Article Summary
April 8, 2020
Connecting BCG Vaccination and COVID-19: Additional Data
Reasons for wide variation in severity of COVID-19 across affected countries around the world remain unknown. Two recent studies suggest a link between BCG vaccination policy and morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19. Dayal and Gupta compared the case fatality rates of COVID-19 between countries with high disease burden and those with BCG revaccination policies. …
April 7, 2020
US Public Concerns About the COVID-19 Pandemic From Results of a Survey Given via Social Media
In this convenience sample survey distributed via 3 social media platforms in the U.S., participants reported serious concerns about COVID-19 and that they were preparing by washing hands, remaining homebound, and practicing social distancing. There was variation in the levels of concern about COVID-19 in different age groups, and the most common difficulties were getting…
Using ILI surveillance to estimate state-specific case detection rates and forecast SARS-CoV-2 spread in the United States
Silverman & Washburne show how they repurposed publicly available CDC influenza-like illness (ILI) outpatient surveillance data to estimate the detection rate of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. They noted a surge of non-influenza ILI above the seasonal average that correlated with COVID-19 case counts across the states. Silverman & Washburne (Apr 3, 2020). Using ILI surveillance to…
Mitigating and learning from the impact of COVID-19 infection on addictive disorders
While summarizing many of the issues that pose as particular threats to people with addictive disorders during this COVID-19 pandemic, Marsden et al suggest that this pandemic may increase the extent and severity of some addictive disorders; and call for a coordinated effort to mitigate these problems and to find innovative ways of continuing to…
COVID-19: Peer Support and Crisis Communication Strategies to Promote Institutional Resilience
Based on the authors’ observations of HCW stress during the SARS outbreak, they describe an approach to enhance the well-being and resilience of HCWs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three strategic principles that may be helpful include: 1) provide leadership focused on resilience, 2) structure crisis communications to provide information and empowerment and 3)…
Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Children during the COVID-19 Epidemic.
Results from this study in China indicate that children and adolescents have been impacted psychologically, manifesting behavioral and emotional problems despite being less vulnerable than adults to COVID-19. The article highlights several strategies for professionals and parents/guardians involved in the care of children during the COVID-19 outbreak including – 1) nurturing resilience, 2) increasing communication…
Immune-epidemiological parameters of the novel coronavirus – a perspective.
This article discusses the epidemiological dynamics of COVID-19 with the aim of understanding the ability and inability of the immune system to combat COVID-19. Transmission may be influenced by the host-related factors that are known to be associated with immune dysregulation. The article also mentions that finding immune biomarkers that can distinguish severe-to-critical from mild-to-moderate…
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders.
This article mentions that the comorbid diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) or other movement disorders has not emerged as specific risk factor for negative outcomes of COVID-19. The medical strategy for safety of patients with PD is the same as the strategy for the general elderly population. Papa et al. (Apr 6, 2020). Impact of…
Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Coronavirus disease 2019 in Children
Choi et al summarize the epidemiological and clinical features of COVID-19 in children to-date, reiterating that while children make up a small fraction of COVID-19 cases and present most often with mild symptoms, some mild cases may progress to severe disease or death. Newborns are also susceptible and may play a role in community transmission. …
Analysis and Applications of Non-Adaptive and Adaptive Group Testing Methods for COVID-19
The authors propose non-adaptive and adaptive group testing strategies based on generalized binary splitting (GBS) where the group test is restricted to the largest group that can be used. The authors suggest that this approach described in the article is particularly applicable to vulnerable confined populations such as nursing homes, prisons, military ships and cruise…
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