Hi everyone! Today’s episode is hosted by Diane Bao, and she will be discussing 4 different and optimistic research findings during the COVID-19 quarantine.

First of all, an article in The Lancet Public Health indicates that continuing face mask use beyond certain vaccination thresholds in the population could save billions of dollars associated with healthcare costs and lost productivity. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220308190532.htm and https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(22)00040-8/fulltext. 

Next, COVID restrictions on social gatherings were associated with nearly 750,000 fewer global dengue cases in 2020. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220302190011.htm and https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(22)00025-1/fulltext.

Third, a survey of 1200 Denver residents found an association between exposure to green space (nature and the outdoors) and lower depression and anxiety levels during the first year of the COVID pandemic. Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220302150329.htm and https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263779.

Finally, a new study with a video game format has tested the effectiveness of different interventions to stop the spread of viruses. “What's so important about this framework is that it allows [us] to test the effectiveness of an intervention before implementing it in a real pandemic with health consequences for participants.” Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220225142026.htm and https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abk0428. 

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