Targeting COVID-19 interventions towards migrants in humanitarian settings

Around the world reports are emerging of numerous residential institutions for children being closed as a result of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Children appear to be being sent back to their communities without proper consideration of where they will reside, how their transition will be supported, and whether their safety will be monitored. Our view as international experts on institutional care reform is that although overall a shift from institutional to family-based care is a priority, these transitions need to be carefully planned and managed, with effective and sustained family preparation, strengthening, monitoring, and other support provided to ensure the best interests of the child are maintained. We are gravely concerned that the best interests of children might not be met by releasing them en masse back to households and communities. We are especially concerned for children's physical, emotional, and social vulnerabilities, with immunodeficiencies that make them susceptible to COVID-19, and those returning to households without the knowledge or resources to support children with disabilities or those susceptible to COVID-19. We fear that this process of abrupt unplanned relocation will lead to unanticipated emotional stress, exacerbated health issues, and lack of education, as well as an increased risk of abuse and being trafficked.

10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30130-9

The implications of COVID-19 for the care of children living in residential institutions

How will this continue? Modelling interactions between the COVID-19 pandemic and policy responses

Much of the uncertainty about the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic stems from questions about when and how non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) by governments, in particular social distancing measures, are implemented, to what extent the population complies with these measures, and how compliance changes through time. Further uncertainty comes from a lack of knowledge of the potential effects of removing interventions once the epidemic is declining. By combining an epidemiological model of COVID-19 for the United Kingdom with simple sub-models for these societal processes, this study aims to shed light on the conceivable trajectories that the pandemic might follow over the next 1.5 years. We show strong improvements in outcomes if governments review NPI more frequently whereas, in comparison, the stability of compliance has surprisingly small effects on cumulative mortality. Assuming that mortality does considerably increase once a country's hospital capacity is breached, we show that the inherent randomness of societal processes can lead to a wide range of possible outcomes, both in terms of disease dynamics and mortality, even when the principles according to which policy and population operate are identical.. Our model is easily modified to take other aspects of the socio-pandemic interaction into account.

Amid the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, South Korea was one of the next countries after China to be affected by the disease. Confirmed cases in Korea were first reported on January 20, 2020, and spiked from February 20 to 29, 2020.1 Instead of deploying aggressive measures such as immigration control, lockdown, or roadblocks, South Korea mounted a trace, test, and treat strategy.2 This was made possible by the preparations that the country had made after the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak of 2015. South Korea extensively utilized the country’s advanced information technology (IT) system for tracing individuals suspected to be infected or who had been in contact with an infected person. Such measures helped flatten the curve of newly confirmed cases and deaths around mid-March.1,2(pp4-5) As of April 21, 2020, there had been 10 683 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Korea, with a total of 2233 patients who are in isolation because of hospitalization or quarantine, and a total of 237 deaths.3 However, important concerns have been raised over privacy involving the tracing strategy.

10.1001/jama.2020.6602

Information Technology–Based Tracing Strategy in Response to COVID-19 in South Korea—Privacy Controversies

Wars and other national crises force society to act differently for awhile. But in doing so, they highlight organizational actions and innovations that should not end with the crisis and should be allowed to play a greater role in the future. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has similar features, and it should spur policy makers who shape the US health care system, to—as Apple Computer cofounder Steve Jobs often urged—“think different.” The US response to the COVID-19 pandemic highlights several strategies that should be emphasized more in the management of the health care system. These strategies include using waivers to boost federalism, reconsidering the role of hospitals and other institutions as hubs for care, expanding the use of telehealth, and bringing together funds from multiple programs to improve the delivery of health care and health-related services.

After COVID-19—Thinking Differently About Running the Health Care System

Importance  There is limited information describing the presenting characteristics and outcomes of US patients requiring hospitalization for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Objective  To describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in a US health care system.Design, Setting, and Participants  Case series of patients with COVID-19 admitted to 12 hospitals in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, New York, within the Northwell Health system. The study included all sequentially hospitalized patients between March 1, 2020, and April 4, 2020, inclusive of these dates.Exposures  Confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection by positive result on polymerase chain reaction testing of a nasopharyngeal sample among patients requiring admission.Main Outcomes and Measures  Clinical outcomes during hospitalization, such as invasive mechanical ventilation, kidney replacement therapy, and death. Demographics, baseline comorbidities, presenting vital signs, and test results were also collected.Results  A total of 5700 patients were included (median age, 63 years [interquartile range {IQR}, 52-75; range, 0-107 years]; 39.7% female). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (3026; 56.6%), obesity (1737; 41.7%), and diabetes (1808; 33.8%). At triage, 30.7% of patients were febrile, 17.3% had a respiratory rate greater than 24 breaths/minute, and 27.8% received supplemental oxygen. The rate of respiratory virus co-infection was 2.1%. Outcomes were assessed for 2634 patients who were discharged or had died at the study end point. During hospitalization, 373 patients (14.2%) (median age, 68 years [IQR, 56-78]; 33.5% female) were treated in the intensive care unit care, 320 (12.2%) received invasive mechanical ventilation, 81 (3.2%) were treated with kidney replacement therapy, and 553 (21%) died. Mortality for those requiring mechanical ventilation was 88.1%. The median postdischarge follow-up time was 4.4 days (IQR, 2.2-9.3). A total of 45 patients (2.2%) were readmitted during the study period. The median time to readmission was 3 days (IQR, 1.0-4.5) for readmitted patients. Among the 3066 patients who remained hospitalized at the final study follow-up date (median age, 65 years [IQR, 54-75]), the median follow-up at time of censoring was 4.5 days (IQR, 2.4-8.1).Conclusions and Relevance  This case series provides characteristics and early outcomes of sequentially hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 in the New York City area.

Presenting Characteristics, Comorbidities, and Outcomes Among 5700 Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 in the New York City Area

10.1001/jama.2020.6775

For Elizabeth Gadd, the Covid-19 pandemic makes it clear that long standing issues with academic publications need to be addressed quickly and definitively.

The purpose of publications in a pandemic and beyond

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Guangdong Province, China

COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and was first reported in central China in December 2019. Extensive molecular surveillance in Guangdong, China’s most populous province, during early 2020 resulted in 1,388 reported RNA-positive cases from 1.6 million tests. In order to understand the molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 in China we generated 53 genomes from infected individuals in Guangdong using a combination of metagenomic sequencing and tiling amplicon approaches. Combined epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses indicate multiple independent introductions to Guangdong, although phylogenetic clustering is uncertain due to low virus genetic variation early in the pandemic. Our results illustrate how the timing, size and duration of putative local transmission chains were constrained by national travel restrictions and by the province’s large-scale intensive surveillance and intervention measures. Despite these successes, COVID-19 surveillance in Guangdong is still required as the number of cases imported from other countries has increased.

10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.023

10.1111/cjag.12243

COVID‐19 has imposed a series of unique challenges on the food retail and food service sectors in Canada. Almost overnight, the roughly 30% of the food dollar that Canadians have been spending on food away from home has shifted to retail.

The impact of COVID‐19 on food retail and food service in Canada: Preliminary assessment

COVID-19, first detected in China in late 2019 and since declared a pandemic, threatens to become one of the most difficult tests faced by humanity in modern history. As confirmed cases of COVID-19 spread, it has the potential to take lives, overwhelm health systems, and trigger lasting geopolitical change. The International Monetary Fund says the global economy now faces its worst downturn since the Great Depression, and Oxfam International has warned that half a billion people could be pushed into poverty. Around the world, desperate efforts are underway to contain what has become a profoundly disruptive outbreak.

Global IssueCOVID-19

The spread of COVID-19 demands global cooperation among governments, international organizations and the business community. This multistakeholder cooperation is at the centre of the World Economic Forum’s mission as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. Our widget can easily be configured to display our special COVID-19 transformation map on your intranet or website, enabling your employees or stakeholders one-click access to the transformation map and the latest curated articles. In order to accelerate learning and knowledge across the world, we have also removed the need to register in order to view this map for users that land there from the widget.

Embedding our COVID-19 widget

10.1111/cjag.12244

With the deep recession now forecast for the world economy, trade can be expected to fall even more steeply. Agricultural trade will be less significantly affected, being insulated by its relatively low income elasticities of demand. However, a drop in the range of 12 to 20 percent in real trade value should be expected. Canada can be expected to share in this, but, within agricultural exports, cereals will be least affected. This minimal expected impact to cereals stems from the risk of wheat export bans by Russia and Kazakhstan, due to the resulting increase in wheat prices. Livestock, pulses, and horticulture can be expected to face a larger decline in trade prospects and revenues. An equally large threat to falling incomes in our trade partners is their policy responses, particularly the potential increase in import restrictions. These may take the form of more costly inspections, tightened SPS and food safety regulations, and protectionist measures from competing domestic producers.

The COVID‐19 Pandemic: Anticipating its Effects on Canada's Agricultural Trade

Stringent non-pharmaceutical measures to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in China also significantly reduced the spread of influenza in the winter season 2020.

10.1093/jtm/taaa064

Non-pharmaceutical interventions used for COVID-19 had a major impact on reducing influenza in China in 2020

In a little more than 1 month, US society and its hospitals have been transformed by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The once-boisterous streets of New York City are quiet, while the hospital wards reverberate with the swooshes and beeps usually heard in intensive care units (ICUs). COVID-19 echoes that duality. There are so many outside the hospital who have been silently infected, while so many are fighting for their lives in the hospital, struggling just to breathe. The public hospitals of New York City have seen scourges for centuries: from yellow fever in the 18th century, cholera in the 19th, HIV/AIDS in the 20th, and Ebola just a few years ago. Although surviving past epidemics provides confidence that society will survive this one as well, each epidemic has challenged individuals in different ways. Prior experiences provide little guidance on the how to get through this one. Nonetheless, each day more is learned more about COVID-19, and by sharing early reflections from the epicenter of the US epidemic—New York City—other parts of the country and the world may be helped that are confronting the same suffering.

Emerging Lessons From COVID-19 Response in New York City

When a healthy volunteer coughs, he expels a turbulent jet of air with density changes that distort a projected schlieren light beam (Panel A). A velocity map early in the cough (Panel B) was obtained from image analysis. Sequential schlieren images during the cough (Panel C and video) were recorded at 3000 frames per second. A maximum airspeed of 8 m per second (18 mph) was observed, averaged during the half-second cough. Several phases of cough airflow are revealed in the figure. The cough plume may project infectious aerosols into the surrounding air. There is an increasing interest in visualizing such expelled airflows without the use of intrusive methods because of concern regarding the transmission of various airborne pathogens, such as viruses that cause influenza and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

10.1056/NEJMicm072576

Coughing and Aerosols

WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020.1WHOWHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 11 March 2020. World Health Organization, GenevaMarch 11, 2020https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020Date accessed: March 29, 2020Google Scholar The pandemic eventually reached Yemen, with the first laboratory confirmed case announced on April 10.2UN Office of the Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for YemenThe Ministry of Health in Aden confirms the first case of COVID-19 in Yemen. United Nations, 2020https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/HC%20Statement_COVID-19_First_Case.pdfDate accessed: April 10, 2020Google ScholarThe cholera epidemic in Yemen reached 2 million suspected cases in January, 2020.3WHOCholera situation in Yemen. World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, CairoJanuary, 2020https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/EMCSR252E.pdfDate accessed: April 6, 2020Google Scholar Concomitant outbreaks of other communicable disease, such as diphtheria and dengue, have exhausted the remaining resources of the country's fragile health system. More than 50% of people in Yemen do not have access to safe water and over 2 million children and pregnant women have acute malnutrition.4Office of Internal Audit and InvestigationsInternal Audit of the Yemen County Office. United Nations International Children'sEmergency Fund, October, 2019https://www.unicef.org/auditandinvestigation/files/2019_oiai_yemen_country_office.pdfDate accessed: April 1, 2020Google Scholar Given the humanitarian situation and the conflict within the country that has been ongoing since 2015, we fear the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in Yemen could be disastrous. The situation warrants immediate attention. Here, we summarise the current preparedness and response to COVID-19 in Yemen in terms of detection, prevention, and response in light of the recent government decisions to establish a national COVID-19 taskforce and response plan.

10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30101-8

COVID-19 in Yemen: preparedness measures in a fragile state

Faced with medical health-care staff shortages as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Denmark,1Wu JT Leung K Leung GM Nowcasting and forecasting the potential domestic and international spread of the 2019-nCoV outbreak originating in Wuhan, China: a modelling study.Lancet. 2020; 395: 689-697Google Scholar colleagues at Aalborg University and Aalborg University Hospital were able to shift teaching of medical students to a digital platform, employ final year students as temporary residents, and plan and initiate course programmes in ventilator therapy assistance and nursing assistance within 2 days.On March 11, 2020, the Danish Prime Minister called for the mobilisation of all medical staff.2StatsministerietSituationen kommer til at stille kæmpe krav til os alle sammen.https://www.regeringen.dk/nyheder/2020/statsminister-mette-frederiksens-indledning-paa-pressemoede-i-statsministeriet-om-corona-virus-den-11-marts-2020/Date: March 11. 2020Date accessed: April 21, 2020Google Scholar Most universities in the country cancelled lectures and barred buildings. In response to the call to mobilise all medical staff, we decided to keep medical students in their clinical placements and to initiate fast-track courses in ventilator therapy and nursing assistance. In accordance with our undergraduate medical curriculum, we included the courses and the work as a temporary resident, ventilator therapy assistant, or nursing assistant in the teaching programme.

10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30923-5

Medical students for health-care staff shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic

10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30096-7

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis is a pandemic challenging human biology, the capacity of acute care hospitals, the financial resilience of economies, and the communication network for people. Strategies for reducing transmission have included repeated hand washing, physical distancing, and self-isolation. These preventive strategies are immediately available, highly affordable, and distinctly effective; however, a major challenge is the need to maintain adherence. The purpose of this Comment is to review eight behavioural pitfalls reported by psychological science, which are relevant to contexts that require judgment under uncertainty (table). We suggest that awareness of these pitfalls might help to maintain behaviour change to fight the COVID-19 crisis.

Pitfalls of judgment during the COVID-19 pandemic

In a polarized society, it seems likely that overt politicization may undercut both the acceptance of scientific evidence, and it's very process.As a result, we recommended that:"Scientists need to stay a-political as best as possible, just as we do in normal scientific discourse.· We recommend modelling ourselves as a community on other public servants and the codes for political neutrality they have developed, while acknowledging that there will be cases where bad faith actions by governments distort scientific truth."

For scientists, what is "too political"?

Health Europa spoke to Joerg Aumueller from Siemens Healthineers about the company’s views and strategy to apply artificial intelligence into the clinical routine and healthcare.

How Artificial Intelligence can revolutionise healthcare

In the middle of a pandemic, knowledge is in short supply. We don’t know how many people are infected, or how many people will be. We have much to learn about how to treat the people who are sick—and how to help prevent infection in those who aren’t. There’s reasonable disagreement on the best policies to pursue, whether about health care, economics, or supply distribution. Although scientists worldwide are working hard and in concert to address these questions, final answers are some ways away.

Epistemic Humility—Knowing Your Limits in a Pandemic

In the last few weeks, we’ve all become a little more familiar with epidemiological models. These calculations, which make estimates about how many people are likely to get sick, need a hospital bed or die from coronavirus, are guiding public policy — and our expectations about what the future holds.

What 5 Coronavirus Models Say the Next Month Will Look Like

Video calling is on the increase to help people feel connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. An Edge Hill University cyberpsychology expert explains why many are suffering from ‘Zoom fatigue’ as a result.

The Psychology Behind ‘Zoom Fatigue’ Explained

Take a break from the crazy state of the world and learn about practical applications of behavioral science with Evelyn Gosnell, Managing Director at Irrational Labs and frequent speaker in behavioral economics and consumer psychology.Irrational Labs, a nonprofit that applies behavioral economics findings to real-world problems, knows that it is often daunting for practitioners to grasp the dozens and dozens of potential behavioral economic principles for behavior change. From loss aversion to social proof, the list can seem endless. To help structure these principles, Irrational Labs created the 3B framework to help organize these principles and design for behavior change that improves lives.Evelyn will share this framework, drawing on examples and case studies from various fields including health, personal finance, happiness, and even how our behaviors during the COVID-19 crisis reflect certain behavioral principles.Attendees will come away with actionable insights from behavioral science on how to design and build for behavior change.This will be a live event with audience participation, so please be prepared to have your cameras on. And yes, it’s OK to have a glass of wine during the talk - let’s consider this a virtual (behavioral) happy hour together!

Applying Behavioral Economics to Work and Life

Uncertainty is inherent to our knowledge about the state of the world yet often not communicated alongside scientific facts and numbers. In the “posttruth” era where facts are increasingly contested, a common assumption is that communicating uncertainty will reduce public trust. However, a lack of systematic research makes it difficult to evaluate such claims. We conducted five experiments—including one preregistered replication with a national sample and one field experiment on the BBC News website (total n = 5,780)—to examine whether communicating epistemic uncertainty about facts across different topics (e.g., global warming, immigration), formats (verbal vs. numeric), and magnitudes (high vs. low) influences public trust. Results show that whereas people do perceive greater uncertainty when it is communicated, we observed only a small decrease in trust in numbers and trustworthiness of the source, and mostly for verbal uncertainty communication. These results could help reassure all communicators of facts and science that they can be more open and transparent about the limits of human knowledge.

10.1073/pnas.1913678117

The effects of communicating uncertainty on public trust in facts and numbers

A growing number of studies and reports are being published on COVID-19 and the pandemic. This project will help decision makers and researchers navigate the research.

Live map of COVID-19 evidence

pandemic rages on, Proceedings B has published a timely study that investigated animal-human interactions that have led to a spillover of viruses from animals to humans. The study found that the viruses most likely to spill over to infect humans are those from domestic animals and species better adapted to human landscapes. The spillover risk was also greatest from threatened wild animals that were declining in number due to exploitation or destruction of habitat. Lead author Christine K. Johnson from the Epicenter for Disease Dynamics, University of California, Davis tell us more about the study. 

Why do viruses jump from animals to humans? Clues to the COVID-19 pandemic

Coronavirus misinformation and vaccine research among key priorities for public

Information overload and conflicting guidance are among the biggest concerns for the public during the current coronavirus outbreak, surveys reveal.

The economic impact of coronavirus: analysis from Imperial experts

Academics and researchers from Imperial College Business School have offered reactions and analysis of the impact of coronavirus on business and the economy, as well as the responses of governments and central banks.  

What We Pretend to Know About the Coronavirus Could Kill Us

Today’s propaganda is tomorrow’s truth, and vice versa.

Auch RKI empfiehlt nun allen eine Maske

Lange hatte das RKI nur Menschen mit einer Atemwegserkrankung geraten, in der Öffentlichkeit einen Mund-Nasen-Schutz zu tragen. Nun ändert die Behörde ihre Einschätzung - verbunden mit einer Warnung.

The emotional path to action: Empathy promotes physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a major challenge to societies all over the globe. To curb the spread of the disease, one measure implemented in many countries is minimizing close contact between people (“physical distancing”). Engaging in physical distancing is a prosocial act in the sense that it helps protecting other individuals, especially those most vulnerable to the virus. Building on this notion, we tested the idea that physical distancing can be the result of a genuine prosocial motivation—empathy for those most vulnerable to the virus. In three pre-registered studies that include samples from the US, the UK, and Germany (total N = 2,192‬) collected at the beginning of the outbreak, we show that (i) empathy is indeed a basic motivation for physical distancing, and (ii) inducing empathy for those most vulnerable to the virus promotes the motivation to adhere to physical distancing. In sum, the present research provides a better understanding of the basic motivation underlying the willingness to follow one important measure during the COVID-19 pandemic. We further point to the potential for policymakers to use empathy to promote physical distancing – in this way to increase the chance of saving lives.

Individual differences in accepting personal restrictions to fight the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a Danish adult sample

Political authorities are working hard on fighting the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Corresponding interventions often address cooperative behavior, because they pose restrictions on the individual level (e.g., limiting one’s physical contacts) with the aim to serve the greater good (e.g., not overtaxing the health systems). In a sample of Danish adults (N = 799) randomly drawn from a representative sample, we link different personality characteristics to people’s willingness in accepting personal restrictions for fighting COVID-19. When simultaneously considering all characteristics including the basic traits from the HEXACO personality model, we find that, next to people’s age, Emotionality as well as the Dark Factor of Personality (D) explain who is more willing to accept restrictions. D further explains acceptance based on whether restrictions aim to protect oneself rather than others. The results show the importance of individual differences for following large-scale interventions that should serve the greater good.

Who Hoards? Honesty-Humility and Behavioural Responses to the 2019/20 Coronavirus Pandemic

Emergencies such as the coronavirus pandemic pose conflicts of interests between individual and societal welfare. One example is the run on many basic goods. However, conflicts of interests also afford the expression of personality traits associated with individual differences in prosocial behaviour. HEXACO Honesty-Humility, in particular, is associated with prosocial behaviour at a personal cost. Across two studies (N = 601), Honesty-Humility was positively associated with refraining from stockpiling in the past and intentions to do so in the future. This was not due to differences in beliefs that others would refrain from stockpiling. Instead, results suggest that individuals high in Honesty-Humility may have been motivated to maximise societal outcomes, even at the cost of foregoing individual benefits.

Don’t get it or don’t spread it? Comparing self-interested versus prosocially framed COVID-19 prevention messaging

Why You Should Ignore All That Coronavirus-Inspired Productivity Pressure

Don’t touch the T-Zone—how to block a key pathway to infection with SARS-CoV-2

Embracing the Uncertainties

While the unknowns about coronavirus abound, a new study finds we ‘can handle the truth.’

That's basically the argument of my piece, though put much better and more succinctly.

Well in this case (a) lots of psychologists have said absurd things; (b) some have been pronouncing on the UK government's overall pandemic strategy; AND (c) I'm sceptical our discipline has much to contribute to this in the first place. The latter isn't true for immunology.

Thing is, whether fear or complacency is a "bias" hinges on whether there actually is a medical threat, which is not in the realm of psychology. Research on heuristic effects is very robust. But to call heuristics a "bias" you need proof that they lead to an untrue conclusion.

I was thinking something similar while reading: at least some of the cited psychologists made statements about immunology/virology/etc. and, well, no surprise they don't know about it

As global communities respond to COVID-19, we've heard from public health officials that the same type of aggregated, anonymized insights we use in products such as Google Maps could be helpful as they make critical decisions to combat COVID-19. These Community Mobility Reports aim to provide insights into what has changed in response to policies aimed at combating COVID-19. The reports chart movement trends over time by geography, across different categories of places such as retail and recreation, groceries and pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential.

See how your community is moving around differently due to COVID-19

Survey in 48 languages collecting global data on the psychological and behavioural impact of the COVID-19/coronavirus crisis. Collaborative open science project.

COVIDiSTRESS global survey

COVID-evidence: a living database of trials on interventions for COVID-19

We aim to provide a freely available and continously updated online database of worldwide trial evidence on benefits and harms of interventions for COVID-19, including interventions for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and clinical management

International Survey on Coronavirus

An international team of researchers from 12 different institutions, including Harvard, Cambridge, IESE, and Warwick University, among others is collecting survey data on how citizens prepare and cope with the spreading coronavirus. So far there has been no assessment of how individuals perceive the situation and behave in response to it. Please note you must be over 18 to participate.

From Idea to Impact –The Next Evolution in Linked Scholarly Information

Finding a fast and effective way to explore connections between a wide range of research data has long been high on the research community’s wishlist. Delivering a comprehensive overview of the research lifecycle has been a key goal for the Digital Science team too. Joining forces was a natural next step: together, we have created Dimensions, a dynamic, easy-to-use, linked research data platform that re-imagines the way research can be discovered, accessed, and analyzed. Whether you are a researcher, a funder, a publisher, a research administrator, or a librarian, Dimensions makes it easy to navigate the many links between grants, publications, clinical trials, patents, datasets and policy documents.

aggregation of scholarly publications and extracted knowledge on viruses and epidemics.

The world faces (and will continue to face) viral epdemics which arise suddenly and where scientific/medical knowledge is a critical resource. Despite over 100 Billion USD on medical research worldwide much knowledge is behind publisher paywalls and only available to rich universities. Moreover it is usually badly published, dispersed without coherent knowledge tools. It particularly disadvantages the Global South. This project aims to use modern tools, especially Wikidata (and Wikpedia), R, Java, textmining, with semantic tools to create a modern integrated resource of all current published information on viruses and their epidemics. It relies on collaboration and gifts of labour and knowledge.

COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

President Trump has said repeatedly that Russian interference didn't matter in the 2016 presidential campaign, and he has suggested — wrongly — that the intelligence and law enforcement communities have said the same. His overriding fear seems to be that Russian interference and the “fake news” it promoted would undermine the legitimacy of his election win.

A new study suggests fake news might have won Donald Trump the 2016 election

New study: fake news only makes up a tiny bit of our media consumption. Great! But that totally misses the point: micro-targeted fake news only needs to convince a tiny minority of the population to disrupt an election. Misinformation also kills people, literally. Just sayingCitar TweetScience Advances@ScienceAdvances · 5 abr.Although “fake news” has often been cited as a pervasive threat to democracy since the 2016 election, a new study finds that deliberately false or misleading info disguised as legitimate news makes up only a tiny fraction of Americans’ information diets. https://fcld.ly/v9nas8g

Just wanted to note that the paper states this in the intro: “.. even if its prevalence is low relative to other types of content, fake news could be important either because it is disproportionately impactful or because it is concentrated on small subpopulations”

Yes, but we don't know if micro-targeting is effective at all. Very little evidence do far.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only had severe political, economic, and societal effects, it has also affected media and communication systems in unprecedented ways. While traditional journalistic media has tried to adapt to the rapidly evolving situation, alternative news media on the Internet have given the events their own ideological spin. Such voices have been criticized for furthering societal confusion and spreading potentially dangerous "fake news" or conspiracy theories via social media and other online channels. The current study analyzes the factual basis of such fears in an initial computational content analysis of alternative news media's output on Facebook during the early Corona crisis, based on a large German data set from January to the second half of March 2020. Using computational content analysis, methods, reach, interactions, actors, and topics of the messages were examined, as well as the use of fabricated news and conspiracy theories. The analysis revealed that the alternative news media stay true to message patterns and ideological foundations identified in prior research. While they do not spread obvious lies, they are predominantly sharing overly critical, even anti-systemic messages, opposing the view of the mainstream news media and the political establishment. With this pandemic populism, they contribute to a contradictory, menacing, and distrusting worldview, as portrayed in detail in this analysis.

2004.02566v2

Pandemic Populism: Facebook Pages of Alternative News Media and the Corona Crisis -- A Computational Content Analysis

Explanation, prediction, and causality: Three sides of the same coin?

Feverish Stock Price Reactions to COVID-19

The 2019 novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic led to extremely negative and volatile aggregate market reactions. The cross-section of stock price reactions provides insights into how investors responded to the outbreak. Sophisticated investors appear to have started pricing in some effects of the virus already in the first part of January (the "Incubation" phase). Broad attention of analysts, investors, and managers grew swiftly after human-human transmission of the virus was confirmed on January 20, 2020. The "Outbreak" phase followed, during which China-oriented stocks and internationally-oriented stocks more generally underperformed even as the aggregate market remained fairly stable. From the last week of February onwards, the "Fever" phase began. The aggregate market fell strongly in a whipsaw pattern. But behind these feverish price moves, the cross-section of returns reveals clear patterns. In particular, investors (and analysts) became increasingly worried about corporate debt and liquidity. Overall, the results suggest that the health crisis morphed into an economic crisis amplified through financial channels.