This review covers the thematic series of 22 papers selected from among manuscripts published by BJPsych Open concerning coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and healthcare. We report nine papers that cover concepts and epidemiology relating to the public and patients. We review 11 papers about the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare services and their staff in 15 countries. Two papers consider the psychosocial impact on staff working in mental health services in the UK. Most papers report cross-sectional analyses of data collected from convenience samples by self-reported surveys conducted at single times. They have limitations of generalisability, do not enable conclusions about diagnosis or causality, and many are likely to have attendant bias and noise. BJPsych Open published these papers to meet requirements for early indications of the mental health impact of COVID-19 on the public and on healthcare staff. They claim high prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. We contrast these findings with selected reports of studies with different methodologies published elsewhere. We emphasise the need for longitudinal clinical studies with refined sampling and methodological rigour. We identify several longitudinal research programmes; two in this series. We advocate tuning advice offered about caring for the public and healthcare staff to the realities of their circumstances and their perceptions of need in the context of findings from further longitudinal studies. We draw attention to the importance of the social, relationship and environmental circumstances of the public and healthcare staff in order to understand their distress and their risks of developing mental health disorders.

A subset of events within the UK Government Events Research Programme (ERP), developed to examine the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from attendance at events, was examined to explore the public health impact of holding mass sporting events. We used contact tracing data routinely collected through telephone interviews and online questionnaires, to describe the potential public health impact of the large sporting and cultural events on potential transmission and incidence of COVID-19. Data from the EURO 2020 matches hosted at Wembley identified very high numbers of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 and were traced through NHS Test & Trace. This included both individuals who were potentially infectious (3036) and those who acquired their infection during the time of the Final (6376). This is in contrast with the All England Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, where there were similar number of spectators and venue capacity but there were lower total numbers of potentially infectious cases (299) and potentially acquired cases (582). While the infections associated with the EURO 2020 event may be attributed to a set of socio-cultural circumstances which are unlikely to be replicated for the forthcoming sporting season, other aspects may be important to consider including mitigations for spectators to consider such as face coverings when travelling to and from events, minimising crowding in poorly ventilated indoor spaces such as bars and pubs where people may congregate to watch events, and reducing the risk of aerosol exposure through requesting that individuals avoid shouting and chanting in large groups in enclosed spaces.

Cardiac involvement associated with multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children has been extensively reported, but the prevalence of cardiac involvement in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the absence of inflammatory syndrome has not been well described. In this retrospective, single centre, cohort study, we describe the cardiac involvement found in this population and report on outcomes of patients with and without elevated cardiac biomarkers. Those with multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, cardiomyopathy, or complex CHD were excluded. Inclusion criteriaz were met by 80 patients during the initial peak of the pandemic at our institution. High-sensitivity troponin T and/or N-terminal pro-brain type natriuretic peptide were measured in 27/80 (34%) patients and abnormalities were present in 5/27 (19%), all of whom had underlying comorbidities. Advanced respiratory support was required in all patients with elevated cardiac biomarkers. Electrocardiographic abnormalities were identified in 14/38 (37%) studies. Echocardiograms were performed on 7/80 patients, and none demonstrated left ventricular dysfunction. Larger studies to determine the true extent of cardiac involvement in children with COVID-19 would be useful to guide recommendations for standard workup and management.

A 6-year-old boy, born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, underwent total cavopulmonary connection and later presented in a significantly deteriorated condition. A CT scan revealed multiple thrombi in the extracardiac conduit, although the patient was maintained on an effective anticoagulant therapy. Further examination revealed anamnestic antibodies suggesting that the patient had gone through a clinically inapparent COVID-19 infection, which we conclude most likely contributed to his hypercoagulable state and led to the formation of significant thrombi impairing the patient’s haemodynamics. The patient underwent a surgical thrombectomy; there were no post-operative thrombotic complications.

In Ethiopia, the magnitude of violence against girls during COVID-19 in the study area is not known. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the violence and associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic among Gondar city secondary school girls in North West Ethiopia. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to February 2021. Data were collected from four public and two private Gondar city secondary schools. Investigators used stratified simple random sampling to select participants and the investigators used roster of the students at selected schools. Investigators collected the data using self-reported history of experiencing violence (victimisation). Investigators analysed data using descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression. Investigators invited a total of 371 sampled female students to complete self-administered questionnaires. The proportion of girls who experienced violence was 42.05% and psychological violence was the highest form of violence. Having a father who attended informal education (AOR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.08–3.51), ever use of social media 1.65 (AOR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.02–2.69), ever watching sexually explicit material (AOR = 2.04, 95% CI 1.24–3.36) and use of a substance (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI 1.17–3.15) were significantly associated variables with violence. Almost for every five girls, more than two of them experienced violence during the COVID-19 lockdown. The prevalence of violence might be under reported due to desirability bias. Therefore, it is better to create awareness towards violence among substance users, fathers with informal education and social media including user females.

Myopericarditis is a condition, which primarily involves the pericardium, with minimal myocardial involvement. In myopericarditis, chest pain, elevated cardiac enzymes, and electrocardiographic changes occur. Although COVID-19 mRNA vaccines significantly contribute to preventing the COVID-19 disease, rarely myocarditis and/or pericarditis may develop due to these vaccines. We present a previously healthy 14-year-old male patient who developed myopericarditis after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

This experimental laboratory-based study evaluated two disinfectants’ efficacy against replication-competent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) on three surfaces. Disinfectants were effictive at eliminating the presence, viability, and subsequent replication of SARS-CoV-2 on all surfaces. Although SARS-CoV-2 likely spreads primarily via airborne transmission, layered mitigation should include high-touch surface disinfection.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether and when the world can reach herd immunity and return to normal life and a strategy for accelerating vaccination programmes constitute major concerns. We employed Metropolis–Hastings sampling and an epidemic model to design experiments based on the current vaccinations administered and a more equitable vaccine allocation scenario. The results show that most high-income countries can reach herd immunity in less than 1 year, whereas low-income countries should reach this state after more than 3 years. With a more equitable vaccine allocation strategy, global herd immunity can be reached in 2021. However, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants means that an additional 83 days will be needed to reach global herd immunity and that the number of cumulative cases will increase by 113.37% in 2021. With the more equitable vaccine allocation scenario, the number of cumulative cases will increase by only 5.70% without additional vaccine doses. As SARS-CoV-2 variants arise, herd immunity could be delayed to the point that a return to normal life is theoretically impossible in 2021. Nevertheless, a more equitable global vaccine allocation strategy, such as providing rapid vaccine assistance to low-income countries/regions, can improve the prevention of COVID-19 infection even though the virus could mutate.

In this study, we analysed the relationship between meteorological factors and the number of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study period was from 12 April 2020 to 13 October 2020, and daily meteorological data and the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in each state of the United States were collected. Based on the number of COVID-19 patients in each state of the United States, we selected four states (California, Florida, New York, Texas) for analysis. One-way analysis of variance ( ANOVA), scatter plot analysis, correlation analysis and distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) analysis were used to analyse the relationship between meteorological factors and the number of patients with COVID-19. We found that the significant influencing factors of the number of COVID-19 cases differed among the four states. Specifically, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in California and New York was negatively correlated with AWMD (P < 0.01) and positively correlated with AQI, PM2.5 and TAVG (P < 0.01) but not significantly correlated with other factors. Florida was significantly correlated with TAVG (positive) (P < 0.01) but not significantly correlated with other factors. The number of COVID-19 cases in Texas was only significantly negatively associated with AWND (P < 0.01). The influence of temperature and PM2.5 on the spread of COVID-19 is not obvious. This study shows that when the wind speed was 2 m/s, it had a significant positive correlation with COVID-19 cases. The impact of meteorological factors on COVID-19 may be very complicated. It is necessary to further explore the relationship between meteorological factors and COVID-19. By exploring the influence of meteorological factors on COVID-19, we can help people to establish a more accurate early warning system.