Climate
· A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention of 2,402 Americans in May found widespread support of the implementation of public health orders such as stay-at-home orders, use of face coverings, and business closures, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
· Public health experts from New York describe how health disparities, including access, socioeconomic status, language, citizenship status, and education level, experienced by immigrants of color throughout the United States are dramatically worsened during the pandemic and have made providing sexual and reproductive health services extremely difficult for this population.
Epidemiology
· The CDC and US Department of Agriculture report the first two cases of RT-PCR confirmed COVID-19 in companion animals in the U.S. in two domestic cats. In both instances, human cases preceded feline cases and there was no evidence to suggest additional feline-human transmission. Therefore, they believe animals have an insignificant role in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to humans.
· A cross-sectional study in Indianapolis found that 3.1% of 2,953 asymptomatic adults tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by nasopharyngeal swab testing. Of the 81 SARS-CoV-2 positive participants who completed a follow-up interview, 71.6% remained asymptomatic at 14 days while the other 28.4% reported one or more symptoms.
Understanding the Pathology
· A group of researchers in Toronto suggest SARS-CoV-2 disruption of the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) leads to an endothelial imbalance that leaves the endothelium susceptible to inflammation, vasoconstriction, platelet activation, and thrombosis thus playing a major role in the disease.
Transmission and Prevention
· Researchers and physicians conducted a retrospective analysis of 49 studies with 666 neonates and 655 pregnant persons with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and concluded that postnatal SARS-CoV-2 mother-to-neonate transmission is low, that infection in neonates largely presents asymptomatically, and that vaginal births do not seem to increase infection risk compared with Caesarean section.
· Researchers from University of California, Berkeley examined the effects of large-scale measures, including 1,717 local, regional, and national policies, on the transmission rate of COVID-19 using established reduced-form econometric modeling techniques and estimate that these measures prevented as many as 285 million infections.
Management
· A retrospective study in France of 268 hospitalized COVID-19 patients found that patients treated at baseline with a renin-angiotensin system inhibitor had more than twice the risk of an ICU admission when controlled for age, sex, BMI, and coronary artery disease, though the authors recognize that further study is needed to account for unmeasured confounders.
Adjusting Practice During COVID-19
· Guidelines and recommendations for practice during the pandemic includes management of fever in infants and young children.
· Researchers in Spain conducted a retrospective analysis of 26,131 patients with rheumatic disease in seven different facilities and found that patients with chronic inflammatory disease had higher incidence of polymerase chain reaction positive COVID-19 compared with a hospital reference population.
R&D: Diagnosis and Treatments
· A study of 190 patients found that oropharyngeal/nares swabs and nasopharyngeal swabs had sensitivities of 91.7% and 94.4%, respectively, suggesting that oropharyngeal/nares sampling, which may be more readily available during the COVID-19 pandemic, is an effective alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs in ambulatory settings
Mental Health and Resilience Needs
· Psychiatrists and addiction medicine experts from Germany conducted a survey of 2,102 German citizens and found that 34.7% of respondents have consumed “more or much more” alcohol during the pandemic compared to their baseline, and indicated that increased alcohol consumption during this time is associated with lower educational status and increased stress.
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