General Interest
A new mandate highlights costs, benefits of making all scientific articles free to read
15 Jan, 2021 | 08:30h | UTCA new mandate highlights costs, benefits of making all scientific articles free to read – Science
Related: Open-access Science Funders Announce Price Transparency Rules for Publishers (several resources on the subject)
Clinical trial finds vitamin D does not ward off colds and flu
15 Jan, 2021 | 08:33h | UTC
CoronaVac study in Brazil: Is the vaccine 50%, 78%, or 100% effective?
14 Jan, 2021 | 02:11h | UTCThird time’s the charm? Brazil scales back efficacy claims for COVID-19 vaccine from China – Science
See also: CoronaVac’s Overall Efficacy in Brazil Measured at 50.4% – Bloomberg
Meta-analysis: Saliva vs. nasopharyngeal swabs equally sensitive for Covid-19 diagnosis
14 Jan, 2021 | 02:13h | UTCCommentary: Saliva, Nasopharyngeal Samples Equally Sensitive for SARS-CoV-2 – Physician’s Weekly
Commentary on Twitter
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1348758183846703104
Study estimates 50% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections have originated from exposure to asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals
14 Jan, 2021 | 02:08h | UTCSARS-CoV-2 Transmission From People Without COVID-19 Symptoms – JAMA Network Open
Commentary: At least 50% of COVID-19 cases spread from people without symptoms, a new study found – Business Insider AND More than half of Covid-19 infections acquired from asymptomatic carriers – MedicalResearch
Commentary on Twitter
https://twitter.com/TennantRuth/status/1348208811039985665
Perspective: For people with OCD — and fearful of germs — the pandemic is upending years of therapy
14 Jan, 2021 | 02:00h | UTCFor people with OCD — and fearful of germs — the pandemic is upending years of therapy – STAT
Short review: How Dangerous are new COVID-19 strains?
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:31h | UTCHow Dangerous Are New COVID-19 Strains? – Council on Foreign Relations
Commentary on Twitter
How dangerous are the B.1.1.7 and 501Y.V2 hyper-transmissible strains?
by @AdamJKucharski @CFR_orghttps://t.co/aycWMN3b5h
h/t @Karl_Lauterbach pic.twitter.com/JlaFzzP06t— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 11, 2021
Confirmed reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 variant VOC-202012/01
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:30h | UTCConfirmed Reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 Variant VOC-202012/01 – Clinical Infectious Diseases
Commentary on Twitter
A new case report of reinfection with SARS-CoV-2 with the second episode due to the ‘new variant’ VOC-202012/01 of lineage B.1.1.7. The initial infection was mild illness while the second infection caused severe and critical illness. @InfectiousDz #CID https://t.co/hhP3gUnQSZ
— Antibiotic Steward Bassam Ghanem 🅱️C🆔🅿️🌟 (@ABsteward) January 9, 2021
Video (3 min): Which Covid vaccine is better? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:21h | UTCWhich Covid vaccine is better? Pfizer v Oxford v Moderna – BBC
Loss of smell in mild Covid-19 cases occurs 86% of the time, study says
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:20h | UTCLoss of smell in mild Covid-19 cases occurs 86% of the time, study says – CNN
Original study: Prevalence and 6‐month recovery of olfactory dysfunction: a multicentre study of 1363 COVID‐19 patients – Journal of Internal Medicine
Inferring the effectiveness of government interventions against COVID-19
13 Jan, 2021 | 02:17h | UTCInferring the effectiveness of government interventions against COVID-19 – Science
Commentary on Twitter
Do we really need #StayAtHome orders?
New @ScienceMagazine modeling explores what really works around the globe.
TL;DR: the answer is no. Targeted efforts work; the effect of stay at home is small👍https://t.co/Km7kfWyVUJ by @JanMBrauner @jankulveitb @OATML_Oxford @fhioxford pic.twitter.com/Uo0lhZD5WR— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 15, 2020
CDC Study: Reducing quarantine to fewer than 14 days might be easier to comply with but carries some risk of spreading the virus
12 Jan, 2021 | 02:03h | UTCCommentaries: Shorter Quarantines Can Eliminate Most Contagion. Is Most Enough? New Data – Brief19 AND Some Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Occurs After Seven, 10 Days – Physician’s Wekly
Related (guideline and commentary): Why the CDC changed its Covid-19 quarantine guidelines
Commentary on Twitter
An ongoing CDC study of household spread of COVID-19 published in MWMR finds reducing quarantine to fewer than 14 days might be easier to comply with but carries some risk of spreading the virus. Learn more: https://t.co/3HCtyxCLiO pic.twitter.com/Frepnp0QRQ
— MMWR (@CDCMMWR) January 1, 2021
CDC Study: Among young, healthy athletes exposed to Covid-19, the probability of receiving positive test results after day 10 of quarantine is low (less than 5%)
12 Jan, 2021 | 02:01h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
A new @CDCMMWR looking at college athletes exposed to #COVID19 supports giving health departments options to potentially shorten quarantine periods to increase adherence. Learn more: https://t.co/WuPF7MWtOF. pic.twitter.com/irsA0Zn7d7
— CDC (@CDCgov) January 7, 2021
Opinion: Even during a pandemic, hospitals must make family visits and communication the standard of care
12 Jan, 2021 | 01:58h | UTC
New SARS-CoV-2 variants: increased transmissibility likely to cause more deaths and possibly a new wave of the disease
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:54h | UTC- SARS-CoV-2 Variants – World Health Organization
- Why epidemiologists are so worried about the new Covid-19 variants, in 2 charts – Vox
- We lost to SARS-CoV-2 in 2020. We can defeat B-117 in 2021 – STAT
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.1.7 in England: insights from linking epidemiological and genetic data – Imperial College of London AND Commentary: New COVID-19 variant growing rapidly in England – Imperial College London
- Genetic Variants of SARS-CoV-2—What Do They Mean? – JAMA
- Podcast: Understanding SARS-CoV-2 Genetic Variants – JAMA
- Podcast: Understanding the New SARS-CoV-2 Mutation Found in England – JAMA
- Viral mutations may cause another ‘very, very bad’ COVID-19 wave, scientists warn – Science
- Mutant coronavirus in the United Kingdom sets off alarms, but its importance remains unclear – Science
- New variant of SARS-CoV-2 in UK causes surge of COVID-19 – The Lancet Respiratory Medicine
- Scientists are monitoring a coronavirus mutation that could affect the strength of vaccines – STAT
- Instead of debating ‘first-shot’ vs. ‘set-aside’ vaccine approaches, hospitals’ study should compare them – STAT
- The Mutated Virus Is a Ticking Time Bomb – Vox
- What We Know About The New U.K. Variant Of Coronavirus — And What We Need To Find Out – NPR
- The New Mutations – Science Translational Medicine
- New Virus Strain’s Transmissibility to Cause More Deaths: Study – Bloomberg
- U.K. variant puts spotlight on immunocompromised patients’ role in the COVID-19 pandemic – Science
- When unusually severe COVID is seen, rapid identification-and-virus-sequencing are needed world-wide – Science Speaks: Global ID News
- Covid-19: New coronavirus variant is identified in UK – The BMJ
- The looming questions scientists need to answer about the new variant of the coronavirus – STAT
- With limited surveillance of Covid-19 variant, it’s déjà vu all over again – STAT
- New coronavirus variant: What do we know? – BBC
- Covid-19 in South Africa: Scientists seek to understand new variant – BBC
- New coronavirus variant: what is the spike protein and why are mutations on it important? – The Conversation
Peter Doshi: Pfizer and Moderna’s “95% effective” vaccines—we need more details and the raw data
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:48h | UTC
Debate: Should we delay second vaccine doses to give one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to more people?
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:51h | UTC- Editorial: U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Challenges Go Beyond Supply – Annals of Internal Medicine
- Speed Versus Efficacy: Quantifying Potential Tradeoffs in COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment – Annals of Internal Medicine
- A Public Health COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy to Maximize the Health Gains for Every Single Vaccine Dose – Annals of Internal Medicine
- Alternative Dose Allocation Strategies to Increase Benefits From Constrained COVID-19 Vaccine Supply – Annals of Internal Medicine
- Delaying the second COVID vaccine dose – a medical expert answers key questions – The Conversation
- Should we give one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to more people? The debate, explained. – Vox
- Debates intensify over dosing plans for authorized COVID-19 vaccines – Science
- Covid-19 vaccination: What’s the evidence for extending the dosing interval? – The BMJ Opinion
- Covid-19 vaccines: to delay or not to delay second doses – The BMJ Opinion
- Britain takes a gamble with Covid-19 vaccines, upping the stakes for the rest of us – STAT
- UK Delay of Second COVID-19 Vaccine Dose – A Risky Strategy That Could Give Rise To More Virus Mutations, Some Experts Warn – Health Policy Watch
- What’s the scientific basis for delaying the Covid vaccine second dose? – The Guardian
- FDA says people need both doses of coronavirus vaccines – CNN
- WHO experts weigh in on COVID-19 vaccine dose interval – CIDRAP
- For mRNA vaccines, we should stick to the schedule – The Guardian
- Expert comment on whether giving two doses of COVID vaccine separated by a longer period is sensible – Science Media Centre
- How safe is it to switch and space COVID-19 vaccine doses? – Reuters
Long Covid: 6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:43h | UTC6-month consequences of COVID-19 in patients discharged from hospital: a cohort study – The Lancet
Commentaries: Most patients hospitalized for Covid-19 still have symptoms six months later, China study finds AND Long-term follow-up of recovered patients with COVID-19 – The Lancet
Commentary on Twitter
Largest #LongCovid cohort @TheLancet just published:
6 months post-hospital,
—76% still had ≥ 1 symptom
—63% fatigue/muscle weakness
—sleep, anxiety, depression common
—Sig % w/CT lung abnormalities
—13% had abnormal kidney function https://t.co/zfRf7MGdxB pic.twitter.com/LI4DaJPis8— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 8, 2021
WHO: 10 global health issues to track in 2021
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:38h | UTC10 global health issues to track in 2021 – World Health Organization
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
As an unprecedented year comes to a close and a New Year beckons, here are 🔟 global health issues WHO and our partners will focus on in 2021
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 28, 2020
[Preprint] Characterizing Long COVID in an International Cohort: 7 Months of Symptoms and Their Impact
10 Jan, 2021 | 20:41h | UTCRelated: Explanations for ‘long Covid’ remain elusive. For now, believing patients and treating symptoms is the best doctors can do – STAT AND Long COVID: who is at risk? – The Conversation
Commentary on Twitter
How long is #LongCovid?
The most extensive symptom assessment and longest duration (7 months) of nearly 3,800 individuals shows how debilitating this is in young, predominantly women, w/ most unable to return to full prior work https://t.co/o0YUNse1EA @ahandvanish @AthenaAkrami pic.twitter.com/3miXJFdVp0— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 29, 2020
NICE Guideline: Managing the long-term effects of COVID-19
18 Dec, 2020 | 10:27h | UTC
NICE Guideline: Do not use Vitamin D to prevent or treat COVID 19
18 Dec, 2020 | 10:03h | UTCCOVID-19 rapid guideline: vitamin D – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
News release: NICE, PHE and SACN publish rapid COVID-19 guidance on vitamin D
Commentaries: Covid and vitamin D: ‘Not enough evidence’ for treatment – BBC AND Covid-19: Evidence is lacking to support vitamin D’s role in treatment and prevention – The BMJ
Commentary on Twitter
https://twitter.com/onisillos/status/1339485382501666816
Vaccines are here. We have to talk about side effects
18 Dec, 2020 | 09:59h | UTCVaccines Are Here. We Have to Talk About Side Effects – Wired
Commentary on Twitter
All vaccines have side effects and trust comes from freely discussing them. Nice piece by @marynmck https://t.co/eUISXTiFVP
— Madhu Pai, MD, PhD (@paimadhu) December 17, 2020
“Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement”. In two large cohorts, Black patients had nearly three times the frequency of occult hypoxemia that was not detected by pulse oximetry as White patients
18 Dec, 2020 | 10:01h | UTCRacial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement – New England Journal of Medicine
Commentary: Devices Used In COVID-19 Treatment Can Give Errors For Patients With Dark Skin – NPR
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
1/ Our research letter on racial bias in pulse oximetry measurement, out today in NEJM https://t.co/6dLuNGosxp pic.twitter.com/XXsfWfc5dv
— Michael Sjoding (@msjoding) December 17, 2020
Studies reveal deadliness of COVID-19, even in young adults
18 Dec, 2020 | 09:57h | UTCData reveal deadliness of COVID-19, even in young adults – CIDRAP