Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl

The impact of the Covid pandemic may have been so deep that it altered people’s personalities, according to research. Previously psychologists have failed to find a link between collective stressful events, such as earthquakes or hurricanes, and personality change. However, something about the losses experienced or simply the long grind of social isolation appears to have made an impact. (Devlin, 9/28)

Ten years of data from a nationwide survey of physicians confirm another trend that’s worsened through the pandemic: Burnout rates among doctors in the United States, which were already high a decade ago, have risen to alarming levels. Results released this month and published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a peer-reviewed journal, show that 63 percent of physicians surveyed reported at least one symptom of burnout at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, an increase from 44 percent in 2017 and 46 percent in 2011. Only 30 percent felt satisfied with their work-life balance, compared with 43 percent five years earlier. (Whang, 9/29)

In a small study today in eBioMedicine, researchers from University College London show that a blood sample taken at the time of COVID-19 infection could predict who would develop persistent symptoms up to 1 year later by using precise measurements of proteins. (9/28)

A Johns Hopkins University scientist who created a website to track COVID-19 cases worldwide is the recipient of this year’s Lasker award for public service. The $250,000 awards, announced Wednesday by the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation, recognize achievements in medical research. The public service award went to Lauren Gardner, an engineer who studies the spread of diseases. She worked with her lab team to develop the COVID-19 tracker as the coronavirus began spreading worldwide in January 2020. The dashboard became a key resource and now tracks global cases, deaths, vaccines and more. Through it all, the team has made the tracker freely available to the public. (Burakoff, 9/28)

An important indicator of the prevalence of COVID-19 infections, the levels of coronavirus detected in Eastern Massachusetts waste water shot up sharply in recent days. (Finucane and Huddle, 9/28)

The U.S. Supreme Court announced new policies on Wednesday for its upcoming term, allowing the public to attend oral arguments in person and making mask-wearing optional. The Court will still provide a live audio feed and will publish transcripts and audio for oral arguments, which it began doing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Dress, 9/28)

If it wasn’t clear enough during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become obvious during the monkeypox outbreak: The United States, among the richest, most advanced nations in the world, remains wholly unprepared to combat new pathogens. The coronavirus was a sly, unexpected adversary. Monkeypox was a familiar foe, and tests, vaccines and treatments were already at hand. But the response to both threats sputtered and stumbled at every step. (Mandavilli, 9/29)