Government regulations to mitigate the shortage of life-saving goods in the face of a pandemic

During a pandemic, it is essential to secure a broad allocation of life-saving goods, such as medical and protective products, to save lives. However, these goods are often in short supply, due to consumer hoarding, insufficient manufacturing capacity and price gouging. Herein, we develop a game-theoretic supply chain model to evaluate the impact of government regulations on the shortage of life-saving goods and profit within the supply chain. Our model considers three types of regulation: (i) price regulation in the form of a price cap, (ii) purchase regulation or demand rationing and (iii) a combination thereof. The most distinguishing feature of our model is that it captures consumer panic buying, insufficient capacity, price surges and controls on the supply and demand side of the supply chain that are widely observed during a pandemic. The results establish reasonably simple prescriptions for policymakers to design effective and easy-to-implement regulations to mitigate shortages of critical supplies in the face of a pandemic.

Dynamics of NK, CD8 and Tfh cell mediated the production of cytokines and antiviral antibodies in Chinese patients with moderate COVID-19.

Recent studies have demonstrated a marked decrease in peripheral lymphocyte levels in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Few studies have focused on the changes of NK, T- and B-cell subsets, inflammatory cytokines and virus-specific antibodies in patients with moderate COVID-19. A total of 11 RT-PCR-confirmed convalescent patients with COVID-19 and 11 patients with non-SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia (control patients) were enrolled in this study. NK, CD8+ T, CD4+ T, Tfh-like and B-cell subsets were analysed using flow cytometry. Cytokines and SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies were analysed using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. NK cell counts were significantly higher in patients with COVID-19 than in control patients (P = 0.017). Effector memory CD8+ T-cell counts significantly increased in patients with COVID-19 during a convalescent period of 1 week (P = 0.041). TIM-3+ Tfh-like cell and CD226+ Tfh-like cell counts significantly increased (P = 0.027) and decreased (P = 0.022), respectively, during the same period. Moreover, ICOS+ Tfh-like cell counts tended to decrease (P = 0.074). No abnormal increase in cytokine levels was observed. The high expression of NK cells is important in innate immune response against SARS-CoV-2. The increase in effector memory CD8+ T-cell counts, the up-regulation of inhibitory molecules and the down-regulation of active molecules on CD4+ T cells and Tfh-like cells in patients with COVID-19 would benefit the maintenance of balanced cellular and humoural immune responses, may prevent the development of severe cases and contribute to the recovery of patients with COVID-19.