Early guidance on the 2020/21 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Advanced Service
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee -This briefing provides early guidance for community pharmacy contractors and their teams on the 2020/2021 NHS Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Advanced Service in England. It also highlights the potential scenarios being discussed that may provide additional opportunities to provide the community pharmacy flu vaccination service in other environments. This information can be used to plan provision of a Covid-safe service.BriefingPharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee - press release (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - July 8, 2020 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Library Tags: Local authorities, public health and health inequalities Source Type: blogs
A public health update on COVID-19 [PODCAST]
“Over the last 100 years, the U.S. has had to respond to five avian flu pandemics. The most severe was the 1918 avian influenza infecting 1/3 of the world ’s population and killing 650,000 Americans. It was also the last time wide-spread containment, mitigation, and isolation strategies were used in the U.S. Seldom mentioned about the […]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 - July 5, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/the-podcast-by-kevinmd" rel="tag" > The Podcast by KevinMD < /a > < /span > Tags: Podcast COVID-19 coronavirus Infectious Disease Public Health & Policy Source Type: blogs
TWiV 634: 1000 hours of the sunlight of TWiV
TWiV reviews a new H1N1 swine influenza virus from China with pandemic potential, Ad5 vectored SARS-CoV-2 oral vaccine candidate, Operation Warp Speed vaccine candidates, FDA guidance on vaccine approval, and answer listener email. Click arrow to playDownload TWiV 634 (72 MB .mp3, 120 min)Subscribe (free): iTunes, Google Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of TWiV! Show notes at microbe.tv/twiv (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - July 2, 2020 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology adenovirus COVID-19 FDA vaccine guidance Operation Warp Speed SARS-CoV-2 viral viruses Source Type: blogs
I Joined Twitter to Teach
I joined Twitter to teach. In May 2016, I started tweeting “questions of the day” for my inpatient hospital medicine team at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital from @RJmdphilly. #GreenQOD (“Green” is our teaching service, and “QOD” for question of the day) was born in the days of only 140 characters per tweet (now expanded to 280), which placed a potentially daunting onus on brevity in phrasing—and answering—clinical questions.
My inaugural question? “What’s the real story with beta blockers in reactive airway disease? If increase risk is real, how do you balance risk/benefit?”
Rules of t...
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - June 30, 2020 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Guest Author Tags: Featured Guest Perspective social media teaching Twitter Source Type: blogs
Breathalyzer to Detect COVID-19 in Seconds
Being able to tell, in a matter of seconds, whether someone is infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 would certainly help put a halt to the ongoing pandemic. Existing tests typically involve a deep nasal swab to obtain enough fluid sample, which has to be transferred to a laboratory machine for processing, with the results usually available many hours or even days after. There are five minute tests on the market, but those still require an expensive machine at each testing site.
Now, researchers at Ohio State University have developed and are testing a breathalyzer that can detect metabolites related to a COVID-1...
Source: Medgadget - June 10, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Diagnostics Medicine Pathology Public Health Source Type: blogs
Planning for Future Pandemics Including Smallpox Outbreaks: Interview with Dr. Phil Gomez, CEO, SIGA Technologies
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant global consequences, with healthcare systems stretched to their limits, a growing death toll, and economic devastation as economies came grinding to a halt.
The pandemic
and its aftereffects will be with us for some time to come, but this isn’t the
first pandemic humanity has weathered, and it won’t be the last. Given accelerating
advances in medical technology, there is plenty to discuss in terms of how we
can be better prepared for the next infectious disease event.
While COVID-19 is widely thought to have arisen naturally through transmission between an animal and a hu...
Source: Medgadget - May 27, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Exclusive Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs
Microfluidic Test for Viral Antibodies Takes Just 20 Minutes
Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan have developed a microfluidic test that can detect antibodies against a viral infection. So far, the test has been optimized to detect avian flu, but could be adapted to detect antibodies against the virus causing COVID-19. The device can provide a result in as little as 20 minutes and requires only 2 microliters of serum to run.
Antibody
tests have been proposed as a way to determine how many people have been
exposed to COVID-19, and may help us to understand how far the virus has spread.
Given that many infected people are asymptomatic, they may never be recorded as
infected...
Source: Medgadget - May 27, 2020 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Conn Hastings Tags: Diagnostics Materials Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs
How to Practice High-Quality Telemedicine in the Era of COVID-19
By ANISH MEHTA, MD
My practice received its first question about coronavirus from a patient on January 28, 2020. Though there were over 200 deaths reported in China by that time, no one could have imagined how drastically this would come to disrupt our lives at home.
Thankfully, I had a head start.
As a doctor at an integrated telemedicine and primary care practice in New York City, nearly two out of every three of my medical encounters that month was already virtual.
I spent much of January caring for patients who had contracted seasonal viruses, like influenza or norovirus (i.e. the stomach flu). My patients ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 26, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 25th 2020
In conclusion, our results suggest a previously unknown mechanism whereby the canonical NF-κB cascade and a mitochondrial fission pathway interdependently regulate endothelial inflammation.
Lin28 as a Target for Nerve Regeneration
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/05/lin28-as-a-target-for-nerve-regeneration/
Researchers here show that the gene Lin28 regulates axon regrowth. In mice, raised levels of Lin28 produce greater regeneration of nerve injuries. Past research has investigated Lin28 from the standpoint of producing a more general improvement in regenerative capacity. It improves mitochondr...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 24, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
The true death toll
A commenter asks why people don ' t count death certificates to determine the actual number of deaths above the norm, since we can ' t trust the reported Covid-19 deaths. Well, people have done this, and it ' s pretty disturbing. Researchers who did this in Italy found the actual number of excess deaths to be twice the reported rate. In New York and New Jersey, the excess is at least 50%. This can happen because many deaths are not attributed to Covid-19, whether because they are attributed to influenza or pneumonia in the absence of testing, or because the virus can cause symptoms such as stroke and kidney failure, which ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - May 23, 2020 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
The New Normal is Still Unknown, on Earth as it is in Healthcare
By HANS DUVEFELT, MD
From the vantage point of our self-quarantined shrunken universes, we cannot see even the immediate future, let alone what our personal and professional lives will look like some years from now.
Factories are closed, luxury department stores are in bankruptcy, hospitals have stopped performing elective procedures and patients are having their heart attacks at home, unattended by medical professionals. New York office workers may continue to work from home while skyscrapers stand empty and city tax revenues evaporate.
Quarantined and furloughed families are planting gardens and cooking at h...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 22, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Christina Liu Tags: COVID-19 Medical Practice Hans Duvefelt Source Type: blogs
Better Vaccines for Older People are a Poor Alternative to Better Immune Systems for Older People
The paper here offers a good overview of recent research and development aimed at improving the effectiveness of vaccines in old people. Vaccines are only poorly effective in the old because of the age-related decline of the immune system. A great deal of effort, with only some success, has gone into trying to improve vaccine effectiveness in older populations. Even if tinkering with vaccines boosts the percentage of patients who exhibit an immune response, however, that response is always going to be more anemic than that of a younger person, given the effects of aging on the immune system. This time and funding would per...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 20, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, May 18th 2020
This study provides direct evidence for the contribution of gut microbiota to the cognitive decline during normal aging and suggests that restoring microbiota homeostasis in the elderly may improve cognitive function.
On Nutraceutical Senolytics
https://www.fightaging.org/archives/2020/05/on-nutraceutical-senolytics/
Nutraceuticals are compounds derived from foods, usually plants. In principle one can find useful therapies in the natural world, taking the approach of identifying interesting molecules and refining them to a greater potency than naturally occurs in order to produce a usefully large therap...
Source: Fight Aging! - May 17, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
And now for some good news on health
When it comes to health concerns, the COVID-19 pandemic is top of mind for most people right now. And that’s for good reason.
But there is some very good non-COVID health news that may not be getting the attention it deserves. According to the CDC, the rates of six of the top 10 causes of death in this country, which account for about three-quarters of all deaths, have been declining. That’s remarkable. And these improvements are occurring despite an aging population and an obesity epidemic that affects several health conditions.
Six positive health trends
Let’s look at the trends in these conditions and their rank ...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - May 15, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Cancer Health Health trends Heart Health Source Type: blogs
Caring for Babies and Small Children During COVID-19
The good news is emerging evidence shows that coronavirus affects children and babies the least out of all age groups. While there have been a small number of newborns who have contracted the disease, it is extremely rare. In these cases, it’s impossible to tell, as yet, if the virus was contracted in utero, or shortly after birth.
Babies and COVID: The Breastfeeding Question
Many mothers are wondering if they should continue breastfeeding if they are showing symptoms of illness. Traditionally, in cases of common influenza, encouraging a baby to breastfeed even when the mother is sick has the effect of increasing immunit...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - May 11, 2020 Category: Child Development Authors: Alan Greene MD Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog COVID COVID-19 Source Type: blogs
