Covid19-Sources

Covid-19 hospitalizations have been on the rise in the United States for months, with weekly admissions now more than triple what they were two months ago. Seniors have the highest rates of Covid hospitalizations by far, but hospitalizations among children — especially among those younger than 5 — are rising fast.

A Japanese government survey has found that about 10 to 20 percent of adults infected with the coronavirus had aftereffects, including cough and fatigue, for more than two months after infection.

This cohort study examines diabetes incidence before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals aged 19 years and younger.

The spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has basked in the spotlight since the pandemic began. | In the world of COVID variants, many mutations seem to lead to the same goal: Evade innate immunity. By pinpointing key proteins that make this "convergent evolution" possible, researchers are on the way to finding new targets for therapies.

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Many patients with COVID-19 develop brain fog and other cognitive symptoms months later. Their cerebrospinal fluid may hold clues to why this is happening.

Vaccine-induced immunity may impact subsequent de novo responses to drifted epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 variants, but this has been difficult to quantify due to the challenges in recruiting unvaccinated control groups whose first exposure to SARS-CoV-2 is a primary infection. Through local, statewide, and national SARS-CoV-2 testing programs, we were able to recruit cohorts of individuals who had recovered from either primary or post-vaccination infections by either the Delta or Omicron BA.1 variants. Regardless of variant, we observed greater Spike-specific and neutralizing antibody responses in post-vaccination infections than in those who were infected without prior vaccination. Through analysis of variant-specific memory B cells as markers of de novo responses, we observed that Delta and Omicron BA.1 infections led to a marked shift in immunodominance in which some drifted epitopes elicited minimal responses, even in primary infections. Prior immunity through vaccination had a small negative impact on these de novo responses, but this did not correlate with cross-reactive memory B cells, arguing against competitive inhibition of naïve B cells. We conclude that dampened de novo B cell responses against drifted epitopes are mostly a function of altered immunodominance hierarchies that are apparent even in primary infections, with a more modest contribution from pre-existing immunity, perhaps due to accelerated antigen clearance. ### Competing Interest Statement Sana Biotechnology has licensed intellectual property of D.B. and Washington University in St. Louis. Gilead Sciences has licensed intellectual property of D.B. and Stanford University. Clade Therapeutics has licensed intellectual property of D.B. and University of Arizona. D.B. is a co-founder of Clade Therapeutics. D.B. served on an advisory panel for GlaxoSmithKline. B.J.L. has a financial interest in Cofactor Genomics, Inc. and Iron Horse Dx. Geneticure Inc. has licensed intellectual property of R.S. and R.S is a co-founder of Geneticure Inc. M.W. has received consulting fees from GLG on SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic. ### Funding Statement This work was supported by NIH grants R01AI099108 and R01AI129945 (D.B.) and a research grant from the Arizona Board of Regents (M.W. and D.B). This project has been funded in part with Federal funds from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N93021C00015 (M.W.) The HEROES-RECOVER cohort is supported by the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (contracts 75D30120R68013 to Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, 75D30120C08379 to the University of Arizona, and 75D30120C08150 to Abt Associates). ### 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: IRB of The University of Arizona gave ethical approval for this work. 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 All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors

Das SARS-CoV-2-Virus gelangt nach Kontakt seines Spike-Proteins mit dem ACE2-Rezeptor durch Membranperfusion in menschliche Zellen. Aber das Spike-Protein kann noch mehr, wie Forscher feststellten: das Verschmelzen von Körperzellen. Und zwar bei allen, die sich mit…

Long-COVID, also known as post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC), has emerged as the next public health crisis with an estimated incidence of 10-30% in non-hospitalized and 50-70% in hospitalized individuals [1]. PCC is clinically heterogeneous, having been associated with over 200 symptoms [2]. In October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined PCC as ε1 symptom not explained by an alternate diagnosis, lasting at least 2 months, in individuals with probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, 12 weeks from the onset of illness [3].

Ab heute gibt es in Arztpraxen eine neue Vakzine, die an aktuelle Virusvarianten angepasst ist. Wer sich boostern lassen sollte und was über den Impfstoff bekannt ist.

"It's very clear in our data that reinfection contributes additional risk of long Covid," says epidemiologist Ziyad Al-Aly.

COVID-19 is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and death in the short- and long-term, according to a study in nearly 160,000 participants published today in Cardiovascular Research, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 Compared to uninfected individuals, the likelihood of COVID-19 patients dying was up to 81 times higher in the first three weeks of infection and remained five times higher up to 18 months later.

In September, 2023, the SARS-CoV-2 XBB descendants, such as XBB.1.5 and EG.5.1 (originally XBB.1.9.2.5.1), are the predominant variants circulating worldwide.1 Unexpectedly, however, a lineage distinct from XBB was identified and named BA.2.86 on Aug 14, 2023.2 Notably, BA.2.86 bears more than 30 mutations in the spike (S) protein when compared with XBB and the parental BA.2, and many of these mutations are assumed to be associated with immune evasion (appendix p 10).2 Although the number of reported cases is low (68 sequences have been reported as of Sept 7, 2023), BA.2.86 has been detected in several continents (Europe, North America, and Africa), suggesting that this variant might be spreading silently worldwide.

This study aimed to describe the presence of disabling symptoms in currently working Long-COVID survivors by comparing the hospitalized and non-hospitalized one year after infection. Patients with Long-COVID syndrome (LCS) that have been infected by COVID-19 a year ago and were actually working were included. Participants that had been hospitalized due to COVID-19 were included in the LCS hospitalized group, and participants that had not been hospitalized were included in the LCS non-hospitalized group. The eligible patients were prompted to complete the latest self-report version of the COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Screening Tool (C19-YRS). A total of 465 subjects were included in the study. Participants in the LCS hospitalized group were significantly older, had a significantly higher BMI, and had a significantly higher prevalence of women compared to the LCS non-hospitalized group. Additionally, participants in the LCS hospitalized group had obtained significantly worse results in symptom severity, functional disability, and global health perceived subscales of C19-YRS compared to the participants included in the LCS non-hospitalized group. We concluded that disabling symptoms are presented in patients with LCS at working age one year after infection and are higher in LCS hospitalized patients compared to LCS non-hospitalized patients.

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…