Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Crises in times of crisis. Employment vulnerability and couple instability during the Covid-19 pandemic in five European countries -
  Couple stability at younger ages is a precondition for family formation and childbearing. While there is evidence that the Covid-19 crisis, bringing about a major economic recession, has impacted on union formation in high income countries, micro-level studies on union dissolution are almost absent. Our explorative research provides descriptive evidence on how employment vulnerability (e.g., holding temporary occupations) is associated with different chances of (intending to) breaking up before the Covid-19 pandemic. The analyses have been conducted on survey data collected in April/May and October/November 2021, on quota samples of young individuals (aged 18 to 34) in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and UK. We find that employment vulnerability spills over into separation plans in times of economic recession, and in European regions reporting poorly performing labour markets (e.g., in terms of women employment and youth unemployment). On the contrary, among men with less vulnerable employment conditions, couple stability is less negatively affected by the recession, while they report higher chances to revise their pre-pandemic intention to break-up because of non-economic reasons.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Crises in times of crisis. Employment vulnerability and couple instability during the Covid-19 pandemic in five European countries
• Decreased efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine due to mutations present in early SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern -
  With the SARS-CoV-2 virus still circulating and evolving, there remains an outstanding question if variant-specific vaccines represent the optimal path forward, or if other strategies might be more efficacious towards providing broad protection against emerging variants. Here, we examine the efficacy of strain-specific variants of our previously reported, pan-sarbecovirus vaccine candidate, DCFHP-alum, a ferritin nanoparticle functionalized with an engineered form of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. In non-human primates, DCFHP-alum elicits neutralizing antibodies against all known VOCs that have emerged to date and SARS-CoV-1. During development of the DCFHP antigen, we investigated the incorporation of strain-specific mutations from the major VOCs that had emerged to date: D614G, Epsilon, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. Here, we report the biochemical and immunological characterizations that led us to choose the ancestral Wuhan-1 sequence as the basis for the final DCFHP antigen design. Specifically, we show by size exclusion chromatography and differential scanning fluorimetry that mutations in the VOCs adversely alter the antigen's structure and stability. More importantly, we determined that DCFHP without strain-specific mutations elicits the most robust, cross-reactive response in both pseudovirus and live virus neutralization assays. Our data suggest potential limitations to the variant-chasing approach in the development of protein nanoparticle vaccines, but also have implications for other approaches including mRNA-based vaccines.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Decreased efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine due to mutations present in early SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern
• Paridiprubart inhibits TLR4-dependant NF-κB activation by multiple pathogens -
  Respiratory pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza can activate an exaggerated inflammatory response (cytokine storm) in the lungs that may result in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), hospitalization, and death. Therapies that target a specific pathogen (i.e. anti-virals) must, by nature, be selected after a specific diagnosis and may become ineffective due to pathogen evolution. An alternate strategy is to counter the exaggerated innate immune response present in ARDS patients using host-directed drug therapies that are agnostic to the infectious agent to overcome both of these challenges. Originally described as the innate immune receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is now understood to be an important mediator of inflammation caused by a variety of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and host-derived damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Here we show that paridiprubart, a monoclonal antibody that prevents TLR4 dimer formation, inhibits the response to TLR4 agonists including LPS, the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, the DAMP high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), as well as the NF-{kappa}B response to infection by both viral and bacterial pathogens. Notable in this regard, we demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 increases HMGB1 levels, and that paridiprubart inhibits both the SARS-CoV-2 and HMGB1-triggered NF-{kappa}B response, illustrating its potential to suppress this self-amplifying inflammatory signal. We also observed that the inhibitory effect of paridiprubart is apparent when cells are exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is itself a direct TLR4 agonist. In the context of active infection, paridiprubart suppressed the NF-{kappa}B-dependent response elicited by infection with SARS-CoV-2, the seasonal coronavirus 229E, influenza A virus or Haemophilus influenzae, a gram-negative bacterial pathogen. Combined, these findings reinforce the central role played by TLR4 in the inflammatory response to infection by diverse pathogens, and demonstrates the protective potential of paridiprubart-dependent inhibition of pathogenic TLR4 responses.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Paridiprubart inhibits TLR4-dependant NF-κB activation by multiple pathogens
• Managing the Infodemic: Leveraging Deep Learning to Evaluate the Maturity Level of AI-Based COVID-19 Publications for Knowledge Surveillance and Decision Support -

  COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, including the need to manage the exponential growth of knowledge, fast-paced development or modification of existing AI models, limited opportunities to conduct extensive validation studies, the need to understand bias and mitigate it, and lastly, implementation challenges related to AI in healthcare. While the nature of the dynamic pandemic, resource limitations, and evolving pathogens were key to some of the failures of AI to help manage the disease, the infodemic during the pandemic could be a key opportunity that we could manage better. We share our research related to the use of deep learning methods to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate AI-based COVID-19 publications which provides a unique approach to identify mature publications using a validated model and how that can be leveraged further by focused human-in-loop analysis. The study utilized research articles in English that were human-based, extracted from PubMed spanning the years 2020 to 2022. The findings highlight notable patterns in publication maturity over the years, with consistent and significant contributions from China and the United States. The analysis also emphasizes the prevalence of image datasets and variations in employed AI model types. To manage an infodemic during a pandemic, we provide a specific knowledge surveillance method to identify key scientific publications in near real-time. We hope this will enable data-driven and evidence-based decisions that clinicians, data scientists, researchers, policymakers, and public health officials need to make with time sensitivity while keeping humans in the loop.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Managing the Infodemic: Leveraging Deep Learning to Evaluate the Maturity Level of AI-Based COVID-19 Publications for Knowledge Surveillance and Decision Support
• Quantitative analysis of chest computed tomography of COVID-19 pneumonia using a software widely used in Japan -

  This study aimed to determine the optimal conditions to measure the percentage of area considered as pneumonia (pneumonia volume ratio, PVR) and the computed tomography (CT) score due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) using the Ziostation2 image analysis software (Z2; Ziosoft, Tokyo, Japan), which is popular in Japan, and to evaluate its usefulness in assessing the clinical severity. We included 53 patients (41 men and 12 women, mean age: 61.3 years) diagnosed with COVID-19 using the polymerase chain reaction who had undergone chest CT and were hospitalized between January 2020 and January 2021. Based on the COVID-19 infection severity, the patients were classified as mild (n=38) or severe (n=15). For 10 randomly selected samples, the PVR and CT scores by Z2 under different conditions and the visual simple PVR and CT scores were compared, and the conditions with the highest statistical agreement were determined. The usefulness of the clinical severity assessment based on PVR and CT scores using Z2 under the determined conditions was statistically evaluated. The best agreement with the visual measurement was achieved by the Z2 measurement condition of ≥ –600 HU. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves, the Youden index, and the sensitivity, specificity, and p-values of PVR and CT scores by Z2 were as follows: PVR; 0.881, 18.69, 66.7, 94.7, and <0.001, CT score; 0.77, 7.5, 40, 74, and 0.002, respectively. We determined the optimal condition for assessing the PVR of COVID-19 pneumonia using Z2 and demonstrated that the AUC of PVR was higher than that of the CT score in the assessment of clinical severity. The introduction of new technologies is time-consuming and expensive; our method has high clinical utility and can be promptly used in any facility where Z2 has been introduced.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Quantitative analysis of chest computed tomography of COVID-19 pneumonia using a software widely used in Japan
• The balance of risks and benefits in the COVID-19 “vaccine hesitancy” literature: An umbrella review -
  Background: “Vaccine hesitancy” (VH) has been described as a “threat to global health”, especially in the COVID-19 era. Research on VH indicates that the concerns of vaccine recipients with the balance of risks and benefits of COVID-19 vaccination, which involve safety and effectiveness considerations (hereafter “safety concerns”), are a leading driver of VH. However, what explains these concerns is underexplored. Goal: We conducted a qualitative umbrella review following PRISMA guidelines and informed by a critical perspective to examine how the safety concerns of COVID-19 vaccine recipients are addressed in the VH literature. Methods: We searched PubMed, the Epistemonikos COVID-19 platform (COVID-19 L. OVE), and the WHO Global Research on COVID-19 Database. We included 49 refereed reviews examining VH in any population involved with COVID-19 vaccination decisions for themselves or as caretakers, with no methodological, quality, temporal, or geographic restrictions, and were published in English, excluding those that authors did not identify as “systematic”. Two reviewers completed article screening and data extraction and synthesis. Thematic synthesis was used to identify themes and frequencies were calculated to assess the strength of support for themes. Disagreements were resolved through full team discussion. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (ID CRD42022351489) and partially funded by a SSHRC grant (# 435-2022-0959). Findings: All reviews assumed that VH was a major barrier to ending the COVID-19 crisis. With vaccines assumed to be “safe and effective”, recipients’ safety concerns were downplayed. Evidence incompatible with “VH-as-a-problem”, whenever mentioned, was dismissed as “misinformation”. Informed consent was either not discussed or was presented as a potential threat to “vaccine confidence”. We observed no differences regardless of study population, methodology, or other study characteristics. Limitations are discussed. Conclusions: Neglecting or dismissing vaccine recipients’ safety concerns contributes to the problem that research on COVID-19 VH purports to address. It also undermines the implementation of informed consent, critical to ethical medical and public health research, policy, and practice. The scant attention to bioethical considerations in current COVID-19 VH research is concerning.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: The balance of risks and benefits in the COVID-19 “vaccine hesitancy” literature: An umbrella review
• Spatial and temporal clustering of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Illinois household cats, 2021- 2023 -

  In this study, we evaluated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Illinois household cats from October 2021 to May 2023. Among 1,715 samples tested by serological assays, 244 samples (14%) tested positive. High-rate temporal, spatial, and space-time clusters of SARS-CoV-2 cases were assessed within 63 counties in Illinois. Three space-time clusters with higher than expected seroprevalence rates were identified in the northeastern, central-east, and southwest regions of Illinois, occurring between June and October 2022. Young cats had a higher rate of seropositivity compared to older cats, and the third quarter of the year had the highest seropositivity rate. This study provides an in-depth analysis of SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology in Illinois household cats, which will aid in COVID-19 control and prevention.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Spatial and temporal clustering of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Illinois household cats, 2021- 2023
• Infoveillance study on the dynamic associations between CDC social media contents and epidemic measures during COVID-19 -

  Background: Health agencies have been widely adopting social media to disseminate important information, educate the public on emerging health issues, and understand public opinions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been one of the leading agencies that utilizes social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic to communicate with the public and mitigate the disease in the United States. It is crucial to understand the relationships between CDC′s social media communication and the actual epidemic metrics to improve public health agencies′ communication strategies during health emergencies. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify key topics in tweets posted by CDC during the pandemic, to investigate the temporal dynamics between these key topics and the actual COVID-19 epidemic measures, and to make recommendations for CDC′s digital health communication strategies for future health emergencies. Methods: Two types of data were collected: 1) a total of 17,524 COVID-19-related English tweets posted by the CDC between December 7, 2019 and January 15, 2022; 2) COVID-19 epidemic measures in the U.S. from the public GitHub repository of Johns Hopkins University from January 2020 to July 2022. Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic modeling was applied to identify key topics from all COVID-19-related tweets posted by CDC, and the final topics were determined by domain experts. Various multivariate time series analysis techniques were applied between each of the identified key topics and actual COVID-19 epidemic measures to quantify the dynamic associations between these two types of time series data. Results: Four major topics from CDC′s COVID-19 tweets were identified: 1) information on prevention of health outcomes of COVID-19; 2) pediatric intervention and family safety; 3) updates of the epidemic situation of COVID-19; 4) research and community engagement to curb COVID-19. Multivariate analyses showed that there were significant variabilities of progression between CDC′s topics and the actual COVID-19 epidemic measures. Some CDC′s topics showed substantial associations with the COVID-19 measures over different time spans throughout the pandemic, expressing similar temporal dynamics between these two types of time series data. Conclusions: Our study is the first to comprehensively investigate the dynamic associations between topics discussed by CDC on Twitter and the COVID-19 epidemic measures in the U.S. We identified four major topic themes via topic modeling and explored how each of these topics was associated with each major epidemic measure by performing various multivariate time series analyses. We recommend that it is critical for public health agencies, such as CDC, to disseminate and update timely and accurate information to the public and align major topics with the key epidemic measures over time. We suggest that social media can help public health agencies to inform the public on health emergencies and to mitigate them effectively.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Infoveillance study on the dynamic associations between CDC social media contents and epidemic measures during COVID-19
• Fidelity and adherence to a liquefied petroleum gas stove and fuel intervention: the multi-country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial -

  Background: Reducing household air pollution (HAP) to levels associated with health benefits requires nearly exclusive use of clean cooking fuels and abandonment of traditional biomass fuels. Methods: The Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial randomized 3,195 pregnant women in Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda to receive a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stove intervention (n=1,590), with controls expected to continue cooking with biomass fuels (n=1,605). We assessed fidelity to intervention implementation and participant adherence to the intervention starting in pregnancy through the infant9s first birthday using fuel delivery and repair records, surveys, observations, and temperature-logging stove use monitors (SUMs). Results: Fidelity and adherence to the HAPIN intervention were high. Median time required to refill LPG cylinders was 1 day (interquartile range 0-2). Although 26% (n=410) of intervention participants reported running out of LPG at some point, the number of times was low (median: 1 day [Q1, Q3: 1, 2]) and mostly limited to the first four months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most repairs were completed on the same day as problems were reported. Traditional stove use was observed in only 3% of observation visits, and 89% of these observations were followed up with behavioral reinforcement. According to SUMs data, intervention households used their traditional stove a median of 0.4% of all monitored days, and 81% used the traditional stove <1 day per month. Traditional stove use was slightly higher post-COVID-19 (detected on a median [Q1, Q3] of 0.0% [0.0%, 3.4%] of days) than pre-COVID-19 (0.0% [0.0%, 1.6%] of days). There was no significant difference in intervention adherence pre- and post-birth. Conclusion: Free stoves and an unlimited supply of LPG fuel delivered to participating homes combined with timely repairs, behavioral messaging, and comprehensive stove use monitoring contributed to high intervention fidelity and near-exclusive LPG use within the HAPIN trial.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Fidelity and adherence to a liquefied petroleum gas stove and fuel intervention: the multi-country Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial
• Follow-Up In Patients With Respiratory Disability After ARDS Related To COVID-19: A Systematic Review -

  Introduction: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is an acute inflammatory pulmonary process that leads to protein-rich, non-hydrostatic pulmonary edema, undesirable hypoxemia, and lung stiffness. Due to COVID-19, a significant proportion of people who will require hospitalization to treat COVID-19, between 15%-30%, will develop severe respiratory failure, ARDS, and an increased likelihood of intubation for mechanical respiratory support. Aim: To investigate the pulmonary function in COVID-19-related ARDS survivors after hospitalization. Methods: A search was performed on the Greek and international literature, as well as at the online Databases PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Google Scholar. Exclusion and integration criteria were set for the studies found, and a flow chart was created for the studies included. Results: Through the search, 352 articles were found matching the subject under study, and after further evaluation, four articles were included. The majority of the articles highlight that after ARDS occurs due to COVID-19, patients face impaired pulmonary function in combination with other physical and psychological symptoms like weakness, anxiety, depression, and generalized functional disability. Conclusions: It is a fact that COVID-19 disease, in severe form and following the need for hospitalization due to the development of ARDS, results in an increased likelihood of prolonged occurrence of some symptoms of impaired respiratory function. Impaired CO2 diffusion is observed in the majority of studies as well as impaired respiratory function regarding prolonged imaging findings and impaired physical function. Keywords: ARDS, SARS-CoV-2, ICU, COVID-19, follow up, respiratory function

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Follow-Up In Patients With Respiratory Disability After ARDS Related To COVID-19: A Systematic Review
• SARS-CoV-2 virologic rebound with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir therapy -

  Abstract Objective: To compare the frequency of replication-competent virologic rebound with and without nirmatrelvir-ritonavir treatment for acute COVID-19. Secondary aims were to estimate the validity of symptoms to detect rebound and the incidence of emergent nirmatrelvir-resistance mutations after rebound. Design: Observational cohort study. Setting: Multicenter healthcare system in Boston, Massachusetts. Participants: We enrolled ambulatory adults with a positive COVID-19 test and/or a prescription for nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. Exposures: Receipt of 5 days of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir treatment versus no COVID-19 therapy. Main Outcome and Measures: The primary outcome was COVID-19 virologic rebound, defined as either (1) a positive SARS-CoV-2 viral culture following a prior negative culture or (2) two consecutive viral loads ≥4.0 log10 copies/milliliter after a prior reduction in viral load to <4.0 log10 copies/milliliter. Results: Compared with untreated individuals (n=55), those taking nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (n=72) were older, received more COVID-19 vaccinations, and were more commonly immunosuppressed. Fifteen individuals (20.8%) taking nirmatrelvir-ritonavir experienced virologic rebound versus one (1.8%) of the untreated (absolute difference 19.0% [95%CI 9.0-29.0%], P=0.001). In multivariable models, only N-R was associated with VR (AOR 10.02, 95%CI 1.13-88.74). VR occurred more commonly among those with earlier nirmatrelvir-ritonavir initiation (29.0%, 16.7% and 0% when initiated days 0, 1, and ≥2 after diagnosis, respectively, P=0.089). Among participants on N-R, those experiencing rebound had prolonged shedding of replication-competent virus compared to those that did not rebound (median: 14 vs 3 days). Only 8/16 with virologic rebound reported worsening symptoms (50%, 95%CI 25%-75%); 2 were completely asymptomatic. We detected no post-rebound nirmatrelvir-resistance mutations in the NSP5 protease gene. Conclusions and Relevance: Virologic rebound occurred in approximately one in five people taking nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and often occurred without worsening symptoms. Because it is associated with replication-competent viral shedding, close monitoring and potential isolation of those who rebound should be considered.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: SARS-CoV-2 virologic rebound with nirmatrelvir-ritonavir therapy
• A single blinded, phase IV, adaptive randomised control trial to evaluate the safety of coadministration of seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines (The FluVID study) -

  Objectives: We evaluated the frequency of moderate and severe adverse events following coadministration of seasonal influenza vaccine (SIV) versus placebo with COVID-19 vaccines among adults to support practice guidelines. Methods: FluVID is a participant-blinded, phase IV, randomised control trial. On the same day as the participant9s scheduled COVID-19 vaccine, participants were randomised to receive SIV or saline placebo; those assigned placebo at visit one then received SIV a week later, and vice versa. Self-reported adverse events were collected for daily seven days following each visit. The primary endpoint was any solicited adverse event of at least moderate severity occurring up to seven days following receipt of SIV or placebo. This was modelled using a Bayesian logistic regression model. Analyses were performed by COVID-19 vaccine type and dose number. Results: Overall, 248 participants were enrolled; of these, 195 had received BNT162b2 and 53 had received mRNA1273 COVID-19 vaccines according to national guidelines. After randomisation, 119 were assigned to receive SIV and 129 were assigned to receive placebo at visit one. Adverse events were most frequently reported as mild (grade 1) in nature. Among 142 BNT162b2 booster dose one and 43 BNT162b2 booster dose two recipients, the posterior median risk difference for moderate/severe adverse events following SIV versus placebo was 13% (95% credible interval [CrI] -0.03 to 0.27) and 13% (95%CrI -0.37 to 0.12), respectively. Among 18 mRNA1273 booster dose one and 35 mRNA1273 booster dose two recipients, the posterior median risk difference of moderate/severe adverse events following influenza vaccine versus placebo was 6% (95%CrI -0.29 to 0.41) and -4% (95%CrI -0.30 to 0.23), respectively. Conclusion: Adverse events following SIV and COVID-19 co-administration were generally mild and occurred with similar frequency to events following COVID-19 vaccine alone. We found no evidence to justify routine separation of SIV and COVID-19 vaccine doses.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: A single blinded, phase IV, adaptive randomised control trial to evaluate the safety of coadministration of seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines (The FluVID study)
• I trust my immunity more than your vaccines: “Appeal to nature” bias strongly predicts questionable health behaviors in the pandemic -
  Health care policies often rely on public cooperation, especially during a health crisis. However, a crisis is also a period of uncertainty and proliferation of health related advice: while some people adhere to the official recommendations, others tend to avoid them and resort to non-evidence based, pseudoscientific practices. People prone to the latter are often the ones endorsing a set of epistemically suspect beliefs, with two being particularly relevant: conspiratorial pandemic-related beliefs, and the appeal to nature bias (i.e. trusting natural immunity to fight the pandemic). These in turn are rooted in trust in different epistemic authorities, seen as mutually exclusive: trust in science and trust in the “wisdom of the common man”. Drawing from two nationally representative probability samples, we tested a model in which trust in science/wisdom of the common man predicted COVID-19 vaccination status (Study 1, N = 1001) or vaccination status alongside use of pseudoscientific health practices (Study 2, N = 1010), through COVID-19 conspiratorial beliefs and the appeal to nature bias. As expected, epistemically suspect beliefs were interrelated, related to vaccination status, and to both types of trust. Moreover, trust in science had both a direct and indirect effect on vaccination status through both types of epistemically suspect beliefs. Trust in the wisdom of the common man had only an indirect effect on vaccination status. Contrary to the way they are typically portrayed, the two types of trust were unrelated. These results were largely replicated in the second study, in which we added pseudoscientific practices as an outcome; trust in science and the wisdom of the common man contributed to their prediction only indirectly, through epistemically suspect beliefs. We offer recommendations on how to make use of different types of epistemic authorities and how to tackle unfounded beliefs in communication during a health crisis.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: I trust my immunity more than your vaccines: “Appeal to nature” bias strongly predicts questionable health behaviors in the pandemic
• Both a bioweapon and a hoax: The curious case of contradictory conspiracy theories about COVID-19 -
  Amidst the flow of conspiracy theories (CTs) about the COVID-19 pandemic, many were logically incompatible. We aimed to map the psychological profile of their endorsers. Upon pretesting for familiarity and logical incompatibility, we choose eight pairs of contradictory COVID-19 CTs. Across three studies, a substantial portion of respondents (40%-42%) endorsed at least one pair. In Study 1 (N = 290), conspiracy mentality and doublethink, but not preference for consistency, meaningfully related to endorsement of contradictory CTs; doublethink contributed over and above other predictors. In two following studies we introduced indicators of superficial (Study 2; N = 281) and analytical (Study 3; N=170) information-processing as predictors. The endorsers of contradictory CTs were more intuitive, prone to ontological confusions and pseudo-profound bullshit, less rational and less actively open-minded; doublethink again added to the prediction. We end by suggesting how the interventions should be tailored to address people with such distinct information-processing style.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Both a bioweapon and a hoax: The curious case of contradictory conspiracy theories about COVID-19
• Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: a systematic review -
  Belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories can have severe consequences; it is therefore crucial to understand this phenomenon. We present a narrative synthesis of COVID-19 conspiracy belief research from 85 international articles, identified and appraised through a systematic review. We identify a number of significant antecedents of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs (individual differences, personality traits, demographic variables, attitudes, thinking styles and biases, group identity, trust in authorities, and social media use) and their consequences (protective behaviours, self-centred and misguided behaviours such as hoarding and pseudoscientific health practices, vaccination intentions, mental health, and other negative social consequences such as discrimination and violence). We conclude that understanding both the antecedents and consequences of conspiracy beliefs is highly important to tackle them, whether in the COVID-19 pandemic or future threats, such as that of climate change.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Antecedents and consequences of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs: a systematic review

From Clinical Trials

• Probiotic and Colchicine in COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: Colchicine 0.5 MG;   Dietary Supplement: Probiotic Formula;   Other: Standard protocol
  Sponsor:   Ain Shams University
  Completed

• Influence of Manual Diaphragm Release on Pulmonary Functions in Women With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19 Pneumonia
  Interventions:   Other: manual therapy;   Other: breathing exercise and prone position alone
  Sponsor:   Cairo University
  Completed

• Study Evaluating SHEN26 Capsule in Patients With Mild to Moderate COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: SHEN26 capsule;   Drug: SHEN26 placebo
  Sponsor:   Shenzhen Kexing Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
  Recruiting

• A Clinical Trial of Recombinant COVID-19 Bivalent (XBB+Prototype) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) in Booster Vaccination - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Bivalent (XBB+Prototype) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) (WSK-V101C);   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine(Sf9 Cell) (WSK-V101)
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• A Phase Ⅲ Clinical Trial of Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent (XBB+BA.5+Delta) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) in Booster Vaccination - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: High dose of Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent (XBB+BA.5+Delta) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: Low dose of Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent (XBB+BA.5+Delta) Protein Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: control group;   Biological: Placebo group
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Impact Of Sensory Re-Education Paradigm On Sensation And Quality Of Life In Patients Post-Covid 19 Polyneuropathy - Condition:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
  Interventions:   Other: sensory re-education training;   Other: traditional treatment
  Sponsor:   Cairo University
  Not yet recruiting

• Comprehensive Imaging Exam of Convalesced COVID-19 Patients - Conditions:   COVID-19;   COVID Long-Haul
  Interventions:   Other: Magnetic Resonance Imaging;   Other: Ultra-High Resolution Computed Tomography (CT) Scan
  Sponsors:   Johns Hopkins University;   Canon Medical Systems, USA
  Enrolling by invitation

• UNAIR Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine as Heterologue Booster (Immunobridging Study) - Conditions:   COVID-19 Pandemic;   COVID-19 Vaccines
  Interventions:   Biological: Vaksin Merah Putih - UA SARS-CoV-2 (Vero Cell Inactivated) 5 µg;   Biological: CoronaVac Biofarma COVID-1 9 Vaccine 3 µg
  Sponsors:   Dr. Soetomo General Hospital;   Indonesia-MoH;   Universitas Airlangga;   Biotis Pharmaceuticals, Indonesia
  Recruiting

• A Study to Investigate the Safety, Immunogenicity of Bivalent mRNA Vaccine RQ3027 and RQ3025 as a Booster Dose in Healthy Adults - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: RQ3013;   Biological: RQ3025;   Biological: RQ3027
  Sponsors:   Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University;   Yunnan University;   Kunming Medical University
  Recruiting

• A Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma (CCP) Transfusion to Prevent COVID-19 in Adult Recipients Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation - Conditions:   COVID-19;   Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
  Intervention:   Biological: COVID Convalescent Plasma
  Sponsor:   Institute of Hematology & Blood Diseases Hospital
  Recruiting

• Evaluating the Efficacy of Remdesivir for Long COVID Following a Confirmed COVID-19 Infection. - Conditions:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection;   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Drug: Remdesivir
  Sponsors:   University of Derby;   University of Exeter;   Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit;   University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust
  Not yet recruiting

• Immunogenicity and Safety Study of SARS-CoV-2 DNA Vaccine (ICCOV) - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 DNA Vaccine (ICCOV)
  Sponsors:   Immuno Cure 3 Limited;   The University of Hong Kong
  Recruiting

• Open Label Extension of Efgartigimod in Adults With Post-COVID-19 POTS - Condition:   Post-COVID Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
  Intervention:   Drug: Efgartigimod
  Sponsors:   argenx;   Iqvia Pty Ltd
  Recruiting

• NC Testing in LC & POTS - Conditions:   Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome;   Post Acute Sequelae of SARS CoV 2 Infection
  Intervention:   Other: IV normal saline (1 Litre)
  Sponsor:   University of Calgary
  Not yet recruiting

• To Investigate Efficacy, Pharmacodynamics, and Safety of BC 007 in Participants With Long COVID - Condition:   Long Covid
  Intervention:   Drug: BC 007 or matching placebo
  Sponsor:   Berlin Cures GmbH
  Recruiting

From PubMed

• Validity of Rapid Antibody Testing for COVID-19 Vaccine in Homeless People - (1) Background: There is a paucity of data regarding the validity of rapid antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine response in homeless people worldwide. The objective of this study was to evaluate a rapid SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG antibody detection kit as a qualitative screen for vaccination in homeless people. (2) Methods: This study included 430 homeless people and 120 facility workers who had received one of BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, AZD1222/ChAdOx1, or JNJ-78436735/AD26.COV2.5 vaccines. They were…

• Correlation between Clinical Characteristics and Antibody Levels in COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Donor Candidates - COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) with high neutralizing antibodies has been suggested in preventing disease progression in COVID-19. In this study, we investigated the relationship between clinical donor characteristics and neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in CCP donors. COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors were included into the study. Clinical parameters were recorded and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels (Spike Trimer, Receptor Binding Domain (RBD), S1, S2 and nucleocapsid protein) as…

• Anticoronavirus Evaluation of Antimicrobial Diterpenoids: Application of New Ferruginol Analogues - The abietane diterpene (+)-ferruginol (1), like other natural and semisynthetic abietanes, is distinguished for its interesting pharmacological properties such as antimicrobial activity, including antiviral. In this study, selected C18-functionalized semisynthetic abietanes prepared from the commercially available (+)-dehydroabietylamine or methyl dehydroabietate were tested in vitro against human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E). As a result, a new ferruginol analogue caused a relevant reduction in…

• Molnupiravir Inhibits Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus Infection In Vitro - Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a swine coronavirus that is highly infectious and prone to variation. Vaccines derived from traditional PEDV strains provide less protection against PEDV-variant strains. Furthermore; there is a complex diversity of sequences among various PEDV-variant strains. Therefore; there is an urgent need to develop alternative antiviral strategies to defend against PEDV. Molnupiravir is a nucleotide analogue that could replace natural nucleosides to restrain…

• SARS-CoV-2 Structural Proteins Modulated Blood-Testis Barrier-Related Proteins through Autophagy in the Primary Sertoli Cells - The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) disrupts the blood-testis barrier (BTB), resulting in alterations in spermatogenesis. However, whether BTB-related proteins (such as ZO-1, claudin11, N-cadherin, and CX43) are targeted by SARS-CoV-2 remains to be clarified. BTB is a physical barrier between the blood vessels and the seminiferous tubules of the animal testis, and it is one of the tightest blood-tissue barriers in the mammalian body. In this study, we investigated…

• Complement Activation-Independent Attenuation of SARS-CoV-2 Infection by C1q and C4b-Binding Protein - The complement system is a key component of the innate immune response to viruses and proinflammatory events. Exaggerated complement activation has been attributed to the induction of a cytokine storm in severe SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, there is also an argument for the protective role of complement proteins, given their local synthesis or activation at the site of viral infection. This study investigated the complement activation-independent role of C1q and C4b-binding protein (C4BP)…

• BNT162b2 Vaccination after SARS-CoV-2 Infection Changes the Dynamics of Total and Neutralizing Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2: A 6-Month Prospective Cohort Study - This study aimed to analyze the dynamics, duration, and production of total and neutralizing antibodies induced by the BNT162b2 vaccine and the possible effect of gender and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on the generation of these antibodies. Total antibodies were quantified via chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA), and neutralizing antibodies were quantified using the cPass SARS-CoV-2 kit. Individuals with a history of COVID-19 produced twice as many antibodies than vaccinated…

• Intranasal Single-Replication Influenza Vector Induces Cross-Reactive Serum and Mucosal Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 Variants - Current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines provide protection for COVID-19-associated hospitalization and death, but remain inefficient at inhibiting initial infection and transmission. Despite updated booster formulations, breakthrough infections and reinfections from emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants are common. Intranasal vaccination to elicit mucosal immunity at the site of infection can improve the performance of respiratory virus vaccines. We developed SARS-CoV-2 M2SR, a dual SARS-CoV-2 and influenza vaccine…

• Targeting Spike Glycoprotein S1 Mediated by NLRP3 Inflammasome Machinery and the Cytokine Releases in A549 Lung Epithelial Cells by Nanocurcumin - Chronic inflammation and tissue damage can result from uncontrolled inflammation during SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 infections, leading to post-acute COVID conditions or long COVID. Curcumin, found in turmeric, has potent anti-inflammatory properties but limited effectiveness. This study developed nanocurcumin, a curcumin nanoparticle, to enhance its physical and chemical stability and investigate its in vitro anti-inflammatory properties upon CoV2-SP induction in lung epithelial cells. Nanocurcumin…

• Bis-Benzylisoquinoline Alkaloids Inhibit Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus by Disrupting Virus Entry - The porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), belonging to the α-coronavirus, is the causative agent of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED). Presently, protection from the existing PEDV vaccine is not effective. Therefore, anti-PEDV compounds should be studied. Berbamine (BBM), Fangchinoline (FAN), and (+)-Fangchinoline (+FAN), are types of bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloids that are extracted from natural medicinal plants. These bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloids have various biological activities,…

• Oridonin Inhibits Mycobacterium marinum Infection-Induced Oxidative Stress In Vitro and In Vivo - Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tuberculosis (TB) was the leading cause of death globally attributable to a single infectious agent, ranking higher than HIV/AIDS. Consequently, TB remains an urgent public health crisis worldwide. Oridonin (7a,20-Epoxy-1a,6b,7,14-tetrahydroxy-Kaur-16-en-15-one Isodonol, C(20)H(28)O(6), Ori), derived from the Rabdosia Rrubescens plant, is a natural compound that exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties. Our objective was to investigate…

• Structure-Guided Development of Bivalent Aptamers Blocking SARS-CoV-2 Infection - Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused devastation to human society through its high virulence, infectivity, and genomic mutations, which reduced the efficacy of vaccines. Here, we report the development of aptamers that effectively interfere with SARS-CoV-2 infection by targeting its spike protein, which plays a pivotal role in host cell entry of the virus through interaction with the viral receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). To develop highly…

• Comprehensive Understanding of the Kinetic Behaviors of Main Protease from SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV: New Data and Comparison to Published Parameters - The main protease (M^(pro)) is a promising drug target for inhibiting the coronavirus due to its conserved properties and lack of homologous genes in humans. However, previous studies on M^(pro)’s kinetic parameters have been confusing, hindering the selection of accurate inhibitors. Therefore, obtaining a clear view of M^(pro)’s kinetic parameters is necessary. In our study, we investigated the kinetic behaviors of M^(pro) from SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV using both FRET-based cleavage assay and…

• Hepatic Anti-Oxidative Genes CAT and GPX4 Are Epigenetically Modulated by RORγ/NRF2 in Alphacoronavirus-Exposed Piglets - As a member of alpha-coronaviruses, PEDV could lead to severe diarrhea and dehydration in newborn piglets. Given that lipid peroxides in the liver are key mediators of cell proliferation and death, the role and regulation of endogenous lipid peroxide metabolism in response to coronavirus infection need to be illuminated. The enzymatic activities of SOD, CAT, mitochondrial complex-I, complex-III, and complex-V, along with the glutathione and ATP contents, were significantly decreased in the liver…

• Inhibition of PERK Kinase, an Orchestrator of the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR), Significantly Reduces Apoptosis and Inflammation of Lung Epithelial Cells Triggered by SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a Protein - SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a accessory protein was found to be involved in virus release, immunomodulation and exhibited a pro-apoptotic character. In order to unravel a potential ORF3a-induced apoptotic and inflammatory death mechanism, lung epithelial cells (A549) were transfected with in vitro synthesized ORF3a mRNA. The protein’s dynamic involvement as “stress factor” for the endoplasmic reticulum, causing the activation of PERK kinase and other UPR-involved proteins and therefore the upregulation of…

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