2- Tuesday Pharmacy Practice News – 28th September

 1 – Study: Probiotic in Yogurt May Protect Against Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

• Yogurt containing the probiotic Bifidobacterium lactis, BB-12, may protect against antibiotic-associated diarrhea
• This finding provides important new insights into the mechanisms by which the probiotic, BB-12, may protect against antibiotic-associated diarrhea
• The study results showed that after taking antibiotics, short chain fatty acid acetate, a beneficial metabolite produced by the microbiota, was reduced in all individuals.
• However, the reduction was significantly greater in individuals taking the placebo yogurt than those taking the BB-12 supplement.
• Individuals who received BB-12 also returned to baseline levels of the acetate in 30 days, while the control group remained below baseline.

Source: Pharmacy Times

2 – FDA Panel Votes Against Recommending Pfizer COVID-19 Booster Doses for General Public

• An FDA advisory committee has rejected Pfizer and BioNTech’s plan to deliver COVID-19 booster shots for individuals 16 years of age and older, saying they need more data.
• The panel did, however, vote to recommend the booster shots to adults over 65 years of age and those at high risk of severe COVID-19
• According to a press release, SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing titers against the wild-type strain 1 month after the booster dose was administered were 3.3 times higher than the titers found 1 month after the second dose.
• These findings are from a phase 3 trial with 306 participants between the 18 and 55 years of age who received a third dose of the vaccine between 4.8 months and 8 months after the primary 2-dose regimen.
• Researchers had a median follow-up time of 2.6 months post-booster and the neutralizing titers after the third dose met a prespecified 1.5-fold non-inferiority criterion of success and were statistically superior.
• Notably, 99.5% of participants had a 4-fold response following the third dose, compared to 98% of participants after the second dose.

Source: Pharmacy Times

3 – UVB Radiation May Protect Against Severe COVID-19

• Vitamin D may protect against severe COVID-19 and death, the results of a study published in Scientific Reports show.
• The study adds further evidence that vitamin D might protect against severe COVID-19 infection.
• Conducting a properly designed COVID-19 randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation is critical
• Until then, given that vitamin D supplements are safe and cheap, it is definitely advisable to take supplements and protect against vitamin D deficiency, particularly with winter on the horizon.
• The study results showed that an individual’s place of residence with ambient ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation offered protection against severe disease and death.

Source: Pharmacy Times

4- Study Finds Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Elicits Lasting Immune Response

• A low dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna elicits immunity for at least 6 months, according to researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology.
• Notably, the researchers also found no indications that vaccinated people will need a booster shot.
• Although the data found that the vaccine elicited strong CD4-positive T cells, CD8-positive T cells, and antibody responses for at least 6 months after vaccination in a clinical trial, the researchers said immune responses would likely last much longer.
• This strong immune memory lasted in all age groups tested, including individuals over 70 years of age who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19.

Source: Pharmacy Times

5 – Children With Pre-Existing Conditions Experience More Severe COVID-19

• The results of a review by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) published in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal showed that children who have pre-existing conditions are more likely to experience severe COVID-19 symptoms than those without.
• Investigators studied the effects of COVID-19 on pediatric individuals, because of a lack of research on the subject.
• They found that pediatric individuals with pre-existing conditions are at greater risk of severe COVID-19. Pediatric individuals with pre-existing conditions in the review reported severe symptoms at 5.1% compared with 0.2% without pre-existing conditions.
• The review analyzed 14 international studies with a combined 19,426 pediatric individuals who reported persistent symptoms following COVID-19 infections.
• The most common symptoms reported after 4 to 12 weeks were abdominal pain, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and headaches, investigators found.

Source: Pharmacy Times

6 – Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Is Resistant to IVIG Following COVID-19 Vaccine

• Results of a study published in Cureus showed that a woman with immune thrombocytopenic purpura was resistant to treatment of high-dose steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and rituximab, following receiving the second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 immunization but eventually responded to a thrombopoietin-stimulating agent.
• As part of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine with 43,548 individuals, just 4 adverse events have been reported.
• None of the adverse reactions indicated immune thrombocytopenic purpura, leading investigators to think it could be seen after immunization with other vaccines.
• Immune thrombocytopenic purpura had been reported to follow several vaccinations, but no causal relationship had been determined.

Source: Pharmacy Times

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