Month: August 2020

© Thomson Reuters Children wear face masks, following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus on Valentine’s Day in Hong Kong, China February 14, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Children and young people are far less likely than adults to get severe cases of COVID-19 infection, and death from the pandemic disease among children is exceptionally rare, according to UK research published on Thursday. A study of COVID-19 patients admitted to 138 hospitals in Britain found that less than 1% were children, and of those fewer than 1% - or six in total - died, all of whom were already suffering serious illness or underlying health disorders. "We can be quite sure that COVID in itself is not causing harm to children on a significant scale," said Malcolm Semple, a p...

Image copyright SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A new effort is under way to understand how the immune system responds to coronavirus. Scientists from 17 UK research centres are attempting to answer questions such as how long immunity lasts and why disease severity varies so much. The new UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC) says learning about immunity will help to fight the virus. It has received £6.5m from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Prof Mala Maini, a viral immunologist from University College London, who is leading one of the UK-CIC teams, said: “Our immune response to a virus is really what dictates how we respond...

A study intended to track the coronavirus in Oregon and understand its impacts on minorities is now dead because Oregon Health & Science University, which led the research, failed to ensure enough minorities would sign up to participate. The Key to Oregon study, which had been projected to cost $24 million over a year, was to track 100,000 people’s coronavirus symptoms and regularly test 10,000 Oregonians who volunteered. One of its original goals was to make sure people of color signed up to participate, but that did not happen. “OHSU realizes that this research cohort does not currently represent the state in the way that is necessary,” the university said in a statement Thursday morning. With a 2.4% random sample of Oregon’s population, the study was expected to help the state un...