Covid19-Sources

Nature Metabolism - Wanner et al. demonstrate SARS-CoV-2 liver tropism and identify transcriptional and proteomic profiles of SARS-CoV-2 liver samples that show similarities to previously...

In comparing breakthrough infections from the SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants, the latter, though milder than Delta infections, were associated with lower antibody titers and limited cross-neutralizing immunity, suggesting reduced protection against re-infection or infection from a future variant.

Little is known about the MIS-C risk with different SARS-CoV-2 variants. In Southeast England, MIS-C rates per confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in 0-16 years-olds were 56% lower (rate ratio, 0.34; 95%CI, 0.23-0.50) during pre-vaccine Delta, 66% lower (0.44; 0.28-0.69) during post-vaccine Delta and 95% lower (0.05; 0.02-0.10) during the Omicron period.

Nature Communications - COVID-19 can result in neurological manifestations and animal models could provide insights into the mechanisms. Here, the authors describe neuroinflammation,...

Noch immer sind bestimmte Ansteckungsprozess beim Coronavirus nicht klar. Eine Studie aus Frankreich legt nun nahe, dass die Ansteckung in enger Verbindung mit der Kompatibilität der Blutgruppen steht. Das macht Träger bestimmter Blutgruppen besonders anfällig für eine Infektion.

Viruses belonging to the diverse Anelloviridae family represent a major constituent of the commensal human virome. Aside from their widespread prevalence and persistence in humans and their absence of detectable pathologic associations, little is known about the immunobiology of the human anellome. In this study, we employed the Phage ImmunoPrecipitation Sequencing (PhlP-Seq) assay for comprehensive analyses of antibody binding to 56 amino acid long anellovirus peptides. We designed and constructed a large and diverse “AnelloScan” T7 phage library comprising more than 32,000 non-redundant peptides representing the ORF1, ORF2, ORF3 and TTV-derived apoptosis-inducing protein (TAIP) sequences of more than 800 human anelloviruses (spanning three genera). We used this library to profile the antibody reactivities of serum samples from 156 subjects. The vast majority of anellovirus peptides were not reactive in any of the subjects tested (n=~28,000; ~85% of the library). Antibody reactive peptides were largely restricted to the C-terminal region of the putative capsid protein, ORF1. To characterize antibody responses to newly acquired anellovirus infections, we screened a longitudinal cohort of matched blood-transfusion donors and recipients. Most transmitted anelloviruses did not elicit detectable antibody reactivity in the recipient (29 out of a total of 40 transmitted anelloviruses) and the remainder demonstrated delayed reactivity (~100-150 days after transfusion). This study represents the first large-scale epitope-level serological survey of the antibody response to the human anellome. ![Figure][1] ### Competing Interest Statement TV declares no competing interests. HS, CAA, SMJ, AB, TD, DMN, SD, and NLY are employees of and hold equity interests in Ring Therapeutics. VM is an employee of and holds equity interests in Flagship Pioneering, which also holds an equity interest in Ring Therapeutics. HBL is an inventor on an issued patent (US20160320406A) filed by Brigham and Women's Hospital that covers the use of the VirScan technology, is a founder of ImmuneID, Portal Bioscience and Alchemab, and is an advisor to TScan Therapeutics. [1]: pending:yes

Background Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, people have undermined their mental health. It has been reported that post-COVID conditions at a certain rate. However, information on the mental health of people with post-COVID conditions is limited. Thus, this study investigated the relationship between post-COVID conditions and mental health. Methods Design of the present study was an International and collaborative cross-sectional study in Japan and Sweden from March 18 to June 15, 2021. The analyzed data included 763 adults who participated in online surveys in Japan and Sweden and submitted complete data. In addition to demographic data including terms related to COVID-19, psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress were measured by using the fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), General Anxiety Disorder-7 item (GAD-7), and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Results Of the 135 COVID-19 survivors among the 763 total participants, 37.0% (n = 50/135) had COVID-19-related sequelae. First, the results of the Bonferroni-corrected Mann Whitney U test showed that the group infected SARS-CoV-2 with post-COVID conditions scored significantly higher than those without one and the non-infected group on all clinical symptom scales (P ≤ .05). Next, there was a significant difference that incidence rates of clinical-significant psychiatric symptoms among each group from the results of the Chi-squared test (P ≤ .001). Finally, the results of the multivariate logistic model revealed that the risk of having more severe clinical symptoms were 2.44–3.48 times higher among participants with post-COVID conditions. Conclusion The results showed that approximately half had some physical symptoms after COVID-19 and that post-COVID conditions may lead to the onset of mental disorders. Trial registration The ethics committee of Chiba University approved this cross-sectional study (approval number: 4129). However, as no medical intervention was conducted, a clinical trial registration was not necessary.

METHODS: We randomly assigned 6200 U.K. adults to receive an offer of a postal finger-prick 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) test with provision of a 6-month supply of higher-dose vitamin D (3200 IU/d, n=1550) or lower-dose vitamin D (800 IU/d, n=1550) to those with blood 25(OH)D concentration 75 nmol/L, vs. no offer of testing or supplementation (n=3100). The primary outcome was the proportion of participants experiencing at least one swab test- or doctor-confirmed acute respiratory infection (ARI) of any cause at six months. Secondary outcomes included incidence of swab test-confirmed Covid-19. RESULTS: Of 3100 participants offered testing, 2958 (95.4%) accepted, and 2690 (86.8%) had 25(OH)D 75 nmol/L and were sent vitamin D supplements (1356 higher-dose, 1334 lower-dose). 76 (5.0%) vs. 87 (5.7%) vs. 136 (4.6%) participants in higher-dose vs. lower-dose vs. no-offer groups experienced at least one ARI of any cause (odds ratio [OR] for higher-dose vs. no-offer 1.09, 95% CI 0.82-1.46; lower-dose vs. no-offer 1.26, 0.96-1.66). 45 (3.0%) vs. 55 (3.6%) vs. 78 (2.6%) participants in higher-dose vs. lower-dose vs. no-offer groups developed Covid-19 (OR for higher-dose vs. no-offer 1.13, 0.78-1.63; lower-dose vs. no-offer 1.39, 0.98- 1.97). CONCLUSIONS: Among adults with a high baseline prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency, implementation of a test-and-treat approach to vitamin D replacement did not reduce risk of all-cause ARI or Covid-19.

Original Article from The New England Journal of Medicine — Protection by a Fourth Dose of BNT162b2 against Omicron in Israel

Importance Pediatric SARS-CoV-2 infections and hospitalizations are rising in the US and other countries after the emergence of Omicron variant. However data on disease severity from Omicron compared with Delta in children under 5 in the US is lacking. Objectives To compare severity of clinic outcomes in children under 5 who contracted COVID infection for the first time before and after the emergence of Omicron in the US. Design, Setting, and Participants This is a retrospective cohort study of electronic health record (EHR) data of 79,592 children under 5 who contracted SARS-CoV-2 infection for the first time, including 7,201 infected between 12/26/2021-1/6/2022 when the Omicron predominated (Omicron cohort), 63,203 infected between 9/1/2021-11/15/2021 when the Delta predominated (Delta cohort), and another 9,188 infected between 11/16/2021-11/30/2021 when the Delta predominated but immediately before the Omicron variant was detected in the US (Delta-2 cohort). Exposures First time infection of SARS-CoV-2. Main Outcomes and Measures After propensity-score matching, severity of COVID infections including emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mechanical ventilation use in the 3-day time-window following SARS-CoV-2 infection were compared between Omicron and Delta cohorts, and between Delta-2 and Delta cohorts. Risk ratios, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Results Among 7,201 infected children in the Omicron cohort (average age, 1.49 ± 1.42 years), 47.4% were female, 2.4% Asian, 26.1% Black, 13.7% Hispanic, and 44.0% White. Before propensity score matching, the Omicron cohort were younger than the Delta cohort (average age 1.49 vs 1.73 years), comprised of more Black children, and had fewer comorbidities. After propensity-score matching for demographics, socio-economic determinants of health, comorbidities and medications, risks for severe clinical outcomes in the Omicron cohort were significantly lower than those in the Delta cohort: ED visits: 18.83% vs. 26.67% (risk ratio or RR: 0.71 [0.66-0.75]); hospitalizations: 1.04% vs. 3.14% (RR: 0.33 [0.26-0.43]); ICU admissions: 0.14% vs. 0.43% (RR: 0.32 [0.16-0.66]); mechanical ventilation: 0.33% vs. 1.15% (RR: 0.29 [0.18-0.46]). Control studies comparing Delta-2 to Delta cohorts show no difference. Conclusions and Relevance For children under age 5, first time SARS-CoV-2 infections occurring when the Omicron predominated (prevalence 92%) was associated with significantly less severe outcomes than first-time infections in similar children when the Delta variant predominated. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement National Institute on Aging (grants nos. AG057557, AG061388, AG062272), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (grant no. R01AA029831), National Institute on Drug Abuse (grant no. UG1DA049435), the Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC) of Cleveland (grant no. 1UL1TR002548-01), National Cancer Institute Case Comprehensive Cancer Center (R25CA221718, P30 CA043703, P20 CA2332216). ### 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 details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: TriNetX is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the US federal law which protects the privacy and security of healthcare data. TriNetX is certified to the ISO 27001:2013 standard and maintains an Information Security Management System (ISMS) to ensure the protection of the healthcare data it has access to and to meet the requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule. Any data displayed on the TriNetX Platform in aggregate form, or any patient level data provided in a data set generated by the TriNetX Platform, only contains de-identified data as per the de-identification standard defined in Section 164.514(a) of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. The process by which the data is de-identified is attested to through a formal determination by a qualified expert as defined in Section 164.514(b)(1) of the HIPAA Privacy Rule (reference). This formal determination by a qualified expert, refreshed in December 2020, supersedes the need for TriNetX's previous waiver from the Western Institutional Review Board (IRB). Because we only used de-identified data, we did not seek nor did we obtain Institutional Board Approval for this research. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. We have another TriNetX study published through medRxiv. It can be found at: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.30.21268495v1 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

Helsinki University Hospital District (HUS) says it's likely that many people who have recovered from Covid will be reinfected this spring.

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.