Failing Young and Temporary Workers? the Impact of a Disruptive Crisis on a Dual Labour Market

We study the impact of the pandemic crisis using monthly data covering the universe of individuals registered as unemployed in mainland Portuguese municipalities, complemented with electronic payments, linked employer-employee data, and furlough records. Event study designs identify a sharp increase in unemployment, driven mostly by termination of temporary contracts, and a decrease in new job placements. With triple difference-in-differences, we show that the effects are stronger in more dual municipal labour markets, i.e. with a higher share of temporary jobs, concentrated in young workers and middle educated individuals. The asymmetries are exacerbated by the duality of the municipal labour market. © 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston 2023.

HUMORAL IMMUNITY AGAINST COVID-19 6 MONTHS AFTER THE PFIZER BNT162B2 VACCINE IN HAEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS: DATA FROM 5 DIALYSIS UNITS. IS THERE A ROLE FOR HDF IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIA?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Haemodialysis (HD) patients tend to be old, have weakened immune systems and suffer from multiple comorbidities, making them particularly prone to infections and death by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Global vaccination against SARS-CoV2 has been underway, but long-term data in dialysis patients are still scant. We aimed to study the seroconversion with the Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine in HD patients of 5 Dialysis Centres after the first 2 doses and monitor the immune responses and clinical data during the following 7 months. We also investigated the security of the vaccine. METHOD: We included 404 patients on chronic HD. All patients received 2 shots of the Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine, separated by 21 days. Serologic tests were run using Quant II IgG anti-Spike SARS-CoV-2 assay by Abbott. Blood was drawn 21 days after the first dose (D22), 21 days after the second dose (D43), 3 and 6 months after the first dose (M3 and M6, respectively). We asked the patients to answer written questionaries about the symptoms reported during the 7 days after each vaccination. RESULTS: 60.6% of our patients were male and the median age was 70 years (min 19, max 97). 26 patients (6.4%) had previously been infected with COVID-19. 6 of them (23.1%) needed hospitalization. At 7 months follow-up, there were 3 new cases and 1 death (the one who died had negative antibody counts at M3). Maximum response to the vaccine was seen at D43, with 97.3% of the patients showing positive antibody titers. At 6 months, 91.5% still had positive antibodies. As is reported in Table 1, the following patients had higher antibody titers at D43 and M6: patients with COVID-19 before the first vaccine, younger patients, patients with higher albumin levels, patients on HDF versus HD. Patients on HDF had higher titers at all moments during the 6 months (Figure 1). Patients with cancer without antineoplasic treatment in the last 6 months showed lower rates of seroconversion at D43: OR: 0.117 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.016-0.863]} and M6 (OR: 0.203, 95% CI 0.049-0.842]. Patients whose levels of C-reactive protein was ≤ 2.8 mg/dL had more probability of seroconversion at D43 (OR: 7.840, 95% CI 1.839-33.419;P < 0.005) as well as those with a higher (better) Karnofsky scale (OR 1.062, 95% CI 1.016-1.110). 43.4% of the patients reported at least one side effect after the first shot and 64.6% after the second shot. A total of 69.1% had at least one-side effect on the first or second shot. All the reported reactions were mild and transitory. CONCLUSION: Patients on HD respond surprisingly well to anti-COVID-19 vaccination and present only mild side effects. Further studies should analyze the impact of HDF on immune responses, since our work suggests that this type of dialysis may have a positive and protective long-term role on this population.

COVID-19 EM PACIENTES ONCO-HEMATOLÓGICOS PEDIÁTRICOS EM MARÍLIA

Objetivo: Avaliar a evolução clínica dos pacientes onco-hematológicos pediátricos em vigência de COVID-19 e suas repercussões no tratamento da doença de base, avaliando se há associação com maior grau de severidade nesses indivíduos. Métodos: Estudo descritivo de tipo série de casos de pacientes atendidos no ambulatório de Onco-Hematologia Pediátrica da Faculdade de Medicina de Marília (FAMEMA), do complexo HC/FAMEMA. Resultados: Dos 11 pacientes do estudo, 4 eram do sexo feminino e 7 do sexo masculino. A média de idade foi de 16 anos. 6 dos 11 pacientes necessitaram de internação hospitalar e apenas 1 paciente hospitalizado apresentou quadro clínico com maior gravidade. Não houve óbitos considerando a população estudada (n = 11). Os pacientes seguiram tratamento da doença de base após média de 10 dias do início dos sintomas. Não houve impacto no prognóstico da doença de base dos 11 pacientes do estudo. Conclusão: A evolução clínica dos pacientes com comorbidades onco-hematológicas não apresentou maior gravidade quando comparada à população de mesma faixa etária sem comorbidades. O tratamento da doença de base não foi significativamente modificado devido a infecção viral, e portanto não houve impacto no prognóstico onco-hematológico dos pacientes do estudo.

Use of personal protective equipment from the perspective of the nursing team in the fight against COVID-19

This is a narrative literature review, that is, it seeks to comprehensively understand the existing literature in the scientific community in order to reflect on good nursing practices in the use of personal protective equipment in the prevention of COVID-19 within health services. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is all devices or products for individual use, used by the worker, intended to protect risks that may threaten safety and health at work. The COVID-19 pandemic represents one of the greatest global health challenges of this century. Epidemiological situation of covid-19 in Brazil (20.04.2021) - Ministry of Health. The total number of lives lost to covid-19 reached 378,003. To account for the study proposal, the final sample consisted of only 09 references, with 07 articles and 02 guidebooks. Finally, the pandemic has brought unparalleled and unstable times and with the fast speed of rapid changes, however, reliable, current and good quality information is not enough, it is also necessary to think about the role of communication properly. It is effective in eliminating risks, emphasizing the importance of hand hygiene and continuous use of the mask correctly.

Rio de Janeiro noise mapping during the COVID-19 pandemic period

This paper presents a comparison between the acoustic scenario at the Rio de Janeiro city center, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Undergoing one of the most important pandemics of the recent history, the social isolation led to a new acoustic scenario for Rio de Janeiro. The study was realized at the city center, an area of historical, economic and cultural relevance. The comparison consisted of analyzing measured data and noise maps produced for the city center area. The maps were created according to measured and collected data of the respective time periods. The acoustic scenario prior to the pandemic time was reconstructed based on previous measurements and data collection, while the pandemic one was built with data survey during the highest social isolation index on July 2020. The comparative analysis showed a considerable noise reduction, between 10 and 15 dB, for areas where the traffic noise was not intense and where the human activities were predominant on the streets. However, there was no substantial noise decrease for the areas around the major avenues. This occurred due to the traffic intensity drop to 50% during the pandemic, which meant a noise reduction between 3 and 5 dB. © 2021 Nayara Gevú et al., published by De Gruyter.