It’s not your imagination: As infections from the fast mutating BA.5 coronavirus subvariant rise throughout the United States, more people are becoming infected with COVID-19 for the second or third time. However, on aggregate, these reinfections do not appear to be occurring more quickly, finds a recent study from the gene sequencing firm, Helix.

According to the most recent data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BA.5, another Omicron variation offshoot, is currently responsible for around 80% of new COVID-19 infections in the country.

Recently, Helix, which analyses COVID-19 tests to keep track of variants, dug into its data to determine how frequently the same person screened positive for COVID-19 and if there are more reinfections now than there were in previous waves. Reinfections made up nearly half of the roughly 300,000 illnesses recorded since March 2021, increasing from 3.6% during the BA.2 surge in May to 6.4% during the BA.5 wave in July. However, it doesn’t appear that these reinfections are happening more frequently.

The average interval among positive COVID-19 tests for the same person in April, during the BA.2 wave, was almost 230 days; by July, it was roughly 270 days, or roughly nine months. The most recent data revealed a significant increase in the proportion of illnesses that are repeat infections. The jump happened, said Shishi Luo, Helix’s associate director for infectious illness and bioinformatics.

According to Luo, a variety of causes, such as decreasing immunity, widespread dissemination, and mutations in BA.5 that enable it to evade the body’s defences, are likely contributing to the surge. On average, nine months have passed since the first infection in those who are currently getting the disease. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been recent instances of people contracting COVID-19 again just a few weeks later. These can be seen by Luo in the data. However, they are not typical.

She stated that the longer it has been since an infection, the statistically greater the likelihood that a person may become ill again. The Helix data corroborate the findings of a previous study on reinfection from Qatar, which regularly tests its 2.8 million inhabitants for COVID-19, testing roughly 5% of the population each week. The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants appeared in Qatar in May and were controlled by June.

Researchers examined instances of reinfection using data from nationwide screening. They discovered that only 15% of people who had Covid-19 infections prior to the introduction of the Omicron variant were protected from contracting the infection again and developing symptoms during the BA.5 wave. However, there was a higher level of protection against an Omicron variant infection in the past: roughly 76%.

According to Laith Abu-Raddad, an epidemiologist from Weill-Cornell Medicine-Qatar in Doha, Qatar, those who got infected with a pre-Omicron form now have really little resistance against the illness of BA.4 or BA.5; they cannot truly rely on natural immunity to protect them.

According to Abu-Raddad, those who have had an Omicron variant infection more recently have pretty good robust immunity, but obviously not complete immunity, against reinfection.

The findings of this study may not be applicable to everyone. According to the experts, Qatar has a unique demographic because most of the men who live there travel there for business and there aren’t many people over 50.

However, Luo advises individuals not to become alarmed if they learn that acquaintances or family members have contracted COVID-19 twice in one month. That’s not how it usually goes.

Setting up a successful lab is no easy feat. From PPE to pathological equipment, the list is endless, and the money involved can seem staggering. One option that’s helping a lot of start-up labs is equipment leasing. The options are limitless – you can hire blood bank analysers, osmometers, and even automated immunohistochemistry strainers.

The fact is we live in a rental age. Sharing of information and data is making access to improved tools and research even easier and the ability to rent equipment is opening opportunities for a variety of teams, regardless of their size or budget. Physics historian Peter Galison makes the claim that tools are an even greater driver of scientific revolution than ideas. Equipment is so influential to scientific progress that if access to it is limited, it can be emotionally frustrating and restrictive to research. At the same time, lab equipment is not cheap to get your hands on. It’s constantly updating and therefore becoming outdated and there are expensive pieces of kit that you need only for a few short studies.

So, what is the answer?

Renting and leasing lab equipment.

The Benefits of Leasing Equipment

Renting or leasing lab equipment is not a new idea and it’s helping hundreds of labs to easily jump into the 21^st century of research. What are the benefits that come from renting lab equipment?

• Cost. The upfront cost is reduced dramatically by spreading the cost over a longer period of time. This makes the equipment much more affordable and accessible. Additionally, you have the potential to pay for the equipment with 100% tax deductible payments which means you make significant cash savings. You can conserve your working capital more easily, giving you the funds that you need to invest in the important business and operational needs at the core of your work.
• Time. Machine downtime is minimised as maintenance and repair are often included in the rental agreement. The administrative process is simplified as there is less work involved in procuring the necessary equipment which further saves a lot of time.

If there are so many benefits, what are the options?

Finding the Best Leasing Option for Your Needs

There are many different leasing options so it’s important to find one that will suit your needs and your budget. Each option has pros and cons so it will take some time to consider your team’s needs and accommodations that need to be made for the cost of the equipment. There are many factors involved in deciding whether to buy or rent equipment and within the option of renting there are further decisions to be made regarding the type of lease you take out. With time and effort, you can decide on an option that’s ideal for you, your team, your budget and your research.

Operating Lease – An operating lease is a great option for lessees looking for a short-term, flexible solution. You don’t take on the risks of owning the equipment, but you also don’t get the perks of owning it. At the end of the rental term, you have the choice to either return the equipment to the lender, renew the same rental at a lower price or buy the instrument outright for the value it now has. When you pay monthly under the terms of an operating lease you’ll often be able to claim back the tax which will bring you greater financial savings. It’s also great for equipment that has a shorter lifespan or is likely to be updated regularly. Problems arise if you need customised equipment – as you will not own the item outright at the end of the contract, you can’t make any changes to the device.

Sale-leaseback – If you’ve just paid out to own an item outright, some rental companies will offer you cash for the equipment and convert the purchase into a long-term rental. This will help you to free up some of the money in your budget rather than sinking it into one permanent asset.

Capital lease – sometimes these are known as rent-to-own leases and as the name suggests, ownership is transferred from the lessor to the lessee at the end of the contract. While this means you will eventually own the equipment outright, the interest rates are often higher so the monthly cost will be considerably more. Furthermore, by the time you own the equipment, there may be an updated version that you would rather start using. With this in mind, only choose a capital lease for an item that is not subject to frequent upgrades. If you’re considering a capital lease, make sure that the payments include the same services and warranty that would be included in an outright purchase. Eventually, this equipment will be yours, so you want to know that it has been looked after, repaired, and regularly maintained.

The Downsides of Renting and Leasing Lab Equipment

To truly examine the options, we need to look at the downsides to renting or leasing lab equipment. While the pros are many, there are cons that you need to consider:

1. While the upfront costs are considerably more appealing, the cost over time may work out higher. With the additional interest to take into consideration, the cost over the period of the lease may ultimately end up being more than if you have just bought the equipment outright in the beginning. Of course, it’s harder to prepare and accommodate for bigger upfront expenses so even though a monthly payment works out more expensive in the long run, it’s more manageable and friendly to the budget.
2. Another downside comes from the contract. You are tied into that lease for as long as you initially agreed even if you end up using the equipment a lot less than you first imagined. This might eventually become a costly and unnecessary expense that you are committed to paying until the end of the term.

Whether you choose to buy, rent, or lease, each option serves a valuable purpose. It’s just up to you as to which path you will take.

Sleep is fundamental for health and well being so when you are a poor sleeper, you can end up with a lot of different problems. Poor sleep can result in high blood pressure, depression, and can even end up harming relationships. Getting enough sleep should be your goal and there are steps needed to be taken to ensure you succeed.

There are mistakes made, however, that are the root cause of the poor sleep you have been getting. When you aren’t taking active measures, or the things you are doing are what is causing the bad sleep to begin with, you have to take a step back and make a sleep hygiene plan. Before you call the professionals at SnoozeUniversity, you should stop making these mistakes as soon as possible.

1 – Looking at your devices in bed

One of the most common reasons that people are underslept and miserable is that there are far too many devices that make their way into the bedroom. Before bed people like to think they’re unwinding by looking at their phones or tablets. This is the opposite of unwinding as the stimulation can cause you to start waking up when your brain should be shutting down.

One reason is that looking at your social media feeds is overly stimulating and will either get your brain activated because you are annoyed by what you see, or because you are pleased. The other side of the coin is that the blue light creates an effect on your brain that throws off your body clock.

There is a hormone called melatonin that is what the brain needs to understand that it’s time to sleep. The blue light tricks the brain so none is produced and that causes you to lie awake after looking at the devices.

2 – Not getting enough exercise

Exercise is another important building block for getting enough sleep. It has a lot of other obvious benefits but helping you fix your sleep issues will result in everything else falling into place.

When you are exercising you will be getting tired so at the end of the day your body will be willing to sleep and not fight you since you didn’t exert enough energy.

The other benefit is that you will be increasing your circulation which brings much needed nutrients to your body and brain. This helps to reset your body clock and makes sure that you are going to sleep when ready.

3 – Not modifying your sleep environment

Your bedroom could actually be the cause of your sleep problems. If it has a lot of distracting clutter that makes you feel stressed out instead of comfortable then this is a sign that you need to modify your sleep environment.

Make sure to turn the lights down to get your brain ready for sleep. You should also make sure to use a noise canceling device to block out any outside sounds. When you have your room set up like a cocoon then you’ll get the best sleep of your life.