COVID-19 and Sleep Disturbances: A Literature Review of Clinical Evidence.

The need for adequate good quality sleep to optimally function is well known. Over years, various physical, psychological, biological, and social factors have been investigated to understand their impact on sleep. However, understanding the etiological processes that are involved in causing sleep disturbances (SD) as impacted by stressful phases such as pandemics has not been well studied. Many such etiological and management strategies have surfaced during the latest "coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The occurrence of these SD in the infected and uninfected individuals poses a need to investigate factors linked to such occurrence during this phase. Some of such factors include stressful practices such as social distancing, masking, vaccines, and medications availability, changes in routines, and lifestyles. As the status of infection improved, a collective term for all the prolonged effects of COVID-19 after the resolution of the primary infection called the post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS) surfaced. Apart from impacting sleep during the infectious phase, the aftereffects of this virus left an even greater impact during the PCS. Various mechanisms have been hypothesized to be linked to such SD during the PCS, but the available data are inconclusive. Further, the varied patterns of incidence of these SDs differed by many factors, such as age, gender, and geographical location, making clinical management even more challenging. This review elucidates the impact of coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (COVID) disease on sleep health during the various phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also investigate different causal relationships, management strategies, and knowledge gaps related to SD during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 Misinformation: A Potent Co-Factor in the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19, the biggest global health crisis of our times was complicated by an equally potent co-factor: the misinformation infodemic. A confluence of unique factors led to the emergence of the crisis of misinformation, including the widespread reach of social media, the lack of credible sources and strategies for information dissemination, and the sticky and virulent nature of the misinformation campaigns. One of the primary targets of the misinformation campaign was the COVID-19 vaccine effort, leading to significant impediments to implementing an effective and successful vaccination campaign. The time to act is now and will need a concerted multipronged approach with a close partnership between scientists, public health agencies, government agencies, and social media companies to foster accuracy in the exchange of health information in social media and curb the menace of misinformation. This paper aims to review the scope of the problem and examine strategies to help mitigate it.

Novel and Controversial Therapies in COVID-19.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which has led scientists all over the world to push for the identification of novel therapies for COVID-19. The lack of a vaccine and specific treatment has led to a surge of novel therapies and their publicity in recent times. Under these unprecedented circumstances, a myriad of drugs used for other diseases is being evaluated and repositioned to treat COVID-19 (example- Remdesivir, Baricitinib). While multiple trials for potential drugs and vaccines are ongoing, and there are many unproven remedies with little or no supporting evidence. Presently, discussions are revolving around the use of multivitamins (Vitamin, C, D, A), minerals (selenium, zinc), probiotics, flavonoids, polyphenols, and herbal remedies (curcumin, artemisinin, herbal drinks). Our review delves further into the details of some of these controversial therapies for COVID-19.