[ad_1]
By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Immune protection against severe re-infections seems long-lasting
Regardless of their detectable antibody levels, most COVID-19 survivors are likely to have lasting protection against severe COVID-19 if re-infected, through other components of the body’s immune response. who remember the novel coronavirus in different ways, researchers say. In a study of 185 patients, including 41 who had been infected more than six months earlier, scientists at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology in California found that several branches of the immune system – not just antibodies – recognized the novel coronavirus for at least eight months. . For example, the so-called memory B cells capable of recognizing the virus and making antibodies to fight it were more abundant six months after infection than one month, they reported in an article published Monday on bioRxiv before. peer review. The new findings “suggest that the immune system can remember the virus for years, and that most people can be protected against severe COVID-19 for a substantial amount of time,” said study officials Shane Crotty and Alessandro Sette. (https://bit.ly/3lJkz2q)
Final data from Pfizer vaccine trial shows 95% efficacy
Final results of Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine pivotal trial show it had a 95% success rate – even higher than a previous analysis – and two months of follow-up data with no serious side effects , the company said Wednesday. In the study of around 43,000 volunteers, 162 of 170 who contracted COVID-19 received a placebo, not the vaccine. Of the 10 participants who had severe COVID-19, only one had received the vaccine. The final analysis of the trial data comes a week after interim results showed the vaccine to be over 90% effective. Moderna Inc released preliminary data for its vaccine on Monday, showing an efficacy of 94.5%. Pfizer said the effectiveness of its two-dose vaccine, developed with its German partner BioNTech SE, was consistent across different ages and ethnicities. Efficacy in adults over 65 was over 94%. Pfizer said it plans to manufacture up to 50 million doses of the vaccine this year – enough to inoculate 25 million people – and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
Severe COVID-19 Respiratory Muscle Injury
Critically ill COVID-19 patients develop viral lesions of the respiratory muscles, scientists from UMC Amsterdam in the Netherlands reported Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. They performed autopsy studies of the diaphragm, the main respiratory muscle, in 26 COVID-19 patients who died in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 8 ICU patients who died without COVID-19. In everyone, the membranes of muscle cells in the diaphragm contained a protein called ACE2, which the new coronavirus uses as entry into cells. Researchers have found genetic evidence of the virus in diaphragm muscle cells in some of those who have died from COVID-19, and microscopic analyzes have shown significantly more connective tissue scarring (fibrosis) in the diaphragms of COVID-19 patients. 19, indicating damage, study co-author Coen Ottenheijm told Reuters. He said diaphragm damage can help explain why it is often difficult for patients with COVID-19 to breathe on their own after being on mechanical ventilators in the ICU. It may also explain the persistent shortness of breath in patients recovering from COVID-19. (https://bit.ly/3pNNjcX)
Survival in cardiac arrest drops during pandemic
US data earlier this year suggests the pandemic has resulted in declining survival rates after cardiac arrest “out of hospital.” Based on national data, the proportion of patients whose hearts could be restarted was 21% lower in March-April 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, researchers reported on Saturday at the American Heart annual meeting. Association, held virtually this year, and in Cardiology JAMA. The proportion of patients who survived before leaving hospital was also lower in 2020, at 6.6%, compared to 9.8% in 2019. Survival rates after cardiac arrest out of hospital almost doubled over the past 20 years, and “we want to make sure we don’t lose those gains,” said co-author Dr. Paul Chan, of the Mid-America Heart Institute in St. Luke, Missouri. Dr. Clifton Callaway of the University of Pittsburgh, who watched the presentation but was not involved in the study, said other viewers noted that it is more difficult for paramedics to work with protective gear complete individual because it takes time to put on and can prevent the emergency. worry. In addition, some patients may have delayed their call for help for fear of being infected with the coronavirus. And some may also have had the COVID-19, which makes their condition more serious. (Https://bit.ly / 36IoRkd)
Open https://tmsnrt.rs/3a5EyDh in an external browser for a Reuters graphic on vaccines and treatments in development.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid, Linda Carroll and Michael Erman; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
[ad_2]
Source link