COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated efficacy in reducing the prevalence of serious illnesses. The relative risk of hospitalization and mortality for patients who get breakthrough infections after immunization versus those who develop reinfections after a prior spontaneous infection is examined in this correspondence. Based on a study on U.S. Veterans who were not vaccinated and experienced reinfections had a much higher risk of experiencing severe illness outcomes compared to those who had received immunizations and experienced breakthrough infections, even if the rates of reinfection and breakthrough infection were similar. Our findings highlight the value of immunization in reducing severe COVID-19 outcomes, even in the presence of reinfections.

Background: Severe COVID-19 patients who received ventilator management were not very rare even when the omicron variant became dominant, but the clinical characteristics of these patients are still unclear. Methods: The clinical characteristics of severe COVID-19 patients requiring ventilator management were retrospectively investigated from January 2023 to December 2023. Results: Severe COVID-19 patients who received ventilator management accounted for 11 of 275 (4.2%) patients during the omicron variant period. Their mean age was 70.7 (51-85) years, and males were predominant. Ten of eleven (91.7%) patients were managed in the emergency department and had underlying diseases, including chronic lung/heart/kidney diseases and neurological diseases. However, only 4 of 11 (36.4%) had a clear history of vaccination. The patients showed a positive SARS-CoV-2 antigen titer of 3305.7 (12.9-20912). All 11 patients were treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone, and 5 (45.5%) also received sotrovimab. Pathogenic bacteria were isolated from 7 of 11 (63.6%) patients, and all 11 patients were treated with antibiotics. Only 3 of 11 (27.3%) patients were managed using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), but 9 of 11(81.8%) patients survived. Conclusions: These data suggest that severe COVID-19 patients who required ventilator management were less-vaccinated, elderly patients with underlying disease. These patients were treated successfully using antiviral agents, steroids, neutralizing antibodies, and antibiotics, with a few also treated using ECMO in the omicron era.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant psychological challenges to frontline healthcare workers (HCWs), including anxiety, stress, and emotional strain. Aim: This study investigates the psychological impact on HCWs during the pandemic and explores coping strategies employed to manage distress. Methods: An integrative review was conducted using 24 studies published between January and December 2020. These studies were analyzed to identify common psychological outcomes and coping mechanisms among HCWs. Results: Healthcare workers experienced significant psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, including anxiety, stress, insomnia, and depression. Anxiety was the most commonly reported issue, particularly among women, younger healthcare workers, and frontline staff. Stress levels were heightened by high workloads, exposure to COVID-19 patients, and inadequate protective measures. Coping strategies and self-care behaviors, such as seeking social support and utilizing institutional resources, varied in effectiveness across populations. Conclusion: The findings highlight the urgent need for targeted mental health support and resilience programs for HCWs, ensuring they are better equipped to face future health crises.

Respiratory virus co-infections have been suggested to happen frequently and exacerbate patients’ conditions, but little is known about the detailed rates and the combinations of viruses during the COVID-19 pandemic period. A total of 255 symptomatic patients who underwent multiplex PCR tests were analyzed, and it was found that 6 (6/255=2.4%) patients were infected with multiple viruses. The patients ranged in age from 1 to 38 years, and one female patient was pregnant. Of the 6 patients, 4 had fever, and 5 had human rhinovirus/enterovirus and another virus. These data suggested that the rate of respiratory virus co-infection was low, and the combination of SAS-CoV-2 and other viruses was rare even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The titers of SARS-COV-2 antigens are frequently used as markers of viral activity and threshold for release from quarantine and treatment. COVID-19 patients were treated with several antiviral agents, including remdesivir (RDV) and ensitrelvir (ESV), which is a novel anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent recently suggested to have strong antiviral activity. Cases: We present the cases of two patients whose SARS-CoV-2 antigens were successfully decreased by oral administration of ESV after they could not be decreased by RDV drip infusion. Case 1 was a 74-year-old man who was admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection and had been infected by the virus a month earlier and relapsed twice. He had been treated with rituximab for diffuse B cell lymphoma and not received vaccination for SARS-CoV-2. RDV was administered intravenously two weeks earlier and again 4 days earlier, but it failed to control the infection, and he was transferred to our hospital (day 1). Intravenous RDV was restarted on day 1, but viral antigens remained high until day 5. The RDV was then switched to oral ESV, and viral antigen titers were successfully decreased on days 8, 10, and 12. Case 2 was an 81-year-old man who was admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection on day 0. He had heart failure and diabetes mellitus, and had not received vaccination for SARS-CoV-2. Intravenous RDV was started on day 1, but viral antigens were still high until day 8. He was then switched from RDV to oral ESV, and viral antigen titers were successfully decreased on day 11. Conclusions: These cases suggest that ESV might be more effective than RDV for reducing viral activity, and it is easy to administer orally.

Background: Recently specific interactions and crosslinks between the gut microbiota and the lungs have been recognized, particularly with regard to respiratory immune and anti-microbial reactions. This is often known as the “gut-lung axis” or “a common mucosal immunological system”. Objective: The aim of the current systematic review was to evaluate evidence, from published clinical trials and cohort studies, if probiotics may have an effect in improving and managing COVID-19 symptoms. Materials and methods: The available studies were searched through a comprehensive search of electronic databases that included PubMed, Science Direct, Scirus, ISI Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar and CENTRAL (Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials), using a combination of the following keywords: “COVID-19" OR "SARS-CoV-2" AND "Microbiota" OR "Probiotics” OR “Gut Lung Axis”. The literature was reviewed until August 31, 2022. Results: Only 3 studies were included. One of them evaluated the efficacy of probiotics in COVID-19 patients to obtain complete remission of all signs and symptoms. The clinical trial proves that probiotics have a significant effect on complete remission of all signs and symptoms of COVID-19 patients with statistical significant difference. Only one clinical trial out of the 3 included studies had evaluated the need for O2 therapy during the study between the probiotics and control groups, but without statistical significant difference. No statistical significant difference between the probiotics group and placebo group was observed regarding fatal prognosis during the only clinical trial that measured death as an outcome. Conclusion: We couldn’t judge on these results as they are insufficient data for pooling and meta-analysis. However, what we can say is “Most probably Probiotics have no role in treatment of COVID-19 infection”.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a newly emerging human disease caused by a novel coronavirus, causing a global pandemic crisis. Probiotics and/or colchicine may be considered as options for treatment since they have anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory effects. The aim of the current review was to assess the effectiveness of probiotic supplements and colchicine on symptoms, duration, and progression of mild and moderate cases of COVID-19 infection. Review: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in the United States with 182 participants who were randomly assigned to receive daily oral probiotic (Lactobacillus rhamnosus) LGG or placebo for 28 days. The study indicated that LGG is well-tolerated and is associated with a delay in the onset of COVID-19 infection, a reduction in the incidence of symptoms, and alterations in the structure of the gut microbiome when administered as post-exposure prophylaxis within seven days of exposure. Colchicine may lessen mortality and the need for mechanical ventilation in mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. Conclusion: Probiotics and/or colchicine may be viable treatment options for COVID-19 patients. To examine the efficacy of probiotics and colchicine in the treatment of COVID-19, it is necessary to conduct additional clinical trials and provide clinicians with evidence, as there are currently insufficient studies to support this conclusion.

The pulmonary characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) co-infection with respiratory viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus, are still unclear. Case series: Two patients with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) infection in the lungs co-infected with either SARS-CoV-2 or influenza virus are reported. Case 1 was a 66-year-old woman who was admitted with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Her chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) showed multiple cavity formations with infiltration shadows, and MSSA was detected from her sputum and blood, suggesting COVID-19-related bacterial pneumonia and pulmonary embolism. No catheters had been used, but she had skin eruptions and a history of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Ampicillin/sulbactam (ABPC/SBT) was administered, and she finally improved. Case 2 was an 87-year-old man with a history of atopic dermatitis who was admitted with moderate pneumonia, and influenza virus co-infection was found. He showed multiple cavitary shadows, and MSSA was isolated from both his sputum and blood. He was diagnosed with influenza-related bacterial pulmonary embolism. No catheters had been used, but he had a history of influenza vaccination. He was also treated by ABPC/SBT and finally improved. Conclusions: These cases suggest that MSSA showed affinity to the lungs when co-infected with either SARS-CoV-2 or influenza virus, and it presented as septic emboli without catheter use. We should consider MSSA infection when patients have SARS-CoV-2 or influenza virus co-infection, and multiple cavity formation and skin disorders are seen, even though they were vaccinated and no catheters were used.

Background: There is paucity of data on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Health Information Managers/Health Record Officers (HROs) in the Nigeria health system. Hence, this study investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health-related quality of life (QoL) among HROs in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the University Hospital, where a total of 52 health record officers were purposively sampled. Relevant data were collected using the Short Form survey (SF-36v2) questionnaire. One-way ANOVA was used to determine mean group differences across the nine and the two QoL (physical and mental) summary domains based on respondents’ socio-demographics, while level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: All the QoL sections of the instrument used yielded an α-Cronbach’s score of > 0.70. Analysis of some QoL physical component dimensions showed that; Bodily pain (BP) was found to be significantly (P=0.032) associated with marital status, Physical functioning (PF) with gender (P=0.023), and general health (GH) with age group (P=00.025) and highest level of education (P=0.023). On the other hand, mental health component analysis revealed that Social Functioning (SF) was associated with age group (P=014), Role limitation (RE) with marital status (P=0.048), highest level of education (P=0.048) and years of service (P=0.015) etc. Conclusion: The QoL among HROs studied was generally above average, and demographic characteristics such as age, gender and marital status significantly influence QoL. Health managers and stakeholders should consider some of the factors identified in managing HROs.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine osteoporosis care due to clinic closures and limited in-person consultations. Telehealth emerged as an alternative model enabling remote care delivery and monitoring. However, previous reviews on telehealth either did not include the pandemic period or had a limited focus in scope. Evidence synthesized specifically for osteoporosis care during the pandemic is needed but lacking. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL for studies on telehealth for osteoporosis published between January 2021 and March 2023. Five studies met the inclusion criteria of: osteoporosis population, telehealth intervention, and COVID-19 pandemic timeframe. Data was extracted on study characteristics, COVID-19 outcomes, osteoporosis status, telehealth purpose, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes. Result: The five studies showed telehealth was used for monitoring data, delivering test results, adjusting medications, and assessments. Osteoporosis prevalence among telehealth users ranged 30-100%. High patient satisfaction was reported with telehealth versus in-person care. No major differences occurred in medication delays or fractures between telehealth and in-person groups. Conclusion: This review found telehealth enables effective osteoporosis care and monitoring during the pandemic, with high patient and provider satisfaction. However, more robust randomized controlled trials are needed to establish stronger evidence around telehealth's impacts on clinical osteoporosis outcomes. Implications: Though promising, further high-quality studies will help clarify telehealth's role in improving osteoporosis care and outcomes. Findings inform guidelines on integrating telehealth into routine management. Evidence on user perspectives optimizes telehealth implementation policies.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. In this context, effective and affordable diagnostic procedures are essential for identifying and managing cases. Complete blood counts (CBC) are among the most common and readily available diagnostic tests. The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of CBC in diagnosing COVID-19 and identifying cases. Patients and Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 173 patients at Ain Shams University Hospitals over a period of three months. Patients were allocated into two groups according to COVID-19 PCR results: Group 1 included patients with COVID-19 positive PCR, and Group 2 included patients with COVID-19 negative PCR. Results: The study found that differential CBC had significant value in diagnosing COVID-19 disease. Many COVID-19 patients had lymphopenia and leucopenia compared to non-COVID-19 suspected patients. The low values of leukocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils with a CBC test were found to be valuable in the initial diagnosis of COVID-19. Conclusion: The definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 requires RT-PCR analysis, which is time-consuming and less accessible. Thus, the initial diagnosis and treatment of patients may be delayed. This study suggests that CBC, which is easily available and affordable, can be valuable in the early identification of COVID-19 cases, allowing for prompt treatment and management.

The pandemic of the SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) that was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March 2020 is still ongoing. One of the early recommendations from CDC and other international agencies is the seasonal influenza vaccination to decrease the effects and burden of COVID-19 pandemic. This review suggests that during COVID-19 pandemic vaccination against seasonal influenza should be conducted all over the year, even for young age groups, because of several reasons. First, the complications of seasonal influenza, especially pneumonia, could increase the burden on the saturated healthcare systems worldwide. Second, the resemblance of symptoms and signs of both seasonal influenza and COVID-19 will difficult diagnosing and isolation of COVID-19 patients. Third, it has been postulated that there is a cross immunity between seasonal influenza and COVID-19.

The initial omicron SARS-CoV-2 subvariants, BA.1 and BA.2 (BA.1.2), were progressively displaced by BA.5in Japan in 2022. In the BA.5-dominant period, there were significantly more healthcare staff infected by nosocomial contact with persons with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection than those infected by household contact, compared with the BA.1.2-dominant period. The staff infected via nosocomial contact included non-patient-facing staff, in the BA.5-dominant period, although they did not become infected by SARS-CoV-2 through nosocomial contact in the BA.1.2-dominant period. These data suggest the importance of infection control and care for non-patient-facing staff, in the same way as for patient-facing staff.

This review aimed to analyze some problems and challenges that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic since it has affected all global business sectors. During the pandemic, remote work was increased in response to social distance requirements to decrease the transmission of disease. In addition, increased delegation, teamwork, supply chains, sales activities, and business operations have all been disrupted. Many challenges have emerged in the management of organizations due to the pandemic including the lack of direct contact as the lockdown made many people work from home and placed restrictions on movement and travel and uncertainty about the future. The healthcare system was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and faced several difficulties including increased demand for medical supplies and personal protective equipment, a greater need for nurses and other skilled healthcare professionals, and increased pressure on healthcare facilities, emergency services, and critical care departments. These challenges have created some opportunities in the management systems of healthcare organizations and other sectors. It is recommended for leaders prepare and continuously work proactively to be ready for unexpected future crises. Risk management and planning for any unexpected situation are among the very important aspects of organizational management.

The aim of this article is to examine the impacts of Coronavirus Disease -19 (Covid-19) vaccines on economic condition and sustainable development goals. In other words, we are going to study the economic condition during Covid19. We have studied the economic costs of pandemic, benefits in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), public finances and employment, investment on vaccines around the world, progress and totally the economic impacts of vaccines and the impacts of emerging markets (EM) on achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), including no poverty, good health and well-being, zero hunger, reduced inequality etc. The importance of emerging economies in reducing the harmful effects of the Corona has also been noted. We have tried to do experimental results and forecast daily new death cases from Feb-2020 to Aug-2021 in Iran using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Beetle Antennae Search (BAS) algorithm as a case study with econometric models and regression analysis. The findings show that Covid19 has had devastating economic and health effects on the world, and the vaccine can be very helpful in eliminating these effects specially in long-term. We observed that there is inequality in the distribution of Corona vaccines in rich countries compared to poor which EM can decrease the gap between them. The results show that both models (i.e., Artificial intelligence (AI) and econometric models) almost have the same results but AI optimization models can robust the model and prediction. The main contribution of this article is that we have surveyed the impacts of vaccination from socio-economic viewpoint not just report some facts and truth. We have surveyed the impacts of vaccines on sustainable development goals and the role of EM in achieving SDGs. In addition to using the theoretical framework, we have also used quantitative and empirical results that have rarely been seen in other articles.

From 2020 to 2022 the Covid-19 was spread and many people died. Death is near to everyone. The aim of the study was to investigate differences of concept of good death and view of life and death cross cultural. Participants were 92 Japanese, 110 Korean and 100 American who were ordinary people. We used the Good Death questionnaire to measure desirable death and the Death Attitude Inventory to measure view of life and death. Participants completed both questionnaires. As for Good Death, Japanese and Korean regarded “not being burden to others” as important the most, and American regarded “feeling that one’s life is worth living” as important. The scores of “unawareness of death” and “religious and spiritual comfort” of Korean were the highest, following American, and Japan. As for the Death Attitude Inventory, the score of American was higher than Japanese and Korean totally. The scores of “Death as release” or “Death Avoidance” of American were the highest. These results suggest that although Japanese and Korean regard “Not being burden to others” as important in common, Korean regard religious and spiritual comfort as important. American may avoid to think of death and regard it as release. We can make use of these cultural differences in clinical situation.

Novel corona virus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which started in China's Hubei province in 2019, has caused a significant loss of human lives globally. This study describes the epidemiologic and clinical profiles of COVID-19 related deaths among patients admitted to treatment centers in Sidama region, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study of 186 in hospital COVID-19 related deaths that occurred from July 2020 to December 2021 in Sidama region were analyzed. Data was extracted from regional emergency operation center death report. Data was entered using Epidata v3.1 and analysis was done using SPSS v.20. Categorical data was summarized using frequency and percentage while continuous data was summarized using median and interquartile range. Association between variables was assessed using chi-square test. More than two-third of the deceased patients were male (135; 72.6%) and median age at death was 60. The majority of deaths (151; 81.1%) occurred in 2021, while April 2021 had the highest death records. Cough and shortness of breath were the main presenting symptoms occurring in 89.2% and 85.5% of deceased patients respectively. Most of the COVID-19 related deaths (64.5%) had associated comorbidities. Diabetes (50%) and Hypertension (39.2%) were the most prevalent comorbidities. Significant proportion of patients (74.73%) presented on severe end of disease spectrum (critical/ severe). Of the deceased patients, around two-third required Intensive care unit (ICU) admission and 111 of them were put on mechanical ventilator. Moreover, the median ICU stay was 4 days. Around half of the death (48.4%) occurred in the first 5 days. The median survival time from symptom onset was 11.5 days with most (43.5%) of the deaths occurring within the first 14 days of symptom onset. Age category was significantly associated with the number of days from onset to death (p=0.006). The case fatality rate was 1.87% which is lower than national and global reports. Unlike previous studies, the prevalence of asthma among deceased patients was low and there were no patients with documented COPD.

Background: Coronavirus disease has caused global turmoil especially causing huge impact on human life all over the world. Current reports states more than 3 million people have lost life and more than 160 million people are known to be suspected with the SARS-CoV-2. Transmission and disease incidence rates are indicators to assess the seriousness of COVID-19 pandemic and studies to understand the factors that aid in this direction are very vital to curb the disease. Methods: The study intends to discover the relationship by performing statistical analysis using correlation and multiple linear regression analysis between the variable’s population density, temperature, relative humidity, and active time of virus and find out the parameters that predict the cases reported per million population in 83 countries. Results: Analysis indicates active time of virus in days is very positively associated with the COVID -19 cases in all the countries r = .604, p < .01. Active time of virus shows strong negative correlation with temperature r = -.930, p < .01 revealing that rise in temperature will reduce the virus activity in the population. Together, these variables will account for 36.2% variance in the cases per million population with no significant prediction estimated from any factor. Conclusion: The study outcomes clearly state that population density alone is insufficient to estimate the extent of influence on COVID -19 cases as the number of persons living per sq. km of land is a dynamic quantity tend to fluctuate over time and space due to migration of population. In conjunction to the previous studies reported on the environmental and climatic factors influencing the cases reported, population dynamics does not show much significance on the disease spread and incidence. Contribution: The rise in confirmed cases and the high incidence rate reported in countries can be attributed to the active time of virus life expectancy as there is a positive correlation observed between the COVID-19 cases reported and the virus active time in the examined countries. Also, environment and climatic factors play a role in modulating the infection and transmission rate with less significant influence of population density on the COVID-19.

Currently, the world is facing the COVID-19 epidemic, a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Emerging body of molecular evidences suggested a similar path to SARS and MERS viruses. A viral particles cascade enters into the human body through eyes, nose, and mouth, few of these viral particles reaches to the lower respiratory tract through breathing and here their spike protein act like a key and lock into epithelial cells which are the air sacs in lungs. SARS-CoV-2 is undetectable for a longer period of time than many other flu and coronaviruses. Once they entered inside body, they overtake the cell’s machinery, replicate, multiply and infect the adjoining cells. All the viruses have a tell-tale signature on the surface known as antigens, identifying these antigens is what activate the immune system by producing the antibodies. Researchers have shown that a wide range of immune cells that react to SARS-CoV-2 and helps in recovery could be helpful in the development of potential vaccines.