Clinical Practice
Exhaled Aerosol Increases with COVID-19 Infection, Age, and Obesity (PNAS) Our studies of exhaled aerosol suggest that a critical factor in these and other transmission events is the propensity of certain individuals to exhale large numbers of small respiratory droplets. Our findings indicate that the capacity of airway lining mucus to resist breakup on breathing varies significantly between individuals, with a trend to increasing with the advance of COVID-19 infection and body mass index multiplied by age (i.e., BMI-years). Understanding the source and variance of respiratory droplet generation, and controlling it via the stabilization of airway lining mucus surfaces, may lead to effective approaches to reducing COVID-19 infection and transmission..
Public & Global Health
Covid-19 Vaccination Rates Follow the Money in States with the Biggest Wealth Gaps, analysis shows (STAT News) Connecticut has the most glaring disparity in vaccination rates between its richest and poorest communities — a difference of 65% — according to a STAT analysis of local-level vaccine data in 10 states with the biggest wealth gaps. Four other states — California, Florida, New Jersey, and Mississippi — also have vaccinated a significantly higher proportion of people in the wealthiest 10% of counties.
Short On Syringes, Japan May Waste Millions Of Pfizer Vaccine Doses (NPR) Japan may have several million fewer coronavirus vaccine doses than originally planned because the country does not have the appropriate syringes, in another setback to one of the slower vaccination rollouts among developed economies. The Pfizer vaccine normally contains five doses per vial. But a special syringe, known as a low dead space syringe, which expels more medicine from the space between a syringe's needle and plunger, can eke out six doses per vial. This means that the Pfizer vaccines, that could have been enough for 72 million people, will only cover 60 million. The Kyodo news agency reports that Japan will try to purchase additional doses from Pfizer.
Germany's Merkel Warns Coronavirus Variants Could 'Destroy' Gains Against Pandemic (NPR) German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her government's decision to extend a COVID-19 lockdown into March, as she issued a stark warning that new strains of the coronavirus "may destroy any success" already achieved in keeping the pandemic in check. Merkel told lawmakers that the agreement between the federal government and state leaders to extend a nationwide lockdown until March 7, with an option to gradually reopen schools, day care centers and hairdressers earlier, was a prudent measure.
Honduras Asks WHO for Priority COVID-19 Vaccines After Storm Devastation (Reuters) Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Wednesday asked the World Health Organization (WHO) to make the Central American nation a priority in deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines, citing the devastating effects of two hurricanes. Honduras, which was already experiencing high poverty levels, faces about $1.9 billion in damages from hurricanes Eta and Iota, a United Nations economic commission for the region estimated, although the government said the impact was far greater.
Science & Technology
COVID-19 Immune Signatures Reveal Stable Antiviral T Cell Function Despite Declining Humoral Responses (Cell) The role of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity, its relationship to antibodies, and pre-existing immunity against endemic coronaviruses (huCoV), which has been hypothesized to be protective, were investigated in 82 healthy donors (HDs), 204 recovered (RCs), and 92 active COVID-19 patients (ACs). ACs had high amounts of anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike IgG but lymphopenia and overall reduced antiviral T cell responses due to the inflammatory milieu, expression of inhibitory molecules (PD-1, Tim-3) as well as effector caspase-3, -7, and -8 activity in T cells. SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell immunity conferred by polyfunctional, mainly interferon-γ-secreting CD4+ T cells remained stable throughout convalescence, whereas humoral responses declined.
Point-of-Care COVID-19 Tests: Study Lists Top Performers (Outbreak News Today) After screening more than 1,100 independently assessed, point-of-care COVID-19 tests, researchers at NSF International and Novateur Ventures have identified 5 direct (antigen/RNA) tests for detection of acute infection and 6 indirect (antibody) tests for detection of prior infection that meet the recently published World Health Organization (WHO) “desirable” Target Product Profile (TPP) criteria.
Public & Global Health
Investing in National Public Health Institutes for Future Pandemics: Lessons from Nigeria (Brookings) Nigeria has some of the largest burdens of public health challenges in the world. In between the 2014 Ebola crisis and the current COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria has responded to large, multiple, and sometimes concurrent outbreaks of Lassa fever, yellow fever, meningitis, monkeypox, measles, and cholera. In response to these ever-present threats, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), as the country’s national public health institute, leads the strengthening of its core health security capacity. Its key components include public health laboratory services, emergency response activities, disease surveillance, and risk communications.
Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases
Democratic Republic of Congo Confirms Two Ebola Cases in Resurgence of Major Outbreak (Reuters) Two people have contracted Ebola and died this week in Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the health ministry said in a statement. A 60-year-old woman who died on Wednesday in the district of Biena had a link with a woman who also died after contracting Ebola and was married to a survivor of the previous major outbreak, the statement said.
Global Health Security
Redesigning Health Systems for Global Health Security (Lancet Global Health) If the global community is serious about epidemic preparedness, global health security, and protecting the most vulnerable, we need to redesign health systems for resilience. Africa's lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as from concurrent outbreaks of cholera, Ebola virus disease, yellow fever, and chikungunya,2 could provide a roadmap. Building resilience needs adequate and committed investment in health through sustainable health financing. Furthermore, health system actors need to be aware of, and be able to anticipate, challenges, and so need to set aside reserve funds to ensure rapid response should disaster strike. To ensure proper financial accountability, health systems should be flexible enough to account for all resources, including emergency funding.
Medicine & Public Health
Promoting Versatile Vaccine Development for Emerging Pandemics (NPJ Vaccines) As the numerous platform-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines show, funders can accelerate pandemic vaccine development by proactively investing in versatile platform technologies. For certain emerging infectious diseases, where vaccine research can translate to other related pathogens with pandemic potential, investment decisions should reflect the full social value of increasing overall preparedness, rather than just the value of bringing a vaccine to market for individual pathogens.
Immunogenicity and Safety of Reduced-Dose Intradermal vs Intramuscular Influenza Vaccines: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (JAMA) In this systematic review and meta-analysis including 30 studies with a total of 177 780 participants, the seroconversion rates of low doses of intradermal influenza vaccine vs the 15-µg intramuscular dose for each of the H1N1, H3N2, and B strains were not statistically significantly different. Seroprotection rates for the 9-µg and 15-µg intradermal doses were not statistically significantly different from the 15-µg intramuscular dose, except for the 15-µg intradermal dose for the H1N1 strain, which was significantly higher.
Science & Technology
‘Handy Pen’ Lights Up When Exposed to Nerve Gas or Spoiled Food Vapors (ACS) Exposure to some odorless, colorless and tasteless gases, such as nerve agents, can be toxic or even lethal. And having the ability to detect other types of vapors could save people from eating spoiled or rotten food. Easy-to-use portable devices could, therefore, go a long way toward protecting the public. Now researchers reporting in ACS Materials Letters have created a pen-like sensor that changes color when exposed to harmful gases. The researchers developed two AIEgen-based “handy pens,” one for identifying the nerve agent diethyl chlorophosphite (DCP) and the other for amines produced by rotting food. |
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