Sick child this school year? Planning for the inevitable during a pandemic
Children get sick; it’s part of life. They catch colds, they get fevers, they throw up and get diarrhea. Most of the time, it’s nothing at all. But this year, as we struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic, every sniffle will be complicated.
The problem is, the symptoms of COVID-19 can be not just mild, but similar to the symptoms of all the common illnesses kids get all the time. Symptoms can include
fever, even a mild one
cough (that you don’t have another clear reason for)
breathing difficulty
sore throat or runny nose (that you don’t have another clear reason for)
loss of taste or smell
headache (if with other s...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 29, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Cold and Flu Coronavirus and COVID-19 Parenting Source Type: blogs
Remove Barriers that Prevent Nurses from Addressing Public and Private Health Crises
Michael F. CannonNurses have been on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic as they have been for every public health crisis from the Spanish influenza to the AIDS epidemic. Yet state governments have made it harder for nurses to help victims of this and other diseases.In 2004, California enacted a law that restricts the ability of hospitals to assign nurses to where patients need them, which increases the cost of care. In that year, California became the first state to mandate inpatient facilities adhere to predeterminednurse ‐to‐patient ratios. The law restricts the number of patients each nurse can ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 22, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Michael F. Cannon Source Type: blogs
Discrimination, high blood pressure, and health disparities in African Americans
Over the past few months, we have all seen the results of significant disruption to daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic, high levels of unemployment, and civil unrest driven by chronic racial injustice. These overlapping waves of societal insult have begun to bring necessary attention to the importance of health care disparities in the United States.
Direct links between stress, discrimination, racial injustice, and health outcomes occurring over one’s lifespan have not been well studied. But a recently published article in the journal Hypertension has looked at the connection between discrimination and increased ris...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 21, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Chester Hedgepeth, III, MD, PhD Tags: Health care disparities Hypertension and Stroke Source Type: blogs
Time for flu shots — getting one is more important than ever!
Wondering when to get your flu shot? The best time is before influenza (flu) starts circulating widely. For most people, September or October is ideal for protection through the whole flu season, as the immune response from the vaccine wanes over time. And while changes and restrictions due to COVID-19 may make getting a flu vaccine less convenient for some this year, the pandemic makes it more important than ever.
Why do I need to get a flu vaccine yearly?
Influenza A and Influenza B cause most cases of flu in humans. Both have many strains that constantly change, accumulating genetic mutations that disguise them from the...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - September 17, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Elise Merchant, MD Tags: Cold and Flu Coronavirus and COVID-19 Vaccines Source Type: blogs
Longevity of SARS-CoV-2 memory B cells
Immunity conferred by influenza virus vaccine is short-lived. After immunization with inactivated influenza virus vaccine, serum antibody levels peak within a few months and then decline rapidly. This decline was recently shown to be caused by loss of bone marrow plasma cells, a major source of serum antibodies. Results of a recent study partially address […] (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - September 11, 2020 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: Basic virology Information antibody B cell bone marrow plasma cell COVID-19 influenza vaccine memory B cell pandemic plasmablast SARS-CoV-2 viral virus viruses Source Type: blogs
TWiV 660: In case of emergency finish the trial
Daniel Griffin provides a clinical report on COVID-19, then we discuss decline of virus-specific bone marrow B cells within a year after influenza vaccination, the push to release SARS-CoV-2 vaccines before completion of phase 3 trials, and absence of evidence for infectious virus in aerosols. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 660 (95 MB .mp3, 159 min)Subscribe […] (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - September 10, 2020 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology aerosol transmission bone marrow B cells clinical trial coronavirus COVID-19 diagnostic tests influenza vaccine pandemic SARS-CoV-2 viral viruses Source Type: blogs
Announcing The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge
By FARZAD MOSTASHARI
In Partnership with Resolve to Save Lives, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of Maryland, Catalyst @ Health 2.0 is excited to announce the launch of The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge. The COVID-19 Symptom Data Challenge is looking for novel analytic approaches that use COVID-19 Symptom Survey data to enable earlier detection and improved situational awareness of the outbreak by public health and the public.
How the Challenge Works:
In Phase I, innovators submit a white paper (“digital poster”) summarizing the approach, methods, analysis, findings, relevant figures and graphs ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - September 1, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: matthew holt Tags: COVID-19 Data Health Policy challenge Facebook Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, August 24th 2020
We report that electrical stimulation (ES) stimulation of post-stroke aged rats led to an improved functional recovery of spatial long-term memory (T-maze), but not on the rotating pole or the inclined plane, both tests requiring complex sensorimotor skills. Surprisingly, ES had a detrimental effect on the asymmetric sensorimotor deficit.
Histologically, there was a robust increase in the number of doublecortin-positive cells in the dentate gyrus and SVZ of the infarcted hemisphere and the presence of a considerable number of neurons expressing tubulin beta III in the infarcted area. Among the genes that were unique...
Source: Fight Aging! - August 23, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Why spiritual health is so important for medical students
A tale of two pandemics: Around the time of the coronavirus outbreak, 2019 also marked a full century since the death of Sir William Osler, who revolutionized medical training. Despite some lingering debate over whether Dr. Osler ’s pneumonia-related death should be counted among the 50 million lost to the 1918 influenza pandemic, his notes suggest […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 14, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/elizabeth-j-berger" rel="tag" > Elizabeth J. Berger, APBCC < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions COVID-19 coronavirus Infectious Disease Source Type: blogs
Post #51 Our Family ’s School Decision Making Process
My boys do not want to wear pants.A small factor, but part of the reason they campaigned for remote learning. My daughter, who generally prefers clothing, remained on the fence.The remote vs. in-person learning decision has so many different factors it is very difficult as a pediatrician to give families a single clear answer.As new data emerges, it further confounds a family ’s decision that seemed crystal clear just 2 internet articles ago.Several people have asked point blank, “What are you doing for your own kids?”If I have left your text unanswered or have not replied to your email or Facebook comment, I apologi...
Source: A Pediatrician's Blog - August 1, 2020 Category: Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
COVID herd immunity: At hand or forever elusive?
By MICHEL ACCAD, MD
With cases of COVID-19 either disappeared or rapidly diminishing from places like Wuhan, Italy, New York, and Sweden, many voices are speculating that herd immunity may have been reached in those areas and that it may be at hand in the remaining parts of the world that are still struggling with the pandemic. Lockdowns should end—or may not have been needed to begin with, they conclude. Adding plausibility to their speculation is the discovery of biological evidence suggesting that prior exposure to other coronaviruses may confer some degree of immunity against SARS-CoV2, a...
Source: The Health Care Blog - July 30, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Health Policy immunity MICHEL ACCAD Pandemic Source Type: blogs
Post #50 School Reopening during the COVID-19 Pandemic
There is probably a no more emotionally charged topic of discussion currently than that of school reopening this fall. And for good reason - nearly everyone has a stake in it.Society is concerned because of the real risk of increased community spread.Teachers are concerned because of the COVID-19 risk to themselves and how the logistics of school will directly affect their livelihood and stress level as they have to constantly adjust to the barrage of changes and duties. Families are concerned because of the COVID-19 risk to their children and to those living at home. Not to mention, many depend on school to allow for...
Source: A Pediatrician's Blog - July 23, 2020 Category: Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, July 20th 2020
This study was the first to demonstrate a causal relationship between glial senescence and neurodegeneration. In this study, accumulations of senescent astrocytes and microglia were found in tau-associated neurodegenerative disease model mice. Elimination of these senescent cells via a genetic approach can reduce tau deposition and prevent the degeneration of cortical and hippocampal neurons.
Most recently, it was shown that clearance of senescent oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in AD model mice with senolytic agents could lessen the Aβ plaque load, reduce neuroinflammation, and ameliorate cognitive deficits. This...
Source: Fight Aging! - July 19, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Thinking about a post-pandemic world
I've been trying to think carefully about what our world will be like once the current pandemic is over. Most people are rightly focused on the current situation and on short term measures to limit the spread of the virus and the harm it causes, but we should also be thinking about, and planning for, what the world is likely to be like once populations reach some sort of equilibrium. How many people will the virus be infecting or killing every year? How much difference will a vaccine really make? Will we still need to wear masks? What follows is my non-rigorous back-of-the-envelope analysis.&nb...
Source: RRResearch - July 19, 2020 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Rosie Redfield Source Type: blogs
