Acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine will play a crucial role in combating the current pandemic. Vaccine rollouts have started in most countries. To reach the desirable vaccine coverage and to enhance its uptake, it is imperative to assess vaccine hesitancy. Methods: To assess the current vaccine acceptability in Austria and its influencing factors, an online survey was created and comprised fifteen questions segmented into a sociodemographic part and the acceptance and influencing factors of the approval of the COVID-19 vaccine. Results: In total, 70% of the 1350 respondents thought that the COVID-19 vaccine is an effective way to prevent and control the virus, while 13% disagreed and 17% were uncertain. Further, 71% approved the rapid development and rollout of the vaccine, while 55% were willing to accept the vaccine as soon as it became available, 18% did not want to get the vaccine, 17% wanted to delay, and 10% were already vaccinated. Conclusions: The results show a generally positive attitude towards the new COVID-19 vaccine. The doctor’s recommendation greatly influences the decision-making process, and tailored vaccine information can support a higher vaccine coverage.

Introduction: The general practitioners' increasing comprehensive pediatric health care provision in Austria faces great challenges in ensuring high-quality health care in the future as the shortage of pediatricians continues to grow. Tele-expertise services provide an excellent opportunity to facilitate and strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration and access medical expertise of uncertainties in diagnosis and treatment plans. The purpose of this study was to investigate and evaluate the usability, applicability, and clinical advantages of an Austrian tele-expertise platform for doctors, emphasizing its value to strengthen collaborative efforts to extend and ensure quality care in infant, child, and adolescent health while focusing on diagnostic acceleration, verification, and potential modification of a treatment plan. Materials and Methods: A mixed-method approach included the retrospective evaluation of data provided via Intercom to elicit professional and geographical distribution and analysis of four hypotheses (H1: geographic distribution of initial enquires; H2: pediatric expertise level of the requester; H3: teleconsultations will result in changes in diagnosis and therapeutic decisions; and H4: teleconsultations stimulate cooperation and collaboration between physicians of all specialties). The study was based on survey questionnaires and qualitative semi-structured interviews. Discussion: Benefits were the most apparent in shorter diagnosis times, a potential quality increase in care, and cooperative stimulation. Intended therapy plans were found to be more sensitive to modification. Nevertheless, an overall positive attitude toward the teleconsultation chat became obvious. Moreover, the potential regarding quality improvements in pediatric primary care, shorter diagnosis time, and improved treatment options was found. Conclusions: Outcomes are urging Austrian health authorities to establish political and legal structures for appropriate monetary compensation and broad application of an expert consultation system. The article further highlights the importance of teleconsultations in critical situations, such as pandemic times.

Newman, JE, King, IN, Flemming, NB, Buhmann, R, Rose, GL, Broadhouse, KM, Jenkins, DG, Askew, CD, and Schaumberg, MA. The effective training on irisin and cognition in healthy older adults. J Strength Cond Res 40(9): e1013–e1021, 2026—Exercise-induced release of irisin may mediate the beneficial effects of exercise on cognition. Although exercise induces a short-term transient acute increase in circulating irisin, a longer-term adaptative improvement in basal irisin concentrations may also be possible in older adults. Whether an increase in basal and acute irisin is a mechanism that underpins training-induced cognitive gains in older people is unclear and warrants investigation. Thirty healthy adults aged >65 years were recruited into a 12-week single-arm exercise trial. Twenty-four subjects completed 12 weeks of progressive resistance training, 3 times per week, at 80% 1-repetition maximum, with a convenience sample of 6 subjects continuing normal activity as a reference group. Body composition, cognition measures, and circulating irisin concentrations were collected pre- and post-training intervention. Circulating irisin concentrations were sampled pre- and 0, 30, and 60 minutes postresistance exercise at the first and final exercise session. Twelve weeks of resistance training did not increase basal irisin concentrations and seemed to attenuate response. Peak irisin concentrations increased only after a single bout of resistance exercise before 12 weeks training (1.8 ± 3.6 ng·ml ⁻¹ , p < 0.001). Verbal fluency improved (1.0 ± 1.7 points, p = 0.007) after resistance training, while memory change correlated with pretraining basal and posttraining peak irisin levels ( r < 0.423, p < 0.040). These findings implicate regular doses of irisin in response to exercise, but not longer-term basal improvement, as the most important outcome of exercise training in healthy older adults. However, attenuation of acute irisin over the training period suggests that the ability of irisin to influence brain health may decline as training progresses.