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A large observational study showed some promise, but 2 randomized clinical trials did not.
"The message is be prepared for a bad flu season on top of a bad COVID season," says Edward Belongia, MD.
The CDC now recommends mask wearing on airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and other ride-share vehicles.
Racial and ethnic minority workers have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in food manufacturing and agriculture workplaces, according to a study yesterday in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Demographics were not available for all 742 sites surveyed across 30 states, but for those that were, 83.2% of confirmed cases involved minorities even though they made up only 47.4% of all workers.
Data from inpatient Veterans Administration (VA) hospitals show a significant increase in antibiotic use from January to May, largely negating a downward trend over the previous 5 years, researchers reported today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
The death rate was high in patients with chronic kidney disease and in those who developed kidney injury in the ICU.
"The virus has shown that, when we let our guard down, it can surge back at breakneck speed and threaten hospitals and health systems."
A randomized, controlled clinical trial involving high-risk healthcare workers found that pre-exposure prophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine once or twice weekly did not significantly reduce COVID-19 compared with placebo, researchers reported late last week in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
In some states, like Wisconsin, hospitals are strained; also, Pfizer says its vaccine will be delayed.
As the next steps, officials will conduct a meta-analysis of remdesivir studies, which experts will use to guide treatment advice.
The comprehensive study is geared toward flagging countries that have a heavy chronic disease burden and thus are more vulnerable to a greater COVID impact.
Our weekly wrap-up of antimicrobial stewardship & antimicrobial resistance scans
Originally published by CIDRAP News Oct 15
The emergency sick leave provision of the Mar 18 bipartisan Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) appears to have reduced the spread of the virus. A Health Affairs study yesterday found that states where workers could get up to 2 weeks of paid sick leave showed 417 fewer confirmed cases per day, or an average of 1 prevented case per day per 1,300 workers.
Also, the DRC has gone 15 days without any new cases, and the WHO appoints two people to chair an investigation into sexual abuse allegations in the previous DRC outbreak.
In addition, a large group of scientists signs on to the John Snow Memorandum to mobilize against the herd immunity response concept.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) announced yesterday that it has received an $11 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct a 5-year study to better understand why some critically ill patients develop multidrug-resistant infections.
A study yesterday in Journal of School Choice found that US schools in poor districts with large non-white student populations are less likely to reopen fully for the 2020 to 2021 academic year.
Those who consulted government sources held more science-based beliefs about the pandemic.
Tuberculosis notifications in the hard-hit countries of India, Indonesia, and the Philippines have fallen 25% to 30% because of pandemic-related disruptions.
In US developments, cases are rising in 36 states, including a large swath of the Midwest and Northeast.
