Covid19-Sources

Just before Christmas, federal health officials confirmed life expectancy in America had dropped for a nearly unprecedented second year in a row – down to 76 years. While countries all over the world saw life expectancy rebound during the second year of the pandemic after the arrival of vaccines, the U.S. did not. Then, last week, more bad news: Maternal mortality in the U.S. reached a high in 2021. Also, a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association found rising mortality rates among U.S. children and adolescents. "This is the first time in my career that I've ever seen [an increase in pediatric mortality] – it's always been declining in the United States for as long as I can remember," says the JAMA paper's lead author Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University. "Now, it's increasing at a magnitude that has not occurred at least for half a century." Across the lifespan, and across every demographic group, Americans die at younger ages than their counterparts in other wealthy nations.

Nature Communications - Here the authors describe a small antibody-like protein that can prevent infection by diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants in cell culture and in mice that were intranasally treated...

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is characterized by debilitating fatigue that profoundly impacts patients’ lives. Diagnosis of ME/CFS remains challenging, with most patients relying on self-report, questionnaires, and subjective measures to receive a diagnosis, and many never receiving a clear diagnosis at all. In this study, we utilized a single-cell Raman platform and artificial intelligence to analyze blood cells from 98 human subjects, including 61 ME/CFS patients of varying disease severity and 37 healthy and disease controls. Our results demonstrate that Raman profiles of blood cells can distinguish between healthy individuals, disease controls, and ME/CFS patients with high accuracy (91%), and can further differentiate between mild, moderate, and severe ME/CFS patients (84%). Additionally, we identified specific Raman peaks that correlate with ME/CFS phenotypes and have the potential to provide insights into biological changes and support the development of new therapeutics. This study presents a promising approach for aiding in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, and could be extended to other unexplained chronic diseases such as long COVID and post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, which share many of the same symptoms as ME/CFS. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This research project was support by an ME Association project grant to KM. ### 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: This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committees at the University of Oxford (Reference number: R51826/RE001) and by the UCL Biobank Ethical Review Committee-Royal Free (B-ERC-RF) London NHS Foundation Trust (Reference number: EC.2017.012). Ethical approval for sample and data collection and storage was granted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Ethics Committee (Ref. 6123) and the National Research Ethics Service (NRES) London-Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee (REC ref. 11/10/1760, IRAS ID:77765). Samples were provided by the UK ME/CFS Biobank (UKMEB) in accordance with a Material Transfer Agreement signed by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the University of Oxford. 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 are available online at .

Autoantikörper scheinen bei Post-Covid-Syndrom eine zentrale Rolle zu spielen. Einen Überblick über die aktuelle Studienlage und Therapieansätze gibt Prof. Dr. med. Carmen Scheibenbogen.

This cohort study examines the association of treatment with nirmatrelvir in the acute phase of COVID-19 and risk of post–COVID-19 condition.

Officially declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11 March 2020, the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 19) outbreak has evolved at an unprecedented rate. Following its emergence in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, People’s Republic of China, in December 2019, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide has already surpassed 2,900,000 as of 28 April 2020 [1], with actual figures believed to be even higher. The virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, initially designated as “2019-nCoV” (2019 novel coronavirus), was later renamed to “SARS-CoV-2” (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), given its similarity to the previous SARS-CoV.

Determine age-specific infection fatality rates for COVID-19 to inform public health policies and communications that help protect vulnerable age groups. Studies of COVID-19 prevalence were collected by conducting an online search of published articles, preprints, and government reports that were pu …

After three years battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore has moved into a new normal of living with COVID-19. This White Paper crystallises the Government’s reflections on the important lessons to be drawn from the pandemic and our response as a nation. Where we have done well, we will cement these gains for the future. Where there have been shortcomings in our response, we will identify and tackle them, to be better prepared for the next pandemic. Find out more about our response to COVID-19 in the White Paper below. For more information, please refer to the PMO's press release. Members of public may share their feedback on the White Paper at reach@reach.gov.sg, or fill up the form here.

Nature Communications - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can lead to acute kidney injury. The authors describe that SARS-COV-2 can directly infect human kidney, possibly...

Background The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine protects against COVID-19. Methods Employees of Cleveland Clinic in employment when the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine first became available, were included. Cumulative incidence of COVID-19 over the following 26 weeks was examined. Protection provided by vaccination (analyzed as a time-dependent covariate) was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards regression, with change in dominant circulating lineages over time accounted for by time-dependent coefficients. The analysis was adjusted for the pandemic phase when the last prior COVID-19 episode occurred, and the number of prior vaccine doses. Results Among 51017 employees, COVID-19 occurred in 4424 (8.7%) during the study. In multivariable analysis, the bivalent vaccinated state was associated with lower risk of COVID-19 during the BA.4/5 dominant (HR, .71; 95% C.I., .63-.79) and the BQ dominant (HR, .80; 95% C.I., .69-.94) phases, but decreased risk was not found during the XBB dominant phase (HR, .96; 95% C.I., .82-.1.12). Estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) was 29% (95% C.I., 21%-37%), 20% (95% C.I., 6%-31%), and 4% (95% C.I., -12%-18%), during the BA.4/5, BQ, and XBB dominant phases, respectively. Risk of COVID-19 also increased with time since most recent prior COVID-19 episode and with the number of vaccine doses previously received. Conclusions The bivalent COVID-19 vaccine given to working-aged adults afforded modest protection overall against COVID-19 while the BA.4/5 lineages were the dominant circulating strains, afforded less protection when the BQ lineages were dominant, and effectiveness was not demonstrated when the XBB lineages were dominant. Summary Among 51017 working-aged Cleveland Clinic employees, the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine was 29% effective in preventing infection while the BA.4/5 lineages were dominant, and 20% effective while the BQ lineages were. Effectiveness was not demonstrated when the XBB lineages were dominant. ### 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 Institutional Review Board of Cleveland Clinic 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 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

Numerous non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were taken worldwide to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed at providing an overview of randomized trials assessing NPIs to prevent COVID-19. Methods: We included all randomized trials assessing NPIs to prevent COVID-19 in any country and setting registered in ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform using the COVID-evidence platform (until 17 August 2021). We searched for corresponding publications in MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, the Living Overview of Evidence platform (L-OVE), and the Cochrane COVID-19 registry as well as for results posted in registries. Results: We identified 41 randomized trials. Of them, 11 were completed (26.8%) including 7 with published results. The 41 trials planned to recruit a median of 1,700 participants (IQR, 588 to 9,500, range 30 to 35,256,399) with a median planned duration of 8 months (IQR, 3 to 14, range 1 to 24). Most came from the United States (n=11, 26.8%). The trials mostly assessed protective equipment (n=11, 26.8%), COVID-19-related information and education programs (n=9, 22.0%), access to mass events under specific safety measures (n=5, 12.2%), testing and screening strategies (n=5, 12.2%), and hygiene management (n=5, 12.2%). Conclusions: Worldwide, 41 randomized trials assessing NPIs have been initiated with published results available to inform policy decisions for only 7 of them. A long-term research agenda including behavioral, environmental, social, and systems level interventions is urgently needed to guide policies and practices in the current and future public health emergencies.

This cohort study examines the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders among male and female offspring exposed in utero to SARS-CoV-2 and whether pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with neurodevelopmental risk independent of SARS-CoV-2 exposure.

New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of Mass General Brigham (MGB), found that males but not females born to mothers with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection ...

Multiple studies of vaccinated and convalescent cohorts have demonstrated that serum neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers correlate with protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the induction of multiple layers of immunity after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure has complicated the establishment of nAbs as a mechanistic correlate of protection (CoP) and hindered the definition of a protective nAb threshold. Here, we show that a half-life–extended monoclonal antibody (adintrevimab) provides about 50% protection against symptomatic COVID-19 in SARS-CoV-2–naïve adults at serum nAb titers on the order of 1:30. Vaccine modeling results support a similar 50% protective nAb threshold, suggesting that low titers of serum nAbs protect in both passive antibody prophylaxis and vaccination settings. Extrapolation of adintrevimab pharmacokinetic data suggests that protection against susceptible variants could be maintained for about 3 years. The results provide a benchmark for the selection of next-generation vaccine candidates and support the use of broad, long-acting monoclonal antibodies as alternatives or supplements to vaccination in high-risk populations.

Drei Jahre nach Ausbruch der Corona-Pandemie sind in Deutschland praktisch alle Schutzmaßnahmen gefallen, auch der Sinn der Impfkampagnen wird angesichts neuer Berichte von schwerwiegenden Impfschäden vielfach in Zweifel gezogen.

There is strong evidence for brain-related abnormalities in COVID-191–13 . It remains unknown however whether the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection can be detected in milder cases, and whether this can reveal possible mechanisms contributing to brain pathology. Here, we investigated brain changes in 785 UK Biobank participants (aged 51–81) imaged twice, including 401 cases who tested positive for infection with SARS-CoV-2 between their two scans, with 141 days on average separating their diagnosis and second scan, and 384 controls. The availability of pre-infection imaging data reduces the likelihood of pre-existing risk factors being misinterpreted as disease effects. We identified significant longitudinal effects when comparing the two groups, including: (i) greater reduction in grey matter thickness and tissue-contrast in the orbitofrontal cortex and parahippocampal gyrus, (ii) greater changes in markers of tissue damage in regions functionally-connected to the primary olfactory cortex, and (iii) greater reduction in global brain size. The infected participants also showed on average larger cognitive decline between the two timepoints. Importantly, these imaging and cognitive longitudinal effects were still seen after excluding the 15 cases who had been hospitalised. These mainly limbic brain imaging results may be the in vivo hallmarks of a degenerative spread of the disease via olfactory pathways, of neuroinflammatory events, or of the loss of sensory input due to anosmia. Whether this deleterious impact can be partially reversed, or whether these effects will persist in the long term, remains to be investigated with additional follow up.

Our understanding of T cell responses in COVID-19 and vaccination is incomplete. Gao et al. examine SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses to infection and vaccination, revealing disparate kinetics between CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, compared to vaccination alone, circulating CD8+ T cells are attenuated during infection and in subsequent vaccination.

This cohort study quantifies and compares symptoms, emergency department chest radiography, treatments, and disposition across dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants among children presenting to emergency departments in Canada.

A new study of more than 1,400 Canadian children who contracted COVID-19 has found that fever and cough were associated more heavily with Omicron and Delta variants, but that serious outcomes like hospitalization and being moved to the intensive care unit remained even across all variants.

The magnitude and quality of a key immune cell’s response to vaccination with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were considerably lower in people with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to people without prior infection, a study has found. In addition, the level of this key immune cell that targets the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was substantially lower in unvaccinated people with COVID-19 than in vaccinated people who had never been infected. Importantly, people who recover from SARS-CoV-2 infection and then get vaccinated are more protected than people who are unvaccinated.

Unternehmen in Deutschland haben im vergangenen Jahr einen zusätzlichen zweistelligen Milliar­denbetrag für Lohnfortzahlungen an erkrankte Mitarbeiter ausgegeben. Das geht aus einer Analyse des Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft (IW) hervor.

Very excited that our PaxLC clinical trial on #longCOVID patients is now open, led by @hmkyale! This is a phase 2, 1:1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled research study in 100 non-hospitalized highly symptomatic long COVID. (1/)https://t.co/hga9nt8EWv— Prof. Akiko Iwasaki (@VirusesImmunity) March 21, 2023

Genomsequenzierung vom Team Ulrich Ellings für Österreich, 11. Kalenderwoche. XBB.1.5 ist weiterhin dominiert mit über 70% Probenanteil. Die BA.5-Variante, auf die der letzte angepasste Impfstoff z…

Patienten mit COVID-19 haben ein erhöhtes Risiko für die Bildung von Blutgerinnseln. Eine Behandlung mit Acetylsalicylsäure (ASS) könnte deswegen von Vorteil sein. In der britischen RECOVERY-Studie hat sich diese Erwartung jedoch nicht erfüllt. ASS konnte das Überleben von hospitalisierten COVID-19-Patienten nicht verbessern.

Aspirin, with its active compound acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), shows antiviral activity against rhino- and influenza viruses at high concentrations. We sought to investigate whether ASA and its metabolite salicylic acid (SA) inhibit SARS-CoV-2 since it might use similar pathways to influenza viruses. The compound-treated cells were infected with SARS-CoV-2. Viral replication was analysed by RTqPCR. The compounds suppressed SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell culture cells and a patient-near replication system using human precision-cut lung slices by two orders of magnitude. While the compounds did not interfere with viral entry, it led to lower viral RNA expression after 24 h, indicating that post-entry pathways were inhibited by the compounds.

Aspirin mit seinem Wirkstoff Acetylsalicylsäure zeigt in hohen Konzentrationen eine antivirale Wirkung gegen Rhino- und Influenzaviren. Katherina Sewald und ihr Team haben zusammen mit Forschenden der Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg untersucht, ob Acetylsalicylsäure und sein Metabolit Salicylsäure SARS-CoV-2 hemmen, da sie möglicherweise ähnliche Wege wie Influenzaviren nutzen.

null

The diversity of vaccination modalities and infection history are both variables that have an impact on the immune memory of individuals vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. To gain more accurate knowledge of how these parameters imprint on immune memory, we conducted a long-term follow-up of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein–specific immune memory in unvaccinated and vaccinated COVID-19 convalescent individuals as well as in infection-naïve vaccinated individuals. Here, we report that individuals from the convalescent vaccinated (hybrid immunity) group have the highest concentrations of spike protein–specific antibodies at 6 months after vaccination. As compared with infection-naïve vaccinated individuals, they also display increased frequencies of an atypical mucosa-targeted memory B cell subset. These individuals also exhibited enhanced TH1 polarization of their SARS-CoV-2 spike protein–specific follicular T helper cell pool. Together, our data suggest that prior SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the titers of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein–specific antibody responses elicited by subsequent vaccination and induces modifications in the composition of the spike protein–specific memory B cell pool that are compatible with enhanced functional protection at mucosal sites.

New study solidifies the fact that Covid reverse trabscibes into human DNA similar to HIV causing persistent infection: pic.twitter.com/FY83mXnxg3— Chris Turnbull (@EnemyInAState) March 5, 2023

THREAD: some new Long Covid researchFirstly ONS infection survey reports there is strong evidence that previous infection protects adults from new Long Covid on reinfection, but NO evidence that it protects children. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/iIKYGJvQ1I— Prof. Christina Pagel 🇺🇦 (@chrischirp) March 3, 2023