The ‘Tom Hanks’ Pandemic Effect. And More Science Journal News

Compiled by veteran medical journalist Brian Owens, this roundup of some of the newest science on the COVID-19 pandemic, straight from the scientific journals, is presented by Hakai Magazine in partnership with The Tyee.

Masks can be recycled into roads

Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, have shown how disposable face masks could be recycled to make roads. The new road-making material combines shredded single-use face masks and processed building rubble. The masks help to add stiffness and strength to the final product, which can be used for the base layers of roads and pavements. Using the recycled material to make just one kilometre of a two-lane road would use about three million masks, preventing 93 tonnes of waste from going to landfill.

Science of the Total Environment, Feb. 1, 2021

Adults under 50 are sustaining coronavirus transmission in United States

As of October 2020, people aged 20 to 49 were the only age group sustaining COVID-19 transmission in the United States. In that age bracket, the reproduction number — the average number of new people infected by each case — was well above one. Transmission was highest among those aged 35 to 49. The researchers say that in places where the new highly transmissible COVID-19 variants are not yet established, additional interventions among these age groups, such as mass vaccination with transmission-blocking vaccines, could bring resurgent COVID-19 epidemics under control.

Science, Feb. 2, 2021

COVID-19 treatment trials exclude those most vulnerable

Research testing the effectiveness of treatments for COVID-19 often does not include participants from the populations hit hardest by the disease. A study of more than 300 treatment trials in the United States found that most research was done at hospitals that less frequently care for Black and Hispanic patients, two groups that are significantly more likely to become infected. Around half of the trials excluded people with conditions that increase the likelihood of more severe disease, such as diabetes, and 60 per cent excluded people who were pregnant or not using birth control. This means that there is less evidence available about how best to treat these groups when they do become sick.

Journal of General Internal Medicine, Jan. 27, 2021

Misinformation drives down vaccination intent

False information about vaccines can reduce the number of people who plan to get a COVID-19 vaccine. A study of 8,000 people in the United States and the United Kingdom — two countries where the number of people intent on getting vaccinated is already below what is needed to achieve herd immunity — researchers found that exposure to misinformation reduced the number of people who said they would definitely get vaccinated by about six per cent. They found that women were more susceptible to misinformation than men, and that people with lower incomes were less susceptible than richer people. More scientific-sounding misinformation was more likely to lead to declines in vaccination intent.

Nature Human Behaviour, Feb. 5, 2021

Weekly testing and isolation most cost-effective way to deal with pandemic

Until vaccines are widely available, testing everybody weekly and isolating positive cases for two weeks is the most cost-effective way to control the spread of COVID-19 when transmission is high. When transmission is low to moderate, monthly testing and one-week isolation is most cost-effective — the lost salary from the second week of isolation outweighs the health-care costs associated with new infections. Testing everyone monthly is more effective than the current strategy of only testing people who are showing symptoms.

The Lancet Public Health, Feb. 4, 2021

A hard economic toll in poorer countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a sharp fall in living standards and a rise in food insecurity in low- and middle-income countries, where most of the world’s population lives. A survey of people in nine developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America reported drops in employment, income and access to markets and services, all of which lead to high levels of food insecurity. Many households reported being unable to meet basic nutritional needs. But the effects varied between countries. For example, the percentage of respondents reporting losses in income ranged from eight per cent in Kenya to 86 per cent in Colombia, with a median of 70 per cent across the nine countries.

Science Advances, Feb. 5, 2021

Tom Hanks’s COVID-19 diagnosis influenced behaviour

Actor Tom Hanks’s COVID-19 diagnosis at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 affected how some people understood the virus and influenced their behaviour toward its prevention. A survey found that 90 per cent of people had heard about Hanks’s social media posts saying he contracted the virus, and approximately half of that group reported it changed their attitudes and behaviours, causing them to seek more information about the disease and take stricter precautions.

Health Communication, Jan. 14, 2021

Pfizer vaccine can neutralize variants

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is still able to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 with two kinds of mutations in its spike protein. These mutations are the same kind seen in three different variants now in circulation, including both of the more transmissible United Kingdom and South African variants.

Nature Medicine, Feb. 8, 2021

Primary care went virtual in Ontario

Visits to primary care physicians shifted dramatically towards virtual care during the early months of the pandemic in Ontario. Visits to the doctor’s office declined by 79 per cent, while virtual visits, by telephone or video, rose 56-fold, from 1.2 per cent of all visits to 71 per cent. But even with the rise in virtual care, total visits still fell by 28 per cent.

Canadian Medical Association Journal, Feb. 8, 2021

Infection rate low among children in daycare in France

Children aged five months to four years attending daycare during lockdown in France at the beginning of the pandemic had low rates of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in their blood, suggesting that infection rates were low in this group. The infection rate was 3.7 per cent, with positive cases likely infected by an adult at home, rather than at daycare. The infection rate among daycare staff was similar to that of a control group of adults who were not exposed to children or COVID-19 patients at work.

The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, Feb. 8, 2021