This week in Clipboard Academy’s Nursing News round up …
Mosquito Spit Used to Make Vaccine for Vector-Based Vaccine Trials
Researchers published results last week of their first ever clinical trials on testing whether or not a vaccine made from mosquito spit would work in triggering an immune response like other vaccines. The results of the trial were positive, and they’re moving forward in studying mosquito spit further and how they can possibly make new vaccines that target the vector, in this case mosquitos, instead of the pathogens, like malaria or dengue. This could be the first major step in creating vaccines to eradicate mosquito-borne illnesses.
New Coronavirus Mutation Study Shows How Virus Infects Quickly
A new study released last week took a look at mutations in the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The research found that a new mutation is behind how quickly the virus infects cells by giving it four or five times more the number of spikes that give the coronavirus its unique shape. Besides increasing how easily it infects cells, researchers still aren’t sure yet if the mutation has other effects, like affecting how severe symptoms are in patients.
First US Lung Transplant for COVID-19 Patient
Although lung transplants themselves are not uncommon, for the first time in the US, a COVID-19 patient received a lung transplant after the coronavirus left both her lungs damaged beyond repair. The damage to her lungs had begun to affect the rest of her organs, and it got to the point where her doctors believed the only thing that could save her was the transplant, completed early this month. As of last week, her doctors say she is recovering, and the damage to the rest of her organs is reversing.
US Reverses Rule Protecting Transgender Patients from Health Care Discrimintiation
The US Department of Health and Human Services reversed a rule from the Affordable Care Act that protected all patients from discriminination from health care providers and health insurance, regardless of the patients’ sexual orientation or gender identity. Specifically, the rule reversal targets discrimination in health care against transgender people.
Also in the rule are reversals for protection against discrimination for patients who have a history of pregnancy termination, and it reverses the requirements for health care providers and insurances to need to notify patients that documents are available in other languages.
Boston Declares Racism Public Health Crisis, Allocates Funds to Public Health
The mayor of Boston declared racism a public health crisis for his city and allocated $3 million, or 1%, of the police department’s annual budget to public health. Also mentioned in the mayor’s plans to address the health crisis are the forming of a new task force and a review of various policies in the police department.
FDA Ends Emergency Authorization and Shipment of Malarial Drugs
The FDA today announced it was ending the emergency use of the malarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19. Although the medications have been popular over the past few months as a possible treatment to the coronavirus, the FDA says it does not believe that any potential benefits outweigh the well-known side effects. The medications will still be used and accessible to treat the diseases they have been used for before COVID-19.
