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Global & Public Health (all articles)

Critical appraisal of the new CDC article on the effectiveness of masks for the prevention of Covid-19.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:52h | UTC

Mask studies reach a new scientific low point – Vinay Prasad’s Observations and Thoughts

Original Study: Effectiveness of Face Mask or Respirator Use in Indoor Public Settings for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection — California, February–December 2021 – CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

Related Studies:

Time to upgrade from cloth and surgical masks to respirators? Your questions answered.

CDC urges Americans to wear most-protective mask or respirator that fits well and that they’ll wear consistently.

Modeling COVID-19 mortality across 44 Countries: Face covering may reduce deaths.

What can masks do? Part 2: What makes for a good mask study — and why most fail.

Opinion | Why Are Americans Still—Still!—Wearing Cloth Masks?

Evidence shows that, yes, masks prevent COVID-19 – and surgical masks are the way to go.

Face masks for COVID pass their largest test yet – “A rigorous study finds that surgical masks are highly protective, but cloth masks fall short”.

[Preprint] Largest study of masks yet details their importance in fighting Covid-19.

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

How Denmark Decided COVID Isn’t a Critical Threat to Society – “The country became the first in the EU to lift all COVID restrictions despite leading the world in per capita infections”.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:48h | UTC

How Denmark Decided COVID Isn’t a Critical Threat to Society – The Atlantic

Related:

Covid: Europe set for ‘long period of tranquillity’ in pandemic, says WHO.

As Denmark scraps COVID restrictions, WHO urges caution.

Despite the ongoing spread of Omicron, some European countries have decided to lift Covid-19 restrictions.

 

Scientists admit their Covid mistakes – “Being proved wrong lies at the heart of scientific progress. Here, experts reveal what they got wrong during the pandemic”.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:46h | UTC

‘The case for masks became hugely stronger’: scientists admit their Covid mistakes – The Guardian

 

The costs and benefits of primary prevention of zoonotic pandemics.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:45h | UTC

The costs and benefits of primary prevention of zoonotic pandemics – Science Advances

Commentary: Preventing pandemics costs far less than controlling them – Duke University

 

A highly virulent variant of HIV-1 circulating in the Netherlands.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:42h | UTC

A highly virulent variant of HIV-1 circulating in the Netherlands – Science

Commentaries:

New highly virulent and damaging HIV variant discovered in the Netherlands – University of Oxford

Highly virulent HIV variant found circulating in Europe – Nature

 

Expert reaction to a preprint looking at the impact of lockdowns, as posted on the John Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences website.

4 Feb, 2022 | 10:03h | UTC

Expert reaction to a preprint looking at the impact of lockdowns, as posted on the John Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences website – Science Media Centre

Original Article: a Literature Review And Meta-Analysis Of The Effects Of Lockdowns On Covid-19 Mortality – John Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Related:

M-A: Effectiveness of public health measures in reducing the incidence of covid-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and covid-19 mortality.

Is the cure really worse than the disease? The health impacts of lockdowns during COVID-19 – “While there are certainly costs to be expected from intervening against COVID-19—every decision has a cost, after all—the counterfactual of an unmitigated epidemic makes these restrictions far less damaging than some have suggested”.

 

Covid: Europe set for ‘long period of tranquillity’ in pandemic, says WHO.

4 Feb, 2022 | 09:54h | UTC

Covid: Europe set for ‘long period of tranquillity’ in pandemic, says WHO – The Guardian

See also: In Europe, leaders are starting to turn the page on the pandemic. It’s a different story in the US – CNN

 

Experts question unusual authorization plan for Covid vaccine for kids under 5.

4 Feb, 2022 | 09:57h | UTC

Experts question unusual authorization plan for Covid vaccine for kids under 5 – STAT

Related:

Pfizer and BioNTech seeking emergency use authorization from FDA for Covid-19 vaccine for children younger than 5 – CNN

Pfizer asks FDA to allow COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5 – Associated Press

Pfizer Asks FDA to Approve Its Vaccine for the Youngest Children – HealthDay

 

Perspective: Challenges in inferring intrinsic severity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.

3 Feb, 2022 | 09:58h | UTC

Challenges in Inferring Intrinsic Severity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

Cohort Study: In high-transmission settings, the use of malaria-preventing mosquito nets in early childhood was associated with increased survival decades later.

3 Feb, 2022 | 08:56h | UTC

Mosquito Net Use in Early Childhood and Survival to Adulthood in Tanzania – New England Journal of Medicine

Commentaries:

Malaria-preventing bed nets save children’s lives—with impacts that can last for decades – Science

Mosquito nets in young children save lives into adulthood – University of Basel

 

Perspective: The origins, development, and context of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death – “Death has turned from being a family, social, and cultural event to primarily a medical event”.

3 Feb, 2022 | 08:51h | UTC

The origins, development, and context of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death – The BMJ

Related: The Lancet Commission: Experts warn of the increasing overmedicalization of death, call for radical rethink of how society cares for dying people.

 

Perspective: Trade-offs and policy options — using insights from economics to inform public health policy.

3 Feb, 2022 | 08:39h | UTC

Trade-offs and Policy Options — Using Insights from Economics to Inform Public Health Policy – New England Journal of Medicine

 

WHO Report: Global analysis of health care waste in the context of COVID-19.

2 Feb, 2022 | 08:54h | UTC

Global analysis of health care waste in the context of COVID-19 – World Health Organization

News Release: Tonnes of COVID-19 health care waste expose urgent need to improve waste management systems – World Health Organization

Commentaries:

Covid-19: Pandemic waste threatens human and environmental health, says WHO – The BMJ

Amid Mountains of COVID Waste, WHO Urges Sustainable Solutions – Health Policy Watch

 

Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)

 

Ten billion COVID vaccinations: world hits new milestone.

2 Feb, 2022 | 08:48h | UTC

Ten billion COVID vaccinations: world hits new milestone – Nature

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

As Denmark scraps COVID restrictions, WHO urges caution.

2 Feb, 2022 | 08:47h | UTC

As Denmark Scraps COVID Restrictions, WHO Urges Caution – Health Policy Watch

Related: Despite the ongoing spread of Omicron, some European countries have decided to lift Covid-19 restrictions.

 

WHO Recommendations: Reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

1 Feb, 2022 | 09:50h | UTC

Reducing the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia: WHO Recommendations – Frontiers in Neurology

Related:

Estimation of the global prevalence of dementia in 2019 and forecasted prevalence in 2050: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

New WHO toolkit promotes inclusion of people with dementia in society.

Dementia: number of people affected to triple in next 30 years – World Health Organization

 

The Lancet Commission: Experts warn of the increasing overmedicalization of death, call for radical rethink of how society cares for dying people.

1 Feb, 2022 | 09:55h | UTC

News Release: THE LANCET: Experts warn of the increasing overmedicalization of death, call for radical rethink of how society cares for dying people

Homepage: Lancet Commission on the Value of Death (free registration required for all articles)

Report of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death: bringing death back into life

The precariousness of balancing life and death

Ros Taylor: seeing palliative care as relational

Related: What would it take to die well? A systematic review of systematic reviews on the conditions for a good death – The Lancet Health Longevity

 

Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)

 

[Preprint] Study suggests SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants BA.2 is even more transmissible than the original variant.

1 Feb, 2022 | 08:56h | UTC

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC subvariants BA.1 and BA.2: Evidence from Danish Households – medRxiv

Commentaries:

Study suggests BA.2 COVID-19 subvariant more contagious – CIDRAP

‘Stealth Omicron’ spreads more than original strain: study – MedicalXpress

The new Omicron subtype BA.2 could prolong the current wave of COVID-19 infection, scientists say- Business Insider

 

Commentary from the author on Twitter (thread – click for more)

 

Does the world need an Omicron vaccine? What researchers say.

1 Feb, 2022 | 08:53h | UTC

Does the world need an Omicron vaccine? What researchers say – Nature

 

Will Omicron end the pandemic? Here’s what experts say.

1 Feb, 2022 | 08:54h | UTC

Will Omicron end the pandemic? Here’s what experts say – Nature

 

Randomized trials on non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 as of August 2021: a scoping review.

1 Feb, 2022 | 08:51h | UTC

Randomised trials on non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 as of August 2021: a scoping review – BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine

Related:

Study ranks the most effective non-pharmaceutical interventions for reducing COVID-19 spread

Effect of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions to Contain COVID-19 in China

 

Commentary from the author on Twitter (thread – click for more)

 

The extraordinary success of Covid-19 vaccines, in two charts.

1 Feb, 2022 | 08:48h | UTC

The extraordinary success of Covid-19 vaccines, in two charts – Vox

 

RCT: A comprehensive geriatric assessment hospital at home may be a cost-effective alternative to hospital admission.

1 Feb, 2022 | 08:32h | UTC

Is comprehensive geriatric assessment hospital at home a cost-effective alternative to hospital admission for older people? – Age and Aging

 

Studies show parental vaccination provided indirect protection of children from SARS-CoV-2 infection during the Delta wave.

30 Jan, 2022 | 14:52h | UTC

Indirect protection of children from SARS-CoV-2 infection through parental vaccination – Science

See also: Vaccination with BNT162b2 reduces transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to household contacts in Israel – Science

Commentary: COVID vaccine markedly cuts household transmission, studies show – CIDRAP

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

A nationwide cohort study in Denmark showed Long Covid in children is rare and mainly of short duration.

30 Jan, 2022 | 14:40h | UTC

Long COVID symptoms and duration in SARS-CoV-2 positive children — a nationwide cohort study – European Journal of Pediatrics

Related:

Editorial | Long covid in children and adolescents – “Risk appears low, but many questions remain”.

M-A: Persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection among children and young people – “Higher study quality was associated with lower prevalence of all symptoms, except loss of smell and cognitive symptoms”.

Review: Long COVID symptoms in children rarely persist beyond three months.

Cohort study: long term follow-up showed most patients with post–COVID-19 Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children had good outcomes with no significant medium- or long-term sequelae.

Do kids get long COVID? And how often? A pediatrician looks at the data – Children also get Long Covid, but much less often than adults.

Illness duration and symptom profile in symptomatic school-aged children tested for SARS-CoV-2 – “Only 25 (1.8%) of 1379 children experienced symptoms for at least 56 days.”

Long-term Symptoms After SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children and Adolescents – “This study found a low prevalence of symptoms compatible with long COVID in a randomly selected cohort of children assessed 6 months after serologic testing”.

Study shows low incidence of post-acute COVID-19 symptoms (“Long Covid”) in children after mild disease

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

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