Scientists call for urgent investigation into covid-19 animal origins

The window of opportunity to establish the origins of SARS-CoV-2 will close within months if action isn’t taken soon, warn scientists tasked by the World Health Organization (WHO) to discover how the virus emerged.

10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00461-8

Two Articles in The Lancet Infectious Diseases have called for enhanced COVID-19 testing capacity after demonstrating good diagnostic performance for RT-PCR testing of self-collected pooled nasal and throat swabs and nasal swabs1Tsang NNY So HC Ng KY Cowling BJ Leung GM Ip DKM Diagnostic performance of different sampling approaches for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR testing: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Lancet Infect Dis. 2021; (published online April 12.)https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00146-8Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (10) Google Scholar and good sensitivity for rapid antigen diagnostic tests.2Boum Y Fai KN Nicolay B et al.Performance and operational feasibility of antigen and antibody rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients in Cameroon: a clinical, prospective, diagnostic accuracy study.Lancet Infect Dis. 2021; 21: 1089-1096Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar These important developments will help to control the pandemic, but the impact of changes in testing on surveillance data must be anticipated—ie, capacity to monitor the epidemiology of COVID-19.Since the start of the pandemic, testing and contact tracing have been the primary measures used to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2.3Cohen J Kupferschmidt K Countries test tactics in “war” against COVID-19.Science. 2020; 367: 1287-1288Crossref PubMed Scopus (141) Google Scholar Initially testing capacity was low, thus testing data were essential for interpretation of the COVID-19 case notification rate (ie, number of cases per 100 000 population) since the number of reported cases tended to only reflect the number of tests done. This remained true with increasing testing capacity, which enabled testing of mild or asymptomatic cases. The format of these indicators varied across countries, but the objectives were similar. For EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) calculates both testing rate (number of tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection per 100 000 population done in the previous week) and test positivity (percentage of positive tests among all tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection done in the previous week), which, among others, are also used by the European Council to coordinate the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.4Council of the European UnionCouncil Recommendation (EU) 2020/1475 of 13 October 2020 on a coordinated approach to the restriction of free movement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (text with EEA relevance).https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32020H1475Date accessed: July 29, 2021Google Scholar The weekly testing rate at the level of EU and EEA countries has increased linearly since March, 2020, and exceeded 4000 tests per 100 000 population in May, 2021. This pattern continued despite fluctuations in notification rates.

Testing indicators to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic

Many people with long COVID feel that science is failing them. Neglecting them could make the pandemic even worse.

Long-Haulers Are Fighting for Their Future

10.1136/bmj.n2157

A large study of children and young people who caught SARS-CoV-2 has found that as many as one in seven (14%) may still have symptoms 15 weeks later.1 However, this figure is lower than in some studies that have reported a prevalence of long covid as high as 51% in children and young people.Speaking at a Science Media Centre briefing, the study’s lead author, Terence Stephenson, who is Nuffield professor of child health at the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health in London, said, “It is reassuring that the figures were lower than the worst case scenarios predicted last December. However, they are not of trivial importance.”

Long covid: One in seven children may still have symptoms 15 weeks after infection, data show

Importance  Detailed information about the association of COVID-19 with outcomes in pregnant individuals compared with not-infected pregnant individuals is much needed.Objective  To evaluate the risks associated with COVID-19 in pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes compared with not-infected, concomitant pregnant individuals.Design, Setting, and Participants  In this cohort study that took place from March to October 2020, involving 43 institutions in 18 countries, 2 unmatched, consecutive, not-infected women were concomitantly enrolled immediately after each infected woman was identified, at any stage of pregnancy or delivery, and at the same level of care to minimize bias. Women and neonates were followed up until hospital discharge.Exposures  COVID-19 in pregnancy determined by laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 and/or radiological pulmonary findings or 2 or more predefined COVID-19 symptoms.Main Outcomes and Measures  The primary outcome measures were indices of (maternal and severe neonatal/perinatal) morbidity and mortality; the individual components of these indices were secondary outcomes. Models for these outcomes were adjusted for country, month entering study, maternal age, and history of morbidity.Results  A total of 706 pregnant women with COVID-19 diagnosis and 1424 pregnant women without COVID-19 diagnosis were enrolled, all with broadly similar demographic characteristics (mean [SD] age, 30.2 [6.1] years). Overweight early in pregnancy occurred in 323 women (48.6%) with COVID-19 diagnosis and 554 women (40.2%) without. Women with COVID-19 diagnosis were at higher risk for preeclampsia/eclampsia (relative risk [RR], 1.76; 95% CI, 1.27-2.43), severe infections (RR, 3.38; 95% CI, 1.63-7.01), intensive care unit admission (RR, 5.04; 95% CI, 3.13-8.10), maternal mortality (RR, 22.3; 95% CI, 2.88-172), preterm birth (RR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.30-1.94), medically indicated preterm birth (RR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.56-2.51), severe neonatal morbidity index (RR, 2.66; 95% CI, 1.69-4.18), and severe perinatal morbidity and mortality index (RR, 2.14; 95% CI, 1.66-2.75). Fever and shortness of breath for any duration was associated with increased risk of severe maternal complications (RR, 2.56; 95% CI, 1.92-3.40) and neonatal complications (RR, 4.97; 95% CI, 2.11-11.69). Asymptomatic women with COVID-19 diagnosis remained at higher risk only for maternal morbidity (RR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.00-1.54) and preeclampsia (RR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.01-2.63). Among women who tested positive (98.1% by real-time polymerase chain reaction), 54 (13%) of their neonates tested positive. Cesarean delivery (RR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.18-3.91) but not breastfeeding (RR, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.66-1.85) was associated with increased risk for neonatal test positivity.Conclusions and Relevance  In this multinational cohort study, COVID-19 in pregnancy was associated with consistent and substantial increases in severe maternal morbidity and mortality and neonatal complications when pregnant women with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were compared. The findings should alert pregnant individuals and clinicians to implement strictly all the recommended COVID-19 preventive measures.

Maternal and Neonatal Morbidity and Mortality Among Pregnant Women With and Without COVID-19 Infection: The INTERCOVID Multinational Cohort Study

Experts who study the way we think and make decisions say that it can be more than politics driving our decision-making this year. The unprecedented nature of the pandemic undermines how we process information and assess risk. Need proof? Look around.

How Your Brain Tricks You Into Taking Risks During the Pandemic

Helen Craig discusses how patient and public involvement and engagement sat at the heart of a new programme to support people with long COVID, ensuring that the work focused on the symptoms that matter to patients – and that the digital solution was useable for all.

Involving patients from the very beginning for COVID rehabilitation

Two state government websites in Georgia recently stopped posting updates on covid-19 cases in prisons and long-term care facilities, just as the dangerous delta variant was taking hold.

States Pull Back on Covid Data Even Amid Delta Surge

Two state government websites in Georgia recently stopped posting updates on covid-19 cases in prisons and long-term care facilities, just as the dangerous delta variant was taking hold.

States Pull Back on Covid Data Even Amid Delta Surge

As the delta variant spreads through Florida, data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest this could be the most serious and deadly surge in COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the pandemic. As cases ballooned in August, however, the Florida Department of Health changed the way it reported death data to the CDC, giving the appearance of a pandemic in decline, an analysis of Florida data by the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald found. On Monday, Florida death data would have shown an average of 262 daily deaths reported to the CDC over the previous week had the health department used its former reporting system, the Herald analysis showed. Instead, the Monday update from Florida showed just 46 “new deaths” per day over the previous seven days.

Florida changed its COVID-19 data, creating an ‘artificial decline’ in recent deaths

Search engines that highlight key papers are keeping scientists up to date.

Drowning in the literature? These smart software tools can help

Vastly different experiences across geography, generations and societies may have dramatic political impact

Covid’s toxic divides could shape Europe for years, study says

Speed ScienceThe risks of swiftly spreading coronavirus research

COVID-19 Claims by DateTo see claims for a particular time range, use the dropdown menu or mouse over the timeline, then left-click on your mouse and drag it to select.For more info on the four rating categories (True, False, Misleading and Unproven), see our Simplified Fact-checking Rating System.

COVIDGlobal Misinformation Dashboard

Long Covid Support is a peer support and advocacy group for people living with Long Covid. Long Covid Support was formed by a group of people struggling to recover from Covid-19, who found each other online and have been facilitating international peer support and campaigning in the UK for recognition, rehabilitation and research into treatments since May 2020. Our international Long Covid Support Group is a warm and inclusive space for people experiencing the diverse, debilitating and alarming symptoms of Long Covid to share information, help each other through the bad days and rejoice in the good. We have several sister and affiliate groups that focus on particular areas:

Long Covid Support

In the latest push from the White House and the US Department of Health and Human Services to boost youth vaccination rates, Fauci -- who has become a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic through his role as the nation's top infectious diseases expert -- this week joined a number of TikTok personalities for a series of conversations about the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine.

'Tell all your TikTok buddies to get vaccinated': Fauci finds a new way to fight Covid-19

In the latest push from the White House and the US Department of Health and Human Services to boost youth vaccination rates, Fauci -- who has become a household name during the Covid-19 pandemic through his role as the nation's top infectious diseases expert -- this week joined a number of TikTok personalities for a series of conversations about the importance of the Covid-19 vaccine.

'Tell all your TikTok buddies to get vaccinated': Fauci finds a new way to fight Covid-19

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.1855

n May 2021, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine received emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, with authorization for younger children expected later this year.1 Despite reported clinical trial data indicating that the vaccine is safe and 100% efficacious for this age range, some parents and guardians may remain hesitant or outright opposed to vaccinating their children, particularly in politically and culturally conservative communities.2

COVID-19 Vaccination of Minors Without Parental Consent

Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission findings

Translated COVID 19 Vaccination Glossary Launch

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048025

Objective Describe demographical, social and psychological correlates of willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.Setting Series of online surveys undertaken between March and October 2020.Participants A total of 25 separate national samples (matched to country population by age and sex) in 12 different countries were recruited through online panel providers (n=25 334).Primary outcome measures Reported willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.Results Reported willingness to receive a vaccine varied widely across samples, ranging from 63% to 88%. Multivariate logistic regression analyses reveal sex (female OR=0.59, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.64), trust in medical and scientific experts (OR=1.28, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.34) and worry about the COVID-19 virus (OR=1.47, 95% CI 1.41 to 1.53) as the strongest correlates of stated vaccine acceptance considering pooled data and the most consistent correlates across countries. In a subset of UK samples, we show that these effects are robust after controlling for attitudes towards vaccination in general.Conclusions Our results indicate that the burden of trust largely rests on the shoulders of the scientific and medical community, with implications for how future COVID-19 vaccination information should be communicated to maximise uptake.

Correlates of intended COVID-19 vaccine acceptance across time and countries: results from a series of cross-sectional surveys

10.1136/bmj.n1975

Parliament’s decision to make vaccination against covid-19 a condition of employment for care home workers12 has fuelled the debate around compulsory vaccination for healthcare workers, which may follow.3 Compulsory vaccination is not a panacea and may harm the safety of patients and healthcare workers, as well as affecting workload and wellbeing. It is a dilemma familiar to occupational health services in many NHS trusts.

Vaccinating healthcare workers against covid-19

Cases of COVID-19 are rising fast. Vaccine uptake has plateaued. The pandemic will be over one day—but the way there is different now.

How the Pandemic Now Ends

A national study involving UCLH has deepened understanding of the symptoms, signs and outcomes of patients with the novel condition vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT), associated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Research deepens understanding of rare vaccine-induced blood clotting condition

𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟱, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟭: With the Delta variant setting new records for COVID hospitalizations in several states, I explained the lingering concerns that some Americans have with getting vaccinated.

Frank Luntz shares why half of Americans are still unvaccinated

United Airlines passengers removed from flight and detained, then released on bail and fined, with possibility of further punishment under consideration; US authorities informed

23 people caught trying to fly from Israel to New York with forged COVID tests

We didn’t vaccinate enough people. Unfortunately, that means that everyone will suffer the consequences of that problem.“But I’m vaccinated.” You think. “Why should I suffer?”Let me explain. This is gonna be a long journey. Let’s go.

COVID Isn’t Over, And Why That Will Impact Everyone

Using The Global Quotation Graph To Examine Statements About Covid-19 Vaccination And Infertility Or Bell's Palsy