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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="covid-19-sentry">Covid-19 Sentry</h1>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
<ul>
<li><a href="#from-preprints">From Preprints</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-pubmed">From PubMed</a></li>
<li><a href="#from-patent-search">From Patent Search</a></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-preprints">From Preprints</h1>
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<li><strong>Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among vaccinated and non-vaccinated adults in the West Bank: Results of a repeated cross-sectional study</strong> -
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Background Seroprevalence studies are known to provide better estimates of the proportion of people previously infected, which did not undertake diagnostic testing. Repeated cross-sectional sero-studies are encouraged in the same locations to monitor trends overtime. The aim of this study was to assess the seroprevalence among a random sample of vaccinated and non-vaccinated Palestinian adults living in the West Bank region of Palestine, irrespective of the source of antibodies, be it due to infection with COVID-19 or due to vaccination or both. Methods This repeated cross- sectional study used serologic testing on a random sample of vaccinated and non-vaccinated adults, 18 years and older residing in 11 governorates of the West Bank region of Palestine. Antibodies/Blood samples were taken using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay by using the Cobas Analyzer cobas e 411 (Roche) for detection of antibody seropositivity against COVID-19. Seroprevalence was estimated as the proportion of individuals who had a positive result in the total SARS- CoV-2 antibodies in the immunoassay. Sociodemographic information and medical history data was collected using a questionnaire. Results Among 1451 total participants enrolled in the study, serum samples were tested from 910 persons. Study findings from this randomly selected sample indicated a seroprevalence 75.9%, 95% CI (73.1-78.7). The seroprevalence results indicated that the prevalence of antibodies among those who reported that they were not infected and did not get vaccinated was 45.2% with 95% CI (39.9-50.5%). The average age of participants was 37.6 years old. 49.2% were female and 50.8% were male. In relation to COVID-19, the following was found: Conclusion Our findings revealed a drastic rise in seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. This information is useful for assessing the degree of herd immunity, and provides for better understanding of the pandemic. Population-based seroprevalence studies should be conducted periodically to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Palestine and inform policymakers about the efficacy of the surveillance system.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.06.22274755v1" target="_blank">Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies among vaccinated and non-vaccinated adults in the West Bank: Results of a repeated cross-sectional study</a>
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<li><strong>Escape of SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron to mucosal immunity in vaccinated subjects.</strong> -
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Omicron s escape to vaccine-induced systemic antibody responses has been shown in several studies in Omicron- infected patients and vaccine controls. In the present study we compared mucosal antibody response to Omicron to mucosal antibody response to ancestral strain and Delta variant. This was done on nasal epithelial lining fluid (NELF) prospectively collected in 84 otherwise healthy healthcare workers who had never exhibited PCR-documented COVID-19 and had received three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. NELF was collected prior to Omicron detection in the geographical area of inclusion. We show that NELF antibodies from vaccinated individuals were less efficient at inhibiting the binding of the Omicron Spike protein to ACE-2 compared to those of Delta or the ancestral strain. These findings may explain the increased risk of onward transmission of Omicron, consistent with its successful global displacement of Delta in countries with a high vaccination coverage.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.03.22274517v1" target="_blank">Escape of SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron to mucosal immunity in vaccinated subjects.</a>
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<li><strong>Reporting Rates for VAERS Death Reports Following COVID-19 Vaccination, December 14, 2020-November 17, 2021</strong> -
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Background: Despite widely available safety information for the COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine hesitancy remains a challenge. In some cases, vaccine hesitancy may be related to concerns about the number of reports of death to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Objective: To provide information and context about reports of death to VAERS following COVID-19 vaccination. Design: Descriptive study; reporting rates for VAERS death reports. Setting: United States; December 14, 2020, to November 17, 2021. Participants: COVID-19 vaccine recipients. Measurements: Reporting rates for death events per million persons vaccinated; adverse event counts; data mining signals of disproportionate reporting. Results: 9,201 death events were reported for COVID-19 vaccine recipients aged five years and older (or age unknown). Reporting rates for death events increased with increasing age, and males generally had higher reporting rates than females. For death events within seven days and 42 days of vaccination, respectively, observed reporting rates were lower than the expected all-cause death rates. Reporting rates for Ad26.COV2.S vaccine were generally higher than for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, but still lower than the expected all-cause death rates. Reported adverse events were non-specific or reflected the known leading causes of death. Limitations: VAERS data are subject to several limitations such as reporting bias (underreporting and stimulated reporting), missing or inaccurate information, and lack of a control group. Reported diagnoses, including deaths, are not causally verified diagnoses. Conclusion: Reporting rates for death events were lower than the expected all-cause mortality rates. Trends in reporting rates reflected known trends in background mortality rates. These findings do not suggest an association between vaccination and overall increased mortality. Funding Source: No external sources of funding were used.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.05.22274695v1" target="_blank">Reporting Rates for VAERS Death Reports Following COVID-19 Vaccination, December 14, 2020-November 17, 2021</a>
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<li><strong>Assessing the feasibility of sustaining a Zero-COVID policy in China in the era of highly transmissible variants</strong> -
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We developed a spatially structured, fully stochastic, individual-based SARS-CoV-2 transmission model to evaluate the feasibility of sustaining a 9Zero-COVID9 policy in mainland China in light of currently dominant Omicron variants, China9s current immunization level, and non-pharmaceutical intervention (NPI) strategies. We found that due to high transmissibility, neither Omicron BA.1 or BA.2 sublineages could be contained by China9s Pre-Omicron non- pharmaceutical intervention strategies which were successful at sustaining the 9Zero-COVID9 policy until March 2022. However, increased intervention intensity, such as enhanced population mobility restrictions and multi-round mass testing, could lead to containment success without the necessity of population-wide lockdown. As China9s current vaccination has yet to reach high coverage in older populations, non-pharmaceutical interventions remain essential tools to maintain low levels of infection while building protective population immunity, ensuring a smooth transition out of the pandemic phase, and minimizing the overall disease burden and societal costs.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.07.22274792v1" target="_blank">Assessing the feasibility of sustaining a Zero-COVID policy in China in the era of highly transmissible variants</a>
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<li><strong>“Does a respiratory virus have an ecological niche, and if so, can it be mapped?” Yes and yes.</strong> -
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Although the utility of Ecological Niche models (ENM) and Species Distribution models (SDM) has been demonstrated in many ecological applications, their suitability for modelling epidemics or pandemics, such as SARS- Cov-2, has been questioned. In this paper, contrary to this viewpoint, we show that ENMs and SDMs can be created that can describe the evolution of pandemics, both in space and time. As an illustrative use case, we create models for predicting confirmed cases of COVID-19, viewed as our target ``species“, in Mexico through 2020 and 2021, showing that the models are predictive in both space and time. In order to achieve this, we extend a recently developed Bayesian framework for niche modelling, to include: i) dynamic, non-equilibrium ``species” distributions; ii) a wider set of habitat variables, including behavioural, socio-economic and socio-demographic variables, as well as standard climatic variables; iii) distinct models and associated niches for different species characteristics, showing how the niche, as deduced through presence-absence data, can differ from that deduced from abundance data. We show that the niche associated with those places with the highest abundance of cases has been highly conserved throughout the pandemic, while the inferred niche associated with presence of cases has been changing. Finally, we show how causal chains can be inferred and confounding identified by showing that behavioural and social factors are much more predictive than climate and that, further, the latter is confounded by the former.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.04.22274675v1" target="_blank">“Does a respiratory virus have an ecological niche, and if so, can it be mapped?” Yes and yes.</a>
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<li><strong>Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness against general SARS-CoV-2 infection from the omicron variant: A retrospective cohort study</strong> -
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Objective: To estimate the effectiveness of 2-dose and 3-dose mRNA vaccination (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) against any SARS-CoV-2 infection (asymptomatic or symptomatic) caused by the omicron variant. Design: Propensity-score matched retrospective Cohort Study. Setting: Large public university undergoing weekly Covid-19 testing in South Carolina, USA. Participants: Population consists of 24,145 university students and employees undergoing weekly Covid-19 testing between January 3rd and January 31st, 2022. The analytic sample was constructed via propensity score matching on vaccination status: Unvaccinated, completion of 2-dose mRNA series within previous 5 months, and receipt of mRNA booster dose within previous 5 months. The resulting analytic sample consists of 1,944 university students and 658 university employees. Intervention: Vaccination with a two dose or 3 dose regimen of the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccine. Results: Booster protection against any SARS-CoV-2 infection was 66.4% among employees (95% CI: 46.1-79.0%; P&lt;.001) and 45.4% among students (95% CI: 30.0-57.4%; P&lt;.001). Compared to the 2-dose mRNA series, estimated increase in protection from the booster dose was 40.8% among employees (P=.024) and 37.7% among students (P=.001). We did not have enough evidence to conclude a statistically significant protective effect of the 2-dose mRNA vaccination series, nor did we have enough evidence to conclude that protection waned in the 5-month period after receipt of the 2nd or 3rd mRNA dose. Furthermore, we did not find evidence that protection varied by manufacturer. Conclusions: Covid-19 mRNA booster doses offer moderate protection against any SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by the omicron variant and provide a substantial increase in protection relative to the 2-dose mRNA vaccination series.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.06.22274771v1" target="_blank">Covid-19 vaccine effectiveness against general SARS-CoV-2 infection from the omicron variant: A retrospective cohort study</a>
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<li><strong>Managing COVID-19 in an Australian designated isolation facility: Implications for current and future healthcare crises</strong> -
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The lived experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) and their perceptions of the pandemic can prove to be a valuable resource in the face of a seemingly persistent Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to inform ongoing efforts, as well as identify components essential to a crisis preparedness plan and the issues pertinent to supporting relevant change. We employed a phenomenological approach and using purposive sampling conducted 39 semi-structured interviews with senior healthcare professionals who were employed at a designated COVID-19 facility in New South Wales (NSW), Australia during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Participants comprised administrators, heads of department and clinicians. We obtained from these HCWs (i) perspectives of their lived experience on what was done well and what could have been done differently and (ii) recommendations on actions for current and future crisis response. Four themes encapsulated insights of respondents that should inform our capacity to meet current needs, direct meaningful and in situ change, and prepare us for future crises. Observations and recommendations of respondents are informative for decision-makers tasked with mobilising an efficacious approach to the next health crisis and, in the interim, would aid the governance of a more robust workforce to effect high quality patient care in a safe environment.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.05.22274702v1" target="_blank">Managing COVID-19 in an Australian designated isolation facility: Implications for current and future healthcare crises</a>
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<li><strong>Impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions on pneumococcal carriage prevalence and density in Vietnam</strong> -
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Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented to contain SARS-CoV-2 have decreased invasive pneumococcal disease. We undertook an observational study to evaluate the impact of NPIs on pneumococcal carriage and density, drivers of transmission and disease, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. While NPIs did not significantly impact pneumococcal carriage, mean capsular pneumococcal density decreased by up to 91.5% (1.07 log<sub>10</sub>genome equivalents/mL, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.74-1.41) after NPI introduction compared with the pre- COVID-19 period. As higher pneumococcal density is a risk factor for disease, the observed decline provides a plausible mechanism for the reductions in invasive pneumococcal disease.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.05.22274646v1" target="_blank">Impact of COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions on pneumococcal carriage prevalence and density in Vietnam</a>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Screening for safe opening of universities under Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19: When less is more</strong> -
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As new COVID-19 variants emerge, and disease and population characteristics change, screening strategies may also need to change. We develop screening guidelines for the safe opening of college campuses, considering COVID-19 infections/hospitalizations/deaths; peak daily hospitalizations; and the tests required. Our compartmental model simulates disease spread on a college campus under co-circulating variants with different disease dynamics, considering:</p></div></li>
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<li>the heterogeneity in disease transmission and outcomes for faculty/staff and students based on vaccination status and level of natural immunity; and (ii) variant- and dose-dependent vaccine efficacy. Using the Spring 2022 academic semester as a case study, we study various routine screening strategies, and find that screening the faculty/staff less frequently than the students, and/or the boosted and vaccinated less frequently than the unvaccinated, may avert a higher number of infections per test, compared to universal screening of the entire population at a common frequency. We also discuss key policy issues, including the need to revisit the mitigation objective over time, effective strategies that are informed by booster coverage, and if and when screening alone can compensate for low booster coverage.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.04.22274667v1" target="_blank">Screening for safe opening of universities under Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19: When less is more</a>
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<li><strong>Longitudinal analysis reveals elevation then sustained higher expression of autoantibodies for six months after SARS-CoV-2 infection</strong> -
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High autoantibody levels are found in individuals hospitalized for COVID-19. The temporal trajectories and levels of these autoantibodies months into convalescence after SARS-CoV-2 infection are unclear. It is also unknown if the composite autoantibody signatures of convalescent SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals resemble those with diagnosed autoimmune diseases. We measured the circulating levels of 17 autoantibodies associated with autoimmune connective tissue diseases from SARS-CoV-2 hospitalized and outpatient subjects, as well as from individuals with scleroderma (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and uninfected pre-pandemic controls. Seven of the 17 autoantibodies measured were higher in hospitalized and/or outpatient SARS-CoV-2 individuals an average of six months after symptom onset compared with controls, with multivariate analyses revealing links between SARS-CoV-2 infection and positivity of SSB- La, Sm, Proteinase 3, Myleoperoxidase, Jo-1, and Ku reactive IgG six months post-symptom onset. Autoantibody levels from SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals were followed over time from initial symptom onset for an average of six months, and different temporal autoantibody trajectories were classified. A 9negative, then positive9 expression pattern was found for at least one autoantibody in 18% of the outpatient and 53% of the hospitalized subjects, indicating initiation and durable expression of self-reactive immune responses post-infection, particularly with severe acute illness. Analysis of individual subject autoantibody expression patterns revealed similar patterns between pre-pandemic and convalescent SARS-CoV-2 infected groups that are distinct from both the SSc and SLE subjects. As autoantibody positivity can occur years prior to autoimmune disease onset, the possibility that SARS-CoV-2-associated autoantibodies are a herald of future autoimmune disorders requires further investigation.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.04.22274681v1" target="_blank">Longitudinal analysis reveals elevation then sustained higher expression of autoantibodies for six months after SARS-CoV-2 infection</a>
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<li><strong>COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness during a prison outbreak when the Omicron was the dominant circulating variant, Zambia, December 2021</strong> -
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Abstract: During a COVID-19 outbreak in a prison in Zambia from 14th to 19th December 2021, a case-control study was done to measure vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and symptomatic infection, when the Omicron variant was the dominant circulating variant. Among 382 participants, 74.1% were fully vaccinated and the median time since full vaccination was 54 days. There were no hospitalizations or deaths. COVID-19 VE against any SARS-CoV-2 infection was 62.8% and VE against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was 74.1%. COVID-19 vaccination helped protect incarcerated persons against SARS-CoV-2 infection during an outbreak while Omicron was the dominant variant in Zambia.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.06.22274701v1" target="_blank">COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness during a prison outbreak when the Omicron was the dominant circulating variant, Zambia, December 2021</a>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A quasi-experimental cohort study evaluating a conditional economic incentive on first-dose COVID-19 vaccination rates among older adults in South Africa</strong> -
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Importance: COVID-19 vaccination coverage in South Africa remains low despite increased access to vaccines. On November 1, 2021, South Africa introduced the Vooma Voucher program, which provided a small guaranteed financial incentive, a Vooma Voucher redeemable at grocery stores, for COVID-19 vaccination among older adults, a population most vulnerable to serious illness, hospitalization, and death. However, the association of financial incentives with vaccination coverage remains unclear. Objective: To evaluate the association of the conditional economic incentive program with first-dose vaccination rates among older adults (aged ≥60 years) in South Africa. Design: A quasi- experimental cohort study using daily data on first doses administered. We ran interrupted time series (ITS) models to evaluate the Vooma Voucher program, launched on November 1, 2021, at national and provincial levels. We used data between October 1, 2021 and November 27, 2021 in models estimated at the daily level. Setting and participants: The Vooma Voucher program was a nationwide vaccination incentive program implemented for adults aged ≥60 years from November 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022. Intervention: Individuals who received their first vaccine dose received a text message to access a ~$7 (ZAR100) voucher that was redeemable at nationwide chain of grocery stores. Main outcome: Daily first COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per 10,000 individuals aged ≥60 years. Results: The Vooma Voucher program was associated with a of 7.15-12.01% increase in daily first-dose vaccination in November 2021 compared to late October</p></div></li>
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<ol start="2021" type="1">
<li>The incentive accounted for 6,476-10,874 additional first vaccine doses from November 1-27, 2021, or 8.31-13.95% of all doses administered to those aged ≥60 years during that period. This result is robust to the inclusion of controls for the number of active vaccine delivery sites and for the nationwide Vooma weekend initiative (November 12-14), both of which also increased vaccinations through expanded access to vaccines and demand creation activities. Conclusions/Relevance: Financial incentives for COVID-19 vaccination led to a modest increase in first dose vaccinations among older adults in South Africa. In addition to financial incentives, expanded access to vaccines may also results in higher vaccination coverage.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.06.22274712v1" target="_blank">A quasi-experimental cohort study evaluating a conditional economic incentive on first-dose COVID-19 vaccination rates among older adults in South Africa</a>
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<li><strong>Deep learning identified genetic variants associated with COVID-19 related mortality</strong> -
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Analysis of host genetic components provides insights into the susceptibility and response to viral infection such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To reveal genetic determinants of susceptibility to COVID-19 related mortality, we train a deep learning model to identify groups of genetic variants and their interactions that contribute to the COVID-19 related mortality risk using the UK Biobank data. We refer to such groups of variants as super variants. We identify 15 super variants with various levels of significance as susceptibility loci for COVID-19 mortality. Specifically, we identify a super variant (OR=1.594, p=5.47E-9) on Chromosome 7 that consists of the minor allele of rs76398985, rs6943608, rs2052130, 7:150989011_CT_C, rs118033050 and rs12540488. We also discover a super variant (OR=1.353, p=2.87E-8) on Chromosome 5 that contains rs12517344, rs72733036, rs190052994, rs34723029, rs72734818, 5:9305797_GTA_G and rs180899355.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.05.22274731v1" target="_blank">Deep learning identified genetic variants associated with COVID-19 related mortality</a>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Fertility recovery despite the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland?</strong> -
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Finlands increase in births, recorded in the months following the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, was among the strongest. We assess whether the fertility increase in Finland occurred because of or despite the pandemic, or both, by investigating the countrys fertility trends by womens region of residence, age group, and parity. While the country as a whole was modestly hit by the pandemic in 2020, the capital region Helsinki-Uusimaa faced more severe restrictions. We used aggregate register data until September 2021 to assess monthly fertility. In 2020 and 2021, the relative annual increases in fertility were strongest among women aged 3034 and 3549. In 2021, but not in 2020, fertility increased most in Helsinki-Uusimaa, and across all parities. Model-based estimates provided tentative support for an overall pandemic fertility boost for the time period until September 2019. We conclude that the unusual fertility increases in 2021 in Finland broadly follow from pre-existing trends where the country recovers from its all-time low fertility, but do not exclude the possibility of an additional boost from the pandemic itself. The study highlights the importance of carefully considering existing fertility trends when studying fertility responses to the pandemic.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/fxwe3/" target="_blank">Fertility recovery despite the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland?</a>
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<li><strong>Decreased cerebral blood flow in non-hospitalized adults who self-isolated due to COVID-19</strong> -
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The long-term consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on brain physiology and function are not yet well understood. From the recently described NeuroCOVID-19 study, we examined cerebral blood flow (CBF) in 50 participants recruited to one of two groups: 1) adults who previously self-isolated at home due to COVID-19 (n = 39; 116.5 ± 62.2 days since positive diagnosis), or 2) adults who experienced flu-like symptoms but had a negative COVID-19 diagnosis (n = 11). Participants underwent arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla to yield measures of CBF. Voxel-wise analyses of CBF were performed to assess for between-group differences, after controlling for age and sex. Relative to controls, the COVID-19 group exhibited decreased CBF in the thalamus, orbitofrontal cortex, and regions of the basal ganglia. Within the COVID-19 group, CBF differences in occipital and parietal regions were observed between those with (n = 11) and without (n = 28) self-reported on-going fatigue. These results suggest long-term changes in brain physiology in adults across the post-COVID-19 timeframe. Moreover, CBF may aid in understanding the heterogeneous symptoms of the post-COVID-19 condition. Future longitudinal studies are needed to further characterize the consequences of COVID-19 on the brain.
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🖺 Full Text HTML: <a href="https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.04.22274208v1" target="_blank">Decreased cerebral blood flow in non-hospitalized adults who self-isolated due to COVID-19</a>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-clinical-trials">From Clinical Trials</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Immunogenicity and Safety of Fractional Booster Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines Available for Use in Pakistan/Brazil: A Phase 4 Dose-optimizing Trial</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: Sinovac;   Biological: AZD1222;   Biological: BNT162b2<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute;   Aga Khan University;   Oswaldo Cruz Foundation;   Stanford University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study to Evaluate the Immunogenicity and Safety of a Recombinant Protein COVID-19 Vaccine as a Booster Dose in Population Aged 12-17 Years</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: SCTV01E;   Biological: mRNA-1273<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Sinocelltech Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A First-In-Human Phase 1b Study of AmnioPul-02 in COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: AmnioPul-02<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Amniotics AB<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (SYS6006) in Chinese Healthy Older Adults.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: 20 μg dose of SYS6006;   Biological: 30 μg dose of SYS6006;   Biological: 50 μg dose of SYS6006;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
CSPC ZhongQi Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Safety, Reactogenicity, and Immunogenicity Study of a Lyophilized COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   Covid19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: A Lyophilized COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine;   Biological: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Jiangsu Rec-Biotechnology Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>A Study of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine (SYS6006) in Chinese Healthy Adults Aged 18 -59 Years.</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Biological: 20 μg dose of SYS6006;   Biological: 30 μg dose of SYS6006;   Biological: 50 μg dose of SYS6006;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
CSPC ZhongQi Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd.<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Use of Chinese Herbal Medicine and Vitamin C by Hospital Care Workers in HK to Prevent COVID-19</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: Chinese herbal medicine<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Hong Kong Baptist University<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Home-based Exercise Program in Patients With the Post-COVID-19 Condition</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Long COVID;   Post-acute COVID-19 Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Other: Home- based physical training<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University of Sao Paulo<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Phase 2b/3 Trial of NuSepin® in COVID-19 Pneumonia Patients</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Pneumonia<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: NuSepin® 0.2 mg/kg;   Drug: NuSepin® 0.4 mg/kg;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Shaperon<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cell Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Early Goal Directed Therapy for COVID-19 Moderate-to-Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS): A Phase III Clinical Trial</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Drug: EXOFLO<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Direct Biologics, LLC<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>High Frequency Percussive Ventilation in COVID-19 Patients</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   COVID-19;   Acute Respiratory Failure<br/><b>Intervention</b>:  <br/>
Device: High frequency Percussive ventilation<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   University Magna Graecia<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>VLA2001 Booster in Adult Participants After Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Priming With an mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Biological: VLA2001<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Valneva Austria GmbH<br/><b>Recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Knowledge Mobilization Activities to Support Decision-Making by Youth, Parents and Adults: Study Protocol</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Other: Plain Language Recommendation (PLR);   Other: Standard Language Version (SLV)<br/><b>Sponsors</b>:   McMaster University;   Western University;   The Hospital for Sick Children;   University of Alberta<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Use of Continuous Glucose Monitors in Coronavirus Disease 2019 ICU and Potential Inpatient Settings</strong> - <b>Conditions</b>:   Covid19;   Diabetes Mellitus<br/><b>Intervention</b>:   Device: continuous glucose monitoring<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:   Tanureet K Arora<br/><b>Completed</b></p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Study to Assess the Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of STI-1558 in Healthy Volunteers</strong> - <b>Condition</b>:   COVID-19<br/><b>Interventions</b>:   Drug: STI-1558;   Drug: Placebo<br/><b>Sponsor</b>:  <br/>
Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc.<br/><b>Not yet recruiting</b></p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-pubmed">From PubMed</h1>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Loneliness is not a homogeneous experience: An empirical analysis of adaptive and maladaptive forms of loneliness in the UK</strong> - Understanding loneliness is pivotal to informing relevant evidence-based preventive interventions. The present study examined the prevalence of loneliness in the UK, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the association between loneliness, mental health outcomes, and risk and protective factors for loneliness, after controlling for the effects of social isolation. It was estimated that 18.1% of the population in our study experienced moderately high to very high loneliness. We also found that…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Biological activity of interferons in the novel coronavirus infection COVID-19</strong> - CONCLUSION: The obtained data on deficiency of the functional biologically active IFN confirm the hypothesis about the predominant role of impaired IFN production of different types in the immunopathogenesis of the novel coronavirus infection.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Bromhexine is a potential drug for COVID-19; From hypothesis to clinical trials</strong> - COVID-19 (novel coronavirus disease 2019), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has various clinical manifestations and several pathogenic pathways. Although several therapeutic options have been used to control COVID-19, none of these medications have been proven to be a definitive cure. Transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) is a protease that has a key role in the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into host cells. Following the binding of the viral spike (S) protein to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The problem of the use of interferons in the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 (Coronaviridae: Coronavirinae: Betacoronavirus: Sarbecovirus)</strong> - By the end of 2021, about 200 studies on the effect of interferons (IFNs) on the incidence and course of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 (Coronaviridae: Coronavirinae: Betacoronavirus: Sarbecovirus) have been reported worldwide, with the number of such studies steadily increasing. This review discusses the main issues of the use of IFN drugs in this disease. The literature search was carried out in the PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, RSCI databases, as well as in the…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Challenges for rapamycin repurposing as a potential therapeutic candidate for COVID-19: implications for skeletal muscle metabolic health in older persons</strong> - The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged as the causative agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has spread worldwide, resulting in over 6 million deaths as of March</li>
</ul>
<ol start="2022" type="1">
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">Older people have been disproportionately affected by the disease, as they have greater risk of hospitalization, are more vulnerable to severe infection, and have higher mortality than younger patients. Although effective vaccines have been rapidly developed…</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Immunogenicity and reactogenicity after booster dose with AZD1222 via intradermal route among adult who had received CoronaVac</strong> - CONCLUSION: Low-dose ID AZD1222 booster enhanced lower neutralizing antibodies at 3 months compared with IM route. Less systemic reactogenicity occurred, but higher local reactogenicity.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Treatment of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT)</strong> - Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a novel prothrombotic disorder characterized by thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and disseminated intravascular coagulation identified in hundreds of recipients of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford/AstraZeneca), an adenovirus vector coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine. VITT resembles heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) in that patients have platelet-activating anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies; however, whereas heparin typically enhances…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Type I interferon regulates proteolysis by macrophages to prevent immunopathology following viral infection</strong> - The ability to treat severe viral infections is limited by our understanding of the mechanisms behind virus-induced immunopathology. While the role of type I interferons (IFNs) in early control of viral replication is clear, less is known about how IFNs can regulate the development of immunopathology and affect disease outcomes. Here, we report that absence of type I IFN receptor (IFNAR) is associated with extensive immunopathology following mucosal viral infection. This pathology occurred…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Early and Rapid Identification of COVID-19 Patients with Neutralizing Type I Interferon Auto-antibodies</strong> - CONCLUSION: IFN-AABs may serve as early biomarker for the development of severe COVID-19. We propose to implement routine screening of hospitalized COVID-19 patients for rapid identification of patients with IFN-AABs who most likely benefit from specific therapies.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>25 (S)-Hydroxycholesterol acts as a possible dual enzymatic inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 M<sup>pro</sup> and RdRp-: an insight from molecular docking and dynamics simulation approaches</strong> - The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has rapidly extended globally and killed approximately 5.83 million people all over the world. But, to date, no effective therapeutic against the disease has been developed. The disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and enters the host cell through the spike glycoprotein (S protein) of the virus. Subsequently, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and main protease (M^(pro)) of the virus mediate viral…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Dual targeting of RdRps of SARS-CoV-2 and the mucormycosis-causing fungus: an <em>in silico</em> perspective</strong> - During the past few months, mucormycosis has been associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections. Molecular docking combined with molecular dynamics simulation is utilized to test nucleotide-based inhibitors against the RdRps of SARS-CoV-2 solved structure and Rhizopus oryzae RdRp model built in silico. The results reveal a comparable binding affinity of sofosbuvir, galidesivir, ribavirin and remdesivir compared with the physiological nucleotide triphosphates against R. oryzae RdRp as well as the…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Potential Inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 from <em>Neocarya macrophylla</em> (Sabine) Prance ex F. White: Chemoinformatic and Molecular Modeling Studies for Three Key Targets</strong> - CONCLUSION: The findings of this study have shown that N. macrophylla contains potential leads for SARS-CoV-2 inhibition and thus, should be studied further for development as therapeutic agents against COVID-19.</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>IL-25 blockade augments antiviral immunity during respiratory virus infection</strong> - IL-25 is implicated in the pathogenesis of viral asthma exacerbations. However, the effect of IL-25 on antiviral immunity has yet to be elucidated. We observed abundant expression and colocalization of IL-25 and IL-25 receptor at the apical surface of uninfected airway epithelial cells and rhinovirus infection increased IL-25 expression. Analysis of immune transcriptome of rhinovirus-infected differentiated asthmatic bronchial epithelial cells (BECs) treated with an anti-IL-25 monoclonal…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Megakaryocytes in pulmonary diseases</strong> - Megakaryocytes (MKs) are typical cellular components in the circulating blood flowing from the heart into the lungs. Physiologically, MKs function as an important regulator of platelet production and immunoregulation. However, dysfunction in MKs is considered a trigger in various diseases. It has been described that the lung is an important site of platelet biogenesis from extramedullary MKs, which may play an essential role in various pulmonary diseases. With detailed studies, there are…</p></li>
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Curcumin inhibits spike protein of new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC) Omicron, an in silico study</strong> - CONCLUSION: To conclude, Curcumin can be considered as a potential therapeutic agent against the highly infectious Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2.</p></li>
</ul>
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-patent-search">From Patent Search</h1>
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