Socio-economic and ethnic health inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes across OECD countries

The COVID 19 pandemic has disproportionately hit some vulnerable population groups. Those living in deprived areas, migrant population, and ethnic minorities are at higher risk of catching and dying from the virus than other groups, and they also face significant indirect health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic - both mental health impacts and disruption of routine care. The working paper gathers evidence on the direct and indirect health impacts of the COVID-19 on the poor population and the ethnic minorities. It reviews factors underlying these inequalities, and maps policy interventions adopted by OECD countries to help address the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable population groups.

Autoantibody-negative but probable pediatric autoimmune encephalitis following COVID-19 vaccination: A case report

Background: Large-scale vaccination against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) occurred globally at an unprecedented pace. Sporadic cases of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) have been reported following COVID-19 vaccination, mainly in adults. Case report: A 14-year-old girl developed altered mental status and was brought to our emergency department because of a seizure 19 days after receiving the third dose of COVID-19 vaccination. She was treated with steroid pulse therapy and fully recovered. The diagnosis of probable autoantibody-negative AE was finally made. Conclusion(s): This case met the criteria for probable autoantibody-negative AE in children, as well as adults. Because of the temporal association and absence of another identifiable cause, her conditions may have been triggered by the COVID-19 vaccination. To our knowledge, this is the first published pediatric case of autoantibody-negative but probable AE following COVID-19 vaccination.Copyright © 2023 The Authors

Impact of the COVID-19 on labour employment in rural China: Can information literacy mitigate the shock?

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, most work was done online, the role of information literacy in influencing rural labour employment is worth investigating. Using survey data from 3,225 rural labourers in China, this study builds Item Response Theory and Tobit models, and finds that the pandemic hinders rural labour employment;however, information literacy promotes it and can mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic. We provide evidence for the positive role of information literacy, and policymakers should consider improving the information literacy of the rural labourers. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

East Asian Production Networks Go Beyond the Gravity Prediction

This paper provides empirical evidence that suppor ts the continuing impor tance of machinery international production networks (IPNs) in East Asia. We first confirm their robustness and resilience, even during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as the significance of East Asian countries as suppliers of machinery final products and par ts and components for the world. Then, we demonstrate how deeply East Asian countries are committed to machinery IPNs by applying a gravity equation to pre-pandemic bilateral machinery trade and comparing actual values with fitted values of the estimated equation. The gravity estimation exercise indicates that machinery trade is basically regional— within Factory Asia, Factory Nor th America, and Factory Europe—but Factory Asia also has strong inter-regional linkages. It also verifies that ASEAN has played an impor tant role in Factory Asia, going far beyond the gravity prediction, for the development of machinery IPNs. © 2022 by the Asian Economic Panel and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

International Production Networks Are Overcoming COVID-19 Shocks: Evidence from Japan's Machinery Trade*

This paper investigates the impacts of COVID-19 on international production networks in machinery sectors by shedding light on negative supply shocks, negative demand shocks, and positive demand shocks. Specifically, we examined changes in trade in the trade-fall periods amid COVID-19 in 2020 using Japan's machinery trade at the most disaggregated level and decomposed them into two intensive margins (i.e., the quantity effect and the price effect) and two extensive margins (i.e., the entry effect and the exit effect). Our empirical results show that trade relationships for parts and components were robust even amid COVID-19 and that international production networks in machinery sectors were almost intact. They also demonstrate that COVID-19 brought positive demand shocks for specific products with special demand due to its nature in addition to negative supply shocks and negative demand shocks, which partially explains heterogeneous effects not only among sectors but also among products in the same sector. As of October 2020, Japan's machinery trade seems to have mostly recovered.

Erratum: Fiscal responses to the COVID-19 crisis in Japan: The first six months (National Tax Journal DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2020.3.12)

The article titled “Fiscal Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis in Japan: The First Six Months,” published in The National Tax Journal, Vol. 73, No. 3, had an error in Figure 2, page 905. That error has since been corrected in online publishings of the article and the corrected version is below. The authors apologize for the error and any confusion that it may have caused. (Figure Presented). © 2020 National Tax Association. All rights reserved.

P54-5 Metastatic spinal cord compression caused by recurrent carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland

Introduction: Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) is one of the serious sequelae of malignancy. Due to its rapid progression of neurological dysfunction, it is considered an oncologic emergency that demands prompt diagnosis and management. Most cases of MSCC occur from breast, lung, and prostate primaries. MSCC secondary to carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma of the parotid gland is rare. Case presentation: We report a 32-year-old Filipino ex-smoker male complaining of two-week history of progressive paresis associated with urinary and bowel retention. He had a history of total unilateral neck dissection for CEPA of the parotid gland last year followed by systemic chemotherapy with CAP regimen (cyclophosphamide 500 mg/m2, doxorubicin 50 mg/m2, cisplatin 50 mg/m2) for four cycles. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, he lost to follow-up. On examination, physical examination revealed an 8 x 8 cm recurrent fungating mass at the right post-auricular area with extension to the buccal cavity. Motor strength was 0/5 for both lower extremities with associated hyporeflexia. Sensation to pain, temperature, and proprioception was noted to be absent at the level of the umbilicus and below. Contrast-enhanced chest and abdominopelvic CT scan revealed mixed lytic-sclerotic osseous foci at the thoracic and lumbar vertebral bodies, multiple intramuscular soft tissue foci, as well as bilateral lung and pleural-based nodules. Whole body bone scan showed multiple bone metastases. Radiation therapy to the spine was given at a total of 30 cGy in 10 fractions. Intravenous dexamethasone and bone resorption therapy were given. Palliative chemotherapy (paclitaxel 200 mg/m2, carboplatin AUC 6 mg·min/mL) was subsequently started. Conclusion: Although relatively rare, MSCC should be taken into consideration when a patient with history of CEPA presents with paraplegia. Prompt diagnosis and management are particularly important in preventing permanent neurological damage.