Effect of Vaccination on Risk of Exposure to Airborne Infectious Disease During the Boarding Process in a Commercial Aircraft Using Agent-Based Simulation

As increasing proportions of the world's population have received at least one dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, everyday activities start to be resumed, including travels. The present study investigates the impact of immunization on the risk of exposure to an infectious disease such as COVID-19, during the boarding process in a commercial airplane. An agent-based simulation model considers different vaccine types and vaccination rates among passengers. The results show significant decrease in the median exposure risk, when the vaccination rate increases from 0% to 100%, but also that people in seats adjacent to an infectious passenger are in much higher risk, for a similar vaccination coverage. Such results provide quantitative evidence of the importance of mass immunization, and also that, when full vaccination is not guaranteed for 100% of passengers, it may be recommendable to avoid full occupancy of the aircraft, by implementing physical distancing when assigning seats. © 2022 IEEE.

Gender expressions in the care and COVID-19 prevention process during the pandemic: reflections from and to social occupational therapy

This article discusses the expressions of gender in the care and prevention process of COVID-19 and seeks to explain the manifestations of sexism in issues related to the changes in daily life caused by the pandemic, in addition to reflecting on the possibilities of actions of occupational therapy in this context. The investigation presented in this article unfolded from a broader project, entitled: "Inequalities and vulnerabilities in the COVID-19 epidemic: monitoring analysis, and recommendations", carried out between May and November 2020, whose general objective was to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in more vulnerable neighborhoods of the municipalities where the study was carried out. The methodology was based on the use of material produced in the field research process;this is a qualitative study that focused on the information obtained through conversation circles, interviews, application of questionnaires, the production of reports and field diaries, and the articulation of this material with theoretical references that favor social occupational therapy and gender studies. Among the results, it's possible to highlight the different ways in which men and women comprehended the period and established their ways of life in the pandemic, in addition to the different attitudes and behaviors towards the care necessary to prevent COVID-19. The critique of hegemonic masculinity allows for an accumulation of knowledge that favors the development of interventional processes, such as the carrying out of activity workshops and conversation circles that aim to soften the reflexes of this thought on society.

Social vulnerability and Covid-19: considerations based on social occupational therapy

Social occupational therapy has been located throughout history as a subarea that is built in Brazil, mainly on the emergence of studying, researching, and questioning themes related to the social contradictions and injustices of capitalist society, proposing occupational therapy's actions that seek to face them. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the chasms created by these contradictions have become increasingly evident, nationally and globally, given the existing structural inequality. The population in social vulnerability is the most impacted by its effects, given the absence and/or insufficiency of resources, prevention strategies, and/or treatment of the disease in their everyday lives, associated with the difficulties of executing social isolation, maintaining employment, and income, as well as less access to health and basic sanitation. Given this, it is understood that macrosocial issues are directly related to the development of the disease and the way it affects different groups. In this way, it is emphasized the importance of the contributions of occupational social therapy, within the scope of research and/or intervention, based on thinking/doing that embraces the wants and needs of individuals and groups, which problematizes the impacts of structural inequalities in everyday life, what strengthens life-affirming movements, autonomy, citizenship, and rights. Finally, promoting strategies for equality and recognition, in the democratization of the possibilities of continuing life in the pandemic and beyond.