Global & Public Health (all articles)
What the science says about lifting mask mandates – “Wearing masks should probably be one of the last things we stop doing”.
31 May, 2021 | 08:17h | UTCWhat the science says about lifting mask mandates – Nature
Covid-19 vaccination prevents transmission from vaccinated to unvaccinated household members.
31 May, 2021 | 08:18h | UTCThe indirect effect of mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccination on unvaccinated household members – medRxiv
Commentary on Twitter
More on less transmission, yet another incentive:
"Our results suggest that mRNA-based vaccines do not only prevent #SARSCoV2 infections among vaccinated individuals but lead to a substantial reduction in infections among unvaccinated household members"https://t.co/sIqoOLiH3b pic.twitter.com/6rv2tojR2m— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) May 29, 2021
Vietnam finds new rapidly spreading SARS-CoV-2 variant, hybrid of B.1.617.2 and B.1.1.7 strains.
31 May, 2021 | 08:16h | UTCVietnam finds new virus variant, hybrid of India, UK strains – Associated Press
See also: Covid: Vietnam detects new UK-Indian variant, health officials say – BBC AND Vietnam says new Covid variant is hybrid of India and UK strains – The Guardian
[Not published yet] Observational study in Uruguay found CoronaVac reduced mortality by 97 percent – “In people who had received two doses, it reduced infection with the coronavirus by 57 percent and intensive care admissions by 95 percent”.
31 May, 2021 | 08:14h | UTCCoronaVac reduces mortality by 97 percent: Uruguay study – Associated Press
Oxygen shortages threaten ‘total collapse’ of dozens of health systems.
31 May, 2021 | 08:12h | UTCOxygen shortages threaten ‘total collapse’ of dozens of health systems – The Guardian
Related: How covid-19 revealed the scandal of medical oxygen supplies worldwide – Nature AND COVID-19 Oxygen Needs in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Have Tripled in Just Three Months – Where are Solutions? – Health Policy Watch
Providing more low-value care does not lead to higher patient experience ratings – “New study challenges the assumption that offering patients more tests and procedures will lead to higher patient experience ratings”.
31 May, 2021 | 08:11h | UTCOriginal Study: Association of Low-Value Care Exposure With Health Care Experience Ratings Among Patient Panels – JAMA Internal Medicine
Commentary on Twitter
New work led by @sanghavi_prachi w/ @A_Schwa & Alan Zaslavsky
We asked do PCPs w/ more wasteful practice patterns get better patient ratings?
Answer is no. No they don't
This should allay overblown concerns about pt experience measures leading us to satisfy patients to death https://t.co/cosXvLA6Ql
— Michael McWilliams (@JMichaelMcW) May 28, 2021
Lab study found CoronaVac serum neutralization efficiency was significantly decreased against B.1.526, P.1, and B1.351 SARS-CoV-2 variants.
28 May, 2021 | 08:26h | UTC
WHO COVAX Joint Statement: Call to action to equip COVAX to deliver 2 billion doses in 2021.
28 May, 2021 | 08:28h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
.@DrTedros, @GaviSeth, @DrRHatchett, Henrietta Fore @unicefchief issued a call to action to equip #COVAX to deliver 2 billion #COVID19 vaccine doses in 2021
👉 https://t.co/wtBaqHAoti #VaccinEquity— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) May 27, 2021
The global burden of smoking tobacco and attributable disease in 204 countries and territories – “In the absence of intervention, the annual toll of 7.69 million deaths and 200 million disability-adjusted life-years attributable to smoking will increase over the coming decades”.
28 May, 2021 | 08:19h | UTCRelated studies: Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of chewing tobacco use in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 – The Lancet Public Health AND Spatial, temporal, and demographic patterns in prevalence of smoking tobacco use and initiation among young people in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019 – The Lancet Public Health
RCT: Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine shows 100% efficacy in adolescents – mainly transient mild-to-moderate reactogenicity was frequently observed, such as injection-site pain (in 79 to 86% of participants), fatigue (in 60 to 66%), and headache (in 55 to 65%).
28 May, 2021 | 08:24h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
The 12-15 year-olds mRNA vaccine randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial is published @NEJM today [@BioNTech_Group/@Pfizer]https://t.co/7GlgC9xdd0
—100% efficacy (95% CI 75,100)
—1.8 X higher levels of neutralizing antibodies than 16-25 yr olds
—very good safety profile pic.twitter.com/hQzkpuA5Nu— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) May 27, 2021
Covid-19: Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is “likely” responsible for deaths of some elderly patients, Norwegian review finds.
28 May, 2021 | 08:22h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
The Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine is “likely” to have been responsible for at least 10 deaths of frail elderly people in nursing homes in Norway, an expert review concluded, although it emphasised considerable uncertainty around its conclusionshttps://t.co/w32jH6MtRH
— The BMJ (@bmj_latest) May 27, 2021
Viewpoint | A population-level approach to suicide prevention.
28 May, 2021 | 08:12h | UTCA Population-Level Approach to Suicide Prevention – JAMA
Count the cost of disability caused by COVID-19 – “Focusing only on cases and deaths hides the pandemic’s lasting health burden on people, societies and economies”.
27 May, 2021 | 08:35h | UTCCount the cost of disability caused by COVID-19 – Nature
RCT: 2 inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines show efficacy of 72.8% and 78.1% on symptomatic COVID-19 infection in adults.
27 May, 2021 | 08:38h | UTCCommentary: China’s Sinopharm Publishes Awaited Covid Vaccine Study Details – Bloomberg
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
https://twitter.com/hildabast/status/1397678056270012419
Systematic review of 45 studies including 9751 participants, most of which were hospitalized, found 73% had at least 1 persistent symptom for weeks after Covid-19.
27 May, 2021 | 08:37h | UTCCommentary: Seven out of ten hospitalized COVID-19 patients will have long-haul symptoms – MedicalXpress
Can people vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the coronavirus? – “Preliminary evidence seems to suggest the COVID-19 vaccines make it less likely someone who’s vaccinated will transmit the coronavirus”.
27 May, 2021 | 08:27h | UTCCan people vaccinated against COVID-19 still spread the coronavirus? – The Conversation
Related: Indirect Protection by Reducing Transmission: Ending the Pandemic with SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination – “Tell the hesitant: the vaccines protect both you and protect others — a lot!”
[Preprint] More data showing a single-dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine may be enough in individuals with previous COVID-19.
27 May, 2021 | 08:31h | UTCSingle-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in a prospective cohort of COVID-19 patients – medRxiv
See also: SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for all but a single dose for COVID-19 survivors – EClinicalMedicine
Related: Another study shows a single dose of mRNA vaccine may be enough for patients with previous Covid-19
Commentaries on Twitter
If you had prior covid and you're wondering about getting vaccinated, here's a new prospective study showing single dose -> marked neutralizing antibody protection to the major variants AND again more than without prior covid and 2 mRNA doses https://t.co/k9v5gEDn2M pic.twitter.com/Z8nT3pL04v
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) May 26, 2021
One dose of vaccine for prior covid.
Change the policy. Avoid unnecessary side effects and instead of wasting vaccine doses get them to the people around the world in needhttps://t.co/ODhx5kgAnq @EBioMedicine @MattFrieman @VivianaSimonLab @florian_krammer pic.twitter.com/oAeju9AASm— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) May 26, 2021
COVID Morbidity – The emerging burden of long COVID is significant, and needs to be considered when evaluating the risk vs. benefit of pandemic measures.
27 May, 2021 | 08:34h | UTCCOVID Morbidity – Science-Based Medicine
Opinion | Rich countries cornered COVID-19 vaccine doses. Four strategies to right a ‘scandalous inequity’.
27 May, 2021 | 08:29h | UTCRich countries cornered COVID-19 vaccine doses. Four strategies to right a ‘scandalous inequity’ – Science (a few articles per month are free)
Commentary on Twitter
Tedros @WHO calls it a "scandalous inequity" that COVID-19 vaccine doses largely have gone to wealthy countries. @kakape and I took a close look at four strategies to improve access and equity–and the likely timelines.
https://t.co/10Os0yCnFE pic.twitter.com/RMeL6t8aCV— Jon Cohen (@sciencecohen) May 26, 2021
Moderna says its Covid vaccine is 100% effective in teens, plans to seek FDA OK in early June.
27 May, 2021 | 08:25h | UTCModerna says its Covid vaccine is 100% effective in teens, plans to seek FDA OK in early June – CNBC
Commentary on Twitter
BREAKING: Moderna study of more than 3,700 12- to 17-year olds found 100% effficacy in those who received 2-dose #covid19 #vaccine, no significant safety problems. Will apply for FDA authorization.https://t.co/l0MHiLjCcA
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) May 25, 2021
Global cardiovascular organizations release joint opinion on achieving the ‘tobacco endgame’.
27 May, 2021 | 08:22h | UTCNews release: Global cardiovascular organizations release joint opinion on achieving the ‘tobacco endgame’ – American College of Cardiology
Commentary: The Tobacco Endgame—Eradicating a Worsening Epidemic – American College of Cardiology
COVID-19 in Amazonas, Brazil, was driven by the persistence of endemic lineages and P.1 emergence – “viral load was tenfold higher in P.1 infections than in non-P.1”.
26 May, 2021 | 08:42h | UTC
What scientists know about new, fast-spreading coronavirus variants.
26 May, 2021 | 08:45h | UTCWhat scientists know about new, fast-spreading coronavirus variants – Nature
RCT: Immediate “kangaroo mother care” improves survival in infants with low birth weight compared to conventional care with “kangaroo mother care” initiated after stabilization.
27 May, 2021 | 08:18h | UTCCommentary: Immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth improves survival of pre-term babies – Karolisnka Institutet
Related: RCT: Community-initiated kangaroo mother care reduced the risk of moderate-to-severe maternal postpartum depressive symptoms among mothers of low-birth-weight infants in low-income areas in India AND WHO: New research highlights risks of separating newborns from mothers during COVID-19 pandemic AND Randomized Trial: Kangaroo Mother Care Improves Survival of Infants with Low Birthweight
Estimating infectiousness throughout SARS-CoV-2 infection course – 8% of subjects had very high viral loads, one-third of whom had little to no symptoms; in individuals infected with the B.1.1.7 variant, average viral loads were 10 times higher.
26 May, 2021 | 08:43h | UTCEstimating infectiousness throughout SARS-CoV-2 infection course – Science
Commentary: Estimating infectiousness of SARS-CoV-2: New study on viral load – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Commentary on Twitter
Of 25,000+ people who tested positive for #COVID19 in Germany, 8% had very high viral loads; about a third of these had little to no symptoms. The results suggest asymptomatic people can be expected to be as infectious as hospitalized patients @c_drosten https://t.co/mRkzJrwFwU pic.twitter.com/vsrameCAWk
— Science Magazine (@ScienceMagazine) May 25, 2021