Articles: sars-cov-2.
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The use of face masks in public was one of several COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions adopted to mitigate the pandemic in Portugal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of lifting the mask mandate on the April 22, 2022 on COVID-19 incidence and mortality in mainland Portugal and in the Azores. As a secondary objective, we aimed to evaluate the evolution of COVID-19 cases in a setting without a mask mandate (Azores islands) and in a setting with a mask mandate (Madeira islands). ⋯ Lifting the mask mandate in Portugal was associated with an increase in COVID-19 incidence and deaths, thus highlighting the positive effect of face mask policies in preventing respiratory virus transmission and saving lives.
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The COVID-19 disease wreaked havoc all over the world causing more than 6 million deaths out of over 519 million confirmed cases. It not only disturbed the human race health-wise but also caused huge economic losses and social disturbances. The utmost urgency to counter pandemic was to develop effective vaccines as well as treatments that could reduce the incidences of infection, hospitalization and deaths. ⋯ The SARS-CoV-2 emerging variants have emphasized the need of booster vaccine doses to enhance protective immunity in vaccinated individuals. Additionally, therapeutic effectiveness of Molnupiravir, Paxlovid and Evusheld are also providing resistance against the spread of COVID-19 disease as well as may be effective against emerging variants. This review highlights the progress in developing COVID-19 vaccines, their protective efficacies, advances being made to design more efficacious vaccines, and presents an overview on advancements in developing potent drugs and monoclonal antibodies for countering COVID-19 and emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 including the most recently emerged and highly mutated Omicron variant.
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J Clin Monit Comput · Oct 2023
Observational StudyExhaled patient derived aerosol dispersion during awake tracheal intubation with concurrent high flow nasal therapy.
Awake Tracheal Intubation (ATI) can be performed in cases where there is potential for difficult airway management. It is considered an aerosol generating procedure and is a source of concern to healthcare workers due to the risk of transmission of airborne viral infections, such as SARS-CoV-2. At present, there is a lack of data on the quantities, size distributions and spread of aerosol particles generated during such procedures. ⋯ Patient derived aerosol particles < 5 µm in diameter remained entrained in the exhaled aerosol plume and fell to the floor or onto the subject. Patient derived particles > 5 µm in diameter broke away from the exhaled plume and spread radially throughout the operating room. Irrespective of distance and ventilation status, full airborne protective equipment should be worn by all staff when ATI is being performed on patients with suspected viral respiratory infections.
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COVID-19, the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2, became a worldwide pandemic in 2020. Initial clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic infection to mild upper respiratory illness but may progress to pulmonary involvement with hypoxemia and, in some cases, multiorgan involvement, shock, and death. ⋯ Antiviral treatment and immunomodulators have been shown to benefit certain patients. This article summarizes current recommendations on prevention, diagnosis, management, and treatment of COVID-19.