WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

How to persuade those who won’t want to take the coming COVID-19 vaccine, dental findings that uphold calls to continue routine dental care amid the pandemic, how more sleep and family time—and less social media—may have helped teens during quarantine, and more​

A vaccine for COVID-19 seems like a foregone conclusion. Many of us are pinning our hopes on one to get us back to normal life, but some people, whatever their reasons, are against vaccination. Recent polls suggest that perhaps only 50% of Americans intend to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available safely and effectively. This poses a problem: In order to reach herd immunity—the point at which everyone is protected from COVID-19 because there aren’t enough vulnerable people to become infected and spread it—two-thirds of the U.S. population must get vaccinated against the virus. So how do you convince vaccine skeptics to take one for the team? The first step is to try to understand where their resistance comes from, whether they’re fiercely mistrusting of government or pharmaceutical companies, or scared that vaccines might harm them or their children. One approach may be to show them how scary the alternative is, by showing them the terrible toll COVID-19 can have on people, even for those who survive it; unfortunately, some experts have noted that appealing to science and logic may backfire and have the opposite effect. Instead, they suggest trying “direct behavior change”: normalize vaccination, for example, presenting vaccinations as a normal part of care instead of as a preventative option, or requiring vaccinations at schools and workplaces. Former anti-vaxxers sharing the reasons they changed their minds may also help shift the perspective of others in favor of vaccination. In the end, it will likely take a massive, coordinated public-education campaign that leverages multiple approaches and arguments to sway more people toward getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Early in the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cautioned that dental work could increase risk of infection by aerosolizing the virus and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended people delay dental care until COVID-19 cases were down. However, a study published this month in the Journal of the American Dental Association found that less than 1% of dentists tested positive for or were diagnosed with COVID-19. Researchers surveyed 2,195 dentists in June in the United States about symptoms the month before; 82% had experienced no symptoms and 16.6% were tested, of which 6.4% tested positive. Furthermore, 99.7% of dental practices increased precautions to prevent infection, and 73% were using personal protective equipment (PPE) per the CDC’s recommendations. Some of the procedures in place at practices include screening patients with questionnaires, social distancing in waiting areas, purifying the air in rooms, training staff in infection prevention, and even testing patients prior to surgery. In an interview with Fox News, Marcelo Araujo, DDS, senior author of the paper and CEO of the American Dental Association Science and Research Institute, said, “This means that what dentists are doing—heightened infection control and increased attention to patient and dental team safety—is working.”

Pandemic lockdown had a negative impact on the mental and emotional health of many people, but a survey of 1,523 teenagers from May to July shows that many of them did much better in quarantine than one might expect. They were asked questions to rate them on life satisfaction, happiness, depression, and loneliness, and their responses were compared to those from a similar survey done in 2018. Surprisingly, a lower percentage reported symptoms of depression or loneliness in 2020 than two years before, and only a slightly higher percentage reported dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Although this probably seems counterintuitive, one explanation may be that teens stuck at home were getting more sleep; sleep-deprivation significantly increases the risk of depression. As well, they were spending more quality time with their family: 56% talked more with their parents, and 54% had family dinners more often. Their use of technology, including social media, also seems to have been more purposeful and positive than before the pandemic. Screentime was on par with 2018 numbers, but teens spent more of that time videochatting and watching videos than texting, gaming, and using social media. However, while COVID-19 anxiety overall did not contribute significantly to feelings of depression, loneliness, and unhappiness, the financial toll of the virus on their families did. Of teens who reported a parent losing a job, 25% were depressed, compared to 16% of teens without loss of employment; 26% of teens concerned about not having enough money were depressed, compared to 13% without such worries; and 33% of teens with food insecurity were depressed, compared to 14% of teens unconcerned about their family having enough food. All this boils down to a silver lining of sorts: Despite the lack of school and friends, and the stresses of worrying about COVID-19’s influence on their families’ health and finances, lifestyle changes somewhat mitigated the harmful effects of the pandemic— leaving many adolescents feeling stronger, more resilient, and closer to their families.

 

As COVID-19 continues to spread, so does misinformation about how to treat it. It can be dangerous when home remedies and recommendations—such as taking Vitamin D, hydroxychloroquine, or even a tapeworm medication—infect patient support groups, not only because they are potentially harmful, but also because they undermine trust in science and doctors. The people who need help most don’t know what to believe anymore. This has led some support groups for COVID-19 “long- haulers” on Facebook and in other forums to create their own teams of fact-checkers, which may even include clinicians and scientists, to review posts. This helps ensure the information being shared is evidence-based and picks up some of the slack from social media platforms, which are only just beginning to address pervasive COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation.

Developing a COVID-19 vaccine is one of the highest priorities around the globe. Right now, several U.S. pharmaceutical companies are actively pursuing one and some are already in clinical trials. But in order to make sure the vaccine is safe and effective for everyone, drugmakers must recruit a diverse pool of volunteers that accurately represents the makeup of the country’s population—and experts say we are nowhere near there yet. This is especially concerning when COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting minority and elderly groups. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Blacks have double the risk of dying from COVID-19 than their White peers, and COVID-19 is infecting communities of color at a rate two to three times higher; meanwhile, people age 65 and older make up the vast majority of deaths from the virus. Racial and ethnic minorities comprise 40% of the U.S. population, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recommends pharmaceutical companies enroll twice that percentage in their clinical trials—far greater than the actual percentage of minority enrollees (27%) in a Pfizer trial. A commitment to diversity is one thing, but other challenges in recruiting a broader range of participants include aversion to risking side effects from untested or rushed vaccines, mistrust of medical research, and communication difficulties. To help allay concerns and answer questions from prospective volunteers, NIAID’s COVID-19 Prevention Network established a toll-free call center (866-288-1919). The group is actively registering participants and is particularly looking to enroll more people over the age of 50.

Studies have shown that children benefit from having fathers who are actively engaged in their care, but a new study, just published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, suggests that dads who are connected with their kids also are happier for it—and consequently the entire family does better. While postpartum depression (PPD) is known to affect 10% to 20% of new mothers, less attention has been given to the 8% to 10% of new fathers who suffer a similar condition, dubbed paternal postnatal depression (PPND). PPD in women is influenced by hormonal changes, but with PPND, a major contributing factor for men is lack of sleep, which has already been linked with depression and is a common challenge when caring for a new baby. Researchers interviewed 881 low-income fathers with diverse backgrounds and determined that there are three things linked to lower rates of depression in the first year of parenthood: spending time with their baby; competency in caring for them, in basic tasks such as feeding and changing diapers; and ability to provide for them financially. Taking a closer look at the mental health of new dads and raising awareness of the benefits of them becoming more involved in childcare could help shift American culture away from traditional gender roles in the home, make a stronger case for paid paternal leave in the workplace, and reduce the rates of depression in moms too.