EurekAlert! COVID-19 Online Newsroom - Peer-reviewed Research

Peer-reviewed Research

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 3-Sep-2025 16:11 ET (3-Sep-2025 20:11 GMT/UTC)

3-Sep-2025

Toddlers showed slightly fewer behavioral problems during COVID-19 pandemic, NIH study finds

Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Toddlers assessed during the COVID-19 pandemic had slightly fewer emotional and behavioral problems compared to children assessed before the pandemic, suggesting some toddlers may have shown resilience during this time. This finding comes from a study of over 3,000 children across the United States using data from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort Consortium collected between September 2009 and July 2023.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

2-Sep-2025

Clinical study shows that nasal spray containing azelastine reduces risk of coronavirus infection by two-thirds

Saarland University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team at Saarland University has demonstrated in a clinical study that a widely used anti-allergy nasal spray containing the active ingredient azelastine can significantly reduce the risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The results of the placebo-controlled trial involving 450 healthy participants have now been published in the leading U.S. medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Journal: JAMA

1-Sep-2025

HKUMed develops innovative organoid-based platform for precise evaluation of antibody and vaccine efficacy, accelerating FDA application of organoid technology

The University of Hong Kong
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team from the Department of Microbiology under the School of Clinical Medicine in the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has successfully developed the world’s first ‘nasal organoid-based SARS-CoV-2 Neutralising Antibody Evaluation Platform’. The platform uses respiratory organoids that adequately model viral infection in the human respiratory tract, enabling accurate assessment of the effectiveness of antibodies and vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

1-Sep-2025

Differences in cesarean section numbers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

University of Tsukuba
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at University of Tsukuba report that the percentage of births by cesarean section in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2020 to October 2022) increased to 21.19%, which is approximately 1 percentage point higher from the pre-pandemic rate of 20.27%. This finding indicates that cesarean sections were performed for infection control and other purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to this increase.

Journal: Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research

1-Sep-2025

Study Reveals Details of Overactive Immune System in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Led by researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health with a multicenter team of leading ME/CFS researchers, the new study reveals molecular-level details into the syndrome’s lasting effects on inflammation and immune response that could inform the development of targeted therapeutic interventions to reduce symptoms of ME/CFS and other postinfectious syndromes such as post-treatment Lyme disease and Long COVID.

Journal: npj Metabolic Health and Disease
Funder: Hutchins Family Foundation, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

27-Aug-2025

WSU study suggests returning students didn’t drive COVID-19 outbreaks in town

Washington State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Across the United States, the return of students to college campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2020 sparked widespread fears that local communities would be overwhelmed by the virus. While some university towns experienced surges in caseloads linked to those returning students, a new study of Pullman, Washington — home to Washington State University — found that was not the case universally.

Journal: Epidemiology
Funder: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

26-Aug-2025

MSU study: What defines a life well-lived? Obituaries may have the answers.

Michigan State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A Michigan State University-led study published in the journal PNAS analyzed 38 million U.S. obituaries over 30 years to explore what defines a life well-lived. Researchers from MSU, Boston College, and Arizona State University examined which values people are remembered for, how cultural events shape legacies, and how obituaries reflect societal expectations of a meaningful life across demographics.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

26-Aug-2025

Giving mRNA vaccines a technological shot in the arm

Yale University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines entered the public consciousness when they were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna used the technology in developing their highly effective vaccines to fight the virus.

Since then, scientists have been fine-tuning this vaccine delivery system to make it more effective. A Yale research team has now developed a technology that improves both the power of mRNA vaccines and their effectiveness against a host of diseases.

The new technology offers the promise of expanding the reach of these vaccines, including for the prevention of other diseases, including cancer and autoimmune diseases.

The results of their study are published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Journal: Nature Biomedical Engineering

26-Aug-2025

American College of Cardiology issues vaccine guidance for adults with heart disease

American College of Cardiology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The American College of Cardiology has issued Concise Clinical Guidance (CCG) recommending vaccines to protect adults with heart disease against respiratory illness, including influenza, COVID-19 and RSV, and other diseases where vaccination is shown to offer cardiovascular protective benefits. The guidance also provides detailed evidence for each vaccine recommendation and answers to frequently asked questions to guide conversations between clinicians and patients.

Journal: Journal of the American College of Cardiology

26-Aug-2025

Global analysis reveals overlooked hotspots at risk for long COVID due to early disability burdens

FAR Publishing Limited
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new global study has identified striking inequalities in disability caused by COVID-19 during 2020–2021, offering an early warning signal for the ongoing risk of long COVID in the years that followed — and even today. By examining across 920 locations worldwide, researchers found that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, showed disproportionately high rates of nonfatal COVID-related health loss. These findings highlight potentially hidden vulnerabilities and call for urgent action to address long-term pandemic effects in underserved populations.

Journal: Med Research

26-Aug-2025

Mindset shift about catastrophes linked to decreased depression, inflammation

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A mindset intervention helped people reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic to see that the experience held some growth opportunities. Later, those who had made this shift in their views showed positive signs not only in self-reported mental health, but also in their blood.

Journal: Brain Behavior and Immunity
Funder: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

25-Aug-2025

Common cold may protect against COVID-19 according to National Jewish Health researchers

National Jewish Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by researchers at National Jewish Health has found that recent infection with the common cold — often caused by rhinoviruses — may offer temporary protection against infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The research provides fresh insight into why children are less likely than adults to develop symptoms and could point toward new ways to reduce the severity of respiratory illnesses.

Journal: The Journal of Infectious Diseases

22-Aug-2025

Speed isn’t everything when it comes to covalent inhibitor drugs, study finds

University at Buffalo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University at Buffalo esearchers found that an increased inactivation efficiency rate was linked to greater drug potency, but only to a certain point.

Journal: ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Funder: NIH/National Institutes of Health

22-Aug-2025

Restoring trust in government and institutions may influence pandemic decision making

Research Organization of Information and Systems
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how the same health information affects the behavior of individuals differently. A recent study revealed cultural differences in how people respond to hypothetical COVID-19 infection information at the local level. The analysis also found differences in how individual subgroups react differently to pandemic information.

Journal: Data Science Journal
Funder: Research Organization of Information and Systems, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

22-Aug-2025

Restoring trust in government and institutions may influence pandemic decision making

Research Organization of Information and Systems
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Journal: Data Science Journal
Funder: Research Organization of Information and Systems, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science