Covid19-Sources

Most countries worldwide have experienced excess mortality that coincides temporally with the COVID-19 mass vaccination campaigns. This has led to speculation on the potential long-term effects of the vaccines on mortality risk. Methods: The study was designed as a retrospective cohort study, and included all individuals aged ≥18 years living in Norway during January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2023. Individuals were categorized as either unvaccinated (received no doses), partially vaccinated (received one or two doses) or fully vaccinated (received three or more doses) from the date of vaccination and onwards. Age-stratified Poisson models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios of death (all causes) between vaccination groups, adjusting for sex, calendar time, county of residence and risk group status (nursing home resident or preexisting condition with increased risk of severe COVID-19). Results: The study included 4 645 910 individuals (49.8% women) with 132 963 deaths during follow- up. There was a higher proportion of individuals that were part of a risk group among fully vaccinated individuals compared to unvaccinated individuals in all age groups, and a lower unadjusted rate of death: 51.5 vs 73.6 per 100 000 person years (py) among individuals aged 18-44 years, 295.1 vs 405.3 per 100 000 py among 45-64 years, and 3620.2 vs 4783.8 per 100 000 py among 65 years or older. The adjusted IRR of death for the same age groups were 0.42 (95% CI 0.38-0.47), 0.39 (95% CI 0.37-0.41) and 0.42 (95% CI 0.41-0.43), respectively. The differences in rate of death between vaccination groups were larger among men and peaked during 2022. Conclusion: Vaccinated individuals had a lower rate of all-cause death during 2021-2023 in Norway.

To date, 770 million people worldwide have contracted COVID-19, with many reporting long-term “brain fog”. Concerningly, young adults are both overrep…

Coronavirus Disease 2019 causes significant morbidity, and different variants of concern (VOCs) can impact organ systems differently. We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort analysis comparing biomarkers and clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients infected with the wild-type or Alpha (wt/Alpha) VOC against patients infected with the Omicron VOC. We included 428 patients infected with the wt/Alpha VOC and 117 patients infected with the Omicron VOC. The Omicron cohort had higher maximal median high-sensitivity Troponin-T (hs-TnT) levels (wt/Alpha: 12.8 ng/L, IQR 6.6–29.5 vs. Omicron: 27.8 ng/L, IQR 13.7–54.0; p 0.001) and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) (wt/Alpha: 256 ng/L, IQR 74.5–913.5 vs. Omicron: 825 ng/L, IQR 168–2759; p 0.001) levels. This remained true for patients under 65 years of age and without pre-existing cardiovascular disease (hs-TnT (wt/Alpha: 6.1 ng/L, IQR 2.5–10.25 vs. Omicron: 8.6 ng/L, IQR 6.2–15.7; p = 0.007) and NT-proBNP (wt/Alpha: 63 ng/L, IQR 25–223.75 vs. Omicron: 158 ng/L, IQR 75.5–299.5; p = 0.006)). In-hospital mortality was similar between the two groups (wt/Alpha: 53 or 12.7% vs. Omicron: 9 or 7.7%; p = 0.132) and more patients infected with wt/Alpha VOC required intensive care admission (wt/Alpha: 93 or 22.2% vs. Omicron: 14 or 12%; p = 0.014). Increased cardiac biomarkers were correlated with a higher risk of mortality and ICU admission in both groups. Herein, we detected higher levels of cardiac biomarkers in hospitalized patients infected with the Omicron VOC when compared to wt/Alpha, being indicative of higher cardiac involvement. Although hs-TnT and NT-proBNP levels were higher in the Omicron cohort and both markers were linked to in hospital mortality in both groups, the mortality rates were similar.

Das Leitsymptom von Patienten mit schwerem Long Covid und ME/CFS ist die post-exertionelle Malaise, kurz PEM. Sportmediziner Christian Puta erforscht die Mechan

In August more than one hundred writers, musicians and artists converged on Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, before setting sail around Svalbard, a group of islands in the Arctic circle.

As of November 2024, SARS-CoV-2 Omicron JN.1 subvariants, such as KP.2 (JN.1.11.1.2), KP.3 (JN.1.11.1.3), KP.3.1.1 (JN.1.11.1.3.1.1), and XEC — a recombinant lineage between KS.1.1 (JN.13.1.1.1) and KP.3.3 (JN.1.11.1.3.3) — have been circulating in several countries. To control the infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron JN.1 subvariants, JN.1 monovalent mRNA vaccines have been developed. Some previous reports showed that the JN.1 monovalent mRNA vaccine of Pfizer/BioNTech (US/Germany) increased antiviral humoral immunity against JN.1 subvariants and XEC. However, the efficacy of other available JN.1 monovalent mRNA vaccines (e.g., Daiichi-Sankyo, Japan) remains unassessed. To validate the antiviral efficacy induced by JN.1 mRNA vaccines, sera were collected from individuals vaccinated with Pfizer/BioNTech JN.1 mRNA vaccine (N=15) or Daiichi-Sankyo JN.1 mRNA vaccine (N=19) before and 3-4 weeks after vaccination. We then performed a neutralization assay using these sera and pseudoviruses. Both Pfizer/BioNTech JN.1 vaccine (2.4-to 8.0-fold, P=0.0001) and Daiichi-Sankyo JN.1 vaccine (2.3-to 13-fold, P=0.0001) boosted antiviral humoral immunity against all variants tested with statistical significance. While the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine encodes the full-length JN.1 spike (S), the Daiichi-Sankyo mRNA vaccine encodes the receptor-binding domain of JN.1 S. Our data suggest that the receptor-binding domain of JN.1 S can effectively induce antiviral humoral immunity against JN.1 subvariants and XEC comparable to the full-length JN.1 S. However, it should be considered that the sizes of our cohorts are relatively small (20 donors per cohort), and donor characteristics, such as age, sex, underlying disease status, and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, may critically affect the experimental results. Future investigations with larger cohorts will address this concern. When compared to vaccination with JN.1 mRNA vaccines, our previous investigations showed that the natural infection of JN.1 and KP.3.3 elicited poorer antiviral humoral immunity against JN.1 and its subvariants. Our results suggest that the JN.1 mRNA vaccination more robustly induces antiviral humoral immunity against recent JN.1 subvariants than the natural infection of JN.1 subvariants regardless of manufacturer. Moreover, as we reported last year, the humoral immunity induced by XBB.1.5 monovalent mRNA vaccine against XBB.1.5 was weaker than that against ancestral B.1.1. However, in the case of JN.1 monovalent mRNA vaccine, here we showed that the 50% neutralization titer against XBB.1.5 is greater than that against ancestral B.1.1. These observations imply that immune imprinting has shifted from that biased toward pre-Omicron to that biased toward Omicron, depending on the time and/or number of immune stimuli (e.g., infection and/or vaccination).

The SARS-CoV-2 JN.1 (BA.2.86.1.1) variant, arising from BA.2.86.1 with spike protein (S) substitution S:L455S, outcompeted the previously predominant XBB lineages by the beginning of 2024.1 Subsequently, JN.1 subvariants including KP.2 (JN.1.11.1.2) and KP.3 (JN.1.11.1.3), which acquired additional S substitutions (eg, S:R346T, S:F456L, and S:Q493E), have emerged concurrently (appendix pp 19–20).2,3 As of October 2024, KP.3.1.1 (JN.1.11.1.3.1.1), which acquired S:31del, outcompeted other JN.1 subvariants including KP.2 and KP.3, and is the most predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the world.4 Thereafter, XEC, a recombinant lineage of KS.1.1 (JN.13.1.1.1) and KP.3.3 (JN.1.11.1.3.3), was first identified in Germany on Aug 7, 2024. XEC acquired two S substitutions, S:T22N and S:F59S, compared with KP.3 through recombination, with a breakpoint at genomic position 21 738–22 599 (appendix pp 19–20). We estimated the relative effective reproduction number (Re) of XEC using a Bayesian multinomial logistic model5 based on genome surveillance data from the USA, UK, France, Canada, and Germany, where this variant has spread as of August 2024 (appendix pp 19–20). In the USA, the Re of XEC is 1·13-fold higher than that of KP.3.1.1 (appendix pp 19–20). Additionally, the other countries under investigation herein showed higher Re for XEC compared with other variants. These results suggest that XEC has the potential to outcompete the other major SARS-CoV-2 lineages, including KP.3.1.1.4 Here, we assessed the virological properties of XEC using lentivirus-based pseudoviruses and HOS-ACE2/TMPRSS2 cells. Pseudovirus infection assay showed that the infectivity of KP.3.1.1 and XEC was statistically significantly higher than that of KP.3 (p0·001; appendix pp 19–20). Although S:T22N did not affect the infectivity of the pseudovirus based on KP.3, S:F59S statistically significantly increased it (p0·001; appendix pp 19–20). Neutralisation assay was performed using three types of human sera: convalescent sera after breakthrough infection (BTI) with XBB.1.5 or KP.3.3, and convalescent sera after JN.1 infection. In all serum groups, XEC showed immune resistance when compared with KP.3, with statistically significant differences (p0·02; appendix pp 19–20). In the cases of XBB.1.5 BTI sera and JN.1 infection sera, the 50% neutralisation titres (NT50) of XEC and KP.3.1.1 were comparable (appendix pp 19–20). However, in the case of KP.3.3 BTI sera, although the NT50 of KP.3 and KP.3.1.1 were comparable, the NT50 of XEC was significantly lower (p=0·01; 1·3-fold) than that of KP.3.1.1 (appendix pp 19–20). Moreover, both S:T22N (1·5-fold) and S:F59S (1·6-fold) significantly increased the resistance to KP.3.3 BTI sera (appendix p 19–20). Altogether, here we showed that XEC exhibited higher pseudovirus infectivity and higher immune evasion than KP.3. Particularly, XEC exhibited more robust immune resistance to KP.3.3 BTI sera than KP.3.1.1. Our data suggest that the higher Re of XEC than KP.3.1.1 is attributed to this property and XEC will be a predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the world in the near future.

Assays were performed with pseudoviruses harboring the S proteins of B.1.1, XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.2.3, EG.5.1, HK.3, and BA.2.86. The following two sera were used: (A) vaccinated sera from fully vaccinated individuals who had not been infected (no infection before XBB.1.5 vaccination; 9 donors), (B) vaccinated sera from fully vaccinated individuals who had been infected with XBB subvariants after June, 2023 (XBB infection before XBB.1.5 vaccination; 10 donors). Sera were collected before vaccination (“Pre”) and 3–4 weeks after XBB.1.5 monovalent vaccination (“Post”). Assays for each serum sample were performed in triplicate to determine the 50% neutralisation titre (NT50). Each dot represents the NT50 value for each donor, and the NT50 values for the same donor before and after vaccination are connected by a line. Numbers in parentheses below the graphs indicate the geometric mean of the NT50 value. The horizontal dashed line indicates the detection limit (40-fold dilution). In (A), the number of the serum donors with the NT50 values below the detection limit is shown in the figure (below the horizontal dashed line). In (B), the numbers below the horizontal dashed line indicate the fold change of the NT50 value of the prevaccination of the XBB-infected cohort samples (B) compared with that of the infection-naive cohort samples (A). Statistically significant differences between prevaccination and postvaccination were determined by two-sided Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and are shown in red parentheses. The fold change of the reciprocal NT50 was calculated between prevaccination and postvaccination and is shown in red. Background information on the vaccinated donors is summarised in appendix p 5. The NT50 values of XBB.1.5 vaccine sera without infection (A) and XBB infection (B) are summarised in appendix p 6 and p 7.

Neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias as well as Parkinson’s disease, are emerging as profoundly significant challenges and burdens to global health, a trend highlighted by the most recent Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 studies. This growing impact is closely linked to the demographic shift toward an aging population and the potential long-term repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, both of which have intensified the prevalence and severity of these conditions. In this review, we explore several critical aspects of this complex issue, including the increasing global burden of neurodegenerative diseases, unmet medical and social needs within current care systems, the unique and amplified challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and potential strategies for enhancing healthcare policy and practice. We underscore the urgent need for cohesive, multidisciplinary approaches across medical, research, and policy domains to effectively address the increasing burden of neurodegenerative diseases, thereby improving the quality of life for patients and their caregivers.

— Steven Rattner (@SteveRattner)

Objectives: To report ophthalmological and microvascular findings in patients with post-acute COVID-19. Methods: In this prospective, monocentric cohort study, we included patients with post-acute COVID-19 who presented with ophthalmological symptoms. All patients underwent indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), OCT, OCT-angiography, adaptive optics, and GlycoCheck assessments. Results: We included 44 patients, predominantly female (81.8%), with a mean age of 47.5 ± 11.5 years. Key ICGA findings revealed hyperreflective dots in 32 eyes (36.4%) and hemangioma-like lesions in 7 eyes (8.0%). Capillary non-perfusion in the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) was observed in 42 eyes (47.7%) and 21 eyes (23.9%), respectively. Eyes with hyperreflective dots exhibited a lower perfused boundary region (PBR), while those with superficial punctate keratitis showed a higher PBR (p = 0.02 and p = 0.002, respectively). Eyes with capillary non-perfusion in the SCP displayed lower capillary densities (CD4, CD5, and CD4-6; p = 0.001, 0.03, and 0.03, respectively), and eyes with non-perfusion in the DCP had lower CD4 (p = 0.03). A negative correlation was identified between capillary density and the wall-to-lumen ratio. Conclusions: Patients with post-acute COVID-19 demonstrate both retinal and choroidal vascular anomalies. Ocular pathology was associated with reduced capillary density. These injuries appear to stem more from microvascular disruptions than from persistent glycocalyx abnormalities.

Causal associations between viral infections and acute myocardial injury are not fully understood, with mechanisms potentially involving direct cardio…

Background The cause of acute paediatric hepatitis of unknown aetiology (2022) has not been established despite extensive investigation.Objective To summarise the evidence for and against a causal role for human adenovirus (HAdv), adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV-2) and SARS-CoV-2 in outbreaks of paediatric hepatitis in 2022.Methods We appraised and summarised relevant evidence for each of the Bradford Hill criteria for causality using quantitative (statistical modelling) and qualitative (narrative coherence) approaches. Each team member scored the evidence base for each criterion separately for HAdv, AAV-2 and SARS-CoV-2; differences were resolved by discussion. We additionally examined criteria of strength and temporality by examining the lagged association between SARS-CoV-2 positivity, respiratory HAdv positivity, positive faecal HAdv specimens and excess A&E attendances in 1–4 years for liver conditions in England.Results Assessing criteria using the published literature and our modelling: for HAdv three Bradford Hill criteria (strength, consistency and temporality) were partially met; and five criteria (consistency, coherence, experimental manipulation, analogy and temporality) were minimally met. For AAV-2, the strength of association criterion was fully met, five criteria (consistency, temporality, specificity, biological gradient and plausibility) were partially met and three (coherence, analogy and experimental manipulation) were minimally met. For SARS-CoV-2, five criteria (strength of association, plausibility, temporality, coherence and analogy) were fully met; one (consistency) was partially met and three (specificity, biological gradient and experimental manipulation) were minimally met.Conclusion Based on the Bradford Hill criteria and modelling, HAdv alone is unlikely to be the cause of the recent increase in hepatitis in children. The causal link between SARS-CoV-2, and to a lesser degree AAV-2, appears substantially stronger but remains unproven. Hepatitis is a known complication of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children following COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-2 has been linked to increased susceptibility to infection post-COVID-19, which may suggest complex causal pathways including a possible interaction with AAV-2 infection/reactivation in hosts that are genetically susceptible or sensitised to infection.

Neuropsychiatrische und kognitive Folgen nach -Infektion: „Wir liefern schlüssige Beweise dafür, dass ein tatsächliches biologisches Problem ist, das auf die akute Infektion folgt.“🧵 — Ralf Wittenbrink (@RWittenbrink)

SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to long-lasting neurological sequelae, but underlying mechanisms are unclear. Rong et al. report that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein persists in the skull-meninges-brain axis, inducing inflammation, neurodegeneration-related changes, and increasing the brain’s vulnerability to further injury.

Hunderte Nutzerinnen und Nutzer haben eine Behauptung auf Facebook geteilt, wonach die US-amerikanische Datenbank für Nebenwirkungen von Medikamenten (Vaers) den Todesfall eines Säuglings nach einer mRNA-Impfung der Mutter "verifiziert" haben soll. Die Datenbank führt allerdings nur Verdachtsfälle auf, die nicht geprüft sind. Expertinnen und Experten sind sich einig, dass mRNA aus Impfungen nicht in die Muttermilch und somit auch nicht ins Baby gelangen kann.

There is an urgent need to identify therapies that prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and improve the outcome of COVID-19 patients. Although repurposed drug…

The 2019 global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought the world to a grinding halt, highlighting the urgent need for therapeutic and preventive solutions to slow the spread of emerging viruses. The objective of this study was to assess the anti-SARS-CoV-2 effectiveness of 8 FDA-approved cation …

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which causes coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is one of the most serious global health crises in r...

In addition to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can utilize alternative cofactors to facilitate viral entry. In this study, we discovered that histamine receptor H1 (HRH1) not only ...

Background: Endurance sports primarily attract recreational athletes over 35 years, who impose an exceptionally rigorous and sustained demand on their cardiorespiratory systems. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the influence of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular, pulmonary, and skeletal muscle function of endurance athletes with exercise intolerance. Secondly, it aimed to compare the exercise response of endurance athletes post-COVID-19 to those unaffected using cardiopulmonary exercise test-related variables. Methods: This is a prospective observational cohort study of endurance athletes. An exposure group with protracted exercise tolerance underwent a resting lung function test and maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. These were repeated after eight weeks of endurance training and compared to the published reference values and a control group of athletes unaffected by COVID-19. Results: The post-COVID-19 exposure group (n=57), mean age 44.5±8.1 years showed a poorer ventilatory threshold (p=0.004), and workload (p=0.05), with higher respiratory exchange ratio (p=0.05) than the control group (n=34), mean age 41.8±7.7 years. Maximal inspiratory pressure improved at follow-up in the COVID-19 group compared to the controls (p=0.03). Increased odds of pulmonary and skeletal muscle limitation to aerobic capacity were found in the COVID-19 group. The COVID-19 group responded positively to endurance training with improved VO2peak (p=0.005), maximal inspiratory pressure (p=0.04), oxygen-pulse (p=0.02), and maximal workload (p

A 47-year-old female patient was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease (AD) based on positive Amyloid-PET and Tau-PET imaging results, coupled with increased levels of plasma biomarkers (Aβ42/Aβ40, pTau181, and pTau217). In this report, we characterized this unusual AD case by integrating data from...

A 24-month study reveals that 7.2% of children consistently experience long-COVID symptoms, with tiredness, sleep issues, and headaches most commonly reported, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.

Scientific Reports - The risk of pancreatic adenocarcinoma following SARS-CoV family infection

The impact of pre-infection vaccination on the risk of long COVID remains unclear in the pediatric population. We aim to assess the effectiveness of B…

Im Auftrag des BKK Dachverbands wurden im Juni 2024 insgesamt 3.060 sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigte im Rahmen einer Online-Umfrage zu verschiedenen Aspekten ihrer Gesundheit und Arbeit befragt.

Next-generation thermostable multiepitope nanovaccine generates mucosal immunity and regulates PD-1/PD-L1 axis within the dendritic cell (DC)-T cell interface, coordinating CD4 and CD8 T-cell immunit...

Long-term SARS-CoV-2 adverse health outcomes are of significant concern, especially among young adults with the potential for the greatest long-term m…