scholarly journals Not just conspiracy theories: Vaccine opponents and proponents add to the COVID-19 ‘infodemic’ on Twitter

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelia M. Jamison ◽  
David A. Broniatowski ◽  
Mark Dredze ◽  
Anu Sangraula ◽  
Michael C. Smith ◽  
...  

In February 2020, the World Health Organization announced an ‘infodemic’ -- a deluge of both accurate and inaccurate health information -- that accompanied the global pandemic of COVID-19 as a major challenge to effective health communication. We assessed content from the most active vaccine accounts on Twitter to understand how existing online communities contributed to the ‘infodemic’ during the early stages of the pandemic. While we expected vaccine opponents to share misleading information about COVID-19, we also found vaccine proponents were not immune to spreading less reliable claims. In both groups, the single largest topic of discussion consisted of nar-ratives comparing COVID-19 to other diseases like seasonal influenza, often downplaying the severi-ty of the novel coronavirus. When considering the scope of the ‘infodemic,’ researchers and health communicators must move beyond focusing on known bad actors and the most egregious types of misinformation to scrutinize the full spectrum of information -- from both reliable and unreliable sources -- that the public is likely to encounter online.

Author(s):  
Kunal Agrawal ◽  
Prakash Kute ◽  
Ashish Anjankar ◽  
Roshan Kumar Jha

SARS-CoV-2, also known as COVID-19, is a novel coronavirus that has spread from Wuhan, China to every continent except Antarctica. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) changed the situation's classification from a public health emergency of international concern to a pandemic. To date (17 April 2021), the novel coronavirus — officially known as "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2," or SARS-CoV-2 for short — has caused over 140 Million infections and approximately 3 Million deaths around the world. In INDIA, the virus has infected nearly 14.3 Million people, with nearly 1,74,000 of them dying. (April 17, 2021) We have conducted a literature search around pub Med, Medline, Scopus, WHO, and web of science to distinguish the effect of myth vs. truth about COVID 19. Present study concludes Citizens' consciousness and the avoidance of misconceptions play a critical role in managing the pandemic, and as a result of this awareness, India's fatality rate is at 3.3 percent, with a recovery rate of 12.02 percent, according to the Health Ministry of India. The extraordinary effort to attain widespread vaccination coverage has been greeted with an assault of incorrect and misleading information. Misinformation has the potential to harm vaccination uptake. Debunking misleading claims is a prominent way of combating vaccination misinformation. As a result, dealing with COVID-19 vaccination disinformation involves proactive measures to “immunise the public against misinformation.”


Author(s):  
Renée Belliveau

After the World Health Organization declared the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic in March 2020, they cautioned of another outbreak: an “infodemic.” This study examines how online search engines are influencing the global spread of immunization information about COVID-19. It aims to address the various ways in which search technology is shaping users’ perceptions of the pandemic and to measure the credibility of the sources they provide.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Hertzberg ◽  
C. Anthoney Lim ◽  
Erick Eiting ◽  
Steven Yung ◽  
Jeranil Nunez ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:The novel coronavirus, COVID-19 was identified in January 2020 initially in Wuhan, China but quickly spread worldwide and was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. There are more than 185 countries impacted and the numbers of cases and deaths continues to rise. The rate of coinfections with COVID-19 in children and the clinical implications are unknown.Case Presentation:We describe the clinical presentation and course of three patients with COVID-19 and coinfections with other common respiratory viruses. Two cases were diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as rhinovirus/enterovirus and the third case was COVID-19 and pertussis. Each case had a unique presentations and hospital courses including an emergency room discharge, urgent surgical evaluation and an intensive care unit admission.Conclusions:This is the first US-based case report to discuss coinfections with COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. Decisions regarding diagnosis and management of children in the setting of the current pandemic should account for the possibility of coinfections. We also highlight publish health challenged resulting from children with the novel coronavirus.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-252
Author(s):  
Ruchi Jain ◽  
Nilesh Jain ◽  
Surendra Kumar Jain ◽  
Ram C Dhakar

The 2019-nCoV is officially called SARS-CoV-2 and the disease is named COVID-19. The Novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) caused pneumonia in Wuhan, China in December 2019 is a highly contagious disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared it as a global public health emergency. This is the third serious Coronavirus outbreak in less than 20 years, following SARS in 2002–2003 and MERS in 2012. Currently, the research on novel coronavirus is still in the primary stage. It is currently believed that this deadly Coronavirus strain originated from wild animals at the Huanan market in Wuhan by Bats, snakes and pangolins have been cited as potential carriers. On the basis of current published evidence, we systematically summarize the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of COVID-19. This review in the hope of helping the public effectively recognize and deal with the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and providing a reference for future studies. Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Coronavirus, pneumonia, Respiratory infection


2020 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Ling ◽  
Xianjie Wen

Abstract The outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)), declared as a ‘global pandemic’ by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The outbreak in multiple locations shows a trend of accelerating spread around the world. China has taken a series of powerful measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to actively finding effective treatment drugs and developing vaccines, it is more important to identify the source of infection at the community level as soon as possible to block the transmission path of the virus to prevent the spread of the pandemic. The implementation of grid management in the community and the adoption of precise management and control measures to reduce unnecessary personnel movement can effectively reduce the risk of pandemic spread. This paper mainly describes that the grid management mode can promote the refinement and comprehensiveness of community management. As a management system with potential to improve the governance ability of community affairs, it may be helpful to strengthen the prevention and control of the epidemic in the community.


Author(s):  
Habeb Al-Kamel ◽  
Oliver Grundmann

: COVID-19 is an emerging viral infection of zoonotic origin that is closely related to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) that caused an outbreak in 2003. Therefore, scientists named the new virus SARS-CoV-2. On March 11, 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) recognized COVID-19 as a global pandemic. At present, three vaccines have been approved or are being considered for approval by national regulatory agencies to immunize against COVID-19. However, the vaccines do not yet remain widely available and no specific treatment against the virus is available. The pathogenesis and proliferation pathways of SARS-CoV-2 are still not well known. Thus, in this article, the saponin glycyrrhizin is discussed as a new potential therapeutic agent of natural origin (licorice root, Glycyrrhizaglabra) for the potential treatment of COVID-19 infections.


Author(s):  
Camila Rêgo Muniz ◽  
Carlos Felype Oliveira Pena ◽  
Marcio Ribeiro Studart da Fonseca ◽  
Marcos Rabelo de Freitas

Abstract Introduction The China Health Authority alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) of several cases of pneumonia, and the WHO has declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic. Mastoidectomy is a high-risk aerosol generating procedure with the potential to expose the surgeon to infectious particles. Objective Aim to develop a low-cost prototype for a barrier device that can be used during mastoidectomy. Methods Describe the steps involved during otological emergency, requiring immediate surgical procedure, in untested patients. The Otorhinolaryngology Surgical Team of Walter Cantídio Hospital developed the barrier for particle dispersion presented here. Results During surgery, the prototype did not compromise visualization of the surgical field and instrumentation. Microscope repositioning was not compromised or limited by tent Instrumentation and instrument pouch under the Microscope-Tent (MT) performed surgery. After surgery, the plastic sheet was removed simply, without requiring strength. Bone dust and irrigation droplets were collected on the tent. Conclusion Our team developed and practiced, in an otologic emergency, a low-cost and reproducible barrier device that can be used in mastoidectomy in COVID-19 patients. Further tests on efficacy may be necessary.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-119
Author(s):  
Ali Al-Ramadan ◽  
Omar Rabab’h ◽  
Jawad Shah ◽  
Abeer Gharaibeh

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging global health emergency caused by the novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). The clinical presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection depends on the severity of the disease and may range from an asymptomatic infection to a severe and lethal illness. Fever, cough, and shortness of breath are among the most common symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Accumulating evidence indicates that COVID-19 patients commonly develop neurological symptoms, such as headache, altered mental status, anosmia, and myalgia. In this comprehensive literature review, we have summarized the most common neurological complications and reported neurological case studies associated with COVID-19, and neurological side effects associated with COVID-19 treatments. Additionally, the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and long-term neurological complications were discussed. We also explained the proposed mechanisms that are involved in the pathogenesis of these neurological complications.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (39) ◽  
pp. 3508-3510
Author(s):  
Saramma Mini Jacob ◽  
Kanagasabai Sivasangeetha ◽  
Durairaj Anitha ◽  
Singaram Kaplana

In early January 2020, China had started raising concerns of a new contagious disease caused by new strains of coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeCoronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, had declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic. COVID-19 was transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets generated when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathing or through contact with a surface that has been contaminated 1 and through aerosols-airborne microdroplets.2 The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 represents a wide spectrum of disease ranging from mild to severe respiratory syndrome influenza-like illness with mainly lower respiratory tract symptoms, complicated by pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), high fever, and headache. In many cases, loss of taste and smell and severe gastrointestinal symptoms were reported, as are cardiac problems, with the latter being perhaps secondary to a cytokine storm such as is seen in the more severely affected patients. 3 WHO COVID-19 dashboard on June 25th 2021 showed 179, 686, 071 confirmed cases worldwide.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Mboowa

On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the status of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak from epidemic to a global pandemic. This infection is caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. Several rapid diagnostic tests have been developed at an astonishing pace; however, COVID-19 requires more highly specific rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests. This review describes the currently available testing approaches, as well as the available test assays including the Xpert® Xpress SARS-CoV-2 test (takes ~45 min) and Abbott ID COVID-19 test (5 min) as easy to use point-of-care tests for diagnosis of novel COVID-19 that have so far received the US Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorizations clearance. This review is correct as of the date published and will be updated as more diagnostic tests come to light.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document