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By Nancy Lapid
July 26 (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.
Most people who are allergic to the first injection of mRNA can receive a second dose
Most people with allergic reactions to the first dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna can safely receive the second dose, according to a new study. Allergic reaction rates to these vaccines have been reported at 2%, with anaphylaxis, the most severe form, occurring in up to 2.5 in 10,000 people vaccinated, the researchers said. They looked at data from 189 adults with reactions to the first dose to any of these vaccines, such as flushing, dizziness or lightheadedness, tingling, tightness in the throat, hives, and wheezing or shortness of breath. Most of those adults – 84% – received the second dose of the vaccine, with about a third taking an antihistamine beforehand. All tolerated the second dose, including those who experienced anaphylactic reactions to the first dose. All of the potentially allergic symptoms that developed after the second dose were mild and easily controlled, the researchers reported Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine https://bit.ly/3iSeJLI. “Full two-dose vaccination has become even more important with the Delta variant and we believe there are many more people who have not received their second injection due to allergic symptoms,” said the co-author. , Dr. Matthew Krantz of Vanderbilt University. “Our data suggest that most patients with immediate and potentially allergic reactions to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines tolerate a second dose,” his team concluded.
Delta could be 1,000 times more infectious than original virus
The Delta variant of the coronavirus could be more than a thousand times more contagious than the original version first identified in Wuhan, China, a Chinese study suggests. Following a recent outbreak, researchers found that people infected with the Delta variant carried 1,260 times more virus in their noses than those infected in the first wave of the pandemic. The higher load means the virus spreads much more easily from person to person, increasing infections and hospitalizations, they reported ahead of peer review in an article first published on medRxiv earlier in July and updated Friday https://bit.ly/3iNDQPR. The time interval between when people were exposed to infected individuals and when they themselves were diagnosed has dropped from an average of 6 days in 2020 to 4 days during the Delta outbreak, found Researchers. The Delta variant “outclasses all other viruses because it spreads so much more efficiently,” said Shane Crotty of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in San Diego, who was not involved in the Chinese study. In the United States, Delta accounts for about 83% of new infections, with unvaccinated people accounting for almost 97% of severe cases.
Popular antacids not linked to severe COVID-19 results
Widely used antacid drugs known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are not linked to serious results from COVID-19, according to a new study. Researchers at the US Veterans Affairs Health Care System analyzed data from nearly 15,000 veterans with positive COVID-19 tests, about 42% of whom used PPIs such as Prilosec from Procter & Gamble (omeprazole), Prevacid from Takeda Pharmaceuticals (lansoprazole) and AstraZeneca Nexium (esomeprazole). After taking into account patients’ underlying risk factors for COVID-19, the risk of getting sick enough to require mechanical ventilation or dying within two months of diagnosis was not different between Regular PPI users and non-users, researchers reported Sunday on medRxiv https://bit.ly/2UQdh4H ahead of peer review. “Regarding COVID-19,” the researchers concluded, “patients and providers should feel safe to continue using PPIs at the lowest effective dose for the approved indications”.
Click for a Reuters graphic https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl on vaccines in development.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid and Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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