Flu

Physicians and scientists tested several oral and nasopharyngeal rinses in a laboratory setting for their ability to inactivate human coronaviruses that are similar in structure to SARS-CoV-2.

According to Amy Kallo, a PharmD student at Midwestern University, working at a pharmacy during the pandemic helped to solidify her understanding of the role of pharmacists as educators in their communities.

Barring a successful vaccine, COVID-19 may experience a yearly outbreak similar to the flu.

In 2019, the independent community pharmacy industry represented 35% of all retail pharmacies in the United States with a $73.7 billion marketplace, according to the NCPA’s recently released 2020 NCPA Digest.

Virtual transitions of care services are a valuable and viable opportunity for students to progress to graduation and gain valuable experience in preparation for professional employment.

In a short time, COVID-19 has increased our dependency on technology and pharmaceutical companies are actively investigating this digital transformation.

Age has been connected to symptom severity and mortality in COVID-19, however, it does not affect susceptibility to infection with the virus.

The combination of isolating potentially sick patients in their car and conducting the test in a ventilated setting minimizes COVID-19 transmission to the rest of the population.

Data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia showed a gradual, steady decline in viral transmission rates during the 8 weeks immediately preceding relaxation of physical distancing rules.

Given the collision of COVID-19 and flu season, receiving the flu vaccine may hold additional benefits by reducing symptoms that may be confused with those of the novel coronavirus.

Those hospitalized for COVID-19 are, on average, younger and healthier than hospitalized flu patients.

By using a positive outlook on these circumstances, pharmacy students can learn many lessons that will set them up for success in the future.

Patients treated with remdesivir achieved a median time to recovery of 10 days with remdesivir, compared with 15 days on the placebo.

A new study suggests that COVID-19 relieves pain, which is why many patients do not experience any symptoms.

A new study suggests that blood pressure medication may help reduce influenza deaths.

A new study contradicts the popular belief that COVID-19 is spread through close contact with droplets.

Pharmacy Times® interviewed Brian Nightengale, RPh, PhD, president of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, on the value of diversifying a community pharmacy’s business through meaningful health and wellness services in order to prepare the community for the flu season during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the largest contact tracing study conducted in the world for any disease, analyzing the process of identifying people who came into contact with an infected person, according to a press release.

A messenger RNA coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine was well tolerated in older adults.

The announcement is part of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) initiative and the RADx Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program, which will support 32 institutions across the United States and focus on populations disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

Only one-third of parents believe it is more important for their children to receive an influenza (flu) vaccine this year than previous years, according to a recent national poll.

The findings could additionally help researchers understand the fundamental biology of how coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads from the lungs to the body.

Two newly discovered antibodies could help in the development of a universal flu vaccine.

NACDS and NASPA have been encouraging state legislators to promote the critical public health message of the importance of flu vaccination this year.

Pharmacy Times® interviewed Ramzi Yacoub, chief pharmacy officer at SingleCare, on how data from SingleCare has shown an intense surge in demand for the flu vaccine this year.

Agency strongly encourages vaccination of flu amidst COVID-19 pandemic to protect nation’s seniors.

The new study suggests that COVID-19 will follow the track of other respiratory viruses and become seasonal in countries with temperate climates, but only when herd immunity is attained through natural infection or vaccinations.

Top news of the week from Pharmacy Times®.

Although the presence of rhinovirus limited the ability of influenza to infect cells, researchers do not know whether the same effect will be seen with COVID-19.

The emergency use of drugs to shorten hospitalization and prolong time for COVID-19 vaccine research and development will serve as a critical temporary buffer for an efficient vaccine to combat SARS-CoV-2.