Cleveland Clinic journal of medicine
-
An effective vaccine is considered the best method to achieve herd immunity. As of February 2021, 12 vaccines were in late-stage clinical trials worldwide, with many more in development. ⋯ These vaccines use various platforms to deliver the vaccines, each with pros and cons. Published data show these vaccines are effective in preventing the severe symptoms associated with COVID-19 in adults with few side effects, but challenges remain with storage and delivery and treating virus variants.
-
The authors review the rationale behind and approaches to testing for COVID-19, the quality of currently available tests, the role of data analytics in strategizing testing, and using the electronic medical record and other programs designed to steward COVID-19 testing and follow-up of patients.
-
The home test kits for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection with Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization primarily use either isothermal nucleic acid amplification or antigen detection, and each test has advantages and limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity, cost, results reporting, and results turnaround time. In clinical studies, these tests provide accurate positive results in symptomatic individuals, although negative results are less accurate. There are also accuracy concerns for positive results in asymptomatic individuals. These factors have implications for their clinical interpretation and use.
-
Pattern hair loss is the most common type of hair loss in both men and women. Scalp hair is typically affected in a characteristic distribution without other scalp or dermatologic findings. Early recognition and treatment can help halt its progression to preserve as much hair as possible. Both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments have proven helpful.
-
To combat racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities associated with COVID-19 in our surrounding communities, the Cleveland Clinic Community Health & Partnership team developed a comprehensive program focused on connecting and communicating with local officials, faith-based organizations, and individual community members. Since March of 2020, our team has donated resources (e.g., personal protective equipment) to local organizations, referred thousands of community members to community or clinical resources, and partnered with federally-qualified health centers to support community COVID-19 testing. Future work will include the use of these networks to deploy the COVID-19 vaccine.