COVID-19 | Encyclopedia MDPI

Summary

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and the disease now affects nearly every country and region. Caused by SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 continues nearly 18 months later to present significant challenges to health systems and public health in both hemispheres, as well as the economies of every country. The morbidity and mortality of the infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been significant, and various waves of disease outbreaks initially overwhelmed many hospitals and clinics and continue to do so in many countries. This influences everyone, and public health countermeasures have been dramatic in terms of their impact on employment, social systems, and mental health. This entry collection aims to gather diverse fields about COVID-19, including in epidemiology, public health, medicine, genetics, systems biology, informatics, data science, engineering, sociology, anthropology, nursing, environmental studies, statistics, and psychology.

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Entries

Topic Review

COVID-19 Pandemic

The SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the Coronaviridae family, like the other previously occurring human coronavirus variants.

547
17 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Multi-Organ Failure in COVID-19 Patients

Patients with severe COVID-19 infection often develop multi-organ failure. The damage to organs and organ systems is either through direct infection or hampered physiological processes in response to the infection. It is crucial to consider the immune system as the focal point to understand better and integrate the other organs’ complications.

553
17 Nov 2021

Topic Review

COVID-19 Anti-Vaccine Sentiments

The analyses uncovered several major issues concerning COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The production of the COVID-19 vaccine at an unprecedented speed evoked the fear of skipping steps that would compromise vaccine safety. The unknown long-term effects and duration of protection erode confidence in taking the vaccines. There were also persistent concerns with regard to vaccine compositions that could be harmful or contain aborted foetal cells. The rate of COVID-19 death was viewed as low. Many interpreted the 95% effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine as insufficient. Preference for immunity gains from having an infection was viewed as more effective. Peer-reviewed publication-based data were favoured as a source of trust in vaccination decision-making.

540
18 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Prone Positioning and COVID-19-Related Acute Respiratory Distress

The prone position is a non-invasive technique resulting from the mobilization of the patient, where the person is lying horizontally face down. This technique has been used since the 1970s, but it has gained great relevance in the last year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic with the use of invasive mechanical ventilation.

661
15 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Preventing Physical Inactivity during Future Pandemics

Wearable activity trackers are devices that are comfortably worn on the body and are designed to be effective in monitoring daily physical activity and improving physical fitness of the wearer. This review aimed to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on physical activity measured using wearable activity trackers and discuss future perspectives on wearable activity trackers during pandemics. Daily physical activity was significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

426
10 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants

The widespread increase in multiple severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants is causing a significant health concern in the United States and worldwide. These variants exhibit increased transmissibility, cause more severe disease, exhibit evasive immune properties, impair neutralization by antibodies from vaccinated individuals or convalescence sera, and reinfection.

492
23 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Nucleic Acid Vaccines for COVID-19

Nucleic acid vaccines employ genetic material from a pathogen, such as a virus or bacteria, to induce an immune response against it. Based on the vaccination, the genetic material might be DNA or RNA; as such, it offers instructions for producing a specific pathogen protein that the immune system will perceive as foreign and mount an immune response. Nucleic acid vaccines for multiple antigens might be made in the same facility, lowering costs even more. Most traditional vaccine regimens do not allow for this. Nucleic acid vaccines could also be applied to COVID-19.

545
05 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Stem Cells against SARS-CoV-2 in Pregnant Women/Children

368
08 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Plasma Renin Concentration in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients

Plasma renin concentration as a marker of organ perfusion in several intensive care settings have shown a significant correlation between its increase and a lack of perfusion in critical tissues, especially in septic patients.

381
04 Nov 2021

Topic Review

Alveolar Regeneration in COVID-19 Patients: Network Perspective

Lung alveolar regeneration to repair the damaged tissue and restoration of normal tissue function could be achieved by transplantation of progenitor or stem cells and exosome-mediated delivery of therapeutic agents, including miRNAs. Not only as a biomarker of COVID-19but also as therapeutic agents, miRNAs have proven to play a crucial role in lung damage and repair. miRNAs can either be regulated locally in the lungsor transported to the damaged site by extracellular vehicles (EVs) secreted by stem cells to induce tissue regeneration by decreasing inflammation and apoptosis, stimulating surfactant production, regulating gene expression of junction proteins to repair microvascular permeability, and reducing fibrosis.

630
03 Nov 2021

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