Climate
· A physician from South Carolina reflects on a patient encounter with suspected COVID-19 which illustrates the social disparities affecting immigrants and the a challenges posed by lack of health insurance and work instability during COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Epidemiology
· Chinese researchers analyzed the ABO blood group distribution of 2173 symptomatic patients with RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 and found blood group A was associated with a higher risk for COVID-19 while blood group O was associated with lower risk. The authors suggest blood group as a risk factor, though the study did not control for confounding variables, so further research is indicated.
Understanding the Pathology
· A study compared the COVID-19 RNA viral between 53 patients under the age of 16 and 352 over the age of 16 and found no correlation between age and viral load. These data suggest that although children typically have fewer symptoms and less severe disease, age is not a significant determinant of viral load and thus transmissibility may not differ between age groups as has been previously proposed.
Transmission & Prevention
· A group at Baylor College of Medicine discusses the continued COVID-19 surge in the United States and suggest it is a result of a lack of unified national leadership, failure of states enforcing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for reopening, inadequate testing and tracing SARS-CoV-2 cases, and lack of isolation of exposed individuals when case numbers were lower. The authors advocate for the creation of a national contact tracing system to monitor the spread of COVID-19 on a local and national level, making a more concerted effort to understand and prevent transmission.
· Pharmacists in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia warn of the potential threat of an outbreak of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever in light of an already stressed health care system due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan and the upcoming celebration of Eid-Ul-Adha. The authors suggest that healthcare training programs be put into place, animal health be checked and reported, a lockdown be implemented during Eid-ul-Adha, and awareness campaigns should be undertaken to mitigate this risk.
Management
· A study compared antibody and immune profiles of COVID-19 patients who survived to those who died at different stages of the disease and found that those who survived had significantly higher SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM and IgG levels in the early stages of COVID-19 disease and TH1 cells were significantly decreased in the early stage of disease in patients who died.
Mental Health & Resilience Needs
· A qualitative study of semistructured interviews with 33 home health care workers employed by 24 home care agencies across New York City found that home health care workers were consistently providing front line care, often at significant risk, during the pandemic which has exacerbated inequities they experience as a marginalized portion of the workforce.
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