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Analysis of the London School of Health and Tropical Medicine's model of COVID-19 in South Africa
Charles Simkins, head of research at the Helen Suzman Foundation writes that founded in 1899 with a donation from an Indian philanthropist, the London...
Children with cancer are not at a higher risk for COVID-19 infection or morbidity
Researchers from MSK Kids at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSK) found that children with cancer are not at a higher risk of being...
Detailed analysis of immune response to SARS-CoV-2 'bodes well' for vaccine
A collaboration between the labs of Dr Alessandro Sette, and Dr Shane Crotty, at La Jolla Institute for Immunology is starting to fill in...
ER doctors highlight under-appreciated cardiovascular risks of COVID-19
A study from University of Virginia Health System's Dr William Brady, and colleagues aims to serve as a guide for emergency-medicine doctors treating patients...
Diabetics make up a third of England's COVID hospital deaths
One third of all hospital deaths from coronavirus in England have been among diabetics, The Daily Telegraph reports research shows. Experts said the major...
A quick summary of the COVID-19 literature so far — Medscape
Since 25 March, two HIV clinical fellows, Dr Eric Meyerowitz and Dr Aaron Richterman have recorded a bi-weekly deep dive into the most compelling...
Ethnic minorities in UK at up-to 4x higher mortality risk from COVID-19 — NHS data analysis
In the largest study to date on the risk factors associated with COVID-19, UK researchers have found that people of Asian and Black ethnic...
Hydroxychloroquine again fails to show benefit in COVID-19 patients — New York study
The malaria treatment repeatedly championed by US President Donald Trump as a “game changer” in the fight against the novel coronavirus has again failed...
Anti-coagulants may improve survival in hospitalised COVID-19 patients
Treating hospitalised COVID-19 patients with anti-coagulants may improve their chances of survival, researchers from the Mount Sinai COVID Informatics Centre report. The study could...
Hong Kong clinical trial compares two drug regimens with interferon/ribavirin and lopinavir-ritonavir
A commentary on the Politicsweb site says that The Lancet has published the results of a clinical trial in Hong Kong comparing two drug...
COPD and smoking associated with higher COVID-19 mortality
Current smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have an increased risk of severe complications and higher mortality with COVID-19 infection, according...
Vitamin D levels may play significant role in COVID-19 incidence and mortality
Separate studies have found a significant correlation between vitamin D levels and COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates. The first is a statistical analysis by...
Increased risk of COVID-19 infection among young people in Germany
A recent study suggested young adults ages 20-24 are primarily responsible for the transmission of the coronavirus. But, says a DW report, the reality...
Small Chinese study finds COVID-19 in patients' semen
Chinese researchers who tested the sperm of men infected with COVID-19 found a minority had the new coronavirus in their semen, opening up a...
Heating could be the best way to disinfect N95 masks for reuse
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, N95 face masks have been in short supply. Health care workers, in particular, desperately need these masks...
Blood clotting a significant cause of death in Irish patients with COVID-19
A study, carried out by the Irish Centre for Vascular Biology, RCSI and St James's Hospital Dublin, has found that abnormal blood clotting occurs...
Anti-hypertensive medications safe for patients with COVID-19 disease
A study has found that high blood pressure medications are safe for patients with COVID-19 disease. Launched in response to a 17 March joint...
COVID-19 trial: Remdesivir accelerates recovery and improves survival
A clinical trial by the US National Institutes of Health found that hospitalised patients with advanced COVID-19 and lung involvement who received remdesivir recovered...
Hydroxychloroquine link to increased cardiac arrhythmia risk — single-centre observational study
In a brief report, a team of pharmacists and clinicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, found...
Considering BCG vaccination to reduce the impact of COVID-19 — The Lancet
In addition to its specific effect against tuberculosis, the BCG vaccine has beneficial nonspecific (off-target) effects on the immune system that protect against a...
Variety of rashes affect younger COVID-19 patients — small Spanish study
Five rashes, including COVID toe, are affecting some hospital patients diagnosed with COVID-19, BBC News reports a small study by Spanish doctors at the...
Assessing non-pharmaceutical interventions in containing COVID-19 in China – Nature preprint
Nature Research has provided an early version of a study by researchers at the WorldPop, School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton,...
What policy makers need to know about protective immunity — The Lancet commentary
Researchers at the Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College London and the National Institutes of Health write in a commentary in The Lancet: About a third...
Increasingly a link found between obesity and COVID-19 outcome risk
Following the devastating outbreak of COVID-19 in China in December and January, details began to emerge of the risk factors predisposing sufferers to the...
COVID-19 infection numbers in Germany possibly 10x higher than thought
Ten times more people than previously thought may have already acquired immunity to the coronavirus.
The Daily Telegraph reports that this is according to...
WHO investigating reports that COVID-19 emerged earlier than previously thought
The World Health Organisation has announced that a report that COVID-19 had emerged in December in France, sooner than previously thought, was "not surprising",...
Researchers report discovery of antibody that blocks infection by the SARS-CoV-2 in cells
Researchers at Utrecht University, Erasmus Medical Centre and Harbour BioMed (HBM) have reported that they have identified a fully human monoclonal antibody that prevents...
Researchers looking for specific COVID-19 disease biomarkers
Australian respiratory physician Dr David Darley says something peculiar happens to a small group of COVID-19 patients on day seven of their symptoms. “Up...
Urgent UK alert to GPs: COVID19-related inflammatory syndrome — Paediatric Intensive Care Society
A serious coronavirus-related syndrome may be emerging in the UK, according to an “urgent alert” issued to doctors, following a rise in cases in...
HIV in itself not a risk factor for COVID-19 vulnerability — New York study
In a large case series of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in New York, relatively few had HIV (0.8%). Aidsmap reports that as the background...
Thrombosis risk of COVID-19 — Dutch National Institute for Public Health
A special report outlines prevention, diagnosis and treatment of complications stemming from blood clots in patients with COVID-19. Two research letters and a case...
Nicotine patches trial awaits approval after French study finds nicotine may be COVID-19 preventative
French researchers are planning to test nicotine patches on coronavirus patients and frontline health workers after a study suggested smokers may be much less...
Calls to screen for sudden loss of smell and/or taste as a presenting symptom of COVID-19
As evidence piles up documenting a sudden loss of smell and/or taste as a presenting symptom of COVID-19, the call to screen for these...
Cochrane's review: Effectivity of quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to control COVID-19
The review summarises evidence available from modelling studies that show how quarantining affects the spread of COVID-19. The studies included in the review consistently...
Ultraviolet LEDs effective in eliminating coronavirus from surfaces and, potentially, air and water
"One major application is in medical situations – the disinfection of personal protective equipment, surfaces, floors, within the HVAC systems, et cetera," said materials...
Aerodynamic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in two Wuhan hospitals
A study presenting evidence for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the air has been published. Environmental monitoring of two hospitals and some public...
Technical and ethical issues mean split ventilation should be used as last resort
Although technically feasible, it isn't clear if the pros of split ventilation outweigh the cons, and the approach is fraught with ethical issues, so...
Best material for homemade face masks may be a combination of two fabrics
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people wear masks in public. Because N95...
Clinical progression of first 12 confirmed US COVID-19 patients analysed
Detailed virological, clinical and epidemiological characterisation of the first 12 patients with confirmed COVID-19 respiratory disease in the US has been reported. Additional studies...
New model to predict course of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
Italy's SIDARTHE study modelled possible longer-term scenarios of the effects of various countermeasures on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and estimate estimate...