May 27th, 2020 - In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic-referred to as COVID-19-there has been much uncertainty. We remain uncertain about its precise origin, its structure and composition, how best to test for it, or for resulting immunity, whether or not exposure leads to immunity, whether or not disposable surgical masks are effective, why men and some ethnic minorities are more susceptible and just ...

May 27th, 2020 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Here are the coronavirus stories Medscape's editors around the globe think you need to know about today:  COVID-19 Is Likely Airborne  Evidence is mounting that the virus that causes COVID-19 is transmitted via aerosol transmission, a researcher at the University of California San Diego reports ...

May 27th, 2020 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Something has been bothering Kimberly Prather, PhD: everything she reads about COVID-19 points to a pathogen that travels through the air. Kimberly Prather, PhD There's how quickly it has spread around the world, studies showing how it spreads through restaurants (maybe by the air conditioning s...

May 26th, 2020 - Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. Our lack of preparation for the current pandemic was demonstrated by our failure to (1) recognize that the outbreak in China would seed the globe quickly and (2) rapidly distribute diagnostic tests. Shelter-in-place orders are a blunt instrument that was necessary to flatten the curve and slow down the outbrea...

May 26th, 2020 - (Reuters) - As U.S. businesses reopen, worried workers and their advocates are borrowing a legal strategy commonly used to shut down rowdy topless bars to try and force employers to strengthen protection against further spread of the coronavirus. Workers and their families at McDonald's Corp's Chicago restaurants have filed a class-action lawsuit against the fast-food chain that does not seek m...

May 26th, 2020 - In the era of SARS-CoV-2, the risk of infectious airborne aerosol generation during otolaryngologic procedures has been an area of increasing concern. The objective of this investigation was to quantify airborne aerosol production under clinical and surgical conditions and examine efficacy of mask mitigation strategies. Prospective quantification of airborne aerosol generation during surgical a...

May 26th, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has had major implications for the United States healthcare system. This survey study sought to identify practice changes, understand current personal protection equipment (PPE) use, and determine how caring for patients with COVID-19 differs for vascular surgeons practicing in states with high COVID-19 case numbers versus low case numbers. A fourteen-question online surve...

May 25th, 2020 - CASCAIS, Portugal (Reuters) - A popular beach town near Lisbon plans to be the first in Portugal to test all of its 200,000 residents for coronavirus antibodies to try and help them enjoy as normal a summer season as possible despite the crisis. Born and bred in Cascais, loved for its beaches and golf courses, 57-year-old Marina Lima was one of the first to enter the tiny testing room when the ...

May 25th, 2020 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's  Coronavirus Resource Center. You can catch COVID-19 if an infected person coughs or sneezes and contagious droplets enter your nose or mouth. But can you become ill if the virus lands in your eyes? Virologist Joseph Fair, PhD, an NBC News contributor, raised that concern when he became critically ill with COVID-19, the dis...

May 25th, 2020 - To provide evolving information on active protocols regarding inpatient, outpatient, procedural, and surgical case management taking place in otolaryngology practices in response to COVID-19. Cross-sectional multi-institutional survey. An online survey of 55 otolaryngology departments across North America. As of March 25, 2020, almost all (n = 53 of 55, 96.3%) otolaryngology departments had can...

May 25th, 2020 - NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As hospitals reopen, they should consider mandating patients to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, two doctors say. Frontline medical workers are wearing personal protective gear as they care for patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus, and now everyone who goes to a hospital for a service should wear one, the authors write in a letter to the edit...

May 24th, 2020 - Practices dramatically reduced endoscopy services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As practices are now considering reintroduction of elective endoscopy, we conducted a survey of North American practices to identify reactivation barriers and strategies. We designed and electronically distributed a web-based survey to North American gastroenterologists consisting of seven domains: institutional dem...

May 22nd, 2020 - EEC staff were provided with rapidly changing personal PPE guidance by Public Health England (PHE) with specific subspecialty advice from the British Emergency Eye Care Society (BEECS) and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) UK during the COVID19 pandemic. BEECS undertook a baseline survey of its members after the initial response from the RCOphth 16/3/20 mirroring Public Health Eng...

May 22nd, 2020 - Shortages of vital PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic.

May 22nd, 2020 - Cloth Masks May Prevent Transmission of COVID-19: An Evidence-Based, Risk-Based Approach.|2020|Clase CM,Fu EL,Joseph M,Beale RCL,Dolovich MB,|

May 21st, 2020 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's Coronavirus Resource Center. This week in COVID-19 news, scientists suggested that cannabis could play a role in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, hamsters provided evidence that masks can curtail viral transmission, and a biotech company claimed it had discovered a "cure." But you didn't see these headlines on Medscape Medi...

May 21st, 2020 - Editor's note: Find the latest COVID-19 news and guidance in Medscape's  Coronavirus Resource Center. Soon after the first case of COVID-19 was identified in the Netherlands, a substantial number of healthcare workers (HCWs) at two hospitals there — about 1% — tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a study published online May 21 in JAMA Network Open. "This unexpected high prev...

May 21st, 2020 - In an effort to mitigate the outbreak of COVID-19, many countries have imposed drastic lockdown, movement control or shelter in place orders on their residents. The effectiveness of these mitigation measures is highly dependent on cooperation and compliance of all members of society. The knowledge, attitudes and practices people hold toward the disease play an integral role in determining a soc...

May 20th, 2020 - (Reuters) - A top U.S. scientist said on Wednesday that governments should not count on a successful vaccine against COVID-19 being developed anytime soon when deciding whether to ease restrictions imposed to curb the pandemic. William Haseltine, a groundbreaking researcher in cancer, HIV/AIDS and human genomics, said the better approach now is to manage the disease through careful tracing of i...

May 20th, 2020 - (Reuters) - New York City residents from low-income communities have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies at a higher-than-average rate, underscoring the disproportionate impact of the disease on people of color, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday. Cuomo told a daily briefing that of the 8,000 people tested in low-income communities of the city, 27% had antibodies for COVID-19, the illn...