Weekly update published on MedShr: 28th June 2021
Last updated: 28th June 2021

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this article is accurate and current at time of publication, but if you notice an error please contact covid@medshr.net and we will aim to address this. Please find MedShr’s full terms of service here.

Coronavirus COVID-19 Weekly Update 28th June 2021

This update will be published weekly at 12pm GMT on Mondays and aims to provide clinicians and the public with an overview of the latest data, guidelines, key publications and policy around COVID-19, with links to essential resources and information.

If you are a healthcare professional, please join the discussion on these latest COVID-19 cases on MedShr:

Please post any anonymous educational COVID-19 cases, images or learning points from your clinical practice on MedShr - share key knowledge and experience with a global network of healthcare professionals to help improve patient care.

Please email COVID@medshr.net if you have any data, publications or information you would like to share.

Global Impact of COVID-19 to Date

Data from WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard, reported on 28th June 2021

Sources: World Health Organization

COVID-19 Cumulative Global Cases

Data from WHO Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Dashboard, reported on 28th June 2021

Source: World Health Organization

Global Vaccinations Against COVID-19

Official data collated by Our World in Data - data up to 27th June 2021

Source: Our World in Data

For full vaccination data, Our World in Data state: "Total number of people who received all doses prescribed by the vaccination protocol. This data is only available for countries which report the breakdown of doses administered by first and second doses."

Mathieu, E., Ritchie, H., Ortiz-Ospina, E. et al. A global database of COVID-19 vaccinations. Nat Hum Behav (2021)

Total UK COVID-19 Cases

Data for 24 hour period, reported on 27-06-21

Source: Public Health England

COVID-19 in the African Region

Data for 24 hour period, reported on 28-06-21

Source: World Health Organization

COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Data for 24 hour period, reported on 28-06-21

Source: World Health Organization

Latest COVID-19 Publications and Guidelines:

A selection of recent publications and useful clinical guidance from scientific journals

Nature Communications: Temporal trends of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kenya

Adetifa IMO, Uyoga S, Gitonga JN, et al. Temporal trends of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in Kenya. Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 25;12(1):3966. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24062-3. PMID: 34172732.

medRxiv: Aspirin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

RECOVERY Collaborative Group, Horby PW, Pessoa-Amorim G, et al. Aspirin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial. medRxiv 2021.06.08.21258132; doi: 10.1101/2021.06.08.21258132

BMJ: Public health impact of delaying second dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 covid-19 vaccine: simulation agent based modeling study 

Romero-Brufau S, Chopra A, Ryu AJ, et al. Public health impact of delaying second dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 covid-19 vaccine: simulation agent based modeling study. BMJ. 2021 May 12;373:n1087. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1087. Erratum in: BMJ. 2021 May 25;373:n1334. PMID: 33980718; PMCID: PMC8114182.

NEJM: Tofacitinib in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19 Pneumonia

Guimarães PO, Quirk D, Furtado RH, et al. Tofacitinib in Patients Hospitalized with Covid-19 Pneumonia. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jun 16. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2101643. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34133856.

Nature Communications: Association of social distancing and face mask use with risk of COVID-19 

Kwon S, Joshi AD, Lo CH, et al. Association of social distancing and face mask use with risk of COVID-19. Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 18;12(1):3737. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24115-7. PMID: 34145289.

Pan Afr Med J: A proposed framework to limit post-lockdown community transmission of COVID-19 in Africa (commentary) 

Ikoona EN, Kitara DL. A proposed framework to limit post-lockdown community transmission of COVID-19 in Africa. Pan Afr Med J. 2021 Mar 23;38:303. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2021.38.303.24008. PMID: 34178221; PMCID: PMC8197043.

Educational Resources:

WHO: COVID-19 Course Series and Vaccine Series

"Real-time training during global emergencies is critical for effective preparedness and response. The COVID-19 channel provides learning resources for health professionals, decision-makers and the public for the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)." (WHO 2020)

Johns Hopkins University: Understanding the COVID-19 Pandemic

BMJ Best Practice: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) - clinical decision support tool

Elsevier: COVID-19 Health Education resource center, including the Health Education Faculty Hub

NEJM: Covid-19 Vaccine Resource Center

BMJ: Covid-19 vaccination hesitancy 

BMJ: A living WHO guideline on drugs to prevent covid-19

NEJM: Covid-19 Rx: Treatment Simulations

BMJ: Mask related acne (“maskne”) and other facial dermatoses

Nature Podcast: Coronapod: should you have a COVID vaccine when breastfeeding? (25th June 2021)

MedShr Open: COVID-19 Articles

The COVID-19 Hub on MedShr Open includes a selection of articles covering a range of topics related to COVID-19, ranging from emerging therapies, long-term effects of COVID-19, and considering the effects of the pandemic on other essential healthcare services.

Global Health Data for COVID-19

Global.health - a Data Science Initiative - open public health COVID-19 dataset to advance the response to infectious diseases

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)

Research related to COVID-19

Below is a list of links to organisations who are making great efforts to categorise, evaluate and summarise the vast catalogue of COVID-19 research. If you discover any other great resources please feel free to share these in the comments section below.

Global research on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) - WHO Global research database and links to further research catalogues

LitCovid - a curated literature hub for tracking up-to-date scientific information about COVID-19

Public Health Emergency COVID-19 Initiative - PubMed Central

COVID-19 Science Updates - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines - National Institutes of Health

ClinicalTrials.gov - COVID-19 clinical trials

Finding the evidence: Coronavirus – Knowledge & Library Services - Public Health England

Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Cochrane resources and news - Cochrane

India and Pakistan COVID-19 Support Groups

New groups have been launched as part of MedShr's COVID-19 education programme in response to the current challenges in India and Pakistan. The groups are intended to be a dedicated place for all healthcare professionals to share information and resources, and discuss how to manage increasingly unwell patients with limited resources, as well as giving access to international experts in COVID-19.

Weekly Update by MedShr Open Editorial Team