Search

ContextThe COVID-19 pandemic caused significant shocks to U.S. food systems at multiple scales. While disturbances to long-distance supply chains received substantial attention in national media, local supply chains experienced mixed impacts. As broad closures of schools, restaurants, and other businesses sourcing from local farmers removed key marketing channels for many direct market farmers, consumer interest in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), farmers markets, and on-farm and online direct farm sales increased.ObjectiveIn this paper, we examine the resilience and vulnerability of farmers during the March 2020 through December 2020 period of the COVID-19 pandemic. We focus on California farmers and ranchers engaged in direct market sales.MethodsThrough a widely disseminated survey, we collected responses from 364 farmers and used these data to answer the following questions about direct market farmers in California: 1) What were direct market farmers' experiences of the pandemic from March 2020 through December 2020? 2) Which factors (e.g., relationships, institutions, market channels) did farmers report enhanced their resilience during the pandemic? 3) Which individual and operational factors were significantly associated with resilience during the pandemic? And finally, 4) how do the farmer-reported factors compare to the statistically significant factors associated with resilience? We created three dependent variables-ability to respond to the pandemic, concern about pandemic impacts, and change in profitability-to operationalize several aspects of resilience and examine their association with individual and operational characteristics through a series of ordered logistic regression models.Results and conclusionsAcross both the quantitative models and the farmer reported factors, we found that farmers who increased their use of online sales and marketing during the first year of the pandemic, had larger-scale farms, and had more on-farm crop and livestock diversity were more resilient to the shocks of the pandemic. We also found that greater use of non-direct-to-consumer market channels was associated with less resilience. The characteristics of the farming operations played a relatively larger role in predicting resilience compared to the individual characteristics of the farmers surveyed.SignificanceThis study gives a detailed picture of how California direct market farmers fared during the pandemic and the characteristics associated with greater resilience. As short and long-term disruptions become increasingly common in agriculture, policies and programs can leverage support to direct market farmers, particularly direct-to-consumer farmers, as a strategy to strengthen farmer resilience.

Background and purposeClinical outcomes of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been thoroughly investigated, but a further analysis on main signs and symptoms and their risk factors still needs attention. The objective of this study was to group together and describe based on similarity the most common signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in MS patients and identify all factors associated with their manifestation.MethodLogistic and linear regression models were run to recognize factors associated with each pooled group of symptoms and their total number.ResultsFrom March 2020 to November 2021, data were collected from 1354 MS patients with confirmed infection of COVID-19. Ageusia and anosmia was less frequent in older people (odds ratio [OR] 0.98; p = 0.005) and more in smoker patients (OR 1.39; p = 0.049). Smoke was also associated with an incremental number of symptoms (OR 1.24; p = 0.031), substance abuse (drugs or alcohol), conjunctivitis and rash (OR 5.20; p = 0.042) and the presence of at least one comorbidity with shortness of breath, tachycardia or chest pain (OR 1.24; p = 0.008). Some disease-modifying therapies were associated with greater frequencies of certain COVID-19 symptoms (association between anti-CD20 therapies and increment in the number of concomitant symptoms: OR 1.29; p = 0.05). Differences in frequencies between the three waves were found for flu-like symptoms (G1, p = 0.024), joint or muscle pain (G2, p = 0.013) and ageusia and anosmia (G5, p

Background and purposeSome studies have shown that air pollution, often assessed by thin particulate matter with diameter below 2.5 µg/m3 (PM2.5), may contribute to severe COVID-19 courses, as well as play a role in the onset and evolution of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the impact of air pollution on COVID-19 has never been explored specifically amongst patients with MS (PwMS). This retrospective observational study aims to explore associations between PM2.5 and COVID-19 severity amongst PwMS.MethodsData were retrieved from an Italian web-based platform (MuSC-19) which includes PwMS with COVID-19. PM2.5 2016-2018 average concentrations were provided by the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service. Italian patients inserted in the platform from 15 January 2020 to 9 April 2021 with a COVID-19 positive test were included. Ordered logistic regression models were used to study associations between PM2.5 and COVID-19 severity.ResultsIn all, 1087 patients, of whom 13% required hospitalization and 2% were admitted to an intensive care unit or died, were included. Based on the multivariate analysis, higher concentrations of PM2.5 increased the risk of worse COVID-19 course (odds ratio 1.90; p = 0.009).ConclusionsEven if several other factors explain the unfavourable course of COVID-19 in PwMS, the role of air pollutants must be considered and further investigated.

ObjectiveThis study was undertaken to assess the impact of immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies on the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS).MethodsWe retrospectively collected data of PwMS with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. All the patients had complete follow-up to death or recovery. Severe COVID-19 was defined by a 3-level variable: mild disease not requiring hospitalization versus pneumonia or hospitalization versus intensive care unit (ICU) admission or death. We evaluated baseline characteristics and MS therapies associated with severe COVID-19 by multivariate and propensity score (PS)-weighted ordinal logistic models. Sensitivity analyses were run to confirm the results.ResultsOf 844 PwMS with suspected (n = 565) or confirmed (n = 279) COVID-19, 13 (1.54%) died; 11 of them were in a progressive MS phase, and 8 were without any therapy. Thirty-eight (4.5%) were admitted to an ICU; 99 (11.7%) had radiologically documented pneumonia; 96 (11.4%) were hospitalized. After adjusting for region, age, sex, progressive MS course, Expanded Disability Status Scale, disease duration, body mass index, comorbidities, and recent methylprednisolone use, therapy with an anti-CD20 agent (ocrelizumab or rituximab) was significantly associated (odds ratio [OR] = 2.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18-4.74, p = 0.015) with increased risk of severe COVID-19. Recent use (

The use of the internet for sales and marketing has been on an upward trend in the past decade. The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an increase in direct market farmers' use of online sales and marketing. This paper analyzes California direct market farmers' use of online sales and marketing technologies during the first ten months of the pandemic to understand (1) how their use interacted with farmers' sales and profitability and (2) which direct market farmers were more likely to use them. Research on farmers' access to online sales and marketing technologies is important since consumers increasingly use the internet to buy or find information about products. The findings are based on 364 responses to an online survey administered in January–April 2021 and 13 follow-up interviews conducted in September 2021–August 2022. We used quantitative and qualitative analyses to answer the following questions: (1) How did the use of online sales and marketing technologies interact with direct market farmers' gross income and profitability between March–December 2020? (2) What barriers did direct market farmers face in accessing online sales and marketing technologies? And (3) What farm and farmer characteristics were most associated with using online sales and marketing technologies in 2020? Our findings show that, between March–December 2020, direct market farmers who had an online presence or added online sales after March 2020 were more likely to increase their sales and profitability than farmers who did not use online sales and marketing at all. However, farmers who used online sales at the start of 2020 and continued using it as a market channel were likely to increase their sales but not profitability. We argue that (1) using online sales and marketing technologies likely helped direct market farmers access markets during the pandemic, (2) there are barriers to accessing these technologies, and online sales may not be the right fit for all direct market farms, (3) many farmers need training and reliable internet to be able to navigate online technologies, and (4) more research is needed to understand how direct market farmers experience and navigate the trend toward market digitalization, and how this is related to already-existing inequalities among direct market farmers. • We surveyed 364 direct market farmers in California to assess their experience of the pandemic. • Using online sales and marketing likely helped farmers access markets during the pandemic. • White, female, and younger farmers were more likely to have an online presence. • Farms with higher gross farm incomes and those not growing vegetables were more likely to use online sales. • Farmers need reliable internet, money, and training to access online sales and marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]