May 06, 2021
CHICAGO, U.S.: In a recent study, researchers have examined the prevalence of COVID-19 in pediatric dentistry by testing children during their visit at the pediatric dentistâs office. The study reported that, although all the children who took part in the study were asymptomatic, some of them tested positive after undergoing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. This suggests that testing pediatric dental patients could help better identify potential SARS-CoV-2 carriers and subsequently reduce transmission rates.
According to
, presently over 152 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide. The U.S. has the most confirmed cases, over 63 million. Although more than 1 billion vaccine doses have been administered globally, the pandemic continues to pose a health and psychological threat to the lives of billions of people who bear the consequences of social distancing as well as other restrictions imposed on their daily lives.
January 28, 2021
HARLOW, UK: Now that many questions regarding COVID-19, including its symptoms, risks and recovery time, have been answered, researchers are faced with a new dilemma: SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and immunity. Although unusual, it is evident that reinfections do occur, and in a recent study, researchers explored whether individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 are protected from future infection. The findings suggested that past infection may provide natural immunity and that the said immunity is effective for approximately half a year after the initial infection.
In what is considered to be the largest study of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection, researchers in the UK recruited 6,614 healthcare workers. They received SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction and antibody testing every two to four weeks and completed questionnaires on their symptoms and exposures every two weeks. The researchers found that approximately 83% of the participants who had a prior history of SARS-CoV-2 in