This prospective observational study examined changing trends of excess self-protective behavior (EPB), and their association with perceived risk, perceived severity, and irrational beliefs about prevention during the Chinese COVID-19 epidemic. Participants were recruited for an online panel survey. There are 150 participants for the baseline and 102 for the final survey. There were 5 waves of interviews. Perceptions of risk and disease severity were measured by single items. Irrational beliefs about prevention and EPB comprised 5 common prevention misconceptions. Descriptive statistics and the CATMOD program were used for data analysis. The prevalence of participants perceiving personal risk of contracting COVID-19 and severe consequences of the disease was 18.6% and 25.5%, respectively, at baseline, and declining to 4.9% and 17.6% at final observation. The 5 selected EPB also showed a diminishing trend. Belief in COVID-19 prevention myths trended upwards. Perceived risk was positively associated with each EPB, and perceived severity with disinfection of clothes and hoarding of products. Myth adherence was positively associated with disinfection of clothes and both hand washing and sanitization. This study yields new information about EPB among the Chinese public. Policy modifications and public education interventions are essential for minimizing the adverse health effects of subscribing to irrational beliefs.

SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics within households involving children are complex. We examined the association between paediatric index case (PIC) age and subsequent household SARS-CoV-2 transmission among cases reported to the Minnesota Department of Health between March 2021 and February 2022. In our primary analysis, we used logistic regression to estimate odds ratios adjusted for race/ethnicity, sex, geographic region, and disease severity among households with an unvaccinated PIC. We performed a secondary analysis among households where the PIC was eligible for vaccination adjusting for the same covariates plus time since the last vaccination. Both analyses were stratified by variant wave. During the Alpha wave, PICs of all age groups had similar odds of subsequent transmission. During Delta and Omicron waves, PICs aged 16–17 had higher odds of subsequent transmission than PICs aged 0–4 (Delta OR, 1.32; [95% CI, 1.16–1.51], Omicron OR, 4.21; [95% CI, 3.25–5.45]). In the secondary analysis, unvaccinated PICs had higher odds of subsequent transmission than vaccinated PICs (Delta OR 2.89 [95% CI, 2.18–3.84], Omicron OR 1.35 [95% CI, 1.21–1.50]). Enhanced preventative measures, especially for 12–17-year-olds, may limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission within households involving children.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 significantly impacted Australia’s resources sector, particularly mining, oil, and gas industries, posing challenges for operational leaders. This study applied Adaptive Crisis Management Theory (ACMT) to understand how these leaders adapted during the crisis. Through interviews with 32 operational leaders, it was found that their roles evolved as crisis demands changed. Initially, they addressed immediate needs, then shifted focus to remote work facilitation and digital transformation, and finally emphasised recovery, trust, and resilience. These adaptations influenced leaders’ behaviours, highlighting the importance of flexibility in supporting employee wellbeing and organisational continuity during crises.

Predicting epidemic trends of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a key public health concern globally today. However, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) reinfection rate in previous studies of the transmission dynamics model was mostly a fixed value. Therefore, we proposed a meta-Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered-Susceptible (SEIRS) model by adding a time-varying SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rate to the transmission dynamics model to more accurately characterize the changes in the number of infected persons. The time-varying reinfection rate was estimated using random-effect multivariate meta-regression based on published literature reports of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection rates. The meta-SEIRS model was constructed to predict the epidemic trend of COVID-19 from February to December 2023 in Sichuan province. Finally, according to the online questionnaire survey, the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate at the end of December 2022 in Sichuan province was 82.45%. The time-varying effective reproduction number in Sichuan province had two peaks from July to December 2022, with a maximum peak value of about 15. The prediction results based on the meta-SEIRS model showed that the highest peak of the second wave of COVID-19 in Sichuan province would be in late May 2023. The number of new infections per day at the peak would be up to 2.6 million. We constructed a meta-SEIRS model to predict the epidemic trend of COVID-19 in Sichuan province, which was consistent with the trend of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in China. Therefore, a meta-SEIRS model parameterized based on evidence-based data can be more relevant to the actual situation and thus more accurately predict future trends in the number of infections.

During the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of patients experienced breathlessness, which progressed to acute respiratory distress syndrome, leading to the need for supplemental oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation. With each passing day, the need for medical oxygen increased and simultaneously medical oxygen reserves in the country were getting depleted. Government agencies deployed multipronged strategies to ensure that the hospitals had an adequate supply of medical oxygen. Mechanisms and formulae were devised for the rational allocation of medical oxygen to various regions in the country; the production of medical oxygen was boosted along with the curtailment of oxygen usage in industries; and efficient supply chain management, which included “Oxygen Express”— special trains for transporting oxygen, aircrafts for transporting medical oxygen, creating green corridors and real-time monitoring of oxygen levels using information technology. The usage and promotion of indigenous PSA oxygen technology augmented the medical oxygen generation capacity at the health care facility level. This emergency situation demonstrated a need for strengthening established intersectoral coordination mechanisms for swift and effective responses to similar situations in future. Various strategies adopted by the Central Government and other government agencies to a large extent helped in addressing the medical oxygen emergencies.

Since the beginning of mass vaccination campaign for COVID-19 in Italy (December 2020) and following the rapidly increasing vaccine administration, sex differences have been emphasized. Nevertheless, incomplete and frequently incoherent sex-disaggregated data for COVID-19 vaccinations are currently available, and vaccines clinical studies generally do not include sex-specific analyses for safety and efficacy. We looked at sex variations in the COVID-19 vaccine’s effectiveness against infection and severe disease outcomes. We conducted a nationwide retrospective cohort study on Italian population, linking information on COVID-19 vaccine administrations obtained through the Italian National Vaccination Registry, with the COVID-19 integrated surveillance system, held by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. The results showed that, in all age groups, vaccine effectiveness (VE) was higher in the time-interval ≤120 days post-vaccination. In terms of the sex difference in vaccination effectiveness, men and women were protected against serious illness by vaccination in a comparable way, while men were protected against infection to a somewhat greater extent than women. To fully understand the mechanisms underlying the sex difference in vaccine response and its consequences for vaccine effectiveness and development, further research is required. The sex-related analysis of vaccine response may contribute to adjust vaccination strategies, improving overall public health programmes.

This study highlights key players for COVID-19 in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador by employing social network analysis for Twitter. This study finds that key players in Latin America play various roles in COVID-19 social networks, differing from country to country. For example, Brazil has no Latin key players, whereas Colombia and Ecuador have 8 Latin key players in the top 10 key players. Secondly, the role of governmental key players also varies across different countries. For instance, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador have the governmental key player as the top key player, whereas Brazil and Colombia have the news media key player as the first. Thirdly, each country shows different social networks according to groups. For instance, Colombia exhibits the most open social networks among groups, whereas Brazil shows the most closed social networks among the 6 Latin countries. Fourthly, several top tweeters are common across the 6 Latin American countries. For example, Peru and Colombia have caraotadigital (Venezuelan news media), and Chile and Argentina have extravzla (Venezuelan news media) as the top tweeter.

Previous research has shown that positive perceptions of government performance are linked to higher levels of citizens’ support for democracy. However, the policy response to the COVID-19 crisis presented a unique paradox as relative success in preventing the virus spread depended on expanding executive powers, often at the cost of individual freedoms. Exploring this paradox, we investigate whether the link between perceptions of government performance and support for democracy holds in a situation where positive performance essentially means a restriction of freedoms. Using original survey data from seven European countries, we show that notwithstanding the democratic sacrifices, people with positive evaluations of the government’s response are more likely to maintain support for the democratic system. Nevertheless, people weighed responses to the health domain more heavily than to the economic domain, suggesting that the output legitimacy – democratic support link varies across domain-specific evaluations.

The extent to which the oro-faecal route contributes to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is not established.

We systematically reviewed the evidence on the presence of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in faeces and other gastrointestinal sources by examining studies that used viral culture to investigate the presence of replication-competent virus in these samples. We conducted searches in the WHO COVID-19 Database, LitCovid, medRxiv, and Google Scholar for SARS-CoV-2 using keywords and associated synonyms, with a search date up to 28 November 2023.

We included 13 studies involving 229 COVID-19 subjects – providing 308 faecal or rectal swab SARS-CoV2 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)-positive samples tested with viral culture. The methods used for viral culture across the studies were heterogeneous. Three studies (two cohorts and one case series) reported observing replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) and whole-genome sequencing, and qPCR including appropriate cycle threshold changes. Overall, six (1.9%) of 308 faecal samples subjected to cell culture showed replication-competent virus. One study found replication-competent samples from one immunocompromised patient. No studies were identified demonstrating direct evidence of oro-faecal transmission to humans.

Our review found a relatively low frequency of replication-competent SARS-CoV-2 in faecal and other gastrointestinal sources. Although it is biologically plausible, more research is needed using standardized cell culture methods, control groups, adequate follow-up, and robust epidemiologic methods, including whether secondary infections occurred, to determine the role of the oro-faecal route in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.