Covid19-Sources

Doctors and parents say it can take months to get treatment — if their symptoms are even taken seriously

Background Subvariants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) omicron XBB-lineage have the potential to escape immunity provided by prior infection or vaccination. For Covid-19 immunizations beginning in the Fall 2023, the U.S. FDA has recommended updating to a monovalent omicron XBB.1.5-containing vaccine. Methods In this ongoing, phase 2/3 study participants were randomized 1:1 to receive 50-µg doses of mRNA-1273.815 monovalent (50-µg omicron XBB.1.5 spike mRNA) or mRNA-1273.231 bivalent (25-µg omicron XBB.1.5 and 25-µg omicron BA.4/BA.5 spike mRNAs) vaccines, administered as 5th doses, to adults who previously received a primary series and 3rd dose of an original mRNA coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine, and a 4th dose of a bivalent (omicron BA.4/BA.5 and original SARS-CoV-2) vaccine. Interim safety and immunogenicity data 15 days post-vaccination are presented. Results In April 2023, participants received mRNA-1273.815 (n=50) and mRNA-1273.231 (n=51). The median intervals from the prior dose of BA.4/BA.5-containing bivalent vaccine were 8.2 and 8.3 months for the mRNA-1273.815 and mRNA-1273.231 groups, respectively. Both vaccines increased neutralizing antibody (nAb) geometric mean titers against all variants tested at day 15 post-booster nAb compared to pre-booster levels. Geometric mean fold-rises from pre-booster titers after the monovalent booster were numerically higher against XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16 and SARS-CoV-2 (D614G) than those of the bivalent booster and were comparable against BA.4/BA.5 and BQ1.1 variants for both vaccines. The monovalent vaccine also elicited nAb responses against omicron XBB.2.3.2, EG.5.1, FL.1.5.1 and BA.2.86 that were similar to those against XBB.1.5 in a subset (n=20) of participants. The occurrence of solicited adverse reactions and unsolicited adverse events were overall similar to those previously reported for the original mRNA-1273 50-µg and omicron BA.4/BA.5-containing bivalent mRNA-1273 vaccines. Conclusion In this interim analysis, XBB.1.5-containing monovalent and bivalent vaccines elicited potent neutralizing responses against variants of the omicron XBB-lineage (XBB.1.5, XBB.1.6, XBB.2.3.2, EG.5.1, and FL.1.5.1) as well as the recently emerged BA.2.86 variant. The safety profile of the XBB.1.5-containing vaccine was consistent with those of prior vaccines. These results overall indicate that the XBB.1.5-containing mRNA-1273.815 vaccine has the potential to provide protection against these emerging variants and support the Covid-19 vaccine update in 2023-2024 to a monovalent XBB.1.5-containing vaccine. ### Competing Interest Statement JW, BE, and AB have nothing to disclose; DCM reports funding from Moderna, Inc. for pseudovirus neutralization assays performed in the study; LRB is a co-primary principal investigator of the COVE trial funded by NIAID and conducted in conjunction with Moderna, Inc. SC, NMcG, BG, KW, DKE, AN, DL, LEA, JF, WD, JMM and RD are employees of Moderna, Inc. and may hold stock/stock options in the company. JET is a Moderna consultant. ### Clinical Trial NCT04927065 ### Funding Statement This study was funded by Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The central Institutional Review Board (Advarra, Inc., 6100 Merriweather Drive, Columbia, MD 21044) approved the protocol and consent forms. I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes As the trial is ongoing, access to patient-level data and supporting clinical documents with qualified external researchers may be available upon request and subject to review once the trial is complete.

Find information about special considerations for the treatment of children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

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Comirnaty: EMA recommends approval of adapted COVID-19 vaccine targeting Omicron XBB.1.5

Pfizer Inc said on Thursday its updated COVID-19 shot, which is being tested against emerging variants, showed neutralizing activity against the "Eris" subvariant in a study conducted on mice.

Nature Communications - China maintained a ‘zero-COVID’ policy from early in the pandemic until late 2022 that employed various public health interventions with the aim of COVID-19...

covSPECTRUM is an interactive platform aiming to help scientists investigate and identify variants of SARS-CoV-2.

CONTEXT. Long-term health effects after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been increasingly reported but their prevalence and significance in the pediatric population remains uncertain.OBJECTIVE. To present the prevalence and characteristics of the long-term clinical features of COVID-19 (long COVID) in the global pediatric population.DATA SOURCES. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science,...

Parents often believe in a societal fiction that children will just be OK and will live healthy lives. This can help cope with the anxieties of raising…

Nature Communications - The authors characterize immune response in Omicron-infected vaccinated individuals and observe an immune enhancement. While increases in neutralizing antibodies and spike T...

We address whether T cell responses induced by different vaccine platforms (mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, Ad26.COV2.S, and NVX-CoV2373) cross-recognize early S…

Nature Reviews Immunology - This Comment article proposes that T cell-oriented vaccine strategies should be considered to control the COVID-19 pandemic in the longer term, given declining levels of...

Nature Immunology - Thomas and colleagues describe how multiple SARS-CoV-2 antigen exposures, including mRNA vaccine boosters, primary infection and breakthrough infection, shape T cell immunity.

Explore and run machine learning code with Kaggle Notebooks | Using data from multiple data sources

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) exists in two forms: one anchored to cell membranes (mACE2) in the intestines, kidney, testis, gallbladder, and heart, and the other as a soluble variant (sACE2)

Multiple doses of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines induce anti-Spike IgG4 that can neutralize but may be less effective than IgG1 or IgG3 for some functions

Am 12. September 2023 sollen erstmals die variantenangepassten Covid-19-Impfstoffe von Biontech bestellt werden können. Darüber informiert nun de...

DMZ – INTERNATIONAL ¦ Lena Wallner ¦ Die Macht der sozialen Medien zeigt sich oft darin, wie einzelne Stimmen eine Debatte anstoßen können, die weit über die Bildschirme hinausreicht. In den letzten Tagen hat der Twitter-Nutzer @dokhollidays genau das getan – er hat Fragen aufgeworfen, Gedanken geteilt und Zweifel gehabt. Der Fokus seiner Beiträge liegt auf einer Figur, die für die einen bislang im Schatten stand und für andere quasi als einziger deutscher Chefarzt mit einziger deutscher PostVac Ambulanz durch alle Medien geisterte: Prof. Schieffer aus Marburg, ein Experte für das "PostVacSyndrom". Die Aufmerksamkeit wurde erregt, als dieser Professor mit einer Patientin in einem Fernsehbeitrag auftrat und Erklärungen zu einem Phänomen abgab, das zuvor weltweit wenig Beachtung gefunden hatte: das Post-Vac-Syndrom. Die Zahlen, die @dokhollidays hervorgebracht hat, sprechen für sich: 60% der Meldungen über das PostVacSyndrom in der EU und sogar 50% weltweit stammen aus Deutschland. Prof. Schieffer steht im Mittelpunkt dieses Interesses, da er die einzige Ambulanz für das PostVacSyndrom in Deutschland leitet und von einer Warteliste spricht, die Tausende von Patienten umfasst. Doch wie so oft zeigt sich bei genauerer Betrachtung ein differenziertes Bild. Warum gibt es nur in Marburg eine relevante Ambulanz für das PostVacSyndrom? Und warum tritt Prof. Schieffer so prominent als Experte auf diesem Gebiet in der Öffentlichkeit auf? Seine Aussagen über die Prävalenz des PostVacSyndroms variieren von "0,02%" bis zur Unfähigkeit, PostVac von Long Covid zu unterscheiden, ohne dabei auf differenzialdiagnostische Ansätze einzugehen. Noch besorgniserregender ist, dass seine Twitter-Aktivität von zweifelhaften Studien und fragwürdigen Pressebeiträgen begleitet wird. Aber es gibt noch mehr. Die Verbindung von Prof. Schieffer zu einer politisch motivierten "FakePostVac"-Bewegung wirft ebenfalls Fragen auf, insbesondere da er keine klare Distanzierung von dieser Bewegung zeigt. Sogar im Fernsehen äußerte er, dass das Thema Impfschäden "totgeschwiegen" werden sollte, eine Haltung, die in bestimmten politischen Kreisen bekannt ist. Doch der Fall geht noch tiefer. Vor kurzem wurde ein Tweet von Prof. Schieffer entdeckt, in dem er eine Studie über die "Gefahren des Spike-Proteins" teilt. Diese Studie wird von prominenten Impfgegnern mit Nähe zur Querdenken-Bewegung unterstützt und erstellt. Das Teilen einer derart fragwürdigen Studie wirft Fragen über wissenschaftliche Integrität und mögliche Voreingenommenheit auf. Niemand hat das Ziel die Reputation von Prof. Schieffers zu untergraben. Vielmehr geht es darum, kritische Fragen über eine bedeutende Figur im Kontext von Impfschäden und dem PostVacSyndrom zu stellen. Die Diskussion um Evidenz und die Verunsicherung, die aus solchen Themen entstehen kann, verdienen unsere volle Aufmerksamkeit und eine sachliche Auseinandersetzung. Die Fragen, die @dokhollidays aufgeworfen hat, sind von großer Bedeutung und verdienen eine ernsthafte Diskussion. Die Sicherheit der Covid-19-Impfstoffe ist von höchster Wichtigkeit, und eine ausgewogene Diskussion, die auf Evidenz basiert, ist unabdingbar.

NIH News Release: "...findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infection damages the CD8+ T cell response, an effect akin to that observed in earlier studies showing long-term damage to the immune system after infection with viruses such as hepatitis C or HIV."

The new BA.2.86 variant of SARS-CoV-2—nicknamed “Pirola”—is now likely to be spreading in the community in the UK, the government has said after an outbreak was reported at a care home. The variant, which contains many mutations to the spike gene and was first detected in Denmark in late July,1 has been identified in several countries including Canada, Israel, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden, as well as the UK and the US. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) had detected 34 cases in England to 4 September, of which five people were admitted …

Based on structural and sequence comparisons, Patel et al. describe how the molecular features of the light chain of a public antibody modulate its broadly neutralizing properties against SARS-CoV-2 variants, specifically targeting the Omicron variant.

Small update on this: We've run a few more variants against a slightly larger "recent" cohort, including XBB.1.5 with F456L, and with L455F+F456L ("FLip"). No surprises there. We also include DV.7.1. If you struggle to remember DV.7.1, you can use its other name, which is...(1/n) https://t.co/dp3VvorxZz pic.twitter.com/WBQmwGDEci— Ben Murrell (@BenjMurrell) September 12, 2023

Der körperliche und mentale Gesundheitszustand der Schweizer Bevölkerung verschlechtert sich zunehmend.

👃🏽💦 Nasal sprays are an under-used but highly effective layer to include in your covid-safety strategy! 👃🏿 Here's a thread on 4 really effective ones: pic.twitter.com/RdtXXAlRLf— Clean Air Club (@Clean_Air_Club_) July 30, 2023

Nature Communications - It is unclear whether SARS-CoV-2 immunity decreases transmission through reduction in contagiousness of cases or susceptibility of contacts. Here, the authors use testing...

Wie gut schützt die #COVID19 Impfung vor Ansteckung und Übertragung?Ein Team der Universität Genf und der Genfer Universitätskliniken hat Daten von mehr als 50'000 #Covid-Infizierten und über 110'000 Kontaktpersonen untersucht. Die Daten stammen aus dem Zeitraum…#Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/TNwrUu4dEO— Ralf Wittenbrink (@RWittenbrink) September 15, 2023

TL;DR—Among mutations common in chronic infections are two in PLpro, which combats innate immunity. Both mutations change the SARS-2 to a SARS-1-type AA & have clear effects—remarkable intrahost functional convergence. Then questions + wild speculation at thread's end. 1/58— Ryan Hisner (@LongDesertTrain) September 12, 2023