ABSTRACT
Purpose: To clarify the association between the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic curve and Google Trends search volumes for the disease during the three major epidemic waves in Japan. Method: Correlation between the number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 in Japan and the internet search volume for “corona” in the period 12th January 2020 to 19th February 2021 was evaluated using the open database provided by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation and Google Trends index data. Results: The peak search volume for “corona” was highest during the first wave and lowest during the third wave. In contrast, the peak number of new cases per week was lowest during the first wave and highest during the third wave. The search volume and number of new cases per week showed strong correlations in each wave;however, the search volume in each wave decreased remarkably from the first to the third wave. Conclusion: This study identified evidence of so-called “pandemic fatigue”, a habituation reaction against COVID-19, in Japan. Prolonged and repeated waves of the epidemic have made people less sensitive for preventing spread of coronavirus disease 2019. Sustained, clear communication will be required to elicit the cooperation of the population in controlling the pandemic. © 2022 Hirosaki University School of Medicine. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Though COVID vaccines have been available since December 2020, the rate at which they are administered remains slow, and in the meantime the pandemic continues to claim about as many lives every day as the 9/11 tragedy. I estimate that with the promised rate of vaccinations, if no additional non-pharmaceutical interventions are implemented, 203 thousand additional lives will be lost and the future cost of the pandemic will reach $1.3 trillion, or 6% of GDP. Using a cost-benefit analysis, I assess whether it is optimal for the United States to follow the lead of many European countries and introduce a nation-wide lockdown. I find that a lockdown would be indeed optimal and, depending on the assumptions, it should last between two and four weeks and will generate a net benefit of up to $653 billion.
ABSTRACT
It has been observed that the degree of pulmonary involvement shown in chest computed tomography (CT) scans tended to decrease as the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection decreased in the Turkish population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the disease severity based on chest CT scans and the temporal evolution of the epidemic. This study recruited 179 patients with confirmed COVID-19 disease who had received a chest CT scan between March 14 and April 28, 2020. The participants were divided into three successive temporal groups based on their date of CT examination. The early (March 14-29), mid (March 30-April 13), and late (April 14-28) groups were compared regarding the presence and extent of pulmonary involvement and CT characteristics of lesions. COVID-19 pneumonia was less extensive in participants under 45 years of age and patients presenting late in the course of epidemic (i.e., the late group) compared those presenting earlier. When each group was subcategorized on the basis of age, older patients in the late group had less extensive lung involvement than older patients in the early group. However, there was no significant difference in the extent of lung involvement in younger patients between the late and early groups. The severity of COVID-19 pneumonia appears to be variable at different temporal windows of the epidemic curve and decreases in patients presenting in the later weeks compared to the earlier weeks, particularly in older patients.