Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

• From Preprints
• From Clinical Trials
• From PubMed
• From Patent Search

From Preprints

• The COVID-19 Pandemic Inflicts Lasting Changes in Societal Values in Japan -
  The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on societies, with possible consequences for their fundamental values. Modernization theory links societal values to the underlying subjective sense of existential security in a given society (‘scarcity hypothesis’), while also claiming that values remain stable once individuals reach adulthood (‘socialization hypothesis’). An acute existential crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic offers a rare opportunity to test these assumptions. In three sets of analyses, we reveal that the pandemic and the experienced psychological distress are negatively associated with emancipative and secular values, entailing a reversal to traditionalism, intolerance, and religiosity. First, we document a substantial decline in both emancipative and secular values in the first months of the pandemic compared to five months earlier, and this decline remained stable a year later. Second, we show that the value change was stronger in prefectures more severely affected by the pandemic. Third, individuals who experienced stronger psychological distress emphasized the same values more strongly, as evident in two surveys from May 2020 and April 2021. In support of the scarcity hypothesis, our study provides evidence that, under extraordinary environmental conditions, values can change even within a negligibly short time period.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The COVID-19 Pandemic Inflicts Lasting Changes in Societal Values in Japan
• Targeted genomic sequencing with probe capture for discovery and surveillance of coronaviruses in bats -
  Public health emergencies like SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 have prioritized surveillance of zoonotic coronaviruses, resulting in extensive genomic characterization of coronavirus diversity in bats. Sequencing viral genomes directly from animal specimens remains a laboratory challenge, however, and most bat coronaviruses have been characterized solely by PCR amplification of small regions from the best-conserved gene. This has resulted in limited phylogenetic resolution and left viral genetic factors relevant to threat assessment undescribed. In this study, we evaluated whether a technique called hybridization probe capture can achieve more extensive genome recovery from surveillance specimens. Using a custom panel of 20,000 probes, we captured and sequenced coronavirus genomic material in 21 swab specimens collected from bats in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For 15 of these specimens, probe capture recovered more genome sequence than had been previously generated with standard amplicon sequencing protocols, providing a median 6.1-fold improvement (ranging up to 69.1-fold). Probe capture data also identified five novel alpha- and betacoronaviruses in these specimens, and their full genomes were recovered with additional deep sequencing. Based on these experiences, we discuss how probe capture could be effectively operationalized alongside other sequencing technologies for high-throughput, genomics-based discovery and surveillance of bat coronaviruses.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Targeted genomic sequencing with probe capture for discovery and surveillance of coronaviruses in bats
• Anti-SARS-Cov-2 S-RBD IgG formed after BNT162b2 vaccination can bind C1q and activate complement -
  Introduction: Activation of the classical complement pathway through C1q binding to immunoglobulins (Ig) contributes to pathogen neutralization, thus, the ability of Ig produced after vaccination to bind C1q could affect vaccine efficacy. In this study, we investigated C1q binding and subsequent complement activation by anti-spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) specific antibodies produced following vaccination with either the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 or the inactivated vaccine BBIBP-CorV. Methods: Serum samples were collected in the period July 2021-March

2022. Participants demographic data, type of vaccine, date of vaccination, as well as adverse effects of the vaccine were recorded. The serum samples were incubated with S protein RBD-coated plates. Levels of human IgG, IgM, and C1q, that were bound to the plate, as well as formed C5b-9, were compared between different groups of participants. Results: A total of 151 samples were collected from vaccinated (n=116) and non-vaccinated (n=35) participants. Participants who received either one or two doses of BNT162b2 formed higher levels of anti-RBD IgG than participants who received BBIBP-CorV. The anti-RBD IgG formed following either vaccine bound C1q, but significantly more C1q binding was observed in participants who received BNT162b2. Subsequently, C5b-9 formation was significantly higher in participants who received BNT162b2, while no significant difference in C5b-9 formation was found between the non-vaccinated and BBIBP-CorV groups. Formation of C5b-9 was strongly correlated to C1q binding, additionally, the ratio of formed C5b-9/ bound C1q was significantly higher in the BNT162b2 group. Conclusion: Anti-RBD IgG formed following vaccination can bind C1q with subsequent complement activation, the degree of terminal complement pathway activation differed between vaccines, which could play a role in in the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines. Further investigation into the correlation between vaccine protection and the ability of vaccine generated antibodies to activate complement is required.
      🖺 Full Text HTML: Anti-SARS-Cov-2 S-RBD IgG formed after BNT162b2 vaccination can bind C1q and activate complement

• A cocktail containing two synergetic antibodies broadly neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and its variants including Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 -
  Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) can prevent and treat infections caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, continuously emerging variants, such as Omicron, have significantly reduced the potency of most known NAbs. The selection of NAbs with broad neutralizing activities and the identification of conserved critical epitopes are still urgently needed. Here, we identified an extremely potent antibody (55A8) by single B-cell sorting from convalescent SARS-CoV-2-infected patients that recognized the receptor-binding domain (RBD) in the SARS- CoV-2 spike (S) protein. 55A8 could bind to wild-type SARS-CoV-2, Omicron BA.1 and Omicron BA.2 simultaneously with 58G6, a NAb previously identified by our group. Importantly, an antibody cocktail containing 55A8 and 58G6 (2-cocktail) showed synergetic neutralizing activity with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) in the picomolar range in vitro and prophylactic efficacy in hamsters challenged with Omicron (BA.1) through intranasal delivery at an extraordinarily low dosage (25 g of each antibody daily) at 3 days post-infection. Structural analysis by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) revealed that 55A8 is a Class III NAb that recognizes a highly conserved epitope. It could block angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) binding to the RBD in the S protein trimer via steric hindrance. The epitopes in the RBD recognized by 55A8 and 58G6 were found to be different and complementary, which could explain the synergetic mechanism of these two NAbs. Our findings not only provide a potential antibody cocktail for clinical use against infection with current SARS-CoV-2 strains and future variants but also identify critical epitope information for the development of better antiviral agents.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: A cocktail containing two synergetic antibodies broadly neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 and its variants including Omicron BA.1 and BA.2
• Geographies of grocery shopping in major Canadian cities: evidence from large-scale mobile app data -
  Socioeconomic and place-based factors contribute to grocery shopping patterns which may be important for diet and health. Big data provide the opportunity to explore behaviours at the population level. We used data collected from Flipp, a free all-in-one savings and deals content app, to identify visitation to grocery stores and estimate home-to- store distances, monthly frequencies, and number of unique stores visited in eight Canadian cities during 2020. Grocery shopping outcomes and associations with income, population density, and percentage of car commuters were explored using data aggregated at the Aggregate Dissemination Area (ADA) level in which app users lived. Changes in patterns of grocery shopping following restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were also investigated. The median of average home-to-store distances ranged from 4-5 km across all cities throughout 2020. Shorter distances for grocery shopping were shown consistently for shoppers living in lower income, densely populated, and low-car commuting ADAs. A maximum of three unique supermarkets were visited on average each month. Decreases in the frequency and variability of grocery store visits were shown across all cities in April 2020 following the implementation of restrictions in response to COVID-19, and pre-pandemic levels of shopping were rarely achieved by the end of the year. Ultimately, these results provide much needed information regarding the characteristics of grocery shopping trips in a high-income country, as well as how food shopping was impacted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This information will be useful for a range of future studies seeking to characterise access to food retail.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Geographies of grocery shopping in major Canadian cities: evidence from large-scale mobile app data
• Spotlighted but with gender bias: Underrepresentation and paradoxical representation of frontline women health workers in Chinese social media during COVID-19 -
  Despite that women constitute the major force in the frontline health sector during COVID-19, representation and biased representation of women health workers still prevail. This study applied Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling on Weibo posts (N = 199,110) containing the keyword, “援鄂医疗队” (i.e., “aiding-Hubei medical team” where Hubei is the province that Wuhan is in). Posts were published during the first stage of COVID-19 (January 22, 2020 to June 30, 2020). Results revealed that frontline health workers were spotlighted on Weibo as serving the “nation,” saving the “patients,” and fulfilling family roles, indicating a home-country-isomorphism ideology. According to the 13 topics found in this online corpus, posts discussing health workers in a genderless collective lens tended to emphasize their professional roles; but when the woman identity of health workers became evident, posts tended to emphasize their family roles. Moreover, we observed the militarization of language that reinforced patriarchal masculinity. Corporates’ and male celebrities’ wave-riding and hashtag-jumping/hijacking – with posts celebrating their charitable activities toward COVID-19 medical teams – further deprived women health workers of their voices and visibility. Social bots, notably, participated in this message propagation process. Implications of findings are discussed.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Spotlighted but with gender bias: Underrepresentation and paradoxical representation of frontline women health workers in Chinese social media during COVID-19
• Community review: a robust and scalable selection system for resource allocation within open science and innovation communities -
  Resource allocation is essential to the selection and implementation of innovative projects in science and technology. With large stakes involved in concentrating large fundings over a few promising projects, current winner- take-all models for grant applications are time-intensive endeavours that mobilise significant researcher time in writing extensive project proposals, and rely on the availability of a few time-saturated volunteer experts. Such processes usually carry over several months, resulting in high effective costs compared to expected benefits. Faced with the need for a rapid response to the Covid19 pandemic in 2020, we devised an agile community review system to allocate micro-grants for the fast prototyping of innovative solutions. Here we describe and evaluate the implementation of this community review across 147 projects from the OpenCOVID19 and Helpful Engineering open research communities. The community review process uses granular review forms and requires the participation of grant applicants in the review process. Within a year, we organised 7 rounds of review, resulting in 614 reviews from 201 reviewers, and the attribution of 48 micro-grants of up to 4,000 euros. We show that this system is fast, with a median process duration of 10 days, scalable, with a median of 4 reviewers per project independent of the total number of projects, and fair, with project rankings highly preserved after the synthetic removal of reviewers. We investigate the potential bias introduced by involving applicants in the process, and find that review scores from both applicants and non-applicants have a similar correlation of r=0.28 with other reviews within a project, matching previous observations using traditional approaches. Finally, we find that the ability of projects to apply to several rounds allows to both foster the further implementation of successful early prototypes, as well as provide a pathway to constructively improve an initially failing proposal in an agile manner. Overall, this study quantitatively highlights the benefits of a frugal, community review system acting as a due diligence for rapid and agile resource allocation in open research programs, with particular implications for decentralised communities.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Community review: a robust and scalable selection system for resource allocation within open science and innovation communities
• Spatial and Temporal Trends in Travel for COVID-19 Vaccinations -
  Introduction: Understanding spatial and temporal trends in travel for COVID-19 vaccinations by key demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race, age) is important for ensuring equitable access to and increasing distribution efficiency of vaccines and other health services. The aim of this study is to examine trends in travel distance for COVID-19 vaccinations over the course of the vaccination rollout in North Carolina. Methods: Data were collected using electronic medical records of individuals who had first- or single-dose COVID-19 vaccination appointments through UNC Health between December 15, 2020, and August 31, 2021 (N = 204,718). Travel distances to appointments were calculated using the Euclidean distance from individuals’ home ZIP code centroids to clinic addresses. Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression models with individuals’ home ZIP codes incorporated as fixed effects were used to examine differences in travel distances by gender, race, and age. Results: Males and White individuals traveled significantly farther for vaccination appointments throughout the vaccination rollout. On average, females traveled 3.5% shorter distances than males; Black individuals traveled 10.0% shorter distances than White individuals; and people aged 65 and older traveled 2.6% longer distances than younger people living in the same ZIP code. Conclusions: Controlling for neighborhood socioeconomic status and spatial proximity to vaccination clinics, males and White individuals traveled longer distances for vaccination appointments, demonstrating more ability to travel for vaccinations. Results indicate a need to consider differential ability to travel to vaccinations by key demographic characteristics in COVID-19 vaccination programs and future mass health service delivery efforts.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Spatial and Temporal Trends in Travel for COVID-19 Vaccinations
• Usage and awareness of antiviral medications for COVID-19 -

  We surveyed people that recently tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 to assess the frequency and correlates of early treatment seeking behavior. Among high risk respondents, 66.0% were aware of treatment for COVID-19 and 36.3% had sought treatment, however only 1.7% reported use of an antiviral for SARS-CoV-2 infection. More public outreach is needed to raise awareness of the benefits of treatment for COVID-19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Usage and awareness of antiviral medications for COVID-19
• Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 immunity, Omicron’s footprints, and projections of epidemic resurgences in South African population cohorts. -

  Understanding the build-up of immunity with successive SARS-CoV-2 variants and the epidemiological conditions that favor rapidly expanding epidemics will facilitate future pandemic control. High-resolution infection and serology data from longitudinal household cohorts in South Africa reveal high cumulative infection rates and durable cross- protective immunity conferred by prior infection in the pre-Omicron era. Building on the cohort9s history of past exposures to different SARS-CoV-2 variants and vaccination, we use mathematical models to explore the fitness advantage of the Omicron variant and its epidemic trajectory. Modelling suggests the Omicron wave infected a large fraction of the population, leaving a complex landscape of population immunity primed and boosted with antigenically distinct variants. Future SARS-CoV-2 resurgences are likely under a range of scenarios of viral characteristics, population contacts, and residual cross-protection.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 immunity, Omicron’s footprints, and projections of epidemic resurgences in South African population cohorts.
• COVID-19 outcomes by cancer status, type, treatment, and vaccination -

  Background: Observational studies have identified patients with cancer as a potential subgroup of individuals at elevated risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) disease and mortality. Early studies showed an increased risk of COVID-19 mortality for cancer patients, but it is not well understood how this association varies by cancer site, cancer treatment, and vaccination status. Methods: Using electronic health record data from an academic medical center, we identified 259,893 individuals who were tested for or diagnosed with COVID-19 from March 10, 2020, to February 2, 2022. Of these, 41,218 tested positive for COVID-19 of whom 10,266 had a past or current cancer diagnosis. We conducted Firth- corrected, covariate-adjusted logistic regression to assess the association of cancer status, cancer type, and cancer treatment with four COVID-19 outcomes: hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, mortality, and a composite “severe COVID-19” outcome which is the union of the first three outcomes. We examine the effect of the timing of cancer diagnosis and treatment relative to COVID diagnosis, and the effect of vaccination. Results: Cancer status was associated with higher rates of severe COVID-19 infection [OR (95% CI): 1.18 (1.08, 1.29)], hospitalization [OR (95% CI): 1.18 (1.06, 1.28)], and mortality [OR (95% CI): 1.22 (1.00, 1.48)]. These associations were driven by patients whose most recent initial cancer diagnosis was within the past three years. Chemotherapy receipt was positively associated with all four COVID-19 outcomes (e.g., severe COVID [OR (95% CI): 1.96 (1.73, 2.22)], while receipt of either radiation or surgery alone were not associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. Among cancer types, hematologic malignancies [OR (95% CI): 1.62 (1.39, 1.88)] and lung cancer [OR (95% CI): 1.81 (1.34, 2.43)] were significantly associated with higher odds of hospitalization. Hematologic malignancies were associated with ICU admission [OR (95% CI): 1.49 (1.11, 1.97)] and mortality [OR (95% CI): 1.57 (1.15, 2.11)], while melanoma and breast cancer were not associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. Vaccinations were found to reduce the frequency of occurrence for the four COVID-19 outcomes across cancer status but those with cancer continued to have elevated risk of severe COVID [cancer OR (95% CI) among those fully vaccinated: 1.69 (1.10, 2.62)] relative to those without cancer even among vaccinated. Conclusion: Our study provides insight to the relationship between cancer diagnosis, treatment, cancer type, vaccination, and COVID-19 outcomes. Our results indicate that it is plausible that specific diagnoses (e.g., hematologic malignancies, lung cancer) and treatments (e.g., chemotherapy) are associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. Vaccines significantly reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in individuals with cancer and those without, but cancer patients are still at higher risk of breakthrough infections and more severe COVID outcomes even after vaccination. These findings provide actionable insights for risk identification and targeted treatment and prevention strategies.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: COVID-19 outcomes by cancer status, type, treatment, and vaccination
• Hyperactive immature state and differential CXCR2 expression of neutrophils in severe COVID-19 -

  Neutrophils are vital in defence against pathogens but excessive neutrophil activity can lead to tissue damage and promote acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). COVID-19 is associated with systemic expansion of immature neutrophils but the functional consequences of this shift to immaturity are not understood. We used flow cytometry to investigate activity and phenotypic diversity of circulating neutrophils in acute and convalescent COVID-19 patients. First, we demonstrate hyperactivation of immature CD10- subpopulations in severe disease, with elevated markers of secondary granule release. Partially activated immature neutrophils were detectable three months post symptom onset, indication long term myeloid dysregulation in convalescent COVID-19 patients. Second, we demonstrate that neutrophils from moderately ill patients downregulate the chemokine receptor CXCR2, while neutrophils from severely ill individuals failed to do so, suggesting altered ability for organ trafficking and a potential mechanism for induction of disease tolerance. CD10- and CXCR2hi neutrophil subpopulations were enriched in severe disease and may represent prognostic biomarkers for identification of individuals at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Hyperactive immature state and differential CXCR2 expression of neutrophils in severe COVID-19
• Anti SARS-CoV2 seroprevalence in Zanzibar in 2021 before the Omicron wave -

  Objectives For Tanzania including Zanzibar, The development of the COVID-19 pandemic has remained unclear, since reporting cases was suspended during2020/21. The present study provides first data on the COVID-19 seroprevalence among Zanzibari before the omicron variant wave starting in late 2021. Design During August through October 2021 representative cross-sectional data were collected from randomly selected households in 120 wards of the two main islands, Unguja and Pemba. Participants voluntarily provided blood samples to test their sera for antibodies against SARS-CoV2 in a semiquantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Results 57% of the 2080 sera analysed were positive without significant differences between Unguja and Pemba or between rural and urban areas, similar to observations from other sub-Saharan Africa countries. Conclusions The antibody levels observed are most likely to previous infections with SARS-CoV2, since vaccination was basically not available before the survey. Therefore, this study provides first insight, how many Zanzibari have had COVID-19 before the Omicron variant. Further, it provides the appropriate basis for a follow-up survey addressing how this seroprevalence influenced the susceptibility to the Omicron variants, given harmonised methodologies are used.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Anti SARS-CoV2 seroprevalence in Zanzibar in 2021 before the Omicron wave
• Excess all-cause mortality across counties in the United States, March 2020 to December 2021 -

  Official Covid-19 death tallies have under-estimated the total mortality impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Excess mortality is a useful measure for assessing the total effects of the pandemic on mortality levels. While most studies of excess mortality in the United States have taken place at the state or national levels, some studies have produced county-level estimates. However, no estimates are currently available for the period from 2020 to 2021. In the present study, we estimate two hierarchical linear models to predict county-level death rates using mortality data by county of residence from January 2015 to December 2019. After fitting the models, we generate estimates of expected deaths for each month in the period from March 2020 to December 2021 and compare these estimates with the observed number of deaths to obtain counts of excess deaths. An estimated 936,911 excess deaths occurred during 2020 and 2021, of which 171,168 were not assigned to Covid-19 on death certificates. In the Far West, Great Lakes, Mideast, and New England, there was a substantial urban mortality disadvantage in 2020, which was reversed in 2021 to yield a rural mortality disadvantage. In the Southeast, Southwest, Rocky Mountain, and Plains regions, there was a rural mortality disadvantage in 2020, which was exacerbated in 2021. The proportion of excess deaths assigned to Covid-19 was lower in 2020 (76.3%) than in 2021 (87.0%), suggesting fewer Covid-19 deaths went unassigned later in the pandemic. However, in rural areas and in the Southeast and Southwest many excess deaths were still not assigned to Covid-19 during 2021.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Excess all-cause mortality across counties in the United States, March 2020 to December 2021
• Safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of Biological Es CORBEVAX vaccine in children and adolescents: A Prospective, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo controlled, Phase-2/3 Study. -

  Background: After establishing safety and immunogenicity of Biological Es CORBEVAX vaccine in adult population (18-80 years) in Phase 1-3 studies, vaccine is further tested in children and adolescents in this study. Methods: This is a phase-2/3 prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled, study evaluating safety, reactogenicity, tolerability and immunogenicity of CORBEVAX vaccine in children and adolescents of either gender between 17 to 12 years of age in Phase-II and 17-5 years of age in Phase-III with placebo as a control. This study has two age sub groups; age subgroup-1 with subjects 17 to 12 years of age and age subgroup-2 with subjects 11 to 5 years of age. In both age sub groups eligible subjects (SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR negative and seronegative at baseline) were randomized to receive either CORBEVAX vaccine or Placebo in 3: 1 ratio. Findings: The safety profile of CORBEVAX vaccine in both pediatric cohorts was comparable to the placebo control group. Majority of reported adverse events (AEs) were mild in nature. No severe or serious AEs, medically attended AEs (MAAEs) or AEs of special interest (AESI) were reported during the study period and all the reported AEs resolved without any sequelae. In both pediatric age groups, CORBEVAX vaccinated subjects showed significant improvement in humoral immune-responses in terms of anti-RBD-IgG concentrations, anti-RBD-IgG1 titers, neutralizing antibody (nAb)-titers against Ancestral Wuhan and Delta strains. Significantly high interferon gamma immune response (cellular) was elicited by CORBEVAX vaccinated subjects with minimal effect on IL-4 cytokine secretion. Interpretations: The safety profile of CORBEVAX vaccine in 17 to 5 years children and adolescents was found to be safe and tolerable. The adverse event profile was also found to be acceptable. Significant increase in anti-RBD IgG and nAb titers and IFN-gamma immune responses were observed post vaccination in both pediatric age sub groups. Both humoral and cellular immune responses were found to be non-inferior to the immune responses induced by CORBEVAX vaccine in adult population. This study shows that CORBEVAX vaccine is highly immunogenic and can be safely administered to pediatric population as young as 5 years old.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of Biological Es CORBEVAX vaccine in children and adolescents: A Prospective, Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo controlled, Phase-2/3 Study.

From Clinical Trials

• Clinical Performance Evaluation of the Bio-Self™ COVID-19 Antigen Home Test - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Device: Bio-Self COVID-19 Antigen Home Test;   Device: Standard of Care COVID-19 Test;   Diagnostic Test: RT-PCR Test
  Sponsors:   BioTeke USA, LLC;   CSSi Life Sciences
  Not yet recruiting

• Immunogenicity and Safety of Fractional Booster Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines Available for Use in Pakistan/Brazil: A Phase 4 Dose-optimizing Trial - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Sinovac;   Biological: AZD1222;   Biological: BNT162b2
  Sponsors:   Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute;   Aga Khan University;   Oswaldo Cruz Foundation;   Stanford University
  Not yet recruiting

• 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 - Conditions:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Interventions:   Biological: SCTV01E;   Biological: mRNA-1273
  Sponsor:   Sinocelltech Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• A Study to Evaluate the Immunogenicity and Safety of a Recombinant Protein COVID-19 Vaccine in Population Aged ≥18 Years - Conditions:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection;   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: SCTV01E;   Biological: Comirnaty
  Sponsor:   Sinocelltech Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Ad5 COVID-19 Vaccines for Booster Use in Children Aged 6-17 Years. - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: 1 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 2 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 3 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 4 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 5 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 6 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 7 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 8 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 9 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 10 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 11 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 12 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 13 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 14 Nebulized inhalation for booster groups;   Biological: 15 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 16 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 17 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 18 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 19 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 20 Intramuscular injection for booster groups;   Biological: 21 Nebulized inhalation for primary groups;   Biological: 22 Nebulized inhalation for primary groups;   Biological: 23 Nebulized inhalation for primary groups;   Biological: 24 Nebulized inhalation for primary groups
  Sponsor:  
  Seventh Medical Center of PLA General Hospital
  Not yet recruiting

• A First-In-Human Phase 1b Study of AmnioPul-02 in COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: AmnioPul-02
  Sponsor:   Amniotics AB
  Not yet recruiting

• Immunogenicity，Safety and Cross - Immune Response With the Strains of the Booster Immunization Using an Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine
  Sponsor:   Sinovac Research and Development Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Aerobic Exercise and Covid-19 Survivors With Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (Pics) - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Post Intensive Care Syndrome
  Interventions:  
  Other: Aerobic Exercise Training;   Other: Home Plan
  Sponsor:   Riphah International University
  Not yet recruiting

• Efficacy and Safety of JT001 (VV116) Compared With Paxlovid - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: JT001;   Drug: Paxlovid
  Sponsor:  
  Vigonvita Life Sciences
  Recruiting

• Interleukine 6 (IL6) Assay for Predicting Failure of Spontaneous Breathing in Patients With COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome - Condition:   COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
  Interventions:  
  Biological: IL6 assessment;   Biological: CRP and PCT assessment
  Sponsor:  
  Centre Hospitalier Henri Duffaut - Avignon
  Recruiting

• A Single Arm Phase-IV Study to Determine Reactogenicity and Immunogenicity of Delayed COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule in Children - Conditions:   Vaccine Reaction;   COVID-19;   Children, Only
  Intervention:  
  Biological: BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty
  Sponsors:   KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital;   Duke- NUS Graduate Medical School
  Recruiting

• Use of Continuous Glucose Monitors in Coronavirus Disease 2019 ICU and Potential Inpatient Settings - Conditions:   Covid19;   Diabetes Mellitus
  Intervention:   Device: continuous glucose monitoring
  Sponsor:   Tanureet K Arora
  Completed

• Pilot Trial on Immunosuppression Modulation to Increase SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Response in Kidney Transplant Recipients - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Other: Immunosuppression reduction;   Other: No immunosuppression reduction
  Sponsor:   Medical University of Vienna
  Active, not recruiting

• ABNCoV2 Vaccine in Adult Subjects Previously Vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 - Condition:   COVID-19 Disease
  Interventions:   Biological: ABNCoV2;   Biological: Comirnaty
  Sponsor:   Bavarian Nordic
  Not yet recruiting

• Bivalirudin Versus Enoxaparin in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients - Conditions:   Acute Respiratory Failure;   SARS CoV 2 Infection;   Anticoagulants
  Interventions:  
  Drug: Enoxaparin Sodium;   Drug: Bivalirudin
  Sponsor:   University Magna Graecia
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• An antibody targeting the N-terminal domain of SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the spike trimer - The protective human antibody response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus focuses on the spike (S) protein which decorates the virion surface and mediates cell binding and entry. Most SARS-CoV-2 protective antibodies target the receptor-binding domain or a single dominant epitope (‘supersite’) on the N terminal domain (NTD). Here, using the single B cell technology LIBRA-seq, we isolated a large panel of NTD-reactive and SARS- CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies…

• Gain-of-Signal Assays for Probing Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 M^pro/3CL^pro in Living Cells - The main protease, M^(pro), of SARS-CoV-2 is required to cleave the viral polyprotein into precise functional units for virus replication and pathogenesis. Here, we report quantitative reporters for M^(pro) function in living cells in which protease inhibition by genetic or chemical methods results in robust signal readouts by fluorescence (enhanced green fluorescent protein [eGFP]) or bioluminescence (firefly luciferase). These gain-of-signal systems are scalable to high- throughput platforms…

• Genome-wide CRISPR screens identify GATA6 as a proviral host factor for SARS-CoV-2 via modulation of ACE2 - The global spread of SARS-CoV-2 led to major economic and health challenges worldwide. Revealing host genes essential for infection by multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 can provide insights into the virus pathogenesis, and facilitate the development of novel therapeutics. Here, employing a genome-scale CRISPR screen, we provide a comprehensive data-set of cellular factors that are exploited by wild type SARS-CoV-2 as well as two additional recently emerged variants of concerns (VOCs), Alpha and…

• Transcriptional regulation and small compound targeting of ACE2 in lung epithelial cells - Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the receptor of COVID-19 pathogen SARS-CoV-2, but the transcription factors (TFs) that regulate the expression of the gene encoding ACE2 (ACE2) have not been systematically dissected. In this study we evaluated TFs that control ACE2 expression, and screened for small molecule compounds that could modulate ACE2 expression to block SARS-CoV-2 from entry into lung epithelial cells. By searching the online datasets we found that 24 TFs might be ACE2…

• SARS-CoV-2-specific immune responses in elderly and immunosuppressed participants and patients with hematologic disease or checkpoint inhibition in solid tumors: study protocol of the prospective, observational CoCo immune study - BACKGROUND: Immunocompromised people (ICP) and elderly individuals (older than 80 years) are at increased risk for severe coronavirus infections. To protect against serious infection with SARS-CoV-2, ICP are taking precautions that may include a reduction of social contacts and participation in activities which they normally enjoy. Furthermore, for these people, there is an uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of the vaccination. The COVID-19 Contact (CoCo) Immune study strives to…

• Berbamine hydrochloride potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2 infection by blocking S protein-mediated membrane fusion - COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 has posed a significant threat to global public health since its outbreak in late 2019. Although there are a few drugs approved for clinical treatment to combat SARS-CoV-2 infection currently, the severity of the ongoing global pandemic still urges the efforts to discover new antiviral compounds. As the viral spike (S) protein plays a key role in mediating virus entry, it becomes a potential target for the design of antiviral drugs against COVID-19. Here, we tested…

• Brominated Carbazole with Antibiotic Adjuvant Activity Displays Pleiotropic Effects in MRSA’s Transcriptome - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major threat to human health, as the US mortality rate outweighs those from HIV, tuberculosis, and viral hepatitis combined. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections acquired during hospital stays have increased. Antibiotic adjuvants are a key strategy to combat these bacteria. We have evaluated several small molecule antibiotic adjuvants that have strong potentiation with β-lactam antibiotics and are…

• Evaluation of phytoconstituents of Tinospora cordifolia against K417N and N501Y mutant spike glycoprotein and main protease of SARS-CoV-2- an in silico study - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused appalling conditions over the globe, which is currently faced by the entire human population. One of the primary reasons behind the uncontrollable situation is the lack of specific therapeutics. In such conditions, drug repurposing of available drugs (viz. Chloroquine, Lopinavir, etc.) has been proposed, but various clinical and preclinical investigations indicated the toxicity and adverse side effects of these drugs. This study explores the inhibition…

• Hesperetin and the PI3K/AKT pathway: Could their interaction play a role in the entry and replication of the SARS- CoV-2? - Hesperetin, mainly found in citrus honey, has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral properties. Recently, the effect of hesperetin on different aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection such as viral entry, replication, and inflammatory responses has attracted a lot of attention. However, the exact molecular mechanism for its effects on SARS-CoV-2 infection is not stated. The PI3K/AKT signaling pathway is an intracellular pathway involved in cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and response to…

• Design, synthesis and characterization of novel Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes as antivirus drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2 and HIV virus - This paper describes the structure-based design, synthesis and anti-virus effect of two new coordination complexes, a Ni(II) complex [Ni(L)(2)] (1) and a Cu(II) complex [Cu(L)(2)] (2) of (E)-N-phenyl-2-(thiophen-2-ylmethylene) hydrazine-1-carbothioamide(HL). The synthesized ligand was coordinated to metal ions through the bidentate-N, S donor atoms. The newly synthesized complexes were characterized by various spectroscopic and physiochemical methods, powdered XRD analysis and also X-ray…

• Persistent Lung Injury and Prothrombotic State in Long COVID - Lung injury may persist during the recovery period of COVID-19 as shown through imaging, six-minute walk, and lung function tests. The pathophysiological mechanisms leading to long COVID have not been adequately explained. Our aim is to investigate the basis of pulmonary susceptibility during sequelae and the possibility that prothrombotic states may influence long-term pulmonary symptoms of COVID-19. The patient’s lungs remain vulnerable during the recovery stage due to persistent shedding of…

• Current Knowledge on Infectious Bronchitis Virus Non-structural Proteins: The Bearer for Achieving Immune Evasion Function - Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is the first coronavirus discovered in the world, which is also the prototype of gamma-coronaviruses. Nowadays, IBV is widespread all over the world and has become one of the causative agent causing severe economic losses in poultry industry. Generally, it is believed that the viral replication and immune evasion functions of IBV were modulated by non-structural and accessory proteins, which were also considered as the causes for its pathogenicity. In this…

• Tryptophan Metabolism and COVID-19-Induced Skeletal Muscle Damage: Is ACE2 a Key Regulator? - The severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by systemic damage to organs, including skeletal muscle, due to excessive secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Clinical studies have suggested that the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism is selectively enhanced in patients with severe COVID-19. In addition to acting as a receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causative virus of COVID-19, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) contributes to…

• Quantum dots against SARS-CoV-2: diagnostic and therapeutic potentials - The application of quantum dots (QDs) for detecting and treating various types of coronaviruses is very promising, as their low toxicity and high surface performance make them superior among other nanomaterials; in conjugation with fluorescent probes they are promising semiconductor nanomaterials for the detection of various cellular processes and viral infections. In view of the successful results for inhibiting SARS-CoV-2, functional QDs could serve eminent role in the growth of safe…

• Social control and solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic: The direct and indirect effects of causal attribution of insufficient compliance through perceived anomie - The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis which called for two crucial modes of social regulation: social control and social solidarity. In the present pre-registered study, we examine how the perceived non-compliance with health measures relates to attitudes towards these modes of social regulation, as well as to the role played by the perception of disintegrated and disregulated society (anomie). Using data from an online cross-sectional survey conducted in Belgium in April 2020 (N = 717), results…

From Patent Search

• A DISEASE DIAGNOSIS USING SPECTROSCOPY AND MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEM - The present invention discloses a disease diagnosis using spectroscopy and machine learning system. The system includes, but not limited to, a processing unit coupled with an optical probing unit configured to evaluate the biomedical optical spectra data from a tissue; and a classification module coupled to the optical probe consisting of a plurality of support vector machines with embedded error rejection to classify the biomedical optical spectra data from the tissue and further by using a machine learning interface; wherein each of the plurality of the support vector machines with embedded error rejection by evaluating through machine learning algorithms configured to classify a different region of the optical spectra data from the tissue for the classification. - link

• 관중 유래 화합물 또는 이의 유도체를 포함하는 코로나바이러스 감염 예방 및 치료용 약학 조성물 - 본 발명은 관중 유래의 화학식 1 또는 화학식 2로 표시되는 화합물; 또는 이의 약학적으로 허용가능한 염;이 코로나바이러스, 보다 구체적으로 MERS-CoV 또는 SARS-CoV-2를 비롯한 신종 코로나바이러스 감염억제 효능이 있다는 것을 확인하였고, 이를 유효성분으로 포함하는 해당 감염질환의 예방 및 치료용 조성물을 제공한다. 상기 화합물은 양성대조군으로 사용된 항바이러스제제인 Chloroquine 및 Lopinavir보다 우월한 MERS-CoV 또는 SARS-CoV-2 감염억제 효능을 보이고 있다. - link

• SYSTEM FOR MONITORING COVID-19 PATIENTS USING A VIRTUAL TELEPRESENCE ROBOT - Attached Separately - link

• MASCARA FACIAL PARA LA INHALACION DE SUBSTANCIAS NEBULIZADAS, CON SISTEMA DE ASPIRACION INCORPORADO - Facial mask for the inhalation of nebulized substances, comprising: a first wall having a perimeter edge and is configured to be coupled to the face of a patient covering the mouth and nose, an opening for the passage of substance nebulized inside the interior of The mask for its inhalation, characterized in that it also comprises an aspiration chamber and at least one exhalation orifice, on the first wall and separate from the opening for the passage of nebulized substance, which communicates the interior of the mask with the suction chamber, and an aspiration connector that in turn communicates the suction camera with the outside of the mask, and that allows the suction camera to be connected with an external suction system to the mask. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - link

• MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUE TO ANALYZE THE WORK PRESSURE OF PARAMEDICAL STAFF DURING COVID 19 - Machine learning technique to analyse the work pressure of paramedical staff during covid 19 is the proposed invention that focuses on identifying the stress levels of paramedical staff. The invention focuses on analysing the level of stress that is induced on the paramedical staff especially during pandemic. - link

• 一种吡咯烷酮中间体的合成方法 - 本发明涉及药物中间体合成技术领域，尤其是一种吡咯烷酮中间体的合成方法，包括以下步骤：化合物1溶液和有机锂试剂溶液泵入连续反应器，反应生成锂氢交换中间体，再泵入卤代乙腈与中间态发生反应生成化合物2；化合物2用固定床反应装置内进行氢化反应，后处理得到化合物3；将化合物3的溶液和氨水溶液泵入连续反应器生成酰胺化合物4；化合物4和脱水剂使用恒流泵泵入连续化反应器，生成化合物5或其氨基上有保护基的中间体；应用串联连续反应技术，将传统釜式数步反应改进为连续化工艺，解决了传统釜式反应的放大效应问题，降低了含金属试剂以及高压氢化等危险反应的安全风险进而避免了超低温反应釜和高压氢化釜等设备，提高了生产效率。 - link

• 一株表达新冠病毒S1蛋白单克隆抗体杂交瘤细胞系及中和活性抗体 - 本发明属于细胞工程与免疫学领域，具体涉及一株表达新冠病毒S1蛋白单克隆抗体杂交瘤细胞系及中和活性抗体。本发明筛选获得一株能高效稳定分泌表达新冠病毒S1蛋白单克隆抗体的杂交瘤细胞系以及其分泌的新冠病毒S1蛋白单克隆抗体；利用普通细胞培养皿培养本发明的重组杂交瘤细胞系，产量可达10mg/L，且纯度能达90%以上；本发明的单抗具有高中和活性，单抗浓度为0.00103μg/mL时即可抑制50％以上新冠假病毒活性，是目前所报告的新冠单抗中和活性最佳的。本发明提供的杂交瘤细胞系或单克隆抗体在新冠病毒的血清学检测、制备新冠病毒感染的试剂或药物及制备新冠病毒抗原或抗体检测的试剂中具有重要的应用价值。 - link

• 基于SARS-CoV-2的S蛋白的疫苗及其用途 - 本公开提供了基于SARS‑CoV‑2的S蛋白的疫苗及其用途，并具体涉及重组SARS‑CoV‑2刺突蛋白(S蛋白)及编码其的mRNA和DNA。本公开还涉及包含编码重组S蛋白的DNA序列的重组质粒。本公开的重组质粒经转录得到mRNA，其包含SEQ ID NO.12所示的序列。本公开进一步涉及包含前述mRNA的mRNA‑载体颗粒例如脂质纳米颗粒(LNP)和组合物例如疫苗组合物。 - link

• CBD Covid 19 Protection - - link

• 一种双价可电离脂质化合物、组合物及其应用 - 本发明涉及核酸药物递送技术领域，特别是关于一种双价可电离脂质化合物、组合物及其应用。本发明提供多种可以递送核酸药物的可电离阳离子脂质，具备较强的可设计性、可生物降解性及高效的体内外转染效率，由其组成的脂质纳米递送系统用于递送mRNA，在细胞水平上，优于目前上市的产品，并且在动物水平也具有良好的递送效率，可以作为核酸药物的递送新的方法，促进核酸药物的发展。 - link