Homeopathic medicinal products for preventing and treating acute respiratory tract infections in children

Background: Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are common and may lead to complications. Most children experience between three and six ARTIs annually. Although most infections are self-limiting, symptoms can be distressing. Many treatments are used to control symptoms and shorten illness duration. Most treatments have minimal benefit and may lead to adverse events. Oral homeopathic medicinal products could play a role in childhood ARTI management if evidence for their effectiveness is established. This is an update of a review first published in 2018. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness and safety of oral homeopathic medicinal products compared with placebo or conventional therapy to prevent and treat ARTIs in children. Search methods: We searched CENTRAL (2022, Issue 3), including the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Specialised Register, MEDLINE (1946 to 16 March 2022), Embase (2010 to 16 March 2022), CINAHL (1981 to 16 March 2022), AMED (1985 to 16 March 2022), CAMbase (searched 16 March 2022), and British Homeopathic Library (searched 26 June 2013- no longer operating). We also searched the WHO ICTRP and ClinicalTrials.gov (16 March 2022), checked references, and contacted study authors to identify additional studies. Selection criteria: We included double-blind randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or double-blind cluster-RCTs comparing oral homeopathy medicinal products with identical placebo or self-selected conventional treatments to prevent or treat ARTIs in children aged 0 to 16 years. Data collection and analysis: We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Main results: In this 2022 update, we identified three new RCTs involving 251 children, for a total of 11 included RCTs with 1813 children receiving oral homeopathic medicinal products or a control treatment (placebo or conventional treatment) for ARTIs. All studies focused on upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), with only one study including some lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). Six treatment studies examined the effect on URTI recovery, and five studies investigated the effect on preventing URTIs after one to four months of treatment. Two treatment and three prevention studies involved homeopaths individualising treatment. The other studies used predetermined, non-individualised treatments. All studies involved highly diluted homeopathic medicinal products, with dilutions ranging from 1 x 10-4 to 1 x 10-200. We identified several limitations to the included studies, in particular methodological inconsistencies and high attrition rates, failure to conduct intention-to-treat analysis, selective reporting, and apparent protocol deviations. We assessed three studies as at high risk of bias in at least one domain, and many studies had additional domains with unclear risk of bias. Four studies received funding from homeopathy manufacturers;one study support from a non-government organisation;two studies government support;one study was co-sponsored by a university;and three studies did not report funding support. Methodological inconsistencies and significant clinical and statistical heterogeneity precluded robust quantitative meta-analysis. Only four outcomes were common to more than one study and could be combined for analysis. Odds ratios (OR) were generally small with wide confidence intervals (CI), and the contributing studies found conflicting effects, so there was little certainty that the efficacy of the intervention could be ascertained. All studies assessed as at low risk of bias showed no benefit from oral homeopathic medicinal products, whilst trials at unclear or high risk of bias reported beneficial effects. For the comparison of individualised homeopathy versus placebo or usual care for the prevention of ARTIs, two trials reported on disease severity;due to heterogeneity the data were not combined, but neither study demonstrated a clinically significant difference. We combined data from two trials for the outcome need for antibiotics (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.35 to 1.76;low-certainty evi

Integrating peer support within NHS clinics: a London Fast-Track Cities Initiative (FTCI) project

Background: BHIVA Standards of Care for people living with HIV (PLWH) include quality statements and auditable outcomes for peer-support pathways to improve selfmanagement and engagement in care. FTCI London convened 3-year 'improvement collaborative' projects between HIV charities and NHS clinics. Chelsea and Westminster Hospital (CWHFT) supported the implementation of this initiative to 4 London HIV clinics with a cohort of >10,000 PLWH. We here illustrate the results of this initiative to date. Method(s): Positively UK, NAZ Project, Plus Health and CWHFT trialled approaches to integrating in-clinic peersupport pathways, with the aim of having >90% of those accessing peer-support retained in care, with a VL<50. 3 peer-supporters (2 FTE posts) received NHS honorary contracts, emails and the ability to log interventions within the Trust's EPR. Data on peer-support attendance and outcomes were collected from the EPR into an encrypted NHS database. Result(s): Although planned as an in-person initiative, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift to fully remote support and delayed project initiation to 7/2020, when email referrals commenced for newly diagnosed and those identified as being at risk of lost to follow up (LTFU). Referrals reached 4.4/month within the first 3 months. Initiatives such as MDT, focus group participation, staff teaching, and physical presence in clinics increased referrals to 7/month by 4/2021 and 12/month by 11/2021. Median patient age was 45 years (range 16-74), 13% were female, and 47% from BAME background (vs 34.5% in the CWHFT HIV cohort). Median diagnosis length was 2 years (<1-31). Moving from opt-in to opt-out support for newly diagnosed increased uptake of support from 33% in 4/2021 to 67% by 12/2021. Overall, 287 people (66% of referrals) engaged with peersupport between 7/2020 and 11/2022, with 164 (57%) receiving ongoing support. Virtual appointments moved from 100% to 54% over time. Rates of having a VL<50 increased from 71% at referral to 90% following peer-support, including new diagnoses. Conclusion(s): Implementing in-clinic peer-support pathways significantly increased referrals and uptake of support for new HIV diagnosis and those at risk of LTFU, showing the potential of improving clinical outcomes and quality of life of PLWH.

Shoulder and Upper Arm

Telemedicine was originally created as a way to treat patients who were located in remote places, far away from local health facilities or in areas of with shortages of medical professionals. While telemedicine is still used today to address these problems, it is increasingly becoming a tool for convenient medical care (Ekeland et al., Int J Med Inform 79(11):736-771, 2010). With emergence of pandemics as COVID-19, telemedicine became almost mandatory, a valuable option for continuous medical care provided in various specialties (Ekeland et al., Int J Med Inform 79(11):736-771, 2010). Shoulder examination and assessment is one of the most applicable regions to be assessed through telemedicine approach. A lot of orthopedic cases are seeking medical advice due to various shoulder problems. Virtual orthopedic assessment of different shoulder pathologies would improve patient's quality of life through reaching accurate diagnosis as much as possible and offering appropriate way of management whether conservative or surgical treatment (Sathiyakumar et al., J Orthop Trauma 29(3):e139-e145, 2015). Virtual orthopedic assessment depends on three items: History taking which has very high impact in telemedicine to guide the physician throughout the whole assessment session. Examination is the next step of assessment which for sure will be adjusted to match the situation of virtual way of examining the patients without touch. After fulfillment of these data, physician will order the required investigations whether laboratory or radiological to reach the final diagnosis (Buvik et al., J Med Internet Res 21(2):e11330, 2019). Through this chapter, we will introduce the role of telemedicine in assessment of various shoulder pathologies through systematic virtual shoulder assessment. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, corrected publication 2022.

Dealing with Children and Noncompliant Patients

Decisions in pediatric orthopedic assessment are far more important than incisions, and these depend largely on an examiner's ability to leverage their experience to reach a definitive diagnosis. Telemedicine can be used to diagnose many pediatric orthopedic disorders and can be used in follow-up care after medical and surgical treatments. Its importance has increased dramatically with the uprising of Covid-19 pandemic (Güler and übeyli, J Med Syst 26(3):199-220, 2002;Daruwalla et al., JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2(2):e28, 2014). However, an initial face-to-face assessment is recommended especially in complicated case where the diagnosis is uncertain, such as suspected neuromuscular disorders like cerebral palsy. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022, corrected publication 2022.

An Evaluation of Output from a Uvc Disinfection System

Purpose: UVC radiation has been proven to kill known pathogens and recent years have seen increased adoption of UVC disinfection technology in healthcare settings in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 and other common hospital-acquired infections. European Council Directive 2006/25/EC outlines the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) levels for workers due to artificial optical radiation. Knowing the output of a UVC disinfection system allows us to better quantify the risks however this quantitative information is not readily available to the user for some systems. The purpose of this study was to measure the output of a UVC disinfection system used in a hospital environment using a light meter calibrated for the UVC range. Material(s) and Method(s): The THOR UVC disinfection system (Finsen Technologies Ltd, UK) was used for this study. This system uses 90- watt TUV PL-L mercury lamps (Philips Lighting, UK) which emit UVC light at 254nm. It features 24 bulbs around a central column, and the system is controlled remotely via a tablet interface. An ILT2400 light meter (International Light Technologies, USA) calibrated for the 254nm UVC range was mounted on a tripod. The output was measured under different conditions to determine repeatability, consistency, and variation with height, distance, orientation, and exposure time. Unless stated otherwise the measurements were taken at a distance of 1m and a height of 1.5m. The test area chosen was representative of the maximum size of a patient room with an area of 31m2. Result(s): The mean maximum output of the system was 2.2+/-0.1 mW/ cm2. This was found to be consistent over a period of 25 minutes. These results were used to calculate the time to reach the MPE (T[MPE]). The output at a tower orientation of 0degree and 180degree was found to be 22% higher than those at orientations of 90degree and 270degree. Conclusion(s): Using these quantitative results, it was possible to determine the maximum permissible exposure time for the UVC radiation emitted from this system. The observed variations in system output due to contributions of scattered radiation, system orientation, and height may have implications for the degree of disinfection achieved. The T[MPE] of 2.6 seconds based on these measurements was 20% lower than the value estimated. The orientation of the system was shown to impact the T[MPE]. These results highlight that a multidisciplinary approach which includes Medical Physics should be taken when introducing these systems to a hospital environment. Note: changed to ePoster after submission.Copyright © 2023 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

COVID-19 and Beyond: Taming the Virtual Healthcare Tiger with Colored Petri Nets based Modeling and Simulation

The Coronavirus crisis has forced hospitals globally to develop new virtual service portals and systems to: 1) triage, diagnose, and manage new patients virtually for every clinical specialty at home as their symptoms emerge, avoiding COVID-19 exposure to patient or physicians, and hospitalization, as much as possible, and 2) discharge, track, and support recovered patients via homecare and virtual visits to free as many critical care beds as possible. This paper focuses on simulating and modeling an episode of care with innovative initial patient contact and triage processes using the Colored Petri Net (CPN) formalism to help optimize workflow, patient throughput, and overall system efficacy. The two patient triage programs under consideration are a health system in Australia and an orthopedic surgical program in the US. We describe our model for the US program. Our presented results establish a desired stratification of patients through a virtual musculoskeletal triage. © 2022 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.

Collaborative research services: a peer-led cohort approach

PurposePrior to 2020, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Library's research services spanned multiple service points. Multiple locations were staffed by Library Student Research Assistants (LSRAs) and each location was supervised independently. While efforts to increase collaboration had been underway, much of the work and services remained siloed and often duplicated training and service hours.Design/methodology/approachWith the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), UCLA Library rapidly transitioned from entirely in-person to entirely online services. With multiple service points pivoting, UCLA was redundant to have multiple online desks providing Zoom appointments and that quickly became apparent. Moreover, transitioning in-person student work to remote work was paramount to providing both normal services to users and allowing LSRAs to keep jobs during a time of uncertainty and insecurity.FindingsWhile the authors' original consolidation of services and implementation of shared supervision was a result of the pandemic and primarily involved online services, the authors have maintained this shared approach and collaborative vision in returning to in-person services. For the past year, the authors have offered shared in-person (at two library locations) and online services. As subject-specific library locations begin to reopen their desks, the authors continue to identify ways to leverage shared supervision and a robust referral model for those on-site services while negotiating student staffing and the need for both general and subject-specific services.Originality/valueThe authors present a novel approach to peer-to-peer teaching and learning and research services and shared student worker supervision with services coordinated across multiple locations and disciplines within a large academic library serving a large student population.

SARS-COV-2 IS DETECTED IN THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT OF ASYMPTOMATIC OUTPATIENTS USING ROUTINE ENDOSCOPY BUT POSES MINIMAL TRANSMISSION RISK

Objective: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been detected in multiple organ systems including the gastrointestinal (GI) tract using standard PCR techniques. However, whether the human gut supports active SARS-CoV-2 replication leading to shedding of infectious virions is still a matter of debate. Our study aimed to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 could be recovered from the GI tract of asymptomatic outpatients to assess the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure for healthcare workers performing routine endoscopies. Methods: Between April 2020 and February 2021, we enrolled 112 patients aged 19 – 70 years undergoing elective endoscopic procedures who had no known SARS-CoV-2 exposure or recent COVID-19 test result (n=100) or who had a history of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection but had recovered at the time of the procedure (n=12). None of the patients had gastrointestinal symptoms at the time of COVID-19 infection or respiratory complaints at the time of the endoscopy. Liquids and biopsies from the colon, ileum, duodenum, and stomach were collected during endoscopy following standard bowel preparation protocols. Samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR, and PCR-positive samples were analyzed for the presence of infectious virus by VeroE6 plaque assays. We also used plaque assays to assess whether endoscopic colonic liquids could inactivate SARSCoV- 2. Results: Interestingly, one colonic biopsy out of the 255 tissue samples collected from patients with no known SARS-CoV-2 exposure tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR. Out of 12 patients who had recovered from COVID-19 between 2 and 21 weeks before the endoscopic procedure, three colonic fluid samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (Fig. 1A). Positive PCR results were confirmed by an independent laboratory. Importantly, no replication-competent virus was detected in any of the tissue or liquid samples. In vitro treatment of SARS-CoV-2 with colonic liquid showed that SARS-CoV-2 was completely inactivated after 24 hours, but at 10 minutes and 1-hour viral inactivation varied considerably between samples (Fig. 1B). Discussion: In 25% (3 out of 12) of patients with previous COVID-19 history, virus was detected by PCR for up to 5 months following resolution of symptoms. Viral genomes were also detected in colonic biopsies from one subject with no known SARS-CoV-2 infection, consistent with a large proportion of asymptomatic infections in the US population. The persistent detection of SARS-CoV-2 genomes in endoscopy samples after resolution of COVID-19 points to the gut as a reservoir for SARS-CoV-2 and confirms previous reports of long-term SARS-CoV-2 shedding in fecal samples. However, the absence of infectious virions in the samples and the rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in colon liquids suggests that the risk to healthcare workers involved in endoscopy procedures is likely low. (Figure Presented)

Changes in body mass parameters in a paediatric renal transplant population in different stages of social lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic

Background: Renal transplant patients are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease than the general population. Excess weight is a significant risk factor for all patients, with weight gain post-transplant a particular concern. Methods: This retrospective observational study of children attending the renal transplant clinic monitored changes in weight and body mass index over the first 12 months of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic, during which multiple restrictions on socialising and school attendance occurred. Results: 46 post-kidney transplant patients at least 6 months post-transplant were included. 26 patients gained weight, 11 patients had stable weight and 9 lost weight. The mean weight z-score across the patient cohort increased from -0.053 at start of lockdown 1, to 0.132 4 months post-lockdown 1, increasing further to 0.196 after lockdown 2. Mean BMI z-score increased from 0.633 at onset of lockdown to 0.788 at end of lockdown 1. Conclusion: The majority of paediatric post-kidney transplant patients demonstrated increases in weight and BMI z-score over the periods of lockdown. The potential consequences of the pandemic and societal responses continue to emerge.

Design, Implementation, and Instructor Reflections on Teaching a Face-to-Face Advanced Synthetic Chemistry Laboratory Course during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The global COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on university course design, implementation, and instruction, with many courses being offered remotely rather than face-to-face to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, more and more courses are transitioning back to face-to-face instruction. In this article, we describe the design and implementation of an advanced synthetic chemistry laboratory course that was taught face-to-face during the COVID-19 pandemic and prior to the mass distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. We were able to utilize physical distancing as a teaching strategy, along with personalized scheduling of experiments, designated pathways, individual workstations and lab kits, enhanced sanitation, and self-reflection exercises, to create a course with a significant focus on the individual student experience. Instructor reflections suggest that this course was well-received by both instructors and students and was successful in meeting the course learning objectives while maintaining the health and safety of all participants. © 2022 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.

Binge-Watching in Times of COVID-19: A Longitudinal Examination of Changes in Affect and TV Series Consumption Patterns During Lockdown

Public Policy Relevance Statement This is the first large-scale longitudinal study specifically designed to explore the impact of TV series viewing practices on individuals' affective states during the first COVID-19 lockdown. TV series consumption patterns significantly increased over this period. Problematic binge-watching characterized by loss of control seemed to act as a maladaptive strategy to regulate emotional states, whereas watching TV series for social motives emerged as a protective factor in the lockdown context. COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have had major negative effects on individuals' mental health and psychological well-being. Isolated at home, people may engage in recreational activities such as binge-watching (i.e., viewing multiple episodes of a TV series in 1 session) as a strategy to regulate emotional states. This is the first longitudinal study assessing changes in TV series viewing patterns during the first COVID-19 lockdown and examining whether binge-watching was associated with changes in positive and negative affect throughout this period. TV series viewing practices and motivations, binge-watching behaviors, psychopathological symptoms, and affective states were jointly assessed through a 6-week longitudinal online survey at 3 time points (i.e., T1, T2, and T3), in Belgium, France, and Switzerland. Results showed significant increases in individuals' watching habits (e.g., higher daily time spent viewing, expansion of coviewing practices). Results from the longitudinal analyses principally showed that male gender and social motives for TV series watching predicted a decrease in negative affect levels. A problematic binge-watching pattern characterized by loss of control was the single predictor of an increase in negative affect over time. These findings suggest that TV series watching patterns effectively increased during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Watching TV series for social motives emerged as a protective factor, whereas problematic binge-watching seemed to act as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy throughout these unprecedented circumstances.

Passion in the pit: the effects of harmonious and obsessive passion on nurse burnout

Purpose Anecdotal and survey reports indicate that nurses are suffering increased stress and burnout due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Therefore, this study investigated two forms of passion, harmonious and obsessive passion, as resources that may indirectly predict two forms of burnout, disengagement and exhaustion, through the mediator of job stress. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested their hypotheses in a mediation model using a sample of nurses surveyed at three timepoints during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings As hypothesized, harmonious passion indirectly decreased disengagement and exhaustion by decreasing job stress. Contrary to authors' hypotheses, obsessive passion also indirectly decreased (rather than increased, as hypothesized) both disengagement and exhaustion by decreasing job stress. Harmonious, but not obsessive, passion, was significantly negatively directly related to disengagement and exhaustion. Research limitations/implications Data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have impacted nurses' work environments and their willingness to respond. Originality/value This study extends conservation of resources theory to conceptualize harmonious and obsessive passion as resources with differing outcomes based on their contrasting identity internalization, per the Dualistic Model of Passion. This study also operationalizes burnout more comprehensively by including cognitive and physical exhaustion along with emotional exhaustion, as well as disengagement. By collecting responses at three timepoints, this study provides a more robust test of causality than previous work examining passion and burnout.

Unique technology preferences in older adults with type 1 diabetes

Older adults with type 1 diabetes (OAwT1D) face challenges such as hypoglycemia, cognitive dysfunction, and physical limitations. Limited data on their technology use is available. We evaluated technology preferences in OAwT1D stratified by tech-savviness. Adults ≥ 65 years old (n=26) were enrolled at two sites during the COVID-19 pandemic. Subjects were stratified as tech-savvy or non-tech savvy based on the Pew Technology Survey. Health-related quality of life was assessed by the SF-36 Survey. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted (n=23) and analyzed for thematic content using ATLAS.ti v8.0. Individuals were all well-educated;those in the tech-savvy group were younger, more likely to be employed, and reported better physical functioning (Table 1). Per interview data, all subjects used a computer, smartphone, or the internet;the non-savvy group relied more on others to help download information or navigate content. Subjects preferred in-person training, menu systems with data access in 3 steps, flexibility of data access and entry, and/or a help menu. For device management, 6/23 subjects downloaded their data to share with care teams and 14/23 subjects cited healthcare providers as their primary tech support. OAwT1D have unique preferences for technology use and training. Customized training for device use and patient support should be considered to maximize device benefits in this high-risk group.

The Racialized Pandemic: Wave One of COVID-19 and the Reproduction of Global North Inequalities

We document the broad patterns of COVID-19 as it affects minority communities. We present a theoretical framework rooted in Global North democracies' racial and ethnic legacies to analyze the health and economic disparities between these communities and the white majority population. Marshalling first-cut empirical evidence from the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sweden, we find patterns of the pandemic's distribution consistent with how the burden of racial and ethnic legacies endures: people from minority communities have worse health and economic outcomes under normal circumstances, inequalities the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated. The comparison shows that the impact of racial and ethnic discrimination on pandemic policy outcomes is not unique to the United States. Health inequalities stemming in part from patterns of institutional racism and discrimination perversely help reproduce these societal inequities. We find that governments' initial responses have failed to mitigate the disproportionate impact of this health and economic crisis on minority communities because they did not acknowledge or address the particular challenges that these groups face. © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association.

Long-term follow-up of adult hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients diagnosed with COVID19

Background: Long-term complications of COVID-19 in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) recipients are unknown. Recent studies have described short term outcomes of COVID19 infection post allogeneic (allo) and autologous (auto) HCT. In this study we provide long term follow-up of the outcomes of COVID19 infection in allo and auto HCT recipients. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of adult patients who have received allo or auto HCT and were subsequently diagnosed with COVID-19 infection between March-December 2020. We summarized patient characteristics, laboratory and treatment data related to COVID-19 infection in these patients. Results: In this study, we provide long-term follow-up of over 7 months. Fifteen patients were identified for inclusion (allo n = 12, auto n = 3). Median follow-up was 7.8 months (range 1.9-10.7) for surviving patients. Median age at COVID-19 diagnosis was 55 years (range 24-77). Most patients were > 1 year out from transplant (allo n = 10, auto n = 1, 73%). Two patients (allo n = 1, auto n = 1, 13%) had undergone transplant within the preceding month. Most allo patients (n = 11, 73%) had received myeloablative conditioning. At the time of COVID-19 diagnosis, 9 allo patients (75%) were on immunosuppression (IS) (n = 7 for chronic graftversus-host-disease (GVHD);n = 2 for GVHD prophylaxis). Eleven patients (73%) required hospitalization (allo n = 9, auto n = 2). Per the National Institutes of Health definitions of COVID-19 illness severity, 3 patients had critical disease (allo n = 2, auto n = 1, 20%), 5 severe (allo n = 5, 33%), 3 moderate (allo n = 2, auto n = 1, 20%), and 4 mild (allo n = 3, auto n = 1, 27%). All patients with chronic GVHD required hospitalization. Two patients died (allo n = 1, auto n = 1, 13%)-both had critical COVID-19 infections, were > 65 years old, > 3 years out from transplant, and had significant comorbidities. The allo patient was receiving prednisone < 1 mg/kg for chronic lung GVHD at COVID-19 diagnosis. Two allo patients developed either acute GVHD or chronic GVHD exacerbation within 3 months of their infection. One patient developed biopsy-proven acute GVHD (max grade III) 3 weeks after her infection and another patient developed a severe exacerbation of chronic GVHD within 3 months-both continue to require multi-modal IS. The remaining 7 patients with chronic GVHD have been maintained on either stable or tapered IS. Conclusions: Given the effect of COVID-19 infection, its impact on HCT recipients is important to define. The majority of HCT patients who contracted moderate-critical COVID-19 infections in our study were either on IS or had significant comorbidities. Our observational data points to the importance of long-term follow-up in HCT patients. Future studies are needed to delineate whether there is a relationship between COVID-19 infection and GVHD development or exacerbation. The role of vaccination in HCT recipients remains to be explored.

COVID-19: A Crisis of Borders

The public health crisis of COVID-19 has compounded preexisting crises of democratic stability and effective governance, spurring debate about the ability of developed democracies to respond effectively to emergencies confronting their citizens. These crises, much discussed in recent political science, are joined by a further crisis which complicates and reinforces them: A migration crisis. Widespread travel and immigration restrictions instigated the largest and fastest decline in global human mobility in modern history, and COVID-19 may fundamentally change immigration over the longer term. The migration crisis heightens three crucial and preexisting concerns within immigration policy: the role of visa design;the status of undocumented migrants and other migrants without recourse to public funds;and the interaction of immigration and the labor market policy. It could reinforce a rising tide of nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment, protectionist sentiment within labor-market policy debates, and a K-shaped recovery in migration patterns. © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Political Science Association.

Detection and Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 Variants Belonging to the B.1.1.7 Lineage in the Philippines.

We report the sequencing and detection of 36 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) samples containing lineage-defining mutations specific to viruses belonging to the B.1.1.7 lineage in the Philippines.

Genome sequencing and detection of Philippine SARS-CoV-2 infections with viruses classified under the B.1.1.7 lineage (preprint)

We report the sequencing and detection of 39 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the Philippines identified to be caused by viruses under the B.1.1.7 lineage (UK variant). Genome sequences obtained from these samples carry the lineage-defining mutations associated with the said variant of concern.