1- Monday Infectious Disease News – 19th April

1 – AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine: EMA finds possible link to very rare cases of unusual blood clots with low blood platelets

• EMA’s safety committee (PRAC) has concluded that unusual blood clots with low blood platelets should be listed as very rare side effects of Vaxzevria (formerly COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca).
• In reaching its conclusion, the committee took into consideration all currently available evidence, including the advice from an ad hoc expert group.
• EMA is reminding healthcare professionals and people receiving the vaccine to remain aware of the possibility of very rare cases of blood clots combined with low levels of blood platelets occurring within 2 weeks of vaccination.

Source: EMA

2 – UK guidelines and testing for invasive meningococcal disease

• The low specificity of the clinical practice guidelines for invasive meningococcal disease, including the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines, is compelling.
• A non-blanching rash has for a long time been considered a key characteristic of invasive meningococcal disease and has been the focus of awareness-raising campaigns.
• This study go through the clinical guidelines for invasive meningococcal disease among febrile children presenting with a non-blanching rash

Source: The Lancet

3 – Lung fibrosis: an undervalued finding in COVID-19 pathological series

• With the COVID-19 pandemic having reached tremendous proportions, post-mortem series are under the limelight to explain many of the peculiar clinical findings.
• Pathological descriptions of disease are fundamental for understanding pathogenetic features and might inform new treatments.
• In this article they describe the lung findings of 38 patients who died with COVID-19 and show that early-phase or intermediate-phase diffuse alveolar damage is the main pathological finding, as well as fibrin thrombi in small arterial vessels.

Source: The Lancet

4- Comparing the COVID-19 Vaccines: How Are They Different?

• Although each COVID-19 vaccine is unique, all of them may help with herd immunity.
• Vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are being administered in the U.S. right now, Johnson & Johnson just received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine, and others are on track to do the same.
• Even though you will likely not be able to choose which vaccine you will get, it’s still helpful to know how each one is different.

Source: Yale Medecine

5 – Pfizer and Biontech confirm high efficacy and no serious safety concerns through up to 6 months following second dose

• Analysis of 927 confirmed symptomatic cases of COVID-19 demonstrates BNT162b2 is highly effective with 91.3% vaccine efficacy observed against COVID-19, measured seven days through up to six months after the second dose
• Vaccine was 100% effective in preventing severe disease as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and 95.3% effective in preventing severe disease as defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Vaccine was 100% effective in preventing COVID-19 cases in South Africa, where the B.1.351 lineage is prevalent

Source: Pfizer

6 – Delayed Large Local Reactions to mRNA-1273 Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2

• This study reports on a phase 3 clinical trial of the mRNA-1273 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, and they provide information on immediate injection-site reactions, which were observed in 84.2% of the participants after the first dose.
• The trial also showed that delayed injection-site reactions occurred in 244 of the 30,420 participants (0.8%) after the first dose and in 68 participants (0.2%) after the second dose.
• These reactions included erythema, induration, and tenderness.
• The reactions typically resolved over the following 4 to 5 days.
• These reactions were not further characterized, and links between reactions after the first dose and those after the second dose were not provided to inform clinical care.

Source: NEJM

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