Epidemics and pandemics

COVID May Have Eroded Doctors' Belief That They Are Obligated to Treat Infectious Patients
Broadly disseminated misinformation about the disease — e.g., how the virus spreads, effective treatments, vaccine efficacy and safety, and more – contributed to the erosion of doctors’ commitment to treat infectious disease patients because of doctors’ fear that they would contract the disease.
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Oregon Data: COVID Vaccines Not Tied to Sudden Cardiac Death in Young People
A review of death certificates of previously healthy Oregon residents aged 16 to 30 years who died of cardiac or undetermined causes from June 2021 to December 2022 found no link between mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and sudden cardiac death.
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Action Needed to Improve U.S. Smallpox Readiness and Diagnostics, Vaccines, and Therapeutics: Report
A new report says that action is needed to enhance U.S. readiness for smallpox and related diseases, as well as to improve diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics that could be used in case of an outbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed weaknesses in the ability of U.S. public health and health care systems to adapt and respond to an unfamiliar pathogen, as did challenges during the recent mpox outbreak to rapidly making diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics available at scale.
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Anti-Vaccine Conspiracies Fuel Divisive Political Discourse
Heightened use of social media during the coronavirus pandemic brought with it an unprecedented surge in the spread of misinformation. Of particular significance were conspiracy theories surrounding the virus and vaccines made to combat it. New analysis shows conspiracy theories gain political weight due to social media.
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Many Excess Deaths Attributed to Natural Causes Are Actually Uncounted COVID-19 Deaths
A new study provides the most compelling data yet to suggest that excess mortality rates from chronic illnesses and other natural causes were actually driven by COVID-19 infections.
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Hydroxychloroquine: COVID “Cure” Linked to 17,000 Deaths
Amidst the panic of the first wave of COVID-19, existing drugs were repurposed as a treatment. Some ideas were fatal, including one — hydroxychloroquine — briefly praised by then-President Donald Trump. Researchers have linked hydroxychloroquine to an increased mortality rate of up to 11 percent.
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Epidemic-Economic Model Provides Answers to Key Pandemic Policy Questions
Is lockdown an effective response to a pandemic, or would it be better to let individuals spontaneously reduce their risk of infection? Research suggests these two highly debated options lead to similar outcomes.
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Terrorism Rather Than Pandemics More Concerning for Those with Authoritarian Views, Analysis Shows
People with authoritarian political views are more likely to be concerned about terrorism and border control than a future new health pandemic, new research shows.
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Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Improved Method for Tackling Bird Flu
Concerning reports about avian flu outbreaks at poultry facilities across the country and abroad highlight the increasingly urgent need for a safe and effective vaccine that could thwart a possible spread of the virus from human to human. Researchers have developed an improved way to test potential vaccines against bird flu.
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After COVID, Systems Need to Be Crisis-Ready for Better Public Health Response
The National Science Foundation funded Argonne and others to study the COVID-19 experiences of public health officials and stakeholders. By improving prediction and prevention, they hope to avoid reinventing a wheel no one wants rolling back into town.
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High Rate of Mental Health Problems and Political Extremism Found in Those Who Bought Firearms During COVID Pandemic
People who bought firearms during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic have much higher rates of suicidal thoughts, self-harm behaviors and intimate partner violence, a study suggests, compared with other firearm owners and people who don’t own firearms. Pandemic firearm buyers were also much more likely than the other groups to hold extreme beliefs, ranging from anti-vaccination views to support for QAnon conspiracy theories.
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Acting Fast When an Epidemic Hits
Researchers have developed a method for forecasting the short-term progression of an epidemic using extremely limited amounts of data. The forecasting model uses machine learning to predict short-term disease progression.
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Sweden During the Pandemic: Pariah or Paragon?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sweden stood out from other countries, stubbornly refusing lockdowns, school closures, and mask mandates. The main difference between Sweden’s strategy and that of most other countries was that it mostly relied on voluntary adaptation rather than government force. It seems likely that Sweden did much better than other countries in terms of the economy, education, mental health, and domestic abuse, and still came away from the pandemic with fewer excess deaths than in almost any other European country, and less than half that of the United States.
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An Experiment to Fight Pandemic-Era Learning Loss Launches in Richmond
After intense opposition and skepticism, two elementary schools opened 20 days early to help students make up for what they missed during the time of remote learning. The first question: Would kids show up in the middle of summer for extra schooling?
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Scent Dogs Can Detect COVID-19 More Rapidly, Accurately Than Current Tests
Scent dogs may represent a cheaper, faster and more effective way to detect COVID-19, and could be a key tool in future pandemics, a new review of recent research suggests. The review found that scent dogs are as effective, or even more effective, than conventional COVID-19 tests such as RT-PCR.
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