Commemorative Populism in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Strategic (Ab)use of Memory in Anti-Corona Protest Communication on Telegram

During the COVID-19 pandemic, self-proclaimed resistance movements have organized protests against containment measures both in digital media and on the streets. References to the past and an invocation of collective memory have been important elements in the toolbox of their populist communication. We propose the notion of "commemorative populism" to describe the weaponization of history and memory for the proliferation of a political cause by populist activists. In a qualitative content analysis, we examined postings by the German "Querdenker," a movement against Corona containment policies. Findings show 6 types of the (ab)use of history and collective memory: (1) the recontextualization of quotations by historical personalities, (2) the creation of false historical analogies and flattering genealogies, (3) the claim of historical exceptionalism, (4) the denigration of elites by referring to failures of medical history, (5) the dissemination of disinformation about historical facts, and (6) the support of conspiracy myths by the myths' own history.

Acting Egoistically in a Crisis: How Emotions Shape Data Donations

The spread of COVID-19 has affected all of us, be it financially, socially, or even physically. It has caused uncertainty and anxiety, which has put people into a "hot" mental state. Referred to as an empathy gap, people are assumed to make emotion-driven decisions in "hot" states compared to "cold" states, which contrasts with the normative assumption of rational decision-making in privacy research. Based on an experimental survey study among 445 participants, we investigate whether people's mental state interacts with individuals' information disclosure decision-making. We measure our research model in the context of actual health data donation, which constitutes a critical surveillance factor in the COVID-19 crisis. Thereby, we contribute to research by (1) investigating data donation behavior amid a crisis and (2) helping to explain further nuances of privacy decision-making and the importance of trust as a context-dependent driver of data donation. © 2022 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.

Masked Covid life: a socio-semiotic investigation

The necessity of wearing masks in response to the spread of the Covid-19 took Europe and the USA by surprise. Legislation needed to be enacted to enforce the obligation on citizens not used to such practices. The authors investigate the semiotic function of masks, legislations enacted to enforce their usage in public places, and the mask-related discourse (MRD) with a view to seeing how societies reacted to this imposition. A broad semiotic perspective is provided to analyze different attitudes and types of MRD that have emerged in Poland, France, and the USA.

IMPACTO DA PANDEMIA DE COVID-19 EM UM LABORATÓRIO DE HEMOSTASIA

Objetivos: Com o início da pandemia de COVID-19 em 2020, houve um aumento importante na demanda dos serviços de saúde assim como nos laboratórios de análises clínicas. O objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar o impacto da pandemia no perfil de exames de um laboratório de hemostasia da região da grande Florianópolis (SC). Material e métodos: Foram avaliados dados estatísticos de número de exames realizados de Tempo de Protrombina (TP), Tempo de Tromboplastina Parcial Ativada (TTPA), Dosagem de Fibrinogênio, D-Dímero (DD), Anticoagulante Lúpico (AL), Dosagem de Antitrombina (AT), Proteína C Funcional (PC), Proteína S Funcional (PS), Proteína S Livre (PSL), Dosagem de Fator VIII (FVIII), Tempo de Trombina (TT), em 2019 (pré-pandemia), em comparação com volume de exames realizados nos de 2020 e nos primeiros sete meses de 2021. Resultados: No ano de 2020, foi observada diminuição no número de todos os exames, com exceção do Fibrinogênio e do DD que apresentaram um aumento significativo em 2020 e 2021. Em relação ao ano de 2019, o fibrinogênio teve um aumento na média mensal de exames em 2020 de 93%, e de 285% em 2021. Também em relação ao ano de 2019, o DD teve um aumento de 306% em 2020, e de 769% em 2021. Em 2021 foi observado um aumento nos exames AL (13%), AT (11%) e TT (73%) em relação ao ano de 2019. Os demais exames não apresentaram aumento da demanda. Discussão: A diminuição no número dos exames no ano de 2020 foi um reflexo da queda no movimento de pacientes ambulatoriais no período de isolamento da pandemia. Em 2021 o aumento no número de exames foi devido ao agravamento do número de casos na região, com consequente aumento no número de internações. O grande aumento nos exames de Fibrinogênio e D dímero era esperado devido à natureza inflamatória e trombótica da doença. Eventos trombóticos ocorrem em até um terço dos pacientes com COVID-19, sendo predominantemente embolia pulmonar, e são associados com doença mais severa e mortalidade aumentada. Este fato pode estar associado ao aumento da demanda de exames para investigação de risco e de eventos trombóticos, como o Anticoagulante Lúpico e a Antitrombina. Conclusão: Através da análise dos dados, conclui-se que a pandemia determinou importantes impactos no laboratório de hemostasia, por conta das complicações trombóticas associadas à COVID-19.

The impact of mortality shocks on modelling and insurance valuation as exemplified by COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupts the relatively steady trend of improving longevity observed in many countries over the last decades. We claim that this needs to be addressed explicitly in many mortality modelling applications, for example, in the life insurance industry. To support this position, we provide a descriptive analysis of the mortality development of several countries up to and including the year 2020. Furthermore, we perform an empirical and theoretical investigation of the impact a mortality jump has on the parameters, forecasts and implied present values of the popular Lee-Carter mortality model. We find that COVID-19 has resulted in substantial mortality shocks in many countries. We show that such shocks have a large impact on point and interval forecasts of death rates and, consequently, on the valuation of mortality-related insurance products. We obtain similar findings under the Cairns-Blake-Dowd mortality model, which demonstrates that the effects caused by COVID-19 show up in a variety of models. Finally, we provide a n overview of approaches to handle extreme mortality events such as the COVID-19 pandemic in mortality modelling.

Provision of reproductive and cancer genetics services during COVID-19 pandemic

Clinical services across the country were significantly disrupted earlyin 2020 due to the immense pressures for hospital beds andemergency services as a result of the COVID pandemic. At our center,all nonessential ambulatory clinical services were halted for 3.5months starting on 03/18/20 until sufficient safeguards to reopencould be established. Alternatives to traditional genetic counselingand laboratory evaluation were instituted.We will review the measures taken by our reproductive and cancergenetics clinical services to provide uninterrupted access to counselingand care. A major tool that allowed this to be accomplished wasvideo conferencing by counselors and physicians with patients whoremained at home. Several platforms were utilized with variablesuccess during this interval. We compare the number of patientencounters that our Division of Clinical Geneticswas able to provide incontrast to the number of ambulatory visits that were done across ourother departmental services.In general, the number of counseling encounters remained steadyduring the entire timespan that our campus services in lockdown orseverely restricted. There was no significant change in the number ofpatient encounters when compared to anticipated RVUs that werebudgeted, indeed, our number actually increased during mid-Springof 2020. This is in contrast to other ambulatory visits within ourdepartment of OB/GYN that were observed to decrease by approximately50% at the nadir. Laboratory testing was switched to usingmailed saliva kits when feasible, or alternate blood draw sites asneeded. Prenatal diagnostic procedures continued to be performedonsite, and that volume remained steady as well, although theindications for diagnostic testing shifted from our usual pattern, withfewer procedures being performed for maternal age indications, although this percentage returned to its usual state as the clinics liftedrestrictions.By making use of video and/or telephone conferencing, our clinicalgenetics patient encounterswere maintained at usual volumes duringthe early and mid-portion of the COVID pandemic, at a time whenmany other clinical services were disrupted. Future studies will needto include the accessibility, ease of use, and patient satisfaction withinthe tele- or videoconferencing visits. This may very well changegenetic counseling services in the future with more providers andpatients choosing telemedicine over in-person sessions for the initialcounseling interaction.

Immunization coverage is essential for teaching and learning on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION: Over the past three semesters, universities in many countries have had to organize learning and teaching off campus to protect health and safety of students and staff. In Germany, the political goal of returning well over 50% of all courses to face-to-face teaching can only be achieved if as many students as possible are fully vaccinated. We provide an analysis of students' attitudes and experiences towards pandemic-related health and safety measures and with existing immunization programs. The results will inform the development and adjustment of future immunization services. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We developed a mixed-methods approach including an online survey and an accompanying document analysis of relevant health and safety material providing additional background for the interpretation of the results. The survey included questions on attitudes towards pandemic-related health and safety measures, vaccination status, and experiences with the accessibility of vaccination services. RESULTS AND CONCULUSION: The student survey (n = 4036;response rate = 15%) was conducted at the University of Tübingen between July and August 2021. Of all students, 74% had already been fully vaccinated, indicating a high level of acceptance regarding the COVID-19 vaccination among students. Students considered both behavioral and structural preventive measures as important. After three semesters of online classes, this is likely to play a significant role in preventing coronavirus infections when campus life resumes in October 2021. We are currently recruiting new participants to compare results between universities.

Mental Disorders and COVID-19 Risks - new Relations

Die Corona-Forschung identifizierte bereits verschiedenste Risikofaktoren fur eine COVID-19-Erkrankung und Sterblichkeit - darunter auch psychische Erkrankungen. Die Risiken unterscheiden sich jedoch je nach Patientengruppe und COVID-19-Ergebnisvariable. Ein Zusammenschluss vieler europaischer Wissenschaftler beschaftigte sich nun mit dem Sterblichkeits-, Hospitalisierungs- und Intensivstationsrisiko bei verschiedenen psychischen Storungen.