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 COVID-19 death rates improving in U.S. hospitals
The U.S. health care system is getting better at caring for COVID-19
patients, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal
Medicine on Tuesday. When researchers analyzed insurance claims of
COVID-19 patients in nearly 400 hospitals, they found the average
death rate had fallen to 9.3% in the May-June period, from 16.6% in
the January-April period. "The strongest determinant of improvements
in hospital-level outcome was a decline in community rates of
infection," the researchers wrote, adding that the association
between community COVID-19 case loads and death rates "suggests
hospitals do worse when they are burdened with cases and is
consistent with imperatives to flatten the curve." (https://bit.ly/3heR7zP;
https://bit.ly/3hdVafH)
Obesity impairs COVID-19 antibody production
The body's ability to generate an antibody response to the new
coronavirus is impaired in obese patients, a new study shows.
Researchers found levels of so-called IgG antibodies, which
usually develop within seven to 10 days after symptoms begin, went
down as body mass index - a ratio of weight to height - went up.
Obesity itself is known to cause inflammation and immune system
dysfunction, the researchers noted in a paper posted on medRxiv on
Sunday ahead of peer review. They found that lower antibody levels
in obese COVID-19 patients were also linked with higher levels of
lung inflammation and inflammatory proteins in the blood.
The new findings, they say, could improve doctors' ability to
recognize which obese patients are most vulnerable to the effects of
the virus and eventually could help lead to treatments to bolster
these patients' immune responses. (https://bit.ly/38xOO70)
Masked faces not a complete mystery to children
Young children can sometimes read the emotions of adults who are
wearing face masks, according to a new study. Researchers asked 81
children, aged 7 to 13, to assign one of six emotions to photographs
of faces that were either unobstructed, covered by a surgical mask,
or wearing sunglasses.
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 The children correctly
identified the emotions in 66% of the uncovered
faces. When faces were masked, they correctly
identified sadness 28% of the time and anger 27%
of the time, the researchers reported on
Wednesday in PLoS One. Sunglasses made some
emotions harder to identify.
"Emotions aren't conveyed solely through your
face," coauthor Ashley Ruba of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
said in a statement. "Vocal inflections, the way that someone
positions their body, and what's going on around them, all that
other information helps us make better predictions about what
someone is feeling." (https://bit.ly/3mLmbZl)
Allergy experts issue vaccine advice
The American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) on
Tuesday said allergic reactions to the new mRNA COVID-19 vaccines,
such as those manufactured by ModernaMRNA.O and by
Pfizer-BioNTechPFE.N22UAy.DE, are rare but the vaccines should be
given in health care settings where reactions can be monitored. The
ACAAI said anyone with a severe allergic reaction to the first shot
should not get the second shot.
People with allergies to medications, foods,
insects and latex are no more likely than the general public to be
allergic to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the ACAAI said. (https://bit.ly/34WddCv)
Open https://tmsnrt.rs/3a5EyDh in an external browser for a Reuters
graphic on vaccines and treatments in development.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Tiffany Wu)
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