1/đ§”Es wird gerade Ergebnis einer US-Studie weit medial verbreitet, nach der Schutz vor Hospitalisierung wg #Omikron nach 3 Monaten nur noch ca. 50% betragen wĂŒrde. Das ist aus verschiedenen GrĂŒnden irrefĂŒhrend und falschâĄïžhttps://t.co/zgx77WRGW1â Jan Hartmann (@pelagicbird) April 26, 2022
Consumer-grade wearables identify changes in multiple physiological systems during COVID-19 disease progression
Consumer-grade wearables are needed to track disease, especially in the ongoing pandemic, as they can monitor patients in real time. We show that decomposing heart rate from low-cost wearable technologies into signals from different systems can give a multidimensional description of physiological changes due to COVID-19 infection. We find that the separate physiological features of basal heart rate, heart rate response to physical activity, circadian variation in heart rate, and autocorrelation of heart rate are significantly altered and can classify symptomatic versus healthy periods. Increased heart rate and autocorrelation begin at symptom onset, while the heart rate response to activity increases soon after symptom onset and increases more in individuals exhibiting cough. Symptom onset is associated with a blunting of circadian variation in heart rate, as measured by the uncertainty in the phase estimate. This work establishes an innovative data analytic approach to monitor disease progression remotely using consumer-grade wearables.
Durability of BNT162b2 vaccine against hospital and emergency
Analyses were done for 11â123 hospital or emergency department admissions. In adjusted analyses, effectiveness of two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine against the omicron variant was 41% (95% CI 21â55) against hospital admission and 31% (16â43) against emergency department admission at 9 months or longer after the second dose. After three doses, effectiveness of BNT162b2 against hospital admission due to the omicron variant was 85% (95% CI 80â89) at less than 3 months but fell to 55% (28â71) at 3 months or longer, although confidence intervals were wide for the latter estimate. Against emergency department admission, the effectiveness of three doses of BNT162b2 against the omicron variant was 77% (72â81) at less than 3 months but fell to 53% (36â66) at 3 months or longer. Trends in waning against SARS-CoV-2 outcomes due to the delta variant were generally similar, but with higher effectiveness estimates at each timepoint than those seen for the omicron variant.
Aktuelle Bettenbelegung | Deutsche Krankenhausgesellschaft e. V.
Die Deutsche Krankenhausgesellschaft informiert ĂŒber den Stand der aktuellen Bettenbelegung bestĂ€tigter, stationĂ€rer COVID-19-Patientinnen und -Patienten in Deutschlands KrankenhĂ€usern. Die Aktualisierung erfolgt werktĂ€glich gegen 14 Uhr. Dabei handelt es sich um die Daten des Vortages, da ein Teil der lĂ€nderspezifischen Datenquellen die Belegungsdaten erst mit einem Tag Verzug veröffentlicht. Da das Infektionsgeschehen sehr dynamisch verlĂ€uft, können die Daten von anderen Veröffentlichungen abweichen.
The roles of nausea and vomiting in COVID-19: did we miss something?
The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an international public health emergency. Although respiratory symptoms predominate the clinical manifestations of COVID-19, gastrointestinal ...
Serum neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages BA.1 and BA.2 in patients receiving monoclonal antibodies
Nature Medicine - Therapeutic antibodies, and sera from immunocompromised individuals prophylactically treated with therapeutic antibodies, differ in neutralizing activity against the SARS-CoV-2...
Residual SARS-CoV-2 viral antigens detected in GI and hepatic tissues from five recovered patients with COVID-19
We read with great interest the article published by Zuo et al , which highlighted the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool samples during active and convalescence phases of COVID-19 infection.1 However, no study has reported the presence of viral antigens within GI and hepatic organs during the convalescent phase. Using conventional immunohistochemistry, we detected SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) in the colon, appendix, ileum, haemorrhoid, liver, gallbladder and lymph nodes (figure 1AâK) from five patients who recovered from COVID-19, ranging from 9 to 180 days after testing negative for SARS-CoV-2 (online supplemental table 1). Notably, when multiple tissues were obtained from one patient (patients 1 and 4), all the tissues showed the presence of the viral antigen, suggesting widespread multiorgan involvement of the viral infection. Interestingly, for the colon, the viral antigen was only present in normal colonic crypts and polyps but not in the neoplastic tissues (figure 1Q). Similar negative staining in the hepatocellular carcinoma tumour region was also observed (figure 1R) albeit the positive staining in some of the scattered immune cells (figure 1D). Validating our findings, we detected SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (figure 1LâP) and RNA (figure 2BâF) in the above-mentioned tissues using conventional immunohistochemistry and RNAscope, respectively. However, we were unable to detect viral RNA in some patientsâ tissues (online supplemental table 1), possibly because of higher RNA degradation rate as compared with protein and other patient-dependent factors such as disease severity, time since recovery and basal metabolic rate.### Supplementary data [gutjnl-2021-324280supp001.pdf] Figure 1 Immunohistochemical staining of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins in intestinal and hepatic tissues. (A and B) Positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) staining in colonic crypts (A) and appendix (B), both with a granular supranuclear cytoplasmic pattern. (C) positive SARS-CoV-2 NP staining in scattered immune cells in haemorrhoid tissue (red âŠ
Residual SARS-CoV-2 viral antigens detected in GI and hepatic tissues from five recovered patients with COVID-19
We read with great interest the article published by Zuo et al , which highlighted the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stool samples during active and convalescence phases of COVID-19 infection.1 However, no study has reported the presence of viral antigens within GI and hepatic organs during the convalescent phase. Using conventional immunohistochemistry, we detected SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) in the colon, appendix, ileum, haemorrhoid, liver, gallbladder and lymph nodes (figure 1AâK) from five patients who recovered from COVID-19, ranging from 9 to 180 days after testing negative for SARS-CoV-2 (online supplemental table 1). Notably, when multiple tissues were obtained from one patient (patients 1 and 4), all the tissues showed the presence of the viral antigen, suggesting widespread multiorgan involvement of the viral infection. Interestingly, for the colon, the viral antigen was only present in normal colonic crypts and polyps but not in the neoplastic tissues (figure 1Q). Similar negative staining in the hepatocellular carcinoma tumour region was also observed (figure 1R) albeit the positive staining in some of the scattered immune cells (figure 1D). Validating our findings, we detected SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (figure 1LâP) and RNA (figure 2BâF) in the above-mentioned tissues using conventional immunohistochemistry and RNAscope, respectively. However, we were unable to detect viral RNA in some patientsâ tissues (online supplemental table 1), possibly because of higher RNA degradation rate as compared with protein and other patient-dependent factors such as disease severity, time since recovery and basal metabolic rate.### Supplementary data [gutjnl-2021-324280supp001.pdf] Figure 1 Immunohistochemical staining of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike proteins in intestinal and hepatic tissues. (A and B) Positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) staining in colonic crypts (A) and appendix (B), both with a granular supranuclear cytoplasmic pattern. (C) positive SARS-CoV-2 NP staining in scattered immune cells in haemorrhoid tissue (red âŠ
1/ Covid: Study from India shows 'sudden rise' in children with Hepatitis after 'mild' and asymptomatic infections as UKHSA claims that the sudden rise in Hep in kids in the UK is due to a common cold virus. Kids developed Hep after mild and asymptomatic infections. pic.twitter.com/FliLWWXS5xâ Chris Turnbull (@EnemyInAState) April 14, 2022
Genome wide screen of RNAi molecules against SARS-CoV-2 creates a broadly potent prophylaxis
Expanding the arsenal of prophylactic approaches against SARS-CoV-2 is of utmost importance, specifically those strategies that are resistant to antigenic drift in Spike. Here, we conducted a screen with over 16,000 RNAi triggers against the SARS-CoV-2 genome using a massively parallel assay to identify hyper-potent siRNAs. We selected 10 candidates for in vitro validation and found five siRNAs that exhibited hyper-potent activity with IC50
Covid-19 deaths in Africa: prospective systematic postmortem surveillance study
Objective To directly measure the fatal impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) in an urban African population. Design Prospective systematic postmortem surveillance study. Setting Zambiaâs largest tertiary care referral hospital. Participants Deceased people of all ages at the University Teaching Hospital morgue in Lusaka, Zambia, enrolled within 48 hours of death. Main outcome measure Postmortem nasopharyngeal swabs were tested via reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Deaths were stratified by covis-19 status, location, age, sex, and underlying risk factors. Results 372 participants were enrolled between June and September 2020; PCR results were available for 364 (97.8%). SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 58/364 (15.9%) according to the recommended cycle threshold value of
#CoronaInfo â Die seit Anfang Januar dominierende Omikron-Variante von SARS-CoV-2 macht die Menschen seltener schwer krank als die Delta-Variante davor. Das ist vor allem von Krankenhauseinweisungen bekannt, aber wie sind die Unterschiede bei milderen VerlĂ€ufen? ⊠(1/8)â Emanuel Wyler (@ewyler) April 19, 2022
Safety, Immunogenicity and Antibody Persistence of a Bivalent Beta-Containing Booster Vaccine
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants have caused multiple waves of infection globally. This phase 2/3 study evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of the bivalent vaccine candidate mRNA-1273.211 (equal mRNA amounts of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and Beta variant spik...
Physical and mental health 3 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection (long COVID) among adolescents in England (CLoCk): a national matched cohort study
Adolescents who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 had similar symptoms to those who tested negative, but had a higher prevalence of single and, particularly, multiple symptoms at the time of PCR testing and 3 months later. Clinicians should consider multiple symptoms that affect functioning and recognise different clusters of symptoms. The multiple and varied symptoms show that a multicomponent intervention will be required, and that mental and physical health symptoms occur concurrently, reflecting their close relationship.
Comparing aerosol number and mass exhalation rates from children and adults during breathing, speaking and singing | Interface Focus
Aerosol particles of respirable size are exhaled when individuals breathe, speak and sing and can transmit respiratory pathogens between infected and susceptible individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus the need to improve the ...
To normalize the level of death at this frequency you must normalize the pathogenSars cov 2 hyperstimulates and behaves like a SARS even on reinfectionIt creates unprecedented levels of autoimmunity that persistIt is intrinsically virulenthttps://t.co/mx2nqxLHr0 pic.twitter.com/1XegF1THIbâ Anthony J Leonardi, PhD, MS (@fitterhappierAJ) April 15, 2022
Safety, tolerability and viral kinetics during SARS-CoV-2 human challenge in young adults
Nature Medicine - In the first SARS-CoV-2 challenge study in humans, 36 young, healthy adult participants were intranasally inoculated with virus and monitored for productive infection, symptoms,...
Risks of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding after covid-19: nationwide self-controlled cases series and matched cohort study
Objective To quantify the risk of deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding after covid-19. Design Self-controlled case series and matched cohort study. Setting National registries in Sweden. Participants 1â057â174 people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between 1 February 2020 and 25 May 2021 in Sweden, matched on age, sex, and county of residence to 4â076â342 control participants. Main outcomes measures Self-controlled case series and conditional Poisson regression were used to determine the incidence rate ratio and risk ratio with corresponding 95% confidence intervals for a first deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or bleeding event. In the self-controlled case series, the incidence rate ratios for first time outcomes after covid-19 were determined using set time intervals and the spline model. The risk ratios for first time and all events were determined during days 1-30 after covid-19 or index date using the matched cohort study, and adjusting for potential confounders (comorbidities, cancer, surgery, long term anticoagulation treatment, previous venous thromboembolism, or previous bleeding event). Results Compared with the control period, incidence rate ratios were significantly increased 70 days after covid-19 for deep vein thrombosis, 110 days for pulmonary embolism, and 60 days for bleeding. In particular, incidence rate ratios for a first pulmonary embolism were 36.17 (95% confidence interval 31.55 to 41.47) during the first week after covid-19 and 46.40 (40.61 to 53.02) during the second week. Incidence rate ratios during days 1-30 after covid-19 were 5.90 (5.12 to 6.80) for deep vein thrombosis, 31.59 (27.99 to 35.63) for pulmonary embolism, and 2.48 (2.30 to 2.68) for bleeding. Similarly, the risk ratios during days 1-30 after covid-19 were 4.98 (4.96 to 5.01) for deep vein thrombosis, 33.05 (32.8 to 33.3) for pulmonary embolism, and 1.88 (1.71 to 2.07) for bleeding, after adjusting for the effect of potential confounders. The rate ratios were highest in patients with critical covid-19 and highest during the first pandemic wave in Sweden compared with the second and third waves. In the same period, the absolute risk among patients with covid-19 was 0.039% (401 events) for deep vein thrombosis, 0.17% (1761 events) for pulmonary embolism, and 0.101% (1002 events) for bleeding. Conclusions The findings of this study suggest that covid-19 is a risk factor for deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and bleeding. These results could impact recommendations on diagnostic and prophylactic strategies against venous thromboembolism after covid-19. The study protocol (R script) for the SCCS and matched cohort study are available on request from the corresponding author. The study used secondary registry data, which is regulated by the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act (2009:400) and is protected by strict confidentiality. However, for the purpose of research, after formal application to access personal data, the responsible authority can grant access to data, although this is contingent on vetting by the Ethical Review Authority of Sweden, according to the Act (2003:460) concerning the Ethical Review of Research Involving Humans. Synthetic (ie, depersonalised and jittered) data can be provided on request from the corresponding author.
Efficient recall of Omicron-reactive B cell memory after a third dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine
We examined antibody and memory B cell responses longitudinally for âŒ9-10 months after primary 2-dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination and 3 months after a 3rd dose. Antibody decay stabilized between 6 to 9 months and antibody quality continued to improve for at least 9 months after 2-dose vaccination. Spike- and RBD-specific memory B cells remained durable over time, and 40-50% of RBD-specific memory B cells simultaneously bound the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants. Omicron-binding memory B cells were efficiently re-activated by a 3rd dose of wild-type vaccine and correlated with the corresponding increase in neutralizing antibody titers. In contrast, pre-3rd dose antibody titers inversely correlated with the fold-change of antibody boosting, suggesting that high levels of circulating antibodies may limit the added protection afforded by repeat short interval boosting. These data provide insight into the quantity and quality of mRNA vaccine-induced immunity over time through 3 or more antigen exposures.
CHANGES IN LIFE EXPECTANCY BETWEEN 2019 AND 2021: UNITED STATES AND 19 PEER COUNTRIES
BACKGROUND Prior studies reported large decreases in US life expectancy during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, disproportionately affecting Hispanic and Black populations and vastly exceeding the average change in life expectancy in other high-income countries. Life expectancy estimates for 2021 have not been reported. This study estimated changes in life expectancy during 2019-2021 in the US population, in three US racial/ethnic groups, and in 19 peer countries. METHODS US and peer country death data for 2019-2021 were obtained from the National Center for Health Statistics, the Human Mortality Database, and overseas statistical agencies. The 19 peer countries included Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England and Wales, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Life expectancy was calculated for 2019 and 2020 and estimated for 2021 using a previously validated modeling method. RESULTS US life expectancy decreased from 78.86 years in 2019 to 76.99 years in 2020 and 76.60 years in 2021, a net loss of 2.26 years. In contrast, peer countries averaged a smaller decrease in life expectancy between 2019 and 2020 (0.57 years) and a 0.28-year increase between 2020 and 2021, widening the gap in life expectancy between the United States and peer countries to more than five years. The decrease in US life expectancy was highly racialized: whereas the largest decreases in 2020 occurred among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black populations, in 2021 only the non-Hispanic White population experienced a decrease in life expectancy. DISCUSSION The US mortality experience during 2020 and 2021 was more severe than in peer countries, deepening a US disadvantage in health and survival that has been building for decades. Over the two-year period between 2019 and 2021, US Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black populations experienced the largest losses in life expectancy, reflecting the legacy of systemic racism and inadequacies in the US handling of the pandemic. Reasons for the crossover in racialized outcomes between 2020 and 2021, in which life expectancy decreased only in the non-Hispanic White population, could have multiple explanations. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement Dr. Masters received support from the University of Colorado Population Center grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development (CUPC project 2P2CHD066613-06). Dr. Woolf received partial funding from grant UL1TR002649 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. There was no specific funding for this 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 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 work are contained in the manuscript.
Use of face masks did not impact COVID-19 incidence among 10â12-year-olds in Finland
In fall 2021 in Finland, the recommendation to use face masks in schools for pupils ages 12 years and above was in
place nationwide. Some cities recommended face masks for younger pupils as well. Our aim was to compare COVID-
19 incidence among 10â12-year-olds between cities with different recommendations on the use of face masks in
schools. COVID-19 case numbers were obtained from the National Infectious Disease Registry (NIDR) of the Finnish
Institute for Health and Welfare, where clinical microbiology laboratories report all positive SARS-CoV-2 tests with
unique identifiers in a timely manner, including information such as date of birth, gender, and place of residence. The
NIDR is linked to the population data registry, enabling calculation of incidences. We compared the differences in
trends of 14-day incidences between Helsinki and Turku among 10â12-year-olds, and for comparison, also among ages
7â9 and 30â49 by using joinpoint regression. According to our analysis, no additional effect seemed to be gained from
this, based on comparisons between the cities and between the age groups of the unvaccinated children (10â12 years
versus 7â9 years).
T-cell vaccines could top up immunity to COVID, as variants loom large
Nature Biotechnology - Peptide jabs targeting T cells could be especially useful for people with compromised immune systems, as backups for spike-based vaccines, or against Omicron and other...
SARS-CoV-2 Incidence in Kâ12 School Districts with Mask-Required ...
This report compares COVID-19 incidence in Arkansas Kâ12 school districts between those with mask requirements versus those without mask requirements.
Hospitalisations in Children with Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection During December 2020 to January 2022: Retrospective Single-Centre Cohort, London, England
Hospitalisations are often used as proxies for severe disease and to measure the impact of variants and vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike adults,
Interdependencies of cellular and humoral immune responses in heterologous and homologous SARS-CoV-2 vaccination
Initial vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 resulted in lower anti-spike-RBD-IgG compared with BNT162b2 (70 ± 114 vs. 226 ± 279 BAU/ml, p .01) at T1. Booster vaccination with BNT162b2 proved superior to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 at T2 (anti-spike-RBD-IgG: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/BNT162b2 2387 ± 1627 and homologous BNT162b2 3202 ± 2184 vs. homologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 413 ± 461 BAU/ml, both p .001; spike-induced T-cell interferon-γ release: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/BNT162b2 5069 ± 6733 and homologous BNT162b2 4880 ± 7570 vs. homologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 1152 ± 2243 mIU/ml, both p .001). No significant differences were detected between BNT162b2-boostered groups at T2. For ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, no booster effect on T-cell activation could be observed. We found associations between anti-spike-RBD-IgG levels (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/BNT162b2 and homologous BNT162b2) and T-cell responses (homologous ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/BNT162b2) from T1 to T2. Additionally, anti-spike-RBD-IgG and T-cell response were linked at both time points (all groups combined). All regimes yielded neutralizing antibodies and increased antibody avidity at T2.
âLife-savingâ nose spray that kills 99.9% of viruses begins production in Israel
Health Ministry-approved labeling says antiviral is effective within 2 minutes; can save many lives in countries without access to vaccines, says inventor