COVID-19

Study reveals how COVID-19 infection can cause or worsen diabetes Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine have used a cutting-edge model system to uncover the mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, induces new cases of diabetes, and worsens complications ...

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medicine have used a cutting-edge model system to uncover the mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, induces new cases of diabetes, and worsens complications in people who already have it. The team found that viral exposure activates immune cells that in turn destroy beta cells, the pancreatic cells that produce insulin.

National Academies: Wastewater surveillance could be even better for detecting pathogens A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report recommends five actions to transition the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS)—developed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic—to a forward-looking version for both endemic and emerging pathogens. CIDRAP

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The Academies recommended five steps to more robust NWSS that could better support public health, including better readiness for future pandemics:

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Scientists have warned that a “more contagious” variant of the Covid virus, dubbed XEC, is starting to spread more rapidly across Europe and could soon become the dominant strain.

“At this juncture, the XEC variant appears to be the most likely one to get legs next,” Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, said in a post on X on Sunday....

3 studies uncover flu, COVID vaccine reluctance, impact of mental illness on uptake Three new observational studies on influenza and COVID-19 vaccine uptake find that more than a third of US adults say they don't need any vaccines, 64% of French healthcare workers got the flu shot but not the COVID vaccine in 2022-2023, and psychiatric illness is tied to a significantly higher likelihood of receiving a flu vaccine but lower odds of getting a COVID vaccine. CIDRAP

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