ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic that forced the closure of campuses in the spring of 2020 accelerated the diffusion of distance education in Universities worldwide. The need to shift to distance education without time to prepare or train teachers or students led to what has been called a crisis learning situation in what was far from a seamless transition. This article surveyed 200 students at a large university in the United States at the end of the spring semester in 2020 about their online learner readiness including access to technological infrastructure (computers and highspeed Internet access), computer self-efficacy, computer anxiety, and how that influenced positive and negative learning experiences and feelings about distance education and learning. A four-stage Structural Equation Model shows a detailed picture of the distance education process and suggests intervention points to improve its outcomes. Results suggest that access to technological infrastructure are necessary but not sufficient for successful distance education experiences and point to the critical importance of computer self-efficacy and anxiety in predicting positive (or negative) learning experiences, which lead to increased feelings of learning and the likelihood that students will choose distance education in the future. © 2022 ACM.
ABSTRACT
Atypical disease presentations are common in older adults with COVID-19. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of atypical and typical symptoms in older adults with COVID-19 through progressive pandemic waves and the association of these symptoms with in -hospital mortality. This retrospective cohort study included consecutive adults aged over 65 years with confirmed COVID-19 infection who were admitted to seven hospitals in Toronto, Canada, from 1 March 2020 to 30 June 2021. The median age for the 1786 patients was 78.0 years and 847 (47.5%) were female. Atypical symptoms (as defined by geriatric syndromes) occurred in 1187 patients (66.5%), but rarely occurred in the absence of other symptoms (n = 106;6.2%). The most common atypical symptoms were anorexia (n = 598;33.5%), weakness (n = 519;2 3.9%), and delirium (n = 449;25.1%). Dyspnea (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.05;95% confidence interval [CI] 1.62-2.62), tachycardia (aOR 1.87;95% CI 1.14-3.04), and delirium (aOR 1.52;95% CI 1.18-1.96) were inde-pendently associated with in-hospital mortality. In a cohort of older adults hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, atypical presentations frequently overlapped with typical symptoms. Further research should be directed at understanding the cause and clinical significance of atypical presenta-tions in older adults.
ABSTRACT
What is already known about this topic? Data are limited regarding the risks for SARS-CoV-2 infection and hospitalization after COVID-19 vaccination and previous infection. What is added by this report? During May-November 2021, case and hospitalization rates were highest among persons who were unvaccinated without a previous diagnosis. Before Delta became the predominant variant in June, case rates were higher among persons who survived a previous infection than persons who were vaccinated alone. By early October, persons who survived a previous infection had lower case rates than persons who were vaccinated alone. What are the implications for public health practice? Although the epidemiology of COVID-19 might change as new variants emerge, vaccination remains the safest strategy for averting future SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, long-term sequelae, and death. Primary vaccination, additional doses, and booster doses are recommended for all eligible persons. Additional future recommendations for vaccine doses might be warranted as the virus and immunity levels change.
ABSTRACT
The current pandemic of the novel coronavirus SAR-CoV-2, and the disease it causes known as COVID-19, resulted in this years' annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) being held virtually, with presentations being made via webcasts and posters available online. This did not prevent the conference from providing its usual high-quality data to its participants including basic, translational and clinical researchers from around the world covering developments and research methods in the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS and related infectious diseases. Adapting to the unique situation, CROI also held a special session on the COVID-19 virus, with experts providing the information on current knowledge of the outbreak and its causative pathogen. At the time of the conference, the virus had affected over 110,000 people from over 110 countries and treatments and vaccines are yet to be discovered. Copyright © 2020 Clarivate Analytics.