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Covid-19

Where did Omicron come from? Three key theories.

8 Feb, 2022 | 10:04h | UTC

Where did Omicron come from? Three key theories – Nature

 

Clinical update on COVID-19 for the emergency clinician: Presentation and evaluation.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:56h | UTC

Clinical update on COVID-19 for the emergency clinician: Presentation and evaluation – The American Journal of Emergency Medicine

 

Editorial: “Excess deaths” is the best metric for tracking the pandemic.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:54h | UTC

“Excess deaths” is the best metric for tracking the pandemic – The BMJ

Related:

The pandemic’s true death toll: millions more than official counts.

We can be confident there have been far more than 5 million global Covid deaths – “Estimating ‘excess’ fatalities, a more robust analysis method, puts the pandemic’s grim toll between 10m and 19m people”.

Global Covid-19 deaths surpass five million.

Effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on life expectancy and premature mortality in 2020 – this time series analysis showed there were more than 28 million excess years of life lost in 2020 in 31 countries.

Under-reporting of deaths limits our understanding of true burden of covid-19.

Study shows COVID-19 has caused the biggest decrease in life expectancy since World War II.

Just how do deaths due to COVID-19 stack up?

Tracking excess mortality across countries during the COVID-19 pandemic with the World Mortality Dataset.

Exploring the gap between excess mortality and COVID-19 deaths in 67 countries.

Report: Three new estimates of India’s all-cause excess mortality during the COVID-19 Pandemic – pandemic death toll estimated to be between 3.4 million and 4.9 million excess deaths.

COVID-19 has caused 6.9 million deaths globally, more than double what official reports show

 

Commentaries on Twitter

 

CDC unveils its latest weapon in Covid-19 detection: wastewater.

7 Feb, 2022 | 08:49h | UTC

CDC unveils its latest weapon in Covid-19 detection: wastewater – CNN

CDC Website: National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS): A new public health tool to understand COVID-19’s spread in a community – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Related:

CDC Report: Using Wastewater Surveillance Data to Support the COVID-19 Response — United States, 2020–2021.

Rapid, large-scale wastewater surveillance and automated reporting system enabled early detection of nearly 85% of COVID-19 cases on a University campus.

[Preprint] Wastewater genomic testing can effectively track COVID-19 variants of concern.

Human Waste Could Be The Next Big Weapon in Controlling COVID-19 – TIME

Next steps for wastewater testing to help end this pandemic — and prevent the next one – STAT

Sewage sleuths helped an Arizona town beat back Covid-19. For wastewater epidemiology, that’s just the start – STAT

The myriad ways sewage surveillance is helping fight COVID around the world – Nature

Testing sewage can give school districts, campuses and businesses a heads-up on the spread of COVID-19 – The Conversation

It’s time to begin a national wastewater testing program for Covid-19 – STAT

Coronavirus: Testing sewage an ‘easy win’ – BBC

Development of wastewater pooled surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 from congregate living settings – high sensitivity, but unable to distinguish new infectious cases from persistent convalescent shedding.

 

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

 

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”.

 

What the Omicron wave is revealing about human immunity.

4 Feb, 2022 | 10:01h | UTC

What the Omicron wave is revealing about human immunity – Nature

 

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

 

[Preprint] Results from the first Covid-19 human challenge study (deliberately infecting individuals in a controlled environment).

3 Feb, 2022 | 09:48h | UTC

Safety, tolerability and viral kinetics during SARS-CoV-2 human challenge – Research Square

Commentaries:

Scientists deliberately gave people COVID — here’s what they learnt – Nature

Expert reaction to a preprint looking at the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a COVID-19 human challenge study – Science Media Centre

First COVID-19 human challenge study yields infection clues – CIDRAP

Exposure to one nasal droplet enough for Covid infection – study – The Guardian

Related:

Perspective | SARS-CoV-2 human challenge studies — establishing the model during an evolving pandemic.

World’s first coronavirus “Human Challenge” study receives ethics approval in the UK  (several texts on the subject) Are SARS-CoV-2 Human Challenge Trials Ethical? – “A clinical trial is underway in the UK in which young, healthy participants are exposed deliberately to SARS-CoV-2 to assess the viral inoculum needed to produce an infection and to test vaccine efficacy”.

 

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

 

[Preprint] SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus causes attenuated disease in mice and hamsters.

3 Feb, 2022 | 09:50h | UTC

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus causes attenuated disease in mice and hamsters – Nature

See also: [Preprint] Attenuated replication and pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 Omicron – Nature

Commentary: Omicron causes less severe illness in animal models than previous variants – University of Wisconsin–Madison

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

Omicron’s sister variant spreads faster. So why did the one we call Omicron hit first?

3 Feb, 2022 | 08:54h | UTC

Omicron’s sister variant spreads faster. So why did the one we call Omicron hit first? – STAT

Related:

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

BA.2 is like Omicron’s sister. Here’s what we know about it so far – The Conversation

 

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

 

Outpatient Therapies for COVID-19: How do we choose?

2 Feb, 2022 | 08:53h | UTC

Outpatient Therapies for COVID-19: How do we choose? – Open Forum Infectious Diseases

 

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)

 

Updated NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines: Therapeutic management of nonhospitalized adults with COVID-19.

2 Feb, 2022 | 08:50h | UTC

Therapeutic Management of Nonhospitalized Adults With COVID-19 – NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

Editorial: Menstruation and Covid-19 vaccination.

2 Feb, 2022 | 08:46h | UTC

Menstruation and covid-19 vaccination – The BMJ

News Release: New studies provide reassuring data on menstrual changes after covid-19 vaccination – BMJ

 

Commentary on Twitter

 

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.

 

[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

 

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