Tag Archives: virus

Desperate to find a seemingly responsible way to host dinner parties, certain people have begun to get coronavirus tests

Desperate to find a seemingly responsible way to host dinner parties, certain people have begun to get coronavirus tests as a way to clear themselves up for dinner parties without having to wear masks or keep their distance.

Ferrer said on Monday that she had learned of groups of young adults going to get screened for coronavirus on Thursday to get negative results by Saturday morning, and then holding a dinner party on Saturday night. Such checks offer a false sense of security—and participating in this activity will also lead to a dinner party being a super-spreading occurrence that will widely disperse the extremely infectious virus.

Reference:

‘False sense of security’: L.A. County officials urge residents not to get tested for coronavirus just to socialize.https://ktla.com/news/local-news/false-sense-of-security-l-a-county-officials-urge-residents-not-to-get-tested-for-coronavirus-just-to-socialize/

With no guidance from the White House on how to react to worsening outbreaks

With no guidance from the White House on how to react to worsening outbreaks, even some previously hesitant governors are enforcing restrictions.

Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, which has chronically understaffed hospitals with the highest per capita rates of new coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S., has developed a mask mandate and new limits for indoor dining.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico declared the nation’s most sweeping state-wide measure of the fall season, issuing a two-week “stay at home” order to begin on Monday; Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon put the state in a partial lockout for two weeks beginning on Wednesday.
These are the restrictions and mask mandates for all 50 nations.

In his first public address since losing his re-election, President Trump did not recognize growing coronavirus figures. President-elect Joe Biden called the federal response to the surge “unfortunately lacking” and encouraged Mr. Trump to do more.
Reference
Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today – Flipboard. https://flipboard.com/topic/travelkorea/coronavirus-briefing-what-happened-today/a-kOcvnj4wQTadMd7VaaAKEw%3Aa%3A3195393-9ebdc9bf9f%2Fnytimes.com

Fluvoxamine antidepressant avoids the deterioration of COVID-19 infections

In a clinical trial performed by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, fluvoxamine was associated with a placebo in 152 adult outpatients afflicted with coronavirus. They are hoping to start a more significant trial in the next few weeks.

After 15 days, none of the 80 subjects who got fluvoxamine were critically ill, although six patients who received the placebo did. Of the six, four were hospitalized for periods ranging from four to 21 days. All of them were on the ventilator for ten days.

Although the sample size was limited, the researchers say the findings are statistically significant and that fluvoxamine merits further study as a COVID-19 therapy. They are hoping to start a more significant trial in the next few weeks.

“Patients who take fluvoxamine did not experience severe respiratory issues or need hospitalization for complications with lung function,” said Eric J. Lenze, MD, of the Washington University School of Medicine. “Most of the investigational therapies for COVID-19 have been focused on very ill patients, but it is often necessary to identify treatments that keep patients from being sick enough to need extra oxygen or to have to go to the hospital. Our analysis shows that fluvoxamine can help fill that niche.”

Reference

Antidepressant may prevent severe COVID-19, U.Va. research finds. https://wtop.com/virginia/2020/11/antidepressant-may-prevent-severe-covid-19-u-va-research-finds/

How are the various styles of masks working?

How are the various styles of masks working?
Surgical Mask
Often known as a medical mask, a surgical mask is a loose-fitting disposable mask that covers the nose and mouth of the wearer from contact with droplets, splashes, and sprays that may contain germs. The surgical mask often removes huge objects out of the air. Surgical masks can protect others by reducing the exposure of the mask wearer to saliva and respiratory secretions.

Which masks are appropriate to wear?

The U.S. at this time. Food and Drug Administration has not licensed any form of surgical mask explicitly designed to protect against coronavirus, although these masks provide some protection when N95 masks are not available.

How are the various styles of masks working?
Surgical Mask
Often known as a medical mask, a surgical mask is a loose-fitting disposable mask that covers the nose and mouth of the wearer from contact with droplets, splashes, and sprays that may contain germs. The surgical mask often removes huge objects out of the air. Surgical masks can protect others by reducing the exposure of the mask wearer to saliva and respiratory secretions.

The U.S. at this time. Food and Drug Administration has not licensed any form of surgical mask explicitly designed to protect against coronavirus, although these masks provide some protection when N95 masks are not available.

Clothe masks
A fabric mask is designed to capture droplets that are emitted while the wearer speaks, coughs, or sneezes. Asking everybody to wear cloth masks will help minimize the transmission of the virus to those who have COVID-19 but don’t know it.

Cloth face coverings are more likely to minimize the transmission of the COVID-19 virus as individuals are commonly used in public settings. And countries that needed face masks, testing, quarantine, and social distance early in the pandemic have effectively delayed the spread of the virus.

While surgical and N95 masks can be in short supply and should be reserved for health care providers, face cloth and masks are easy to find or make and can be cleaned and reused.

Masks may be made from traditional materials, such as sheets of closely woven cotton. The directions are easy to find on-line. Cloth masks should contain several layers of fabric. The CDC website also provides instructions for no-saw masks made from bandannas and t-shirts.

Reference
CORE. https://core.ac.uk/display/90662761
Coronavirus drug and treatment tracker shows what could …. https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2020/07/coronavirus-drug-and-treatment-tracker-shows-what-could-help-patients-with-covid-19.html

COVID-19 assaults our immune system

In an isolated laboratory at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, East Harlem, virologist Benjamin never has been able to decipher how the virus that causes COVID-19 assaults our immune system, wreaking havoc like no other virus he has ever examined.

Every cell of our body shares the same DNA and single-strand RNA, which functions like a machine programming the cell to generate proteins, according to New Yorker. SARS-CoV-2 disrupts programming by replacing 60 percent of this software in every cell it infects. Just 1% of the RNA in each cell is replaced by a normal virus.

The novel coronavirus shuts down just one arm of our immune system — the one that alerts other cells to protect themselves from viral spread — while leaving the other arm to run wild. In comparison to other viruses, SARS-CoV-2 does not modulate the second immune response that sends cytokines across the body to summon white blood cells.

Reference
Researchers Discover How COVID-19 Attacks Our Immune …. https://www.newsmax.com/health/headline/immune-system-cytokine-storm-viral-spread/2020/11/03/id/995070/.

It has been more than 300 days since Chinese authorities first told the World Health Organisation

It has been more than 300 days since Chinese authorities first told the World Health Organisation that Wuhan residents were sick with a mysterious virus. Scientists discovered soon what the virus was (a coronavirus) and what it did (make people ill with a disease called COVID-19), and it spread across the globe like flames.

More than 1 million people have died worldwide, hundreds of thousands get sick every day, and the United States is the world’s most significant disease.

Researchers were still unsure how the virus spread, why people were infectious, or whether one could get it twice when we released our first guide to the coronavirus. These questions may have some residual confusion, but scientists have made some remarkable strides in responses.

Reference
The global death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 1 million – CNET. https://www.cnet.com/health/global-death-toll-from-covid-19-surpasses-1-million/

SARS-CoV-2 is that its effects on individuals differ

One thing that we know about SARS-CoV-2 is that its effects on individuals differ. This coronavirus continues to bring new shocks as the pandemic rolls on.

A team of researchers and physicians has now documented the case of one woman with leukemia who had no signs of COVID-19, but she was already shedding infectious SARS-CoV-2 particles 70 days after her first complimentary examination.

This outcome is much longer than prior reports of hospitalized adults observed shedding contagious SARS-CoV-2 virus up to 20 days after their diagnosis of COVID-19, plus other reports of individuals shedding genetic material from the virus up to 63 days after the first appearance of their symptoms.


Reference
Startling Case Study Finds Asymptomatic COVID-19 Carrier …. https://monkeyviral.com/startling-case-study-finds-asymptomatic-covid-19-carrier-who-shed-virus-for-70-days/

Some Covid-19 patients experience a long-lasting skin issues following the infection

Some Covid-19 patients experience a long-lasting skin issues following the infection, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital are finding, including rashes, hives, and “Covid toes,” underpinning previous, limited research about a collection of new symptoms connected with Covid-19 and yet another troubling sign that for a few the herpes virus could have an enduring impact.

The research unearthed that some patients reported skin issues for as much as five months, though an average of patients only experiences observable symptoms for 12 days.

This set of Covid-19 symptoms contributes to mounting evidence that, for a few, the illness may be a long haul — lots of people are now calling this the “long Covid.”

Symptoms varied in severity, though generally mild, researchers said, you need to include rashes, hives, and chilblains, the very last of that your researchers have termed “Covid toes.”

The findings that have been presented in the EADV Virtual congress Thursday and result from studying the info of nearly 1,000 long Covid cases in 39 different countries may help scientists comprehend the body’s inflammatory reaction to Covid-19 infection.
Reference
‘Covid Toes,’ Rashes, And Hives: New Research Underpins …. https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/10/29/covid-toes-rashes-and-hives-new-research-underpins-covid-19s-long-term-skin-impact/

The spread of the Covid-19 among members in a family group

The spread of the Covid-19 among members in a family group after one individual is infected is “common” and occurs quickly after illness onset, relating to new research through the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The person exposed or suspected of experiencing Covid-19 should always be isolated before getting tested, and before test outcomes get back to protect others in the home, said the analysis, published Friday when looking at the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

“Because prompt isolation of persons with #COVID-19 can lessen household transmission, persons who suspect which they could have COVID-19 should isolate, stay in the home, and employ an independent bedroom and bathroom if feasible,” wrote a CDC-led team of researchers.
All people in family members should also wear masks all of the time per space, the group said.

Referencehttps://www.cnn.com/2020/10/30/health/household-spread-covid-19-wellness/index.html
Household spread of Covid-19 is common and quick, a new CDC study finds. https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/30/health/household-spread-covid-19-wellness/index.html.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has paused critically ill COVID-19 patients’ enrollment

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has paused critically ill COVID-19 patients’ enrollment with its trial studying the antibody cocktail treatment, which was fond of President Trump earlier this month. The choice is because of potential safety concerns.
The drugmaker on Friday said it was suspending the enrollment of hospitalized #COVID-19 patients requiring high-flow oxygen or mechanical ventilation after an unbiased monitoring committee observed “a potential safety signal and an unfavorable risk/benefit profile at the moment.”

The enrollment of individuals in this category should be on hold, pending the collection and evaluation of additional data.

Trials continue to test the antibody cocktail in hospitalized patients necessitating little if any extra oxygen. Other trials involving mild or moderately ill patients also can move ahead.

The drug has revealed encouraging outcomes. Regeneron on Wednesday said early data confirmed the therapy lowered COVID-19 related medical visits by 57 percent.

Regeneron earlier this month asked the foodstuff and Drug Administration for emergency approval and said it could make doses accessible to the American people free of charge. The drugmaker said it might have sufficient doses for 300,000 people when looking at the coming months.

Reference

Regeneron stops enrolling critically ill COVID-19 patients …. https://news.immitate.com/2020/10/30/regeneron-stops-enrolling-critically-ill-covid-19-patients-for-antibody-drug-trial-thehill-the-hill/.