The Unequal Pandemic Bambra, Clare; Lynch, Julia; Smith, Katherine E
06/2021
eBook
Odprti dostop
Rated as a top 10 book about the COVID-19 pandemic by New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2021/07/best-books-about-covid-19-pandemic
EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under ...CC-BY-NC- ND
It has been claimed that we are ‘all in it together’ and that the COVID-19 virus ‘does not discriminate’.
This accessible, yet authoritative book dispels this myth of COVID-19 as an ‘equal opportunity’ disease, by showing how the pandemic is a syndemic of disease and inequality.
Drawing on international data and accounts, it argues that the pandemic is unequal in three ways: it has killed unequally, been experienced unequally and will impoverish unequally.
These inequalities are a political choice: with governments effectively choosing who lives and who dies, we need to learn from COVID-19 quickly to prevent growing inequality and to reduce health inequalities in the future.
COVID-19 is an unequal pandemic.
To assess the utility of self-reported symptoms in identifying positive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases among predominantly healthy young adults in a military setting.
A questionnaire ...regarding COVID-19 symptoms and exposure history was administered to all individuals contacting the Israeli Defence Forces Corona call-centre, before PCR testing. Surveyed symptoms included cough, fever, sore throat, rhinorrhoea, loss of taste or smell, chest pain and gastrointestinal symptoms. Factors were compared between positive and negative cases based on confirmatory test results, and positive likelihood ratios (LR) were calculated. Results were stratified by sex, body mass index, previous medical history and dates of questioning, and a multivariable analysis for association with positive test was conducted.
Of 24 362 respondents, 59.1% were men with a median age of 20.5 years (interquartile range 19.6–22.4 years). Significant positive LRs were associated with loss of taste or smell (LR 3.38, 95% CI 3.01–3.79), suspected exposure (LR 1.33, 95% CI 1.28–1.39) and fever (LR 1.26, 95% CI 1.17–1.36). Those factors were also associated with positive PCR result in a multivariable analysis (OR 3.51, 95% CI 3.04–4.06; OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.65–2.09; and OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.19–1.51, respectively). Reports of loss of taste or smell increased gradually over time and were significantly more frequent during the late period of the study (63/5231, 1.21%; 156/7941, 1.96%; and 1505/11 190, 13.45%: p < 0.001).
Loss of taste or smell, report of a suspicious exposure and fever (>37.5°C) were consistently associated with positive LRs for a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR test result, in a population of predominantly young and healthy adults.
To estimate the basic reproduction number of the Wuhan novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
Based on the susceptible-exposed-infected-removed (SEIR) compartment model and the assumption that the infectious ...cases with symptoms occurred before 26 January, 2020 are resulted from free propagation without intervention, we estimate the basic reproduction number of 2019-nCoV according to the reported confirmed cases and suspected cases, as well as the theoretical estimated number of infected cases by other research teams, together with some epidemiological determinants learned from the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
The basic reproduction number fall between 2.8 and 3.3 by using the real-time reports on the number of 2019-nCoV-infected cases from People's Daily in China and fall between 3.2 and 3.9 on the basis of the predicted number of infected cases from international colleagues.
The early transmission ability of 2019-nCoV is close to or slightly higher than SARS. It is a controllable disease with moderate to high transmissibility. Timely and effective control measures are needed to prevent the further transmissions.
Chronicling a Crisis is a powerful primary source collection compiled during the peak of the COVID pandemic between spring 2020 and spring 2021. This upstate New York college was the only school in ...the state that had to send home all its students twice due to COVID, which attracted international media attention. This book was inspired by the UK’s Mass Observation Project from the 1930s, which drew on the war-time diaries of ordinary British citizens to track the impact of World War II on their lives. With over two hundred blog entries from students, faculty, and staff—including diary reflections, poems, pictures, and thought pieces—this volume lays bare the grief, frustration, fear, resilience, and upheavals of this tumultuous period. This book will be of interest for students of New York history, American history and the digital humanities as well as general readers interested in understanding the impact of the COVID pandemic on universities and their students.
Since its first outbreak, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to a great deal of published literature highlighting the short-term determinants of morbidity and mortality. Recently, several ...studies have reported radiological and functional sequelae from 3 months to 1 year among hospitalized COVID-19 survivors; however, long-term (more than 1 year) respiratory consequences in this population remain to be evaluated.
To assess the long-term radiological and pulmonary function outcomes of patients with COVID-19 2 years after resolution of the initial infection.
Hospitalized COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe disease who survived acute illness were included in this prospective and partially retrospective study. Clinical assessment, laboratory tests, high-resolution computed tomography scans, and pulmonary function tests (PFTs) were performed at baseline, followed by radiological and lung function assessments at 6 and 24 months.
Among 106 enrolled participants (mean age 62 ± 13.5 years; males: 61), 44 (41.5%) and 27 (25.4%) underwent radiological assessment at 6 and 24 months, respectively. Overall, 22.6% (24) of patients had residual radiological abnormalities. Overt fibrosis was observed in 12.2% of patients. Computed tomography disease severity and extent diminished significantly at 6 (13 ± 6,
< 0.001) and 24 months (11 ± 6,
< 0.001) from baseline. PFTs were performed in 65 (61.3%), 22 (20.7%), and 34 (32%) patients at baseline, 6 and 24 months, respectively. Impaired diffusion capacity (median diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide: 60%, interquartile range IQR: 51-80), restrictive lung defect (mean total lung capacity: 73.4% ± 18% predicted), and reduced exercise tolerance (median 6-min walk distance: 360 m, IQR: 210-400) were the predominant features at baseline. With the exception of exercise tolerance, a statistically significant improvement was observed in lung function parameters at the extended follow-up (2 years).
Hospitalized COVID-19 survivors are at increased risk of developing long-term pulmonary complications, including lung fibrosis. A protocol-based approach to the management of post-COVID-19 patients is mandatory to improve future outcomes.
As the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) spread around the world, so did theories, stories, and conspiracy beliefs about it. These theories infected communities from the halls of Congress to Facebook ...groups, spreading quickly in newspapers, on various social media and between friends. They spurred debate about the origins, treatment options and responses to the virus, creating distrust towards public health workers and suspicion of vaccines. This book examines the most popular Covid-19 theories, connecting current conspiracy beliefs to long-standing fears and urban legends. By examining the vehicles and mechanisms of Covid-19 conspiracy, readers can better understand how theories spread and how to respond to misinformation.
A new coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has recently emerged to cause a human pandemic. Although molecular diagnostic tests were rapidly developed, serologic ...assays are still lacking, yet urgently needed. Validated serologic assays are needed for contact tracing, identifying the viral reservoir, and epidemiologic studies. We developed serologic assays for detection of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing, spike protein-specific, and nucleocapsid-specific antibodies. Using serum samples from patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, other coronaviruses, or other respiratory pathogenic infections, we validated and tested various antigens in different in-house and commercial ELISAs. We demonstrated that most PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2-infected persons seroconverted by 2 weeks after disease onset. We found that commercial S1 IgG or IgA ELISAs were of lower specificity, and sensitivity varied between the 2 assays; the IgA ELISA showed higher sensitivity. Overall, the validated assays described can be instrumental for detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies for diagnostic, seroepidemiologic, and vaccine evaluation studies.
Through detailed discussion of inpatient geriatric psychiatry, telehealth models of care, health staff concerns, and social determinants of health, as well as nonclinical factors that affect the ...broader clinical effort, Geriatric Mental Health Care provides techniques that health care providers can use to overcome the challenges of the current pandemic-and prepare for the next one.
As a highly infectious respiratory tract disease, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause respiratory, physical, and psychological dysfunction in patients. Therefore, pulmonary rehabilitation ...is crucial for both admitted and discharged patients of COVID-19. In this study, based on the newly released pulmonary rehabilitation guidelines for patients with COVID-19, as well as evidence from the pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome, we investigated pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with COVID-19 having complications, such as chronic pulmonary disease, and established an intelligent respiratory rehabilitation model for these patients.
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