Editor's Note The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on August 5 announced the launch of the Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center, which will create new tools using artificial intelligence (AI) and medical imaging to diagnose and personalize therapies for COVID-19 patients. The Center will build a large repository of…

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Editor's Note Researchers at George Washington University, Washington DC, have found five biomarkers in blood of COVID-19 patients that are associated with higher odds of clinical deterioration and death. The research team analyzed 299 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who were admitted to George Washington University Hospital. Of these, 200 had…

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Editor's Note Differing immune system responses of patients with COVID-19 can predict who will experience moderate and severe outcomes of the disease, this study by Yale researchers finds. Of 113 patients analyzed, all shared common COVID-19 immune system activity early in the course of the disease. Patients with moderate symptoms had…

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Editor's Note This meta-analysis from the University of Bristol, UK, finds that overall COVID-19 intensive care mortality has fallen by a third since the start of the pandemic. Data from 24 studies, including 10,150 patients from centers in Asia, Europe, and North America, demonstrate an ICU mortality rate of 41.6%,…

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Editor's Note This study by Cleveland Clinic researchers identifies genetic factors that may influence susceptibility to COVID-19, which could guide personalized treatment. The researchers investigated genetic susceptibility to COVID-19 by examining DNA polymorphisms (variations in DNA sequences) in the ACE2 and TMPRSS2 genes that produce the enzymes that enable the…

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Editor's Note Researchers testing a COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Dr Anthony Fauci’s team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Moderna Inc, reported July 14 that the vaccine was able to produce neutralizing antibodies in the 45 trial participants inoculated in March. Moderna is scheduled to launch a late-stage…

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Editor's Note A commentary published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, concludes that children rarely transmit COVID-19 to each other or to adults, and that schools can and should reopen in the fall, if safety guidelines are followed and community transmission is low. The commentary,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) on July 10 reported that health-related workplace absenteeism rates were significantly higher than expected in March and April for some occupational groups in essential critical infrastructure categories. The following significantly exceeded their epidemic thresholds: personal care and services, including childcare…

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Editor's Note Critically ill COVID-19 patients who received a single IV dose of tocilizumab, a drug that calms an overreacting immune system, were 45% less likely to die and more likely to leave the hospital or be off ventilator within a month, finds this new study from the University of…

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Editor's Note Current research shows that unhealthy lifestyle choices, including smoking and lack of exercise, along with emotional stressors like social isolation and interpersonal conflicts are important risk factors for developing upper respiratory infections, and it is possible these same factors increase the risk of contracting COVID-19, researchers from Carnegie…

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