Pandemic Risk Management for Public Health Care Schemes.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, has caused a large death, a range of serious health problems, and significant economic costs in many countries around the world. This study analyzes statistical characteristics of pandemic disasters using historical records since the Middle Ages. Compared to literature which studies the effect of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the financial market, this paper attempts to find two financial instruments in the financial market to hedge pandemic risks. Two instruments could be useful for public health care schemes to increase their assets or decrease their liabilities during the pandemic period, namely, assets in the form of a biotechnology investment portfolio and liabilities in the form of pandemic bonds. Empirical results show the feasibility of such instruments and the informational efficiency of the U.S. stock market.

Review of oral ulcerative lesions in COVID-19 patients: A comprehensive study of 51 cases.

Numerous oral manifestations of COVID-19 have been reported in the literatures. Common oral lesions in COVID-19 patients included ulcerations, xerostomia, dysgeusia, gingival inflammation, and erythema. Among them, oral ulceration is the most frequent finding and is present as various but distinct patterns. Thus, we conducted a comprehensive review of 51 COVID-19 patients with oral ulcerative lesions to further analyze the various oral ulcerative lesions in COVID-19 patients. There were a median age of 41.4 years and a slight female predilection in these patients. Most oral lesions manifested as an aphtha-like ulceration but lack of an evidence of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Some of them were present as herpetiform ulcerations without HSV infection. Widespread ulcerations accompanied with necrosis were observed in the more severe and immunosuppressed older patients. Although some reported patients were asymptomatic, most of them had systemic symptoms concurring or slightly preceding the oral ulcerative lesions and the latency from the onset of systemic symptoms to oral ulcerative lesions were under 10 days, suggesting that oral ulceration was one of the early symptoms of COVID-19. Therefore, the oral ulcerative lesions may be considered as oral markers for early diagnosis of the underlying COVID-19 infection in the asymptomatic patients.