Covid-19 FAQ's

December 12, 2020December 13, 2020

Researchers rank various mask protection, modifications against COVID-19

Medical procedure mask and modifications designed to enhance mask fit or comfort for the wearer. A mask w/ear loops (A) modified by tying the ear loops and tucking in the side pleats (B), attaching ear loops to a 3D-printed “ear guard” (C), fastening ear loops with a 23mm claw-type hair clip placed behind the wearer’s head (D), placing ring of three, ganged, rubber bands over the mask and around the wearer’s ears (E), and sliding a 10-inch segment of nylon hosiery over the fitted mask (F).

Press Release:

CHAPEL HILL, NC – It’s been shown that when two people wearing masks interact, the chance of COVID-19 transmission is drastically reduced. This is why public health officials have pleaded for all people to wear masks: they not only protect the wearer from expelling particles that might carry SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), but masks also protect the wearer from inhaling particles that carry the virus. Some people, though, still refuse to wear a mask. So UNC School of Medicine scientists, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, researched the protectiveness of various kinds of consumer-grade and modified masks, assuming the mask wearer was exposed to the virus, like when we interact with an unmasked infected person.

December 12, 2020December 13, 2020

Heart rhythm in COVID-19 patients receiving short term treatment with hydroxychloroquine

Press Release:

Sophia Antipolis, 25 September 2020: Short-term hydroxychloroquine treatment is not associated with lethal heart rhythms in patients with COVID-19 who are risk assessed prior to receiving the drug. That’s the finding of research published today in EP Europace, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1

“This was the largest study to assess the risk of dangerous heart rhythms (arrhythmias) in COVID-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine,” said study author Dr. Alessio Gasperetti of Monzino Cardiology Centre, Milan, Italy and University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland. “In our cohort, there was a low rate of arrhythmias and none were associated with hydroxychloroquine.”

December 12, 2020December 13, 2020

New insight into the effect of hydroxychloroquine undermines its use in COVID-19

Press release:

Researchers at Radboud university medical center have discovered an as yet unknown effect of hydroxychloroquine. It inhibits the action of a type of white blood cells important in the first line of defense against infections. Based on this research, hydroxychloroquine is unlikely to be beneficial in clearing viral infections including the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, they write in their publication in Cell Reports Medicine.

Hydroxychloroquine is an agent that has been used for years, originally for the treatment of malaria. It is also widely used to treat patients with rheumatic diseases, because hydroxychloroquine has immunomodulatory effects. It is not known exactly how hydroxychloroquine does this. Hydroxychloroquine use for COVID-19 remains a topic of intense debate and investigation. Especially in the context of their use as a prophylaxis, large studies are ongoing to investigate their efficacy.

December 11, 2020December 13, 2020

MGB study finds majority of COVID-19 patients died in hospital

Press Release:

There have been over 280,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19, with the infectious nature of the disease preventing many patients from receiving end-of-life care at home. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and collaborators found that 95.5 percent of individuals who died with a diagnosis of COVID-19 in the Mass General Brigham health system between February 18 and May 18, 2020 did so in the hospital. To better characterize the intensity of end-of-life care and promote discussions about at-home care, the researchers analyzed specific death settings, determining that roughly 40 percent of hospital deaths occurred in the intensive care unit. Findings were published as a letter to the editor in the Journal of Palliative Medicine.

December 7, 2020December 13, 2020

What makes COVID misinformation so tough to stop on social media

Press Release:

A recent study highlights two of the reasons that misinformation about COVID-19 is so difficult to tackle on social media: most people think they’re above average at spotting misinformation; and misinformation often triggers negative emotions that resonate with people. The findings may help communicators share accurate information more effectively.

“This study gives us more insight into how users respond to misinformation about the pandemic on social media platforms,” says Yang Cheng, first author of the study and an assistant professor of communication at North Carolina State University. “It also gives us information we can use to share accurate information more effectively.”

October 29, 2020December 13, 2020

New analysis reveals ‘long-hauler’ COVID-19 patients with prolonged skin symptoms

Press release:

LUGANO, 29 October, 2020 – Some COVID-19 patients experience long-lasting skin symptoms that vary according to type of COVID-19 skin rash, a late-breaking abstract will reveal today at the 29th EADV Congress, EADV Virtual.

Analysis of the largest registry of COVID-19 patients with dermatological symptoms has revealed a subset of patients, called ‘long-haulers’ or ‘long COVID’, who experience prolonged symptoms (lasting >60 days) on their skin (1).

Data from 990 cases from 39 countries input into the registry, a collaboration between the International League of Dermatological Societies and the American Academy of Dermatology, show an average duration of 12 days for all dermatological symptoms, with some lasting as long as >150 days (1).

October 29, 2020February 27, 2021

Some COVID-19 “long haulers” experience lasting skin problems

Press release:

BOSTON – Some patients with COVID-19 have persistent skin-related symptoms long after their initial infection has cleared, according to a new analysis. The findings, presented at the 29th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), point to another burden experienced by so-called “long haulers” who get better but don’t seem to fully recover from COVID-19.

For the analysis, researchers established an international registry for COVID-19 skin manifestations in April 2020, in collaboration with the International League of Dermatological Societies and the American Academy of Dermatology. Clinicians were contacted in June and August to update COVID-19 laboratory test results and the duration of patients’ COVID-19 skin symptoms. The team defined long haulers as anyone with skin symptoms of COVID-19 that persisted for at least 60 days.

October 21, 2020December 13, 2020

U of M trial shows hydroxychloroquine does not prevent COVID-19 in health care workers

Press release:

MINNEAPOLIS, MN-October 21, 2020 – University of Minnesota Medical School physician researchers studied hydroxychloroquine as a treatment to prevent COVID-19 for those with high-risk for exposure to the virus – health care workers.

The pre-exposure prophylaxis trial results, which were published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, determined that taking 400mg of hydroxychloroquine once or twice weekly did not prevent the development of COVID-19 in health care workers better than the placebo.

“This randomized placebo-controlled trial launched on April 6, with the objective of evaluating whether or not hydroxychloroquine taken once or twice weekly in health care workers at high risk for COVID-19 exposure could prevent COVID-19 infection,” said principal investigator Radha Rajasingham, MD, an infectious diseases physician and researcher at the U of M Medical School.

August 20, 2020December 13, 2020

Self-collected saliva and deep nasal swabs are equally effective for diagnosing COVID-19

Press Release:

SALT LAKE CITY — Self-collected saliva and deep nasal swabs collected by healthcare providers are equally effective for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a new study conducted by ARUP Laboratories and University of Utah (U of U) Health.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, represents one of the largest prospective specimen type comparisons to date, said Julio Delgado, MD, MS, ARUP chief medical officer. Other studies, including one from the Yale School of Public Health, have reached similar conclusions but with markedly fewer patients and specimens.

May 1, 2020January 30, 2021

Hydroxychloroquine linked to increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias

Press Release:

Boston, Mass. — Since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a Public Health Concern of Global Interest on January 30, more than one million have tested positive for the illness in the United States, and more than 62,000 have died. With no FDA-approved treatments available to date, the anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, has emerged as a potential therapy for the pneumonia associated with COVID-19, with or without the antibiotic azithromycin.

In a brief report published today in JAMA Cardiology, a team of pharmacists and clinicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, found evidence suggesting that patients who received hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 were at increased risk of electrical changes to the heart and cardiac arrhythmias. The combination of hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin was linked to even greater changes compared to hydroxychloroquine alone.