Covid19-Sources

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

Hamburg – Forscher haben SARS-CoV-2 in der Leber von Patienten nachgewiesen, die an COVID-19 gestorben sind. Eine Infektion kann laut der Publikation in Nature... #Studie #Leber #SARSCoV2

• Fifteen studies were identified that reported on the effectiveness of vaccination against long COVID (search up to 12 January 2022): 7 studies examined whether vaccination before infection reduced the symptoms or incidence of long COVID, 7 studies examined whether vaccination in people with long COVID reduced or cleared the symptoms of long COVID, and 1 study examined both. • Six of the 8 studies assessing the effectiveness of vaccination before COVID-19 infection suggested that vaccinated cases (1 or 2 doses) were less likely to develop symptoms of long COVID following infection, in the short term (4 weeks after infection), medium term (12 to 20 weeks after infection) and long term (6 months after infection). As all 8 studies included only participants who had COVID-19, the effect of vaccination on reduced incidence of COVID-19 is not accounted for. This means these studies do not give a total population estimate for the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent long COVID, but rather underestimate it. • From 2 studies that measured individual long COVID symptoms, fully vaccinated cases were less likely to have the following symptoms in the medium or long term than unvaccinated cases: fatigue, headache, weakness in arms and legs, persistent muscle pain, hair loss, dizziness, shortness of breath, anosmia, interstitial lung disease, myalgia, and other pain. • In studies examining the effect of vaccination among people with long COVID, 3 of 4 studies comparing long COVID symptoms before and after vaccination suggested that more cases reported an improvement in symptoms after vaccination, either immediately or over several weeks. There were, however, some cases in all studies who reported a worsening in symptoms after vaccination. • Three studies of people with long COVID who were unvaccinated when they were initially infected, compared people who were subsequently vaccinated and people who remained unvaccinated. All these studies suggested that people with long-COVID were less likely to report long COVID symptoms shortly after vaccination, and over longer periods, than people with long COVID who were not subsequently vaccinated. One study looked at the timing of vaccination after COVID-19 diagnosis, and suggested that cases who were vaccinated sooner rather than later after diagnosis were much less likely to report symptoms of long COVID than cases who remained unvaccinated. • In 3 of the 5 studies reporting on symptom changes following vaccination of people with long COVID, there was a higher proportion of people with long COVID who reported unchanged symptoms following vaccination (up to 70%) than people whose symptoms improved or worsened. • All studies were observational, so the results may be from differences other than vaccination, and there was large heterogeneity between studies in the definition of long COVID.

Long COVID isn’t going away, and we still do not have a way to fully prevent it, cure it, or really to quantify it.

Viele Menschen leiden noch Wochen oder Monate an den Spätfolgen einer Corona-Infektion. Doch es zeigt sich: Impfungen helfen auch hier und

The successful development of several coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines has substantially reduced morbidity and mortality in regions of the world where the vaccines have been deployed. However, in the wake of the emergence of viral variants that are able to evade vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies, real-world vaccine efficacy has begun to show differences across the two approved mRNA platforms, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273; these findings suggest that subtle variation in immune responses induced by the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines may confer differential protection. Given our emerging appreciation for the importance of additional antibody functions beyond neutralization, we profiled the post-boost binding and functional capacity of humoral immune responses induced by the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines in a cohort of hospital staff. Both vaccines induced robust humoral immune responses to wild-type severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and to variants of concern. However, differences emerged across epitope-specific responses, with higher concentrations of receptor binding domain (RBD)- and N-terminal domain-specific IgA observed in recipients of mRNA-1273. Antibodies eliciting neutrophil phagocytosis and natural killer cell activation were also increased in mRNA-1273 vaccine recipients as compared to BNT162b2 recipients. RBD-specific antibody depletion highlighted the different roles of non-RBD-specific antibody effector functions induced across the mRNA vaccines. These data provide insights into potential differences in protective immunity conferred by these vaccines.

Nine randomized clinical trials, including approximately 25,000 children aged 6-71 months and 2000 children aged 6-17 years, have evaluated the efficacy of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) against culture-confirmed influenza as compared to placebo or trivalent inactivated vaccine (TIV). We c …

In China steigen die Fallzahlen durch die Variante BA.2. stark an. Wird die Zero-Covid-Strategie des Landes halten?

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, reports on disparities in vaccine roll out alongside reinfection and reactivation from previously recovered cases have been emerging. With newer waves and variants of COVID-19, we conducted a systematic review to assess the determinants and disease spectrum of COVID-19 reinfection.

The question has been asked over and over again... What is the risk of Long COVID and how does that risk increase with each infection? Let's break down the science and get to know this invader that is making a host out of us.

COVID-19 mortality outcomes by World Bank income classification

Data analytics on pandemic outcomes and solutions across countries

Allein eine Impfung #Corona reicht für eine gute Immunität nicht aus. Warum der Schutz nach Impfung und Infektion sogar besser ist, darüber habe ich heute mit @ewyler vom @MDC_Berlin in @Dlf_Forschung gesprochen. Vielen ist das glaube ich nicht wirklich klar - nach wie vor. 1/8— Kathrin Kühn (@kathrinkuehnk) March 15, 2022

The rapidly emerging SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant is associated with high transmissibility, compromised serum neutralising activity, and reduced vaccine effectiveness.1–3 BA.1 is the dominant omicron sublineage, making up more than 97% of omicron variant sequences worldwide in November and December, 2021, whereas BA.2 and BA.3 were rare.3 Hence, early studies of the omicron variant were mainly based on the BA.1 sublineage. Since early January, 2022, there has been a sudden upsurge of BA.2 in Europe and Asia, accounting for 15·6% of omicron variant sequences detected at the end of January, 2022.

Children’s and adolescents’ lives drastically changed during COVID lockdowns worldwide. To compare accident- and injury-related admissions to pediatric intensive care units (PICU) during the first German COVID lockdown with previous years, we conducted a retrospective multicenter study among 37 PICUs (21.5% of German PICU capacities). A total of 1444 admissions after accidents or injuries during the first lockdown period and matched periods of 2017–2019 were reported and standardized morbidity ratios (SMR) were calculated. Total PICU admissions due to accidents/injuries declined from an average of 366 to 346 (SMR 0.95 (CI 0.85–1.05)). Admissions with trauma increased from 196 to 212 (1.07 (0.93–1.23). Traffic accidents and school/kindergarten accidents decreased (0.77 (0.57–1.02 and 0.26 (0.05–0.75)), whereas household and leisure accidents increased (1.33 (1.06–1.66) and 1.34 (1.06–1.67)). Less neurosurgeries and more visceral surgeries were performed (0.69 (0.38–1.16) and 2.09 (1.19–3.39)). Non-accidental non-suicidal injuries declined (0.73 (0.42–1.17)). Suicide attempts increased in adolescent boys (1.38 (0.51–3.02)), but decreased in adolescent girls (0.56 (0.32–0.79)). In summary, changed trauma mechanisms entailed different surgeries compared to previous years. We found no evidence for an increase in child abuse cases requiring intensive care. The increase in suicide attempts among boys demands investigation.

Diabetologia - The aim of this work was to investigate diabetes incidence after infection with coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19). Individuals with acute upper respiratory tract infections (AURI),...

Long-term sequelae may occur after SARS-CoV-2 infection. We comprehensively assessed organ-specific functions in individuals after mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection compared with controls from the general population.Four hundred and forty-three mainly ...

Omicron variant strains encode large numbers of changes in the spike protein compared to historical SARS-CoV-2 isolates. Although in vitro studies have suggested that several monoclonal antibody therapies lose neutralizing activity against Omicron variants[1][1]-[4][2], the effects in vivo remain largely unknown. Here, we report on the protective efficacy against three SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineage strains (BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2) of two monoclonal antibody therapeutics (S309 [Vir Biotechnology] monotherapy and AZD7442 [AstraZeneca] combination), which correspond to ones used to treat or prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans. Despite losses in neutralization potency in cell culture, S309 or AZD7442 treatments reduced BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2 lung infection in susceptible mice that express human ACE2 (K18-hACE2). Correlation analyses between in vitro neutralizing activity and reductions in viral burden in K18-hACE2 or human Fcγ R transgenic mice suggest that S309 and AZD7442 have different mechanisms of protection against Omicron variants, with S309 utilizing Fc effector function interactions and AZD7442 acting principally by direct neutralization. Our data in mice demonstrate the resilience of S309 and AZD7442 mAbs against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant strains and provide insight into the relationship between loss of antibody neutralization potency and retained protection in vivo . ### Competing Interest Statement M.S.D. is a consultant for Inbios, Vir Biotechnology, Senda Biosciences, and Carnival Corporation, and on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Moderna and Immunome. The Diamond laboratory has received funding support in sponsored research agreements from Moderna, Vir Biotechnology, and Emergent BioSolutions. J.E.C. has served as a consultant for Luna Innovations, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline, is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Meissa Vaccines and is founder of IDBiologics. The Crowe laboratory has received sponsored research agreements from AstraZeneca, Takeda, and IDBiologics during the conduct of the study. Vanderbilt University has applied for patents for some of the antibodies in this paper, for which J.E.C. is an inventor. B.G., M.A.S, H.W.V., D.C., and L.A.P. are employees of Vir Biotechnology and may hold equity in Vir Biotechnology. L.A.P. is a former employee and may hold equity in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. H.W.V. is a founder and holds shares in PierianDx and Casma Therapeutics. Neither company provided resources to this study. Y.K. has received unrelated funding support from Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceutical, Toyama Chemical, Tauns Laboratories, Inc., Shionogi & Co. LTD, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, KM Biologics, Kyoritsu Seiyaku, Shinya Corporation, and Fuji Rebio. K. Rosenthal, K. Ren, Y-M.L. and M.T.E. are employees of AstraZeneca and may hold stock in AstraZeneca. All other authors declare no competing financial interests. [1]: #ref-1 [2]: #ref-4

In the post-acute phase, we report increased risks and 12-month burdens of incident diabetes and antihyperglycaemic use in people with COVID-19 compared with a contemporary control group of people who were enrolled during the same period and had not contracted SARS-CoV-2, and a historical control group from a pre-pandemic era. Post-acute COVID-19 care should involve identification and management of diabetes.

A subset of PCS patients display evidence for ED shown by a diminished RHI and altered endothelial biomarkers. Different associations of the RHI with clinical parameters as well as varying biomarker profiles may suggest distinct pathomechanisms among patient subgroups.

Nature Medicine - New data confirm that the COVID-19 vaccine booster dose is crucial for the generation of neutralizing antibody responses against Omicron, while better therapeutic antibodies are...

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, reports on disparities in vaccine roll out alongside COVID-19 reinfection have been emerging. We conducted a systematic review to assess the determinants and disease spectrum of COVID-19 reinfection.A comprehensive search ...

The world is suffering from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 uses its spike protein to enter the host cells. Vaccines that introduce the spike protein into ...

Repository for suggesting new lineages that should be added to the current scheme - pango-designation/lineage_notes.txt at master · cov-lineages/pango-designation

Mediziner warnen übereinstimmend davor, dass Sportler nach einer Infektion mit dem Coronavirus sofort zurückkehren, nur weil sie negativ getestet sind. Eine neue Studie beim DEL-Klub Iserlohn Roosters hat erschreckende Ergebnisse hervorgebracht.

An essential precondition for successful "herd immunity" strategies for the control of SARS-CoV-2 is that reinfection with the virus be relatively rare. Some infection control, prioritization, and testing strategies for SARS-CoV-2 were designed on the premise of rare re-infection. The U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) includes 171 medical centers and 1,112 outpatient sites of care, with widespread SARS-CoV-2 test availability. We used the VHA's unified, longitudinal electronic health record to measure the frequency of re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 at least 90 days after initial diagnosis We identified 308,051 initial cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed in VHA between March 2020 and January 2022; 58,456 (19.0%) were associated with VHA hospitalizations. A second PCR-positive test occurred in 9,203 patients in VA at least 90-days after their first positive test in VHA; 1,562 (17.0%) were associated with VHA hospitalizations. An additional 189 cases were identified as PCR-positive a third time at least 90-days after their second PCR-positive infection in VHA; 49 (25.9%) were associated with VHA hospitalizations. The absolute number of re-infections increased from less than 500 per month through November 2021, to over 4,000 per month in January 2022. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This work was supported by VA HSR&D C19-21-278 and C19-21-279. ### 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: These analyses were given ethical approval for this work under expedited review by the institutional review boards of the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers of Puget Sound, Portland, Ann Arbor, and Durham. 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 are available in partnership with VA investigators via VA data approval processes.

med to determine whether mandatory mask use influenced the case fatality rate in Kansas, USA between August 1st and October 15th 2020. This study applied secondary data on case updates, mask mandates, and demographic status related to Kansas State, USA. A parallelization analysis based on county-level data was conducted on these data. Results were controlled by performing multiple sensitivity analyses and a negative control. A parallelization analysis based on county-level data showed that in Kansas, counties with mask mandate had significantly higher case fatality rates than counties without mask mandate, with a risk ratio of 1.85 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.51–2.10) for COVID-19-related deaths. Even after adjusting for the number of “protected persons,” that is, the number of persons who were not infected in the mask-mandated group compared to the no-mask group, the risk ratio remained significantly high at 1.52 (95% CI: 1.24–1.72). By analyzing the excess mortality in Kansas, this study determines that over 95% of this effect can solely be attributed to COVID-19. These findings suggest that mask use might pose a yet unknown threat to the user instead of protecting them, making mask mandates a debatable epidemiologic intervention. The cause of this trend is explained herein using the “Foegen effect” theory; that is, deep re-inhalation of hypercondensed droplets or pure virions caught in facemasks as droplets can worsen prognosis and might be linked to long-term effects of COVID-19 infection. While the “Foegen effect” is proven in vivo in an animal model, further research is needed to fully understand it....

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Evaluation of science advice during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden

Corona ist noch lange nicht vorbei. Trotzdem beendet Christian Drosten seinen Podcast. Hier erklärt er, warum – und wie wir uns auf den Herbst vorbereiten müssen.

Multiple COVID-19 vaccines, representing diverse vaccine platforms, successfully protect against symptomatic COVID-19 cases and deaths. Head-to-head comparisons of T cell, B cell, and antibody responses to diverse vaccines in humans are likely to be informative for understanding protective immunity against COVID-19, with particular interest in immune memory. Here, SARS-CoV-2-spike-specific immune responses to Moderna mRNA-1273, Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2, Janssen Ad26.COV2.S and Novavax NVX-CoV2373 were examined longitudinally for 6 months. 100% of individuals made memory CD4+ T cells, with cTfh and CD4-CTL highly represented after mRNA or NVX-CoV2373 vaccination. mRNA vaccines and Ad26.COV2.S induced comparable CD8+ T cell frequencies, though memory CD8+ T cells were only detectable in 60-67% of subjects at 6 months. Ad26.COV2.S was not the strongest immunogen by any measurement, though the Ad26.COV2.S T cell, B cell, and antibody responses were relatively stable over 6 months. A differentiating feature of Ad26.COV2.S immunization was a high frequency of CXCR3+ memory B cells. mRNA vaccinees had substantial declines in neutralizing antibodies, while memory T cells and B cells were comparatively stable over 6 months. These results of these detailed immunological evaluations may also be relevant for vaccine design insights against other pathogens. ### Competing Interest Statement A.S. is a consultant for Gritstone Bio, Flow Pharma, ImmunoScape, Avalia, Moderna, Fortress, Repertoire, Gerson Lehrman Group, RiverVest, MedaCorp, and Guggenheim. SC has consulted for GSK, JP Morgan, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Avalia NZ, Nutcracker Therapeutics, University of California, California State Universities, United Airlines, Adagio, and Roche. LJI has filed for patent protection for various aspects of T cell epitope and vaccine design work. All other authors declare no conflict of interest