3- Wednesday Research News – 1st September 

1 – ‘Covid-22’ could be more deadly than Delta, expert claims

• An expert has warned that a new variant dubbed “Covid-22” could be more lethal than the world-dominating Delta.
• Professor Doctor Sai Reddy of the federal technology institute ETH Zurich, an immunologist, believes that combination of existing strains could result in a new and more dangerous phase of the pandemic.
• Professor Doctor Sai Reddy noted that recent scientific findings show that the viral load of the Delta variant is so high that anyone who contracts it who is unvaccinated can become a “super-spreader.”
• He noted that the Delta variant can avoid vaccinations due to its extremely high viral load.

Source: Insider Paper

2- FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine

• Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine.
• The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older.
• The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA), including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.

Source: FDA

3- Bias as a source of inconsistency in ivermectin trials for COVID-19: A systematic review

• The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the effects of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of patients with COVID-19 and to assess inconsistencies in results from individual studies with focus on risk of bias due to methodological limitations.
• Ivermectin may not improve clinically important outcomes in patients with COVID-19 and its effects as a prophylactic intervention in exposed individuals are uncertain.
• Previous reports concluding significant benefits associated with ivermectin are based on potentially biased results reported by studies with substantial methodological limitations.
• Further research is needed.

Source: MedRxiv

4- Effect of familiarity with COVID-19 infection—history of infection or close contact—on outing behaviors when a state of emergency is declared

• Restricting the movement of the public to gathering places and limiting close physical contact are effective measures against COVID-19 infection.
• In Japan, states of emergency have been declared in specific prefectures to reduce public movement and control COVID-19 transmission.
• In this study, they investigated how familiarity with the COVID-19 infection affected self-restraint related to outing behaviors during state of emergency declarations in Japan.
• To maximize the effect of emergency declarations, health authorities should disseminate information for each person in the target population, taking into account potential differences related to the familiarity with the infection.

Source: MedRxiv

5- Delta variant and mRNA Covid-19 vaccines effectiveness: higher odds of vaccine infection breakthroughs

• The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (B.1.617.2), initially identified in India, has become predominant in several countries, including Portugal.
• Few studies have compared the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against Delta versus Alpha variant of concern (VOC) and estimated variant-specific viral loads in vaccine infection breakthroughs cases.
• In the context of Delta dominance, this information is critical to inform decision-makers regarding the planning of restrictions and vaccination roll-out.
• They found significantly higher odds of vaccine infection breakthrough in Delta cases when compared to Alpha cases, suggesting lower effectiveness of the mRNA vaccines in preventing infection with the Delta variant.
• Additionally, the vaccine breakthrough cases are estimated to be of higher mean Ct values, suggesting higher infectiousness with the Delta variant infection.
• These findings can help decision-makers weigh on the application or lifting of control measures and adjusting vaccine roll-out depending on the predominance of the Delta variant and the coverage of partial and complete mRNA vaccination.

Source: MedRxiv

6- Studies on the level of neutralizing antibodies produced by inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in the real world

• Although effective vaccines have been developed against COVID-19, the level of neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) induced after vaccination in the real world is still unknown.
• To evaluate the level and persistence of NAbs induced by two inactivated COVID-19 vaccines in China.
• The positive rate of NAbs was the highest from 10 to 70 days after the second dose of vaccine, and the positive rate gradually decreased as time went by.
• There was a high linear correlation between COVID-19 NAbs and IgM/IgG antibodies in vaccinators, suggesting that in cases where NAbs cannot be detected, IgM/IgG antibodies can be detected instead.
• The level of NAbs produced after vaccination was affected by age, but not by gender.
• The highest levels of NAbs were produced between shots 21 to 56 days apart, suggesting that 21 to 56 days between shots is suitable for vaccination.

Source: MedRxiv

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