Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified biomarkers in the blood associated with symptoms of long COVID, particularly severe respiratory disorders. The discovery can pave the way for future diagnosis and treatment. The results are published in the top-ranking scientific journal Nature Immunology.

Trinity researchers have found that the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine may offer protection beyond its intended, primary target. In a study, recently published in the Clinical Immunology journal, researchers found that the vaccine not only targeted the COVID-19 virus, it also unexpectedly helped to reduce and control innate inflammation to other bacterial and fungal pathogens not related to the vaccine target. 

A new study led by researchers at the University of Oxford, published today (28 April) in JAMA Pediatrics, offers fresh insight into trends in maternal mortality in the United States. For the first time, the study disentangles genuine changes in health outcomes from shifts caused by how deaths are recorded. Nevertheless, the study confirms the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal death rates for women of all racial and ethnic groups.

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), in partnership with APIC, IDSA, and PIDS, has released a new position paper urging U.S. healthcare facilities to strengthen their Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programs. Citing vulnerabilities exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the paper outlines key recommendations for enhancing IPC leadership, resources, and accountability to protect patients, improve healthcare quality, and reduce costs. The societies call for IPC programs to be recognized as essential to healthcare operations and advocate for revised standards and a dyad leadership model to drive sustainable improvements.

New research from Murdoch University’s Australian National Phenome Centre confirms that multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines do not cause significant metabolic changes.