Covid19-Sources

Background Characteristics of laboratory findings of COVID-19 patients are of great significance for diagnosis and treatment. Studies that have analysed the variations in hepatic profile in correlation with the inflammatory markers in SARS-CoV-2 are limited. Methods We retrospectively analysed liver function tests and inflammatory markers of 170 admitted patients with confirmed COVID-19 in the tertiary care centre, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), India, using Roche Cobas Autoanalyzer. Results Number of patients with normal liver enzyme levels were 63 (41.5%), while with raised levels of any of the liver enzymes were 89 (58.5%), out of which 43 (48.31%) had liver injury which manifested as increased severity in terms of intensive care unit (ICU) requirement (p=0.0005). Significantly raised levels of liver enzymes and liver injury were observed with age (p

Objective: While pediatric population has largely remained free of severe COVID-19, in some cases SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with complications like Multiple Inflammatory Syndrome in children (MIS-C). We mention another unique presentation subsequent to asymptomatic infection of SARS-CoV-2, a unique form of hepatitis designated by us as COVID-19 Associated Hepatitis in Children (CAH-C). The contrasting clinical presentations, temporal association and viral parameters of CAH-C cases, to the MIS-C cases are presented here. Methods: As a retrospective and follow-up observational study we reviewed all children testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 during study period. Children presenting with sudden onset of hepatitis, elevated transaminases, non-obstructive jaundice, lacking marked inflammatory responses and without evidence of (a) other known causes of acute hepatitis or previous underlying liver disease (b) multi-system involvement were classified as CAH-C, are described here. Results: Among 475 children who tested positive, 47 patients presented with hepatitis, 37 patients who had features of CAH-C, having symptoms of hepatitis only, with un-elevated inflammatory markers and uneventful recovery following supportive treatment. Whereas remaining 10 MIS-C hepatitis had protracted illness, multiple system involvement, required admission to critical care, and had mortality of 30%. Conclusion: With the emergence of newer variants of concern (VOC) including the Delta variant which predominated the second wave of infections in India and has now spread to more than 142 countries with changing presentations, CAH-C might be one of them. Cases of such new entities need to be identified early and differentiated from other emerging syndromes in children during the ongoing pandemic for preventing adversities by timely intervention. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement No external grant has been used for the study. ### 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 study was approved by the IRB and the institutional human ethics committee, Bundelkhand Medical College, Sagar registration number ECR/1252/Inst/MP/2019. The follow-up and analysis work was performed after the ethical approval was granted by the institutional human ethics committee of our institute. Wide reference letter IEC/BMC/80/21. 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 and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data related to the manuscript is available with the author. [https://main.icmr.nic.in/sites/default/files/press\_realease\_files/ICMR\_PR\_IgG\_Elisa\_30052020.pdf][1] [1]: https://main.icmr.nic.in/sites/default/files/press_realease_files/ICMR_PR_IgG_Elisa_30052020.pdf

The likelihood of reporting long COVID symptoms four weeks after a first coronavirus (COVID-19) infection compatible with the Omicron BA.1 or BA.2 variants, compared with the Delta variant, using data from the COVID-19 Infection Survey.

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) possess mutations that confer resistance to neutralizing antibodies within the Spike protein and are associated with breakthrough infection and reinfection. By contrast, less is known about the escape from CD8+ T cell-mediated immunity by VOC. Here, we demonstrated that VOCs retain similar MHC-I downregulation capacity compared to the ancestral virus. However, VOCs exhibit a greater ability to suppress type I IFN than the ancestral virus. Although VOCs possess unique mutations within the ORF8 gene, which suppresses MHC-I expression, none of these mutations enhanced the ability of ORF8 to suppress MHC-I expression. Notably, MHC-I upregulation was strongly inhibited after the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo . Collectively, our data suggest that the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 already possesses an intrinsically potent MHC-I evasion capacity, and that further adaptation by the variants was not observed. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

In this study, @MiyuMoriyama et al investigate how well SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) suppress MHC I needed for recognition by cytotoxic T cells. This question is important to understand how well the virus limits CD8 killing 🧵(1/) @biorxivpreprint https://t.co/TLvnB7NotN pic.twitter.com/EkCq51MlfN— Prof. Akiko Iwasaki (@VirusesImmunity) May 7, 2022

Nature - Omicron relatives called BA.4 and BA.5 are behind a fresh wave of COVID-19 in South Africa, and could be signs of a more predictable future for SARS-CoV-2.

One of Canada's largest children's hospitals is reporting seven cases of severe acute hepatitis identified in recent months, which may be part of an unexplained outbreak impacting youth in multiple countries, CBC News has learned.

oped acute liver failure secondary to type 2 autoimmune hepatitis preceded by mild infection with SARS-CoV-2. Testing for viral hepatitis was negative, and the patient did not meet diagnostic criteria for multisystem inflammatory disease in children (MIS-C). A liver biopsy showed acute submassive hepatocyte necrosis with brisk CD3+ T lymphocyte infiltration and no evidence of fibrosis or chronic liver disease. Treatment with high-dose methylprednisolone resulted in rapid normalization of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), international normalized ratio (INR), and ammonia levels, and liver transplantation was avoided. This case highlights a possible association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and subsequent development of autoimmune liver disease presenting with acute liver failure....

The mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were brought to market in response to the public health crises of Covid-19. The utilization of mRNA vaccines in the context of infectious disease has no precedent. The many alterations in the vaccine mRNA hide the mRNA from cellular defenses and promote a longer biological half-life and high pro- duction of spike protein. However, the immune response to the vaccine is very different from that to a SARS-CoV- 2 infection. In this paper, we present evidence that vaccination induces a profound impairment in type I interferon signaling, which has diverse adverse consequences to human health. Immune cells that have taken up the vaccine nanoparticles release into circulation large numbers of exosomes containing spike protein along with critical microRNAs that induce a signaling response in recipient cells at distant sites. We also identify potential profound disturbances in regulatory control of protein synthesis and cancer surveillance. These disturbances potentially have a causal link to neurodegenerative disease, myocarditis, immune thrombocytopenia, Bell’s palsy, liver disease, impaired adaptive immunity, impaired DNA damage response and tumorigenesis. We show evidence from the VAERS database supporting our hypothesis. We believe a comprehensive risk/benefit assessment of the mRNA vaccines questions them as positive contributors to public health.

pillars of failures in covid19 response pic.twitter.com/D1CIHhiLp5— Irene Tosetti (@itosettiMD_MBA) May 6, 2022

Following a rise in cases due to the delta variant and evidence of waning immunity after 2 doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine, Israel began administering a third BNT162b2 dose (booster) in July 2021. Recent studies showed that the 3rd dose provides a much lower protection against infection with the omicron variant compared to the delta variant and that this protection wanes quickly. In this study, we used data from Israel to estimate the protection of the 3rd dose against severe disease up to 7 months from receiving the booster dose. The analysis shows that protection conferred by the 3rd dose against omicron did not wane over a 7-month period and that a 4th dose further increased protection, with a severe disease rate approximately 3-fold lower than in the 3-dose cohorts. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### 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 study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Sheba Medical Center. 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 and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes The individual-level data used in this study cannot be publicly shared even if anonymized due to privacy restrictions.

The recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages BA.2.12.1, BA.2.13, BA.4 and BA.52 all contain L452 mutations and show potential higher transmissibility over BA.21. The new variants’ receptor binding and immune evasion capability require immediate investigation, especially on the role of L452 substitutions. Herein, coupled with structural comparisons, we show that BA.2 sublineages, including BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.13, exhibit increased ACE2-binding affinities compared to BA.1; while BA.4/BA.5 displays the weakest receptor-binding activity due to F486V and R493Q reversion. Importantly, compared to BA.2, BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 exhibit stronger neutralization evasion against the plasma of 3-dose vaccinees and, most strikingly, of vaccinated BA.1 convalescents. To delineate the underlying evasion mechanism, we determined the escaping mutation profiles2, epitope distribution3 and Omicron sublineage neutralization efficacy of 1640 RBD-directed neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), including 614 isolated from BA.1 convalescents. Interestingly, post-vaccination BA.1 infection mainly recalls wildtype (WT) induced humoral memory and elicits antibodies that neutralize both WT and BA.1. These cross-reactive NAbs are significantly enriched on non-ACE2-competing epitopes; and surprisingly, the majority are undermined by R346 and L452 substitutions, namely R346K (BA.1.1), L452M (BA.2.13), L452Q (BA.2.12.1) and L452R (BA.4/BA.5), suggesting that R346K and L452 mutations appeared under the immune pressure induced by Omicron convalescents. Nevertheless, BA.1 infection can also induce new clones of BA.1-specific antibodies that potently neutralize BA.1 but do not respond to WT SARS-CoV-2 due to the high susceptibility to N501, N440, K417 and E484. However, these NAbs are largely escaped by BA.2 sublineages and BA.4/BA.5 due to D405N and F486V, exhibiting poor neutralization breadths. As for therapeutic NAbs, LY-CoV1404 ( Bebtelovimab4) and COV2-2130 (Cilgavimab5) can still effectively neutralize BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5, while the S371F, D405N and R408S mutations carried by BA.2/BA.4/BA.5 sublineages would undermine most broad sarbecovirus NAbs. Together, our results indicate that Omicron can evolve mutations to specifically evade humoral immunity elicited by BA.1 infection. The continuous evolution of Omicron poses great challenges to SARS-CoV-2 herd immunity and suggests that BA.1-derived vaccine boosters may not be ideal for achieving broad-spectrum protection.

An der Charite in Berlin wird eine Studie zu Nebenwirkungen nach Corona-Impfungen durchgeführt. Professor Harald Matthes leitet die Studie und fordert mehr Anlaufstellen für Betroffene.

⚠️OMICRON IS NOT MILDER—Huge study by Harvard scientists finds #Omicron variant is **not intrinsically milder**, in a study of 130,000 people. "We found that the risks of #COVID19 hospitalization & mortality were nearly identical”—just as my team warned.🧵https://t.co/Cke62URI2k pic.twitter.com/hvswpHFA74— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 6, 2022

Ein Stiftungsprofessor für Anthroposophische Medizin berichtet neue Daten – und Journalisten verbreiten seine Ergebnisse kritiklos. Was ist dran an der Sache? An der Berliner Charité läuft zurzeit die Studie Sicherheitsprofil von COVID-19 Impfstoffen. Unter Leitung…

Ihr wisst das natürlich, da Ihr jeden meiner Tweets lest... ^^Also. SARS-COV2 hat anders als Sars-COV(1) ORF8. Das führt zum herunterregeln der Erkennung infizierter Zellen durch T-Zellen via MHC I.Das hatte ich aus einer anderen Studie vor einem Monat https://t.co/G4IOLmUsuW— Otmar S (@aloa5) May 7, 2022

A recent article under review at the Nature Portfolio journal and currently posted to the Research Square* preprint server compared the severity of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant with prior mutants.

The B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has previously been reported as more transmissible, but less severe than other SARS-CoV-2 variants. To test this assumption, we linked state-level vaccination data with quality-controlled electronic he...

Three nasal spritzes, now in advanced trials, could trigger stronger immunity than shots in the arm

Europe PMC is an archive of life sciences journal literature.

Importance Omicron is phylogenetically- and antigenically-distinct from earlier SARS-CoV-2 variants and the original vaccine strain. Protection conferred by prior SARS-CoV-2 infection against Omicron re-infection, and the added value of vaccination, require quantification. Objective To estimate protection against Omicron re-infection and hospitalization conferred by prior heterologous SARS-CoV-2 (non-Omicron) infection and/or up to three doses of (ancestral, Wuhan-like) mRNA vaccine. Design Test-negative study between December 26 (epi-week 52), 2021 and March 12 (epi-week 10), 2022. Setting Population-based, province of Quebec, Canada Participants Community-dwelling ≥12-year-olds tested for SARS-CoV-2. Exposures Prior laboratory-confirmed infection with/without mRNA vaccination. Outcomes Laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 re-infection and hospitalization, presumed Omicron by genomic surveillance. The odds of prior non-Omicron infection with/without vaccination were compared among Omicron cases/hospitalizations versus test-negative controls (single randomly-selected per individual). Adjusted odds ratios controlled for age, sex, testing-indication and epi-week. Analyses were stratified by severity and time since last non-Omicron infection or vaccine dose. Results Without vaccination, prior non-Omicron infection reduced the Omicron re-infection risk by 44% (95%CI:38-48), decreasing from 66% (95%CI:57-73) at 3-5 months to 35% (95%CI:21-47) at 9-11 months post-infection and 2 doses of ancestral Wuhan-like vaccine may be of marginal incremental value to previously-infected individuals. ### Competing Interest Statement All authors have completed the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. GDS received a grant from Pfizer unrelated to the current work. RG received honoraria as speaker at the RSV workshop financed by Abbvie. JF is chair of the provincial genomic surveillance committee of SARS-CoV-2. Others authors declare no conflict of interest. ### Funding Statement This work was supported by the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec ### 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 study was conducted under the legal mandate of the National Director of Public Health of Quebec under the Public Health Act and was also approved by the Research Ethics Board of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec-Université Laval. 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 and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors

Vaccination status of patients with persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the gut mucosa:One dose: 21,9%Two doses: 40,6%Three doses: 6,2%Unvaccinated: 31,2% pic.twitter.com/oPD0naxhmw— Alexandre Freitas (@FreitasABR) May 2, 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affects populations, societies and lives for more than two years. Long-term sequelae of COVID-19, collectively termed the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, are rapidly emerging across the globe. Here, we investigated whether severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen persistence underlies the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome.

Nürnberg - Dass die Blutgruppe des Patienten das Risiko für einen schweren Krankheitsverlauf nach einer Corona-Infektion beeinflussen kann, fanden Forscher bereits im Sommer 2020 heraus. Dass manche Blutgruppen das Risiko einer Ansteckung erhöhten, war ebenfalls bekannt. Welche Rolle das Schema von Blutspenden aber dabei spielt, legt nun eine französische Studie nahe.

SARS-CoV-2 continued circulation results in mutations and the emergence of various variants. Until now, whenever a new, dominant, variant appeared, it…

To investigate the evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the immune population, we coincupi bated the authentic virus with a highly neutralizing plasma from a COVID-19 convalescent patient. The plasma fully neutralized the virus for seven passages, but, after 45 d, the deletion of F140 in the spike N-terminal domain (NTD) N3 loop led to partial breakthrough. At day 73, an E484K substitution in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) occurred, followed, at day 80, by an insertion in the NTD N5 loop containing a new glycan sequon, which generated a variant completely resistant to plasma neutralization. Computational modeling predicts that the deletion and insertion in loops N3 and N5 prevent binding of neutralizing antibodies. The recent emergence in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, and Japan of natural variants with similar changes suggests that SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to escape an effective immune response and that vaccines and antibodies able to control emerging variants should be developed.

Recent studies have shown that the effectiveness of the face masks depends not only on the mask material but also on their fit on faces. The mask porosity and fit dictate the amount of filtered flo...

Noch laufen die Analysen, doch wahrscheinlich sind massive Immunreaktionen infolge einer Infektion. Unter Verdacht steht auch das Coronavirus.

Fertility related safety data was neither reported in the clinical trials nor evaluated in animal models prior to emergency use authorization (EUA) for two novel mRNA vaccines, BNT162b2 and mRNA-127.1,2 Despite excellent safety profiles for both vaccines, 44% of Americans are hesitant in receiving the vaccine. Although the specific reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy are unknown, concerns over fertility has previously decreased other vaccine uptake. As COVID-19 vaccination in the United States opens to children and adolescents, evaluating any potential impact of the vaccine on male reproduction is imperative for public reassurance. We hypothesized that since both vaccines only contain mRNA encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein without biologic ability to replicate live virus, the vaccines would not decrease semen parameters.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has been associated with infections and deaths among health-care workers. This Viewpoint of infectious aerosols is intended to inform appropriate infection control measures to protect health-care workers. Studies of cough ...