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Brazil’s Bolsonaro Has COVID-19 – and So Do Thousands of Indigenous People Who Live Days from the Nearest Hospital
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro Has COVID-19 – and So Do Thousands of Indigenous People Who Live Days from the Nearest Hospital

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has denied the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and ridiculed social distancing, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on July 7 after showing mild symptoms. Bolsonaro is one of 1.9 million confirmed COVID-19 victims in coronavirus-wracked Brazil. But as a white, wealthy and powerful man, he is not a member...

Growth of Online Sports Betting Poses Significant Public Health Challenge
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Growth of Online Sports Betting Poses Significant Public Health Challenge

A surge in use of online sports betting platforms, and promotional tactics such as free bets to hook users in, pose a significant and growing public health challenge which needs urgent attention from policymakers, according to the author of a new academic study. Writing in the Journal of Public Health, Dr. Darragh McGee from the University...

Lack of Lockdown Increased COVID-19 Deaths in Sweden
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Lack of Lockdown Increased COVID-19 Deaths in Sweden

Sweden’s controversial decision not to lock down during COVID-19 produced more deaths and greater healthcare demand than seen in countries with earlier, more stringent interventions, a new analysis finds. But Sweden fared better than would be expected from its public-health mandates alone, roughly similar to France, Italy and Spain – countries that had more stringent...

How Prison and Police Discrimination Affect Black Sexual Minority Men’s Health
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How Prison and Police Discrimination Affect Black Sexual Minority Men’s Health

Incarceration and police discrimination may worsen psychological and physical health, Rutgers led study finds Incarceration and police discrimination may contribute to HIV, depression and anxiety among Black gay, bisexual and other sexual minority men, according to a Rutgers led study. The study, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and published in the journal Social...

35% of Excess Deaths in Pandemic’s Early Months Tied to Causes Other Than COVID-19
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35% of Excess Deaths in Pandemic’s Early Months Tied to Causes Other Than COVID-19

Since COVID-19’s spread to the United States earlier this year, death rates in the U.S. have risen significantly. But deaths attributed to COVID-19 only account for about two-thirds of the increase in March and April, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and...

Growing Numbers of Alcohol Related Hospital Admissions Linked to Local Spending Cuts
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Growing Numbers of Alcohol Related Hospital Admissions Linked to Local Spending Cuts

According to the researchers, the study shows that spending cuts to alcohol services represent a false economy since decreases in expenditure are linked to increased hospital admissions which inevitably are costly to society and the economy. In March 2012 the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) transferred the responsibilities of commissioning specialist drug and alcohol...

Countries Group into Clusters as COVID-19 Outbreak Spreads
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Countries Group into Clusters as COVID-19 Outbreak Spreads

Mathematicians based in Australia and China have developed a method to analyze the large amount of data accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The technique, described in the journal Chaos, by AIP Publishing, can identify anomalous countries — those that are more successful than expected at responding to the pandemic and those that are particularly unsuccessful. The...

Respiratory Droplet Motion, Evaporation and Spread of COVID-19-Type Pandemics
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Respiratory Droplet Motion, Evaporation and Spread of COVID-19-Type Pandemics

It is well established that the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 disease is transmitted via respiratory droplets that infected people eject when they cough, sneeze or talk. Consequently, much research targets better understanding droplet motion and evaporation to understand transmission more deeply. In a paper in Physics of Fluids, researchers developed a mathematical model, proceeding from...

Face Mask Construction, Materials Matter for Containing Coughing, Sneezing Droplets
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Face Mask Construction, Materials Matter for Containing Coughing, Sneezing Droplets

While the use of face masks in public has been widely recommended by public health officials during the current COVID-19 pandemic, there are relatively few specific guidelines pertaining to mask materials and designs. A study from Florida Atlantic University, in the Physics of Fluids, looks to better understand which types are best for controlling respiratory droplets...

East and West Germany Exhibit Health Disparities 30 Years After Reunification
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East and West Germany Exhibit Health Disparities 30 Years After Reunification

East Germany has many more hospitalisations for heart failure compared to West Germany despite a nationwide healthcare system, according to research presented today on HFA Discoveries, a scientific platform of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Heart failure is the most common reason for hospital admissions and is responsible for a large part of the total...