Covid19-Sources

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I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the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 ...

Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of viral entry has been a major concern for epidemiology, vaccine development, and antibody-based drug therapy. However, the molecular mechanism behind ADE is still elusive. Coronavirus spike protein mediates viral ...

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) disease severity and stages varies from asymptomatic, mild flu-like symptoms, moderate, severe, critical, and chronic disease. COVID-19 disease progression include lymphopenia, elevated proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, accumulation of macrophages and neutrophils in lungs, immune dysregulation, cytokine storms, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), etc. Development of vaccines to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and other coronavirus has been difficult to create due to vaccine induced enhanced disease responses in animal models. Multiple betacoronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV-1 expand cellular tropism by infecting some phagocytic cells (immature macrophages and dendritic cells) via antibody bound Fc receptor uptake of virus. Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) may be involved in the clinical observation of increased severity of symptoms associated with early high levels of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in patients. Infants with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19 may also have ADE caused by maternally acquired SARS-CoV-2 antibodies bound to mast cells. ADE risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 has implications for COVID-19 and MIS-C treatments, B-cell vaccines, SARS-CoV-2 antibody therapy, and convalescent plasma therapy for patients. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies bound to mast cells may be involved in MIS-C and multisystem inflammatory ...

Hepatic involvement in COVID-19 is typically characterized as mild hepatitis with preserved synthetic function in children. Severe hepatitis is a rare complication of COVID-19 infection that has not been extensively described in the pediatric population. We report a case series of 4 previously healt …

SARS-CoV-2 infection of the upper airway and the subsequent immune response are early, critical factors in COVID-19 pathogenesis. By studying infection of human biopsies in vitro and in a hamster model in vivo, we demonstrated a transition in tropism from olfactory to respiratory epithelium as the virus evolved. Analyzing each variants revealed that SARS-CoV-2 WA1 or Delta infects a proportion of olfactory neurons in addition to the primary target sustentacular cells. The Delta variant possesses broader cellular invasion capacity into the submucosa, while Omicron displays longer retention in the sinonasal epithelium. The olfactory neuronal infection by WA1 and the subsequent olfactory bulb transport via axon is more pronounced in younger hosts. In addition, the observed viral clearance delay and phagocytic dysfunction in aged olfactory mucosa is accompanied by a decline of phagocytosis related genes. Furthermore, robust basal stem cell activation contributes to neuroepithelial regeneration and restores ACE2 expression post-infection. Together, our study characterized the nasal tropism of SARS-CoV-2 strains, immune clearance, and regeneration post infection. The shifting characteristics of viral infection at the airway portal provides insight into the variability of COVID-19 clinical features and may suggest differing strategies for early local intervention.

Nature Microbiology - A comparison of the repertoire of SARS-CoV-2-specific epitopes targeted by T cells induced by vaccination or natural infection reveals that T cells predominantly target...

Lab interests Pathogen evolution and long-term persistence including that of SARS-CoV-2 Effects of HIV co-infection on SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens Escape of SARS-CoV-2 variants from the antibody neutralization immune response elicited by vaccines and other variants

North Carolina health officials are on the lookout for unusual hepatitis cases in children after two children in the state had severe liver inflammation with no known cause. The World Health Organization this month reported a global outbreak of hepatitis affecting at least 169 children ages 1 month to 16 years old.

Liver impairment is commonly reported in up to 60% of patients who suffer from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Here we report the clinical course and liver pathology in three SARS patients with liver impairment. Three patients who fulfilled the World Health Organization case definition of …

In this analysis, we estimate the number of adult deaths that could have been prevented by timely vaccination. We find that approximately 234,000 deaths since June 2021 could have been prevented with primary series vaccination. These vaccine-preventable deaths represent 60% of all adult COVID-19 deaths since June 2021, and a quarter (24%) of the nearly 1 million COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.

Data on the real-world effectiveness and impact of the COVID-19 vaccines.