Feature Channels: Public Health

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Older adults are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, but also a second public health crisis: social isolation.

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A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines the nation’s current shortage of vitally needed medications, and how this dangerous situation is being made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors provide recommendations on how clinicians and institutions might address potential scarcities of essential medications during the current public health crisis.

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Shelter-in-place orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19 put unusual strains on people with obesity, making it more difficult for them to eat properly and manage their weight, according to a UT Southwestern study.

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Maryland Smith workplace expert Cynthia Kay Stevens gives advice that organizations can use to better support their teams as they take on complex problems including those posed by operating or reopening amid restrictions imposed by COVID-19.

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A new study from the University of Notre Dame shows government-imposed restrictions can backfire, depending on political ideology.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on people with obesity as they struggle to manage their weight and mental health during shelter-in-place orders, according to research led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and UT Southwestern.

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Using electronic health record data to simulate drug trials for pregnant patients could one day offer a solution to the current practice of delivering babies, even if they are pre-term, if the mother contracts COVID-19, according to a position paper published in Nature Medicine.

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Stay-at-home orders and "lockdowns" related to the COVID-19 pandemic have had a major impact on the daily lives of people around the world and that includes the way that people sleep, two studies report June 10 in the journal Current Biology.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a mouse model of COVID-19 that is expected to speed up the search for drugs and vaccines for the potentially deadly disease.

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A new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that broad “stop-and-search” practices used for many years by Baltimore police to look for illegally possessed guns have minimal, if any, impact on gun violence. These practices also result in mental and physical harm to those who are unjustifiably searched and serve to undermine community trust in police. The researchers also found that residents of communities most impacted by gun violence in Baltimore want more focused and accountable law enforcement to reduce gun violence.

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You're standing in the store's check-out line, and the customer behind you viciously coughs.

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In a new study, Johns Hopkins researchers found that testing people for SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — too early in the course of infection is likely to result in a false negative test, even though they may eventually test positive for the virus.

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How can epidemics spread so quickly among entire populations? The Newsroom asked an expert, Cedars-Sinai research scientist Dalin Li, PhD, to explain the math behind the spread of COVID-19. Li was the first author of a recent study that showed how just a few infected individuals who came to the U.S could have generated more than 9,000 COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases.

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Local governments are often innovators of public health policymaking—the first smoke-free air acts, menu labeling laws, and soda taxes were all implemented locally. However, states are increasingly limiting local control over public health issues by passing laws that overrule local regulations, a practice known as preemption. A new study by researchers at NYU School of Global Public Health, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, takes a closer look at the strategies state legislatures use—often behind closed doors—to pass preemptive laws that limit local government control.

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• Cambridge-led modelling looks at population-level facemask use. • The more people use facemasks in public, the smaller the ‘R’. • Even basic homemade masks significantly reduce transmission at a population level. • Researchers call for information campaigns – “my mask protects you, your mask protects me” – that encourage the making and wearing of facemasks.

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In a new study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Higgins and colleagues at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Indiana University and Kentuckiana ENT found a correlation between searches for symptoms of the disease and new confirmed cases and deaths.

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The national law requiring calorie labeling on menus at large chain restaurants is estimated to prevent tens of thousands of new heart disease and type 2 diabetes cases—and save thousands of lives—in just five years, according to a new study that estimates the law’s impact.

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Latest COVID-19 related news.

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Most of the registered clinical trials of potential treatments for COVID-19 underway as of late March were designed in ways that will greatly limit their value in understanding potential treatments, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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A new study from the University of Georgia has shown that exposure to a now-banned flame retardant can alter the genetic code in sperm, leading to major health defects in children of exposed parents.

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An international team of researchers led by McMaster University has found that while higher heat and humidity can slow the spread of COVID-19, longer hours of sunlight are associated with a higher incidence of the disease, in a sign that sunny days can tempt more people out even if this means a higher risk of infection.

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As clinicians learn about a new disease in real-time, researchers are also investigating what lessons from other respiratory infections could apply to COVID-19.

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Using data from Cook County Jail, researchers analyzed the relationship between jailing practices and COVID-19 community infections. They found that cycling through Cook County Jail—which accounts for the period of time from arrest to awaiting hearings and trials—is associated with 15.9% of all documented COVID-19 cases in Chicago and 15.7% of those in Illinois.

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UCLA Health has been granted permission from the Food and Drug Administration to use a 3D printed design for COVID-19 testing swabs. The effort was led by a fellow from the UCLA Biodesign program.

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Epidemiological models of COVID-19 that are used to guide policies on social distancing measures should take into account the special dynamics of the coronavirus’s spread in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to researchers at Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medicine.

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Nebraska engineer Fadi Alsaleem believes putting a smart thermometer to the ear could mean putting an ear to the ground for future COVID-19 outbreaks and the consequences of relaxing social distancing.

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Screening all pregnant women who delivered at UW Medicine facilities during the height of the covid pandemic in Washington state showed that remarkably few tested positive for the virus without symptoms, a new report shows.

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A new Viewpoint article published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines ventilation and medication strategies that can help avoid psychological trauma for severe COVID-19 survivors treated for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with mechanical ventilation.

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Early data from a clinical study suggest that blocking the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) protein provided clinical benefit to a small group of patients with severe COVID-19.

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Analysis of Seattle emergency medical services (EMS) and hospital data from January 1 to April 15, 2020, indicates bystander CPR is a lifesaving endeavor whose benefits outweigh the risks of COVID-19 infection, according to a new article published yesterday in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

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As communities across the U.S. have struggled to cope with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have focused on the lack of widespread testing as a major barrier to safely reopening the country.

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The first convalescent plasma transfusion trial results from Houston Methodist have been published. Of the study’s 25 patients, 19 have improved and 11 discharged. With no adverse side effects caused by the therapy, the study concluded convalescent plasma is a safe treatment option for patients with severe COVID-19. This is the first peer-reviewed publication in the U.S. of convalescent plasma therapy results for COVID-19.

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Mercy Medical Center announced today the completion of a newly constructed unit on the 17th Floor of the Mary Catherine Bunting Center main hospital in downtown Baltimore.

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Americans experienced more depression and loneliness during the early COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study by Indiana University, but those who kept frequent in-person social and sexual connections had better mental health outcomes.

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The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), the world’s leading authority on risk sciences and its applications, is hosting a webinar on Thursday, June 11 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest research on aerosol transmission of COVID-19.

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UVA Health has partnered with the Virginia Department of Health and other hospitals around the state to determine how many Virginians have been infected with COVID-19 – and how many remain at risk.

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In a new study, published June 5, 2020, in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) shows that antibodies against JEV are “cross-reactive” and can also recognize Zika virus. Unfortunately, these antibodies can actually make Zika cases more severe.

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Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are a major driver of total COVID-19 deaths.

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A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines ventilation and medication strategies that can help avoid psychological trauma for severe COVID-19 survivors treated for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with mechanical ventilation.

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A new study shows there was substantial social distancing inequalities throughout New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers reported that areas with the lowest individual income and a greater percentage of non-white and/or Hispanic/Latino individuals, used the subway to a greater degree during the pandemic, and the strongest driver of subway use in communities of color was the percent of individuals in essential work. This is one of the first studies to assess the interrelationship between sociodemographic factors, mobility, and COVID-19. Findings are online in the preprint of medRxiv ahead of peer-reviewed publication.

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The Chapman University National COVID-19 and Mental Health Survey provides an in-depth look at the experiences of 4,149 adults living in the United States.

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AACC has issued a new guidance document detailing best practices that hospitals and other healthcare institutions should follow when running a point-of-care testing program. As point-of-care tests emerge for more and more conditions—including COVID-19—the guidance emphasizes that it is essential for laboratory professionals and clinicians to collaborate on point-of-care testing programs to ensure this testing benefits patients.

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As a leading New Jersey academic medical center and member of Hackensack Meridian Health, Jersey Shore University Medical Center is able to provide its patients access to existing clinical trials and the latest medical techniques in a variety of specialties. Currently, the medical center is recruiting individuals who have been clinically diagnosed with COVID-19 or have laboratory test results showing they have COVID-19 antibodies to donate their blood and potentially assist patients in their recovery from the virus.

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The coronavirus has prompted many medical centers to switch from in-person appointments to video visits. A new study from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals suggests that for some hospitals, video visits may become a permanent feature of the patient-provider landscape.

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Today, University of Minnesota Medical School researchers published the results from the first randomized clinical trial testing hydroxychloroquine for the post-exposure prevention of COVID-19.

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Laboratory professionals cannot be mute bystanders to inequality. Our legacy is one of service and AACC calls upon our community to be part of the dialogue to promote racial equality.

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A team at Stanford University used the OLCF’s Summit supercomputer to compare simulations of a G protein-coupled receptor with different molecules attached to gain an understanding of how to minimize or eliminate side effects in drugs that target these receptors.