Covid-19 Sentry

Contents

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

From Preprints

• Eight Hypotheses on Technology Use and Mental Wellbeing: A Bicultural Phenomenological Study of Gaming during the COVID-19 Pandemic -
  In this nonconfirmatory qualitative study, we pursued a range of hypotheses regarding how gaming operates in the lives and psychosocial wellbeing of those who actively play videogames during a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Informed by an explorative survey (N = 793), interpretive phenomenological analysis was applied to interview data from actively gaming Chinese (n = 10) and Finnish (n = 10) participants. Our findings demonstrate how the general increase of pandemic-time gaming did not manifest in all player groups, but in some life contexts gaming activity rather decreased along with reformations in subjective meaning hierarchies and values. Ultimately, eight subordinate themes were refined into testable hypotheses. The study encourages policies that promote socially supportive gaming during pandemic-like situations to consider including personally meaningful solitary play in their recommendations and highlighting context-specificity over generalization. As almost all our data points echoing experiences of decreasing gaming activity came from China, we finally stress the importance of culturally diverse samples in the psychological study of global phenomena.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Eight Hypotheses on Technology Use and Mental Wellbeing: A Bicultural Phenomenological Study of Gaming during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Factorial invariance and network structure of the GAD-7 in a large sample of adult Filipinos during the COVID-19 pandemic -
  Background: Evidence on the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) has remained mixed, especially in anxiety-inducing crises. Studies that examine the complex interaction of GAD symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic have received relatively little attention in non-Western low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to examine the GAD-7’s factor structure and test its measurement invariance across gender and age groups, and use the network approach to identify the central anxiety symptoms driving the interaction of GAD symptoms. Methods: From March to July 2020, the ultra-brief GAD-2 screened 4,564 Filipinos aged 18 to 72 (M = 26.32, SD = 6.82) who consequently completed the GAD-7 (α = 0.81). We performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multigroup CFA to evaluate the factor structure and measurement invariance of the GAD-7, respectively. We used network analysis to evaluate the accuracy and stability of the GAD network and to identify central symptoms. Results: The two-factor structure of the GAD-7 (somatic and cognitive/affective) yielded a better model fit than the one-factor structure and was invariant across gender and age groups. The network analysis identified “trouble relaxing” (somatic) and “worrying too much about different things” (cognitive/affective) as symptoms central to the network structure of GAD. Conclusions: This study supported the somatic and cognitive/affective dimensions of the GAD-7 in the Philippines and identified central symptoms that act as key levers facilitating the GAD symptom network. Future research and intervention can use the study findings to improve treatment efficacy and efficiency.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Factorial invariance and network structure of the GAD-7 in a large sample of adult Filipinos during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Comparative effectiveness of BNT162b2 versus mRNA-1273 boosting in England: a cohort study in OpenSAFELY-TPP -

  Introduction The COVID-19 booster vaccination programme in England used both BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines. Direct comparisons of the effectiveness against severe COVID-19 of these two vaccines for boosting have not been made in trials or observational data. Methods On behalf of NHS England, we used the OpenSAFELY-TPP database to match adult recipients of each vaccine type on date of vaccination, primary vaccine course, age, and other characteristics. Recipients were eligible if boosted between 29 October 2021 and 31 January 2022, and followed up for 12 weeks. Outcomes were positive SARS-CoV-2 test, COVID-19 hospitalisation, and COVID-19 death. We estimated the cumulative incidence of each outcome, and quantified comparative effectiveness using risk differences (RD) and hazard ratios (HRs). Results 1,528,431 people were matched in each group, contributing a total 23,150,504 person-weeks of follow-up. The 12-week risks per 1,000 people of positive SARS-CoV-2 test were 103.2 (95%CI 102.4 to 104.0) for BNT162b2 and 96.0 (95.2 to 96.8) for mRNA-1273: the HR comparing mRNA-1273 with BNT162b2 was 0.92 (95%CI 0.91 to 0.92). For COVID-19 hospitalisations the 12-week risks per 1,000 were 0.65 (95%CI 0.56 to 0.75) and 0.44 (0.36 to 0.54): HR 0.67 (95%CI 0.58 to 0.78). COVID-19 deaths were rare: the 12-week risks per 1,000 were 0.03 (95%CI 0.02 to 0.06) and 0.01 (0.01 to 0.02): HR 1.23 (95%CI 0.59 to 2.56). Comparative effectiveness was generally similar within subgroups. Conclusion Booster vaccination with mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine was more effective than BNT162b2 in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalisation during the first 12 weeks after vaccination.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Comparative effectiveness of BNT162b2 versus mRNA-1273 boosting in England: a cohort study in OpenSAFELY-TPP
• Digital Innovation to Address Challenges in the Health Care System -
  The Indian healthcare system has evolved greatly over the last decade, owing to the adoption of new technologies as well as systemic change and emphasis on service quality. However, by no means is the standard of healthcare uniform or inclusive across the country. At one end of the spectrum, there are state-of-the-art private facilities with advanced testing and treatment technologies catering primarily to the urban, and on the other, there is a void where the impoverished struggle to receive even the most basic care. The COVID-19 crisis solidified the healthcare system’s position as the backbone of the country, but it also made the cracks in the system more prominent. In a situation where new challenges are emerging every day, it becomes crucial to relook at the problems and chart out a plan to fix them.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Digital Innovation to Address Challenges in the Health Care System
• The COVID-19 Pandemic Revives Traditional 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 Revives Traditional Values in Japan
• Students’ experiences in relation to the use of online learning and collaborative technologies during COVID-19 outbreak in South African Universities -
  Student’s experiences on the use of online collaborative technology continues to attract attention of researchers in education and social sciences. Of particular interest is the reliance on technological and digital platforms, using web-based strategies during the outbreak of COVID-19 in institutions of learning. This study used an unlinked, anonymous survey to explicate experiences of students on the use of online technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. Consenting participants constituted a study population that was made up of first year accounting students in a public university in South Africa, drawing a sample of 190 from a population of 371. Using a theory of connectivism, the study found that students were eager and confident that collaborative technology could lead them to pass their examinations even if face-to-face intervention was missing. Collaborative technology consisting of tools such as WhatsApp, Blackboard and Zoom made it easy for them to relate with instructors and faculty who were making efforts to deliver content in a simplified manner. The study further concluded that efforts have to be made to study the benefits of collaborative technology both to learners and faculty at institutions of higher learning.
  🖺 Full Text HTML: Students’ experiences in relation to the use of online learning and collaborative technologies during COVID-19 outbreak in South African Universities
• SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with anti-desmoglein 2 autoantibody detection. -

  Post-acute cardiac sequelae, following SARS-CoV-2 infection, are well recognised as complications of COVID-19. We have previously shown the persistence of autoantibodies against antigens in skin, muscle, and heart in individuals following severe COVID-19; the most common staining on skin tissue displayed an inter-cellular cement pattern consistent with antibodies against desmosomal proteins. Desmosomes play a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of tissues. For this reason, we analysed desmosomal protein levels and the presence of anti-desmoglein (DSG) 1, 2 and 3 antibodies in acute and convalescent sera from patients with COVID 19 of differing clinical severity. We find increased levels of DSG2 protein in sera from acute COVID patients. Furthermore, we find that DSG2 autoantibody levels are increased significantly in convalescent sera following severe COVID-19 but not in hospitalised patients recovering from influenza infection or healthy controls. Levels of autoantibody in sera from patients with severe COVID-19 were comparable to levels in patients with non-COVID-19-associated cardiac disease, potentially identifying DSG2 autoantibodies as a novel biomarker for cardiac damage. To determine if there was any association between severe COVID-19 and DSG2, we stained post-mortem cardiac tissue from patients who died from COVID-19 infection. This revealed disruption of the intercalated disc between cardiomyocytes that was consistent with separation of the DSG2 protein homodimer. Our results reveal the potential for DSG2 protein and autoimmunity to DSG2 to contribute to unexpected pathologies associated with COVID-19 infection.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with anti-desmoglein 2 autoantibody detection.
• An agent-based modelling framework for assessing SARS-CoV-2 indoor airborne transmission risk -

  We develop a framework for modelling the risk of infection from airborne Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in well-mixed environments in the presence of interventions designed to reduce infection risk. Our framework allows development of models that are highly tailored to the specifics of complex indoor environments, including layout, people movements, and ventilation. We explore its utility through case studies, two of which are based on actual sites. Our results reflect previously quantified benefits of masks and vaccinations. We also produce quantitative estimates of the effects of air filters, and reduced indoor occupancy for which we cannot find quantitative estimates but for which positive benefits have been postulated. We find that increased airflow reduces risk due to dilution, even if that airflow is via recirculation in a large space. Our case studies have identified interventions which seem to generalise, and others which seem to be dependent on site-specific factors, such as occupant density.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: An agent-based modelling framework for assessing SARS-CoV-2 indoor airborne transmission risk
• Risk factors among Black and White COVID-19 patients from a Louisiana Hospital System, March, 2020-August, 2021 -

  Objectives. To investigate relationships between race and COVID-19 hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and mortality over time and which characteristics, may mediate COVID-19 associations. Methods. We analyzed hospital admissions, ICU admissions, and mortality among positive COVID-19 cases within the ten-hospital Franciscan Ministries of Our Lady Health System around the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor in Louisiana over four waves of the pandemic from March 1, 2020-August 31, 2021. Associations between race and each outcome were tested, and multiple mediation analysis was performed to test if other demographic, socioeconomic, or air pollution variables mediate the race-outcome relationships. Results. Race was associated with each outcome over the study duration and during most waves. Early in the pandemic, hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality rates were greater among Black patients, but as the pandemic progressed these rates became greater in White patients. However, Black patients were still disproportionately represented in these measures. Age was a significant mediator for all outcomes across waves, while comorbidity and emissions of naphthalene and chloroprene acted as mediators for the full study period. Conclusions. The role of race evolved throughout the pandemic in Louisiana, but Black patients bore a disproportionate impact. Naphthalene and chloroprene air pollution partially explained the long-term associations. Our findings imply that air pollution might contribute to the increased COVID-19 hospitalizations and mortality among Black residents in Louisiana but likely do not explain most of the effect of race.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Risk factors among Black and White COVID-19 patients from a Louisiana Hospital System, March, 2020-August, 2021
• Evaluation of the safety and immunogenicity of fractional intradermal COVID-19 vaccines as a booster: A pilot study -

  Intradermal vaccination using fractional dosage of the standard vaccine dose is one strategy to improve access to COVID-19 immunization. We conducted a pilot study in healthy adults in Thailand to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of intradermal administration of fractional dose of ChAdOx1 (1/5th of standard dosage) or BNT162b2 (1/6th of standard dosage) to individuals previously vaccinated (prime) with two-dose intramuscular CoronaVac, ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2. Following an initial immunogenicity exploratory phase for each vaccine combination group (N=10), a total of 135 participants (N=45 per group) were recruited to three groups (CoronaVac prime-intradermal BNT162b2 boost, CoronaVac prime-intradermal ChAdOx1 boost and ChAdOx1 prime-intradermal BNT162b2 boost) and their immunogenicity data compared to a previous cohort who received the same vaccine intramuscularly. Two weeks following booster vaccination, neutralizing antibodies against the delta variant were similar between intradermal and intramuscular vaccination. However, neutralizing antibodies against the omicron variant in the intradermal BNT162b2 boost groups were ~6-fold lower, while the ChAdOx1 boost group was ~5-fold higher compared to their respective vaccine regimen given intramuscularly. The intradermal booster significantly increased spike-specific T cell responses in all three groups from pre-booster levels. Local and systemic adverse reactions were milder in intradermal compared to intramuscular injections. Further studies are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of these findings and the feasibility of administration of intradermal COVID-19 vaccines.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Evaluation of the safety and immunogenicity of fractional intradermal COVID-19 vaccines as a booster: A pilot study
• Social contact patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 21 European countries: evidence from a two-year study -

  Most countries have enacted some restrictions to reduce social contacts to slow down disease transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. For nearly two years, individuals likely also adopted new behaviours to avoid pathogen exposure based on personal circumstances. We aimed to understand the way in which different factors affect social contacts, a critical step to improving future pandemic responses. The analysis was based on repeated cross-sectional contact survey data collected in 21 European countries between March 2020 and March 2022. We calculated the mean daily contacts reported using a clustered bootstrap by country and by settings (at home, at work, or in other settings). Where data were available, contact rates during the study period were compared with rates recorded prior to the pandemic. We fitted censored individual-level generalized additive mixed models to examine the effects of various factors on the number of social contacts. The survey recorded 463,336 observations from 96,456 participants. In all countries where comparison data were available, contact rates over the previous two years were substantially lower than those seen prior to the pandemic (approximately from over 10 to <5), predominantly due to fewer contacts outside the home. Government restrictions imposed immediate effect on contacts, and these effects lingered after the restrictions were lifted. Across countries, the relationships between national policy, individual perceptions, or personal circumstances determining contacts varied. Our study, coordinated at the regional level, provides important insights into the understanding of the factors associated with social contacts to support future infectious disease outbreak responses.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Social contact patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in 21 European countries: evidence from a two-year study
• Level of Compliance and Predictors with Personal COVID-19-preventive measures Among Office Government Employees Returning to work in the post-epidemic period in Western Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-sectional Study -

  Background The contemporary global issues, COVID-19 pandemic continued causing unprecedented impact on the public health, occupational health and the global economy. Keeping compliance with personal preventive measures is a vital tool for managing COVID-19 pandemic control and returning to work as no pharmaceutical treatments are currently available in Ethiopia. Although compliance with COVID -19 personal preventive measures (CPPMs) and predictors is well addressed in healthcare settings, data on the level of CPPMs and its determinants among government employees working in offices worldwide, including Ethiopia, is limited. This paper is aimed to fill this gaps. Methods We applied a cross-sectional study design from February to March, 2021. The participants were government workers working in offices who had resumed work. Stratified followed by simple random sampling technique was used to select 422 study participants from 30 government offices that had resumed work. Data were collected using a pre-tested and structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and analyzed by STATA 14 software. The significance of associations was established at p< 0.05 and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) in the multivariable model. Results Response rate 95.44% (N=394). The study found 22.3% (88) of study participants (95% CI = 18.5, 26.6) had high compliance with COVID -19 personal preventive measures during past month. Female workers were 2.80 times more likely than males to comply with COVID-19 personal preventive measures (AOR: 2.80, 95%CI (1.10, 7.12), favorable attitude towards COVID-19 prevention measures (AOR: 13.73, 95% CI (4.85, 38.83), high-risk perception of COVID-19 infections (AOR: 2.34; 95% CI (1.24, 4.41), and high misconception about COVID-19 (AOR: 3.92, 95% CI (1.45, 10.62) were predicted better compliance with COVID-19 PPMs (P &lt 0.05). Conclusions In sum, little proportion of sampled study participants complied with COVID -19 personal preventive measures. Sex, attitudes, risk perception, and misconception have all been identified as significant risk factors. Actions are needed to strengthen COVID -19 personal preventive measures among government employees to maintain COVID -19 control following work resumption. In the future, it&rsquor;s vital to work on government employees9 attitudes and perceptions in order to improve compliance.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Level of Compliance and Predictors with Personal COVID-19-preventive measures Among Office Government Employees Returning to work in the post-epidemic period in Western Ethiopia: A Multicenter Cross-sectional Study
• Projecting COVID-19 Cases and Subsequent Hospital Burden in Ohio -

  As the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease started to spread rapidly in the state of Ohio, the Ecology, Epidemiology and Population Health (EEPH) program within the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) at the Ohio State University (OSU) took the initiative to offer epidemic modeling and decision analytics support to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). This paper describes the methodology used by the OSU/IDI response modeling team throughout 2020-2021 to predict statewide cases of new infections as well as potential hospital burden in the state. The methodology has two components: 1) A Dynamic Survival Analysis (DSA)-based statistical method to perform parameter inference, statewide prediction and uncertainty quantification. 2) A geographic component that down-projects statewide predicted counts to potential hospital burden across the state. We demonstrate the overall methodology with publicly available data. A Python implementation of the methodology has been made available publicly.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Projecting COVID-19 Cases and Subsequent Hospital Burden in Ohio
• High seroprevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals amidst vaccination roll-out in western Kenya -

  Background The population9s antibody response is a key factor in comprehending SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology. This is especially important in African settings where COVID-19 impact, and vaccination rates are relatively low. This study aimed at characterizing the Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) in both SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals in Kisumu and Siaya counties in Western Kenya using enzyme linked immunosorbent assays.  Results The IgG and IgM overall seroprevalence in 98 symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in western Kenya between December 2021-March 2022 was 76.5% (95% CI =66.9-84.5) and 31.6% (95% CI =22.6- 41.8) respectively. In terms of gender, males had slightly higher IgG positivity 87.8% (36/41) than females 68.4% (39/57). Amidst the ongoing vaccination roll-out during the study period, over half of the study participants (55.1%, 95% CI= 44.7-65.2) had not received any vaccine. About one third, (30.6%, 95% CI= 21.7-40.7) of the study participants had been fully vaccinated, with close to a quarter (14.3% 95% CI=8.04-22.8) partially vaccinated. When considering the vaccination status and seroprevalence, out of the 30 fully vaccinated individuals, IgG seropositivity was 86.7% (95% CI =69.3-96.2) and IgM seropositivity was 40% (95% CI =22.7-59.4). Out of the participants that had not been vaccinated at all, IgG seroprevalence was 70.3% (95% CI 56.4-82.0) with 20.4% (95% CI 10.6-33.5) seropositivity of IgM antibodies. SARs-CoV-2 PCR positivity did not significantly predict IgG (p = 0.457 [95% CI 0.514- 4.371]) and IgM (p = 0.858 [95% CI 0.350-2.395]) positivity. Conclusion Our data indicate a high seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in western Kenya. This suggests larger fraction of the population were infected with SARS-CoV-2 within the defined period than what PCR testing could cover.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: High seroprevalence of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals amidst vaccination roll-out in western Kenya
• Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Shedding in Exhaled Breath Aerosols -

  Aerosol inhalation is increasingly well recognized as a major if not primary mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, three highly transmissible lineages evolved and became globally dominant. One hypothesis to explain increased transmissibility is that natural selection favours variants with higher rates of viral aerosol shedding. However, the extent of aerosol shedding of successive SARS-CoV-2 variants is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that viral shedding (measured as RNA copies) into exhaled breath aerosol was significantly greater during infections with Alpha, Delta, and Omicron than with ancestral strains and variants not associated with increased transmissibility. The three highly transmissible variants independently evolved a high viral aerosol shedding phenotype, demonstrating convergent evolution. We did not observe statistically significant differences in rates of shedding between Alpha, Delta, and Omicron infections. The highest shedder in our study, however, had an Omicron infection and shed three orders of magnitude more viral RNA copies than the maximum observed for Delta and Alpha. Our results also show that fully vaccinated and boosted individuals, when infected, can shed infectious SARS-CoV-2 via exhaled breath aerosols. These findings provide additional evidence that inhalation of infectious aerosols is the dominant mode of transmission and emphasize the importance of ventilation, filtration, and air disinfection to mitigate the pandemic and protect vulnerable populations. We anticipate that monitoring aerosol shedding from new SARS-CoV-2 variants and emerging pathogens will be an important component of future threat assessments and will help guide interventions to prevent transmission via inhalation exposure.

  🖺 Full Text HTML: Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Shedding in Exhaled Breath Aerosols

From Clinical Trials

• Puerto Rico COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Study - Condition:   COVID-19
  Intervention:   Other: Educational intervention
  Sponsors:   University of Puerto Rico;   National Institutes of Health (NIH);   National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
  Recruiting

• A Study to Learn About a New COVID-19 RNA Vaccine Candidate as a Booster Dose in COVID-19 Vaccine-Experienced Healthy Adults - Conditions:   SARS-CoV-2 Infection;   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: BNT162b5 Bivalent (WT/OMI BA.2);   Biological: BNT162b2 Bivalent (WT/OMI BA.1)
  Sponsors:   BioNTech SE;   Pfizer
  Not yet recruiting

• Monitoring the Efficacy of a Probiotic Dietary Supplement SmartProbio C in Patients With Severe COVID-19 Infection - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Dietary Supplement: SmartProbio C;   Dietary Supplement: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Medi Pharma Vision;   Veterinary Research Institute;   Brno University Hospital
  Completed

• Beta-glucans for Hospitalised Patients With COVID-19 - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Drug: MC 3x3;   Drug: Placebo
  Sponsors:   Concentra Educacion e Investigación Biomédica;   Wohlstand Pharmaceutical
  Not yet recruiting

• An Observer-blind, Cohort Randomized, Exploratory Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant Covid-19 Vaccine, mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine and Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Trimeric S-protein Subunit Vaccine as 4th Dose in Individuals Primed/ Boosted With Various Regimens - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: AstraZeneca/Fiocruz;   Biological: Pfizer/Wyeth;   Biological: Clover SCB-2019
  Sponsors:   D’Or Institute for Research and Education;   Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation;   University of Oxford
  Not yet recruiting

• Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster - Conditions:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Interventions:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Recruiting

• Safety and Immunogenicity of Recombinant COVID-19 Variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) as a Booster - Conditions:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Infection
  Interventions:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 variant Vaccine (Sf9 Cell);   Biological: COVID-19 Vaccine (Vero Cell), Inactivated;   Biological: mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Moderna);   Biological: Viral Vector COVID-19 vaccine (AstraZeneca)
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• Effect of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program on Post Hospitalization Severe COVID- 19 Patients - Condition:   Post COVID-19 Condition
  Intervention:   Combination Product: respiratory exercises - incentive spirometer - walking
  Sponsor:   Fayoum University Hospital
  Completed

• Physiotherapy in Post COVID-19 Syndrome Patients - Condition:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
  Interventions:   Other: Cognitive behavioral principles-based treatment program;   Other: Control intervention
  Sponsor:   Universidad de Granada
  Recruiting

• Rehabilitation for People With Post COVID-19 Syndrome - Condition:   Post-COVID-19 Syndrome
  Interventions:   Other: Multidimensional intervention;   Other: Control intervention
  Sponsor:   Universidad de Granada
  Recruiting

• Xanthohumol as an Adjuvant Therapy in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients - Condition:   COVID-19 Respiratory Infection
  Intervention:   Biological: Xanthohumol - prenylated chalcone extracted from female inflorescences of hop cones (Humulus lupus). Hop-RXn™, BioActive-Tech Ltd, Lublin, Poland; http://xanthohumol.com.pl/
  Sponsor:   Medical University of Lublin
  Suspended

• A Clinical Trial of Immuno-bridging Between Different Manufacture Scales of Recombinant COVID-19 Vaccine (Sf9 Cell) - Conditions:   COVID-19;   SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia
  Intervention:   Biological: Recombinant COVID-19 vaccine (Sf9 cell)
  Sponsor:   WestVac Biopharma Co., Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

• A CHW Intervention to Identify and Decrease Barriers to COVID 19 Testing & Vaccination - Conditions:   Vaccine Hesitancy;   COVID-19 Testing;   Community Health Workers
  Intervention:   Behavioral: Community Health Worker led curriculum
  Sponsors:   Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science;   Los Angeles County Department of Public Health;   National Library of Medicine (NLM)
  Recruiting

• Study to Evaluate Safety and Immunogenicity of COVID-19 Vaccine in Children 6 Months to < 12 Years - Condition:   COVID-19
  Interventions:   Biological: Biological/Vaccine: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Initial Vaccination Period);   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Open Label Crossover Vaccination period);   Biological: SARS-CoV-2 rS/Matrix-M1 Adjuvant (Booster Vaccination);   Other: Placebo
  Sponsor:   Novavax
  Recruiting

• A Phase II/III Study of PIKA Recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine as a Booster Dose. - Condition:   Covid-19 Vaccine
  Intervention:   Biological: PIKA COVID-19 vaccine
  Sponsor:   Yisheng Biopharma (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
  Not yet recruiting

From PubMed

• Theaflavin 3-gallate inhibits the main protease (M^pro) of SARS-CoV-2 and reduces its count in vitro - The main protease (M^(pro)) of SARS-CoV-2 has been recognized as an attractive drug target because of its central role in viral replication. Our previous preliminary molecular docking studies showed that theaflavin 3-gallate (a natural bioactive molecule derived from theaflavin and found in high abundance in black tea) exhibited better docking scores than repurposed drugs (Atazanavir, Darunavir, Lopinavir). In this study, conventional and steered MD-simulations analyses revealed stronger…

• Behavioral activation / inhibition systems and lifestyle as predictors of mental disorders in adolescent athletes during Covid19 pandemic - CONCLUSIONS: Analyzing the data, it can thus be concluded that whilst behavioral inhibition and activation systems seem to work together to significantly predict mental disorders, lifestyle cannot.

• SARS-CoV-2 VOC type and biological sex affect molnupiravir efficacy in severe COVID-19 dwarf hamster model - SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) have triggered infection waves. Oral antivirals such as molnupiravir promise to improve disease management, but efficacy against VOC delta was questioned and potency against omicron is unknown. This study evaluates molnupiravir against VOC in human airway epithelium organoids, ferrets, and a lethal Roborovski dwarf hamster model of severe COVID-19-like lung injury. VOC were equally inhibited by molnupiravir in cells and organoids. Treatment reduced shedding…

• Neuropilin-1 in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia, HIV-1, and SARS-CoV-2 infection: A Review - This review explores the role of transmembrane neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) in pregnancy, preeclampsia (PE), human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. Since these conditions are assessed independently; this review attempts to predict their comorbid clinical manifestations. Dysregulation of NRP-1 contributes to the pathogenesis of PE by (a) impairing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling for adequate spiral…

• Current evidence on the use of anakinra in COVID-19 - Despite the progressing knowledge in COVID-19 management, remdesivir is the only agent that got approval to inhibit viral replication. However, there are limited data about effective immunomodulatory agents to prevent cytokine release in COVID-19. Cytokine release syndrome in COVID-19 resembles secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, in which interleukin-1 (IL-1) plays a key role. Anakinra is the first recombinant IL-1 receptor antagonist studied for off-label use in COVID-19 treatment….

• FACT subunit SUPT16H associates with BRD4 and contributes to silencing of interferon signaling - FACT (FAcilitates Chromatin Transcription) is a heterodimeric protein complex composed of SUPT16H and SSRP1, and a histone chaperone participating in chromatin remodeling during gene transcription. FACT complex is profoundly regulated, and contributes to both gene activation and suppression. Here we reported that SUPT16H, a subunit of FACT, is acetylated in both epithelial and natural killer (NK) cells. The histone acetyltransferase TIP60 contributes to the acetylation of SUPT16H middle domain…

• Secondary Immunodeficiency in Rheumatology - Secondary Immunodeficiency in Rheumatology Abstract. For the treatment of autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases an immunosuppressive therapy with conventional, small molecule or biological disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) plays a key role. This may lead to secondary immunodeficiency with an increased risk for infections, which we discuss in the present article. The risk for reactivation of chronic hepatitis B increases particularly with glucocorticoid dosages of ≥ 20mg/d for…

• COVID-19 Pandemic and SMEs Performance Decline: The Mediating Role of Management Innovation and Organizational Resilience - It is a major practical problem to find out a pathway for firms to quickly recover from the performance decline in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and other sudden major crisis in the current academic circles. Based on event system theory and structural adjustment to regain fit model, this paper empirically explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMEs performance decline and discusses the management innovation response and organizational resilience mechanism of firms by virtue of…

• An Efficient Modern Strategy to Screen Drug Candidates Targeting RdRp of SARS-CoV-2 With Potentially High Selectivity and Specificity - Desired drug candidates should have both a high potential binding chance and high specificity. Recently, many drug screening strategies have been developed to screen compounds with high possible binding chances or high binding affinity. However, there is still no good solution to detect whether those selected compounds possess high specificity. Here, we developed a reverse DFCNN (Dense Fully Connected Neural Network) and a reverse docking protocol to check a given compound’s ability to bind…

• Addition of Camellia sinensis extract to water to disinfect respiratory viruses accumulated over different surfaces - New precautions have become part of our daily life since COVID-19 pandemic such as wearing masks, maintaining distance and disinfecting products bought from markets before using them which is exhausting. We aimed to test the inhibitory effect of Camellia sinensis (black tea) water extracts on respiratory viruses and the inhibition of viruses accumulated over different surface types after being soaked in water supplemented with the extracts. Two water extraction methods (extract A: maceration at…

• Robust antiviral activity of commonly prescribed antidepressants against emerging coronaviruses: in vitro and in silico drug repurposing studies - During the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, symptoms of depression are commonly documented among both symptomatic and asymptomatic quarantined COVID-19 patients. Despite that many of the FDA-approved drugs have been showed anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity in vitro and remarkable efficacy against COVID-19 in clinical trials, no pharmaceutical products have yet been declared to be fully effective for treating COVID-19. Antidepressants comprise five major drug classes for the treatment…

• Optimization and evaluation of a live virus SARS-CoV-2 neutralization assay - Virus neutralization assays provide a means to quantitate functional antibody responses that block virus infection. These assays are instrumental in defining vaccine and therapeutic antibody potency, immune evasion by viral variants, and post-infection immunity. Here we describe the development, optimization and evaluation of a live virus microneutralization assay specific for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this assay, SARS-CoV-2 clinical isolates are…

• Urtica dioica Agglutinin: A plant protein candidate for inhibition of SARS-COV-2 receptor-binding domain for control of Covid19 Infection - Despite using effective drugs and vaccines for Covid 19, due to some limitations of current strategies and the high rate of coronavirus mutation, the development of medicines with effective inhibitory activity against this infection is essential. The SARS-CoV-2 enters the cell by attaching its receptor-binding domain (RBD) of Spike to angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2). According to previous studies, the natural peptide Urtica dioica agglutinin (UDA) exhibited an antiviral effect on…

• DMV biogenesis during β-coronavirus infection requires autophagy proteins VMP1 and TMEM41B - Upon entering host cells, β-coronaviruses specifically induce generation of replication organelles (ROs) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through their nonstructural protein 3 (nsp3) and nsp4 for viral genome transcription and replication. The most predominant ROs are double-membrane vesicles (DMVs). The ER-resident proteins VMP1 and TMEM41B, which form a complex to regulate autophagosome and lipid droplet (LD) formation, were recently shown to be essential for β-coronavirus infection. Here…

• An Update on Promising Agents against COVID-19: Secondary Metabolites and Mechanistic Aspects - CONCLUSION: Prospective treatments targeted at the life cycle stages of the virus may eventuate from research endeavors, and it must not be discounted that therapy originally derived from plant secondary metabolite sources may potentially have a part to play.

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