Articles: pandemics.
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We aimed to evaluate the effect of the SARS-COV2 pandemic on chaplain utilization at Brooke Army Medical Center. Our hypothesis was that multiple pandemic-related factors led to a care environment with increased mental and spiritual stress for patients and their families, leading to an increased need for adjunct services such as chaplaincy. ⋯ This study demonstrates that factors related to the SARS-COV2 pandemic resulted in fewer chaplaincy consults in our inpatient setting. We did not find other reports of a change in the rate of chaplaincy consultation, but available reports suggest that many centers have had difficulty balancing the spiritual needs of patients with local exposure guidelines. Although fewer individual chaplain consults occurred during the SARS-COV2 pandemic, our chaplain service innovated by utilizing various phone, video, and web-based platforms to deliver spiritual support to our community. Our study also suggests that the patients most greatly affected by the pandemic have an increased need for spiritual support, especially at the end of life. Future studies in this subject should examine the effect of various types of chaplain services as they relate to the health and well-being of hospitalized patients.
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Vaccine technology has improved substantially since the first smallpox vaccine, developed more than 200 years ago. As technology improves, vaccines can be produced more safely and reliably for many different pathogens. A recent breakthrough saw the first full deployment of mRNA vaccines to fight a pandemic. Despite the technological and logistical feat of developing a viable vaccine in an abbreviated time frame, there have been many questions about this new approach to vaccine development. The current review will provide descriptions about different types of vaccines as well as answers to some common questions about mRNA vaccines. The purpose is to provide military medical professionals with the information needed to better convey the importance and function of these new vaccines to service members. ⋯ These mRNA vaccines are the newest and most sophisticated defensive tool military medicine has against emerging biological threats. Evolving dangers, such as synthetic biology and engineered pathogens, further enhance the importance of having defensive countermeasures that can be rapidly deployed in response. Current evidence suggests high safety and effectiveness for a biological countermeasure, decades in the making, and military medical personnel should feel confident using and recommending this technology to ensure force health protection.
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As of early 2022, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic still represents a worldwide medical emergency situation. The ongoing vaccination programs can slow down the spread of the virus; however, from time to time, the newly emerging variants of concern and antivaccination movements carry the possibility for the disease to remain in our daily lives. After the appearance of SARS-CoV-2, there was scholarly debate whether the virus was of natural origin, or it emerged from a laboratory, some even thinking the agent's potential biological weapon properties suggest the latter scenario. Later, the bioweapon theory was dismissed by the majority of experts, but the question remains that despite its natural origin, how potent a biological weapon the SARS-CoV-2 virus can become over time. ⋯ Our results show that the virus can become a potent bioweapon candidate in the future, achieving a total score of 24 out of 36 on the original 12 criteria. The SARS-CoV-2 has already proven its pandemic generating potential and, despite worldwide efforts, still remains an imminent threat. In order to be prepared for the future possibility of the virus arising as a bioweapon, we must remain cautious and take the necessary countermeasures.
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Losing postural control ability and related injuries are of particular concern for elders living in the nursing home (NH). The Otago Exercise Program (OEP) is a multimodal exercise training program initially designed as an individually tailored home exercise for community-dwelling elders, but whether its movement characteristics and exercise intensity meet NH elders' needs still needs to be clarified. This study aimed to determine the effects of the OEP in enhancing postural control ability among elders in the NH. ⋯ Current evidence suggests that OEP is practical and feasible in NH. The nursing personnel can receive sufficient support for maintaining and enhancing these elders' postural control ability, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Due to the urgency of controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines have been expeditiously approved and introduced in several countries without sufficient evaluation for adverse events. We analyzed adverse events among Korean healthcare workers who received all 3 doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. This survey was conducted among hospital workers of Inha University Hospital who had received the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine for their first, second, third rounds, and using a diary card. ⋯ However, grade 4 adverse events did occur with the third dose in some patients, even if there were no side effects with the first and second doses. Adverse events experienced with the first and second doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine in Korean healthcare workers increased the incidence of adverse events at the time of the third dose. On the other hand, grade 4 adverse events could still occur with the third dose even though there were no side effects with the first and second doses.