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron lineage, BA.1, another Omicron lineage, BA.2, has initiated outcompeting BA.1. Statistical analysis shows that the effective reproduction number of BA.2 is 1.4-fold higher than that of BA.1. Neutralisation experiments show that the vaccine-induced humoral immunity fails to function against BA.2 like BA.1, and notably, the antigenicity of BA.2 is different from BA.1. Cell culture experiments show that BA.2 is more replicative in human nasal epithelial cells and more fusogenic than BA.1. Furthermore, infection experiments using hamsters show that BA.2 is more pathogenic than BA.1. Our multiscale investigations suggest that the risk of BA.2 for global health is potentially higher than that of BA.1.

Many things may have had an impact on the state, but the reduction in Covid-19 cases was clearly not down to ivermectin

Lots of people dismissing links between COVID-19 and all-cause diabetes. An association that's been shown in multiple studies- whether this increase is due to more diabetes or SARS2 precipitating diabetic keto-acidosis allowing these to be diagnosed is not known. A brief look

What is already known about this topic? In preauthorization trials for Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) COVID-19 vaccine, vaccinated children aged 5–11 years reported mild to moderately severe local and systemic reactions; no serious vaccination-related events were noted. What is added by this report? After authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5–11 years during October 2021, and administration of approximately 8 million doses, local and systemic reactions after vaccination were commonly reported to VAERS and v-safe for vaccinated children aged 5–11 years. Serious adverse events were rarely reported. What are the implications for public health practice?? Parents and guardians of children aged 5–11 years should be advised that local and systemic reactions are expected after vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and are more common after the second dose.

How will the virus evolve? Experts offer predictions

With UK regs changing to mandatory #masks, here's a short to answer the question: can you wear a disposable #facemask more than once? The answer is YES. Many manufacturers state that masks should be disposed of after 8 hours but this is not true. Read on to find out why ... 1/

Study found boosters only 37% effective against Omicron, but data revised

PARIS, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Novak Djokovic risks being frozen out of tennis as he chases a record 21st Grand Slam title, with rules on travellers who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 tightening in the third year of the pandemic and some tournaments reconsidering exemptions.

Here is a bit of a longer explanatory thread on our recent paper on “Infectious viral load in unvaccinated and vaccinated patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 WT, Delta and Omicron”. You can read the full paper here:

ObjectivesTo test whether public knowledge and confidence in one's understanding of the local restrictions, motivation to adhere to local restrictions, and self-reported behaviour (going out for exercise, to work, socially) differed according to tier level.Study designCross-sectional, nationally representative, online survey of 1728 participants living in England (data collection: 26 to 28 October 2020).MethodsWe conducted logistic regression analyses to investigate whether knowledge of restrictions, confidence in knowledge of restrictions, motivation to adhere to restrictions, and self-reported behaviour were associated with personal characteristics and tier.ResultsBetween 81% (tier 2) and 89% (tier 3) of participants correctly identified which tier they lived in. Knowledge of specific restrictions was variable. 73% were confident that they understood which tier was in place in their local area, whereas 71% were confident they understood the guidance in their local area. Confidence was associated with being older and living in a less deprived area. 73% were motivated to adhere to restrictions in their local area. Motivation was associated with being female and older. People living in tiers with greater restrictions were less likely to report going out to meet people from another household socially; reported rates of going out for exercise and for work did not differ.ConclusionsAlthough recognition of local tier level was high, knowledge of specific guidance for tiers was variable. There was some indication that nuanced guidance (e.g. behaviour allowed in some settings but not others) was more poorly understood than guidance which was absolute (i.e. behaviour is either allowed or not allowed).

Code Brown will allow hospitals to make staffing and resource changes to prioritise critical patientsThere are currently 1,152 COVID-19 hospitalisationsTeachers and emergency services, prisons, freight and transport worker will be exempt from close contact isolation rules from tonight

Dr.Claire Steves continued: “Looking in the national core studies, from cohort studies across the UK we’ve looked at 10 different longitudinal studies. Our best estimates are that about 5% of middle aged people are experiencing long term.. 27/ #APPGCoronavirus #LongCovid

I used to be a history major, with a focus on social history. And I remember reading about WW2 in a very fascinating book about the evolution of courtship and dating dynamics in America. (I'm going somewhere with this, bear with me.)

This note sets out a range of scenarios to illustrate possible courses of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic for the UK. All assume that SARS-CoV-2 will continue to circulate for the foreseeable future and that variants will emerge. These are scenarios that illustrate a range of possible futures but are not the only plausible courses that the pandemic could take. Shifts from one scenario to another over time are also possible. An outcome that lies outside the range covered by the four scenarios –better than the reasonable best-case scenario or worse than the reasonable worst-case scenario – cannot be ruled out. In each scenario, it is assumed that a relatively stable, repeating pattern is reached over time (2-10 years) but it is likely that the transition to this will be highly dynamic and unpredictable. It may not be possible to know with confidence from what happens in the next 12-18 months which long-term pattern will emerge

Research in South Africa raises hopes that similar responses may be present with other vaccines

Using refutation-based learning to enhance vaccine uptake and knowledge among healthcare professionals and the public.

In this workshop, we kickstarted the process of developing a manifesto that establishes the need for collective intelligence in science communication and identifies the tools and methods necessary for its success.

Wie hoch ist das Infektionsrisiko, wenn FFP2-Masken richtig sitzen? Und wie sieht es ohne Masken aus? Das haben Forscher nun berechnet - und waren teilweise selbst überrascht.

Please note that due to the impact of this COVID-19 pandemic, all meeting participants will be joining this advisory committee meeting via an online teleconferencing platform. The online web conference meeting will be available at the following:  10/14 - Day 1  Youtube: https://youtu.be/BhlshZ7Lkr0External Link Disclaimer Yorkcast: https://fda.yorkcast.com/webcast/Play/feeef31603f54d6fb06189e7fb3074651dExternal Link Disclaimer   10/15 - Day 2 Youtube: https://youtu.be/c-H40GrvWz4External Link Disclaimer Yorkcast: https://fda.yorkcast.com/webcast/Play/619cf18fbc6c4c598c7ee996e029bcf61d

Objectives To determine whether parachutes are effective in preventing major trauma related to gravitational challenge.Design Systematic review of randomised controlled trials.Data sources: Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Library databases; appropriate internet sites and citation lists.Study selection: Studies showing the effects of using a parachute during free fall.Main outcome measure Death or major trauma, defined as an injury severity score > 15.Results We were unable to identify any randomised controlled trials of parachute intervention.Conclusions As with many interventions intended to prevent ill health, the effectiveness of parachutes has not been subjected to rigorous evaluation by using randomised controlled trials. Advocates of evidence based medicine have criticised the adoption of interventions evaluated by using only observational data. We think that everyone might benefit if the most radical protagonists of evidence based medicine organised and participated in a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, crossover trial of the parachute.

The DCGI has already approved Corbevax, which is India's first indigenously developed RBD protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19, for restricted use in emergency situation among adults on December 28

Nearly one-third of US parents are opposed to vaccinating their kids against Covid – so one-time vaccine skeptics are helping families find evidence-based answers

Many children under five years old have been "bunker babies" for almost two years. Experts explain what this means for different populations and how they will recover.

‘Understanding who is more likely to believe certain types of misinformation brings us closer to understanding why this is the case, which in turn may help us address this concerning issue.’

Recent reports suggest that some SARS-CoV-2 genetic variants, such as B.1.1.7, might be more transmissible and are quickly spreading around the world. As the emergence of more transmissible variants could exacerbate the pandemic, we provide public health guidance for increased surveillance and measures to reduce community transmission.