Coronavirus COVID-19 Weekly Update 19th July 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 19th July 2021

Sources: World Health Organization

COVID-19 Cumulative Global Cases

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

Source: World Health Organization

Global Vaccinations Against COVID-19

Official data collated by Our World in Data - data up to 19th July 2021

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 18-07-21

Source: Public Health England

COVID-19 in the African Region

Data for 24 hour period, reported on 19-07-21

Source: World Health Organization

COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Data for 24 hour period, reported on 19-07-21

Source: World Health Organization

Latest COVID-19 Publications and Guidelines:

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

Nature: After the pandemic: perspectives on the future trajectory of COVID-19

Telenti A, Arvin A, Corey L, et al. After the pandemic: perspectives on the future trajectory of COVID-19. Nature. 2021 Jul 8. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03792-w. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34237771.

NEJM: Effectiveness of an Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Chile

Jara A, Undurraga EA, González C, et al. Effectiveness of an Inactivated SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Chile. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jul 7. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2107715. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34233097.

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine: Azithromycin versus standard care in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 (ATOMIC2): an open-label, randomised trial 

Hinks TSC, Cureton L, Knight R, et al. Azithromycin versus standard care in patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 (ATOMIC2): an open-label, randomised trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2021 Jul 9:S2213-2600(21)00263-0. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00263-0. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34252378.

BMJ: Effect of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 on life expectancy across populations in the USA and other high income countries: simulations of provisional mortality data

Woolf SH, Masters RK, Aron LY. Effect of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 on life expectancy across populations in the USA and other high income countries: simulations of provisional mortality data. BMJ. 2021 Jun 23;373:n1343. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1343. PMID: 34162598; PMCID: PMC8220857.

Nature: Mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. Mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19. Nature. 2021 Jul 8. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03767-x. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34237774.

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Poor Antibody Response after Two Doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in Transplant Recipients

Mazzola A, Todesco E, Drouin S, et al. Poor Antibody Response after Two Doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in Transplant Recipients. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Jun 24:ciab580. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab580. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34166499.

Vaccine: COVID-19 vaccination rates vary by community vulnerability: A county-level analysis

Brown CC, Young SG, Pro GC. COVID-19 vaccination rates vary by community vulnerability: A county-level analysis. Vaccine. 2021 Jul 13;39(31):4245-4249. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.06.038. Epub 2021 Jun 17. PMID: 34167838; PMCID: PMC8215509.

The Lancet: Widespread implementation of a low-cost telehealth service in the delivery of antenatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time-series analysis

Palmer KR, Tanner M, Davies-Tuck M, et al. Widespread implementation of a low-cost telehealth service in the delivery of antenatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interrupted time-series analysis. Lancet. 2021 Jul 3;398(10294):41-52. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00668-1. PMID: 34217399; PMCID: PMC8248925.

The Lancet. COVID-19 in Africa: a lesson in solidarity (Editorial)

The Lancet. COVID-19 in Africa: a lesson in solidarity. Lancet. 2021 Jul 17;398(10296):185. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01610-X. PMID: 34274052.

Educational Resources:

WHO: COVID-19 Course Series and Vaccine Series

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: Interpreting a lateral flow SARS-CoV-2 antigen test

Nature Podcast: Coronapod: does England's COVID strategy risk breeding deadly variants? (16th July 2021)

MedShr Open: COVID-19 Articles and Learning Modules

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. There are also new, free COVID-19 Learning Modules live in the the COVID-19 discussion group:

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