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By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a round-up of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Moderna vaccine protects against new variants
Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine protects against new virus variants found in Britain and South Africa, researchers on bioRxiv reported Monday ahead of peer review. They found no reduction in the effect of vaccine-induced antibodies on the British variant. They found significantly reduced antibody efficacy to the South African variant, although Moderna still believes her two-dose vaccine will provide protection. The company said it will test a new booster for the South African variant that could be made available if needed. Dr Paul Offit of the University of Pennsylvania, a member of the US Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee, said he was only slightly concerned that the vaccine would not protect against the variants. “It’s a little worrying that you see a lesser response from neutralizing antibodies,” he said, but even these lower levels may still be enough to protect against serious infections. “The purpose of this vaccine is to keep you out of the hospital and to keep you out of the morgue. If you have a symptomatic infection or a mildly symptomatic infection that is not a burden on the health system,” he said. declared Offit. (https://bit.ly/3ocFUBD; https://reut.rs/2Mj0Z06)
Full-dose anticoagulants help keep patients away from ventilators
A trio of trials have shown that administering full-dose anticoagulants to moderately ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19 reduced their need for vital organ support, such as mechanical ventilation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from the United States. Blood clotting is a serious problem in COVID-19. The three trials, conducted in more than 300 hospitals on four continents, tested whether there was a greater benefit in giving a full dose of anticoagulant heparin compared to the lower dose typically used to prevent blood clots in patients. hospitalized patients. In December, researchers reported that the higher dose was harmful in patients already on life support. The new data shows “that when we give higher doses of anticoagulants to patients who are not already seriously ill, it is beneficial and should become the standard of care,” said study leader Matthew Neal of the University of Pittsburgh in a statement. The researchers said the cheap and readily available treatment could help reduce the burden on intensive care units. The trials also suggest a possible survival benefit with full-dose heparin in patients who are not yet on life support, but this requires further study, the NIH said. The agency has not released full data from the study. (https://bit.ly/39j1BMp)
Lifetime smoking history linked to risk of death from COVID-19
Former smokers who have quit smoking still face higher risks of COVID-19 than non-smokers, according to a new study. Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic Health System in Ohio and Florida studied 7,102 patients with COVID-19, including 6,020 non-smokers, 910 former smokers and 172 current smokers. The risk of hospitalization and death increased with the cumulative amount the patients had ever smoked, and the increases in risk were similar for current and former smokers, the researchers found. Those who smoked the most – the equivalent of one pack a day for 30 years, or two packs a day for at least 15 years – were 2.25 times more likely to be hospitalized and were 89% more likely to die following a diagnosis of COVID-19 compared to those who have never smoked, the researchers reported Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. A lifetime smoking history is therefore linked to the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19, the research team concluded, adding that diseases typically linked to smoking, such as heart and lung disease, likely contributed to these less good results. (https://bit.ly/3caMeHu)
One in three with COVID-19 may not know it
At least a third of people infected with the highly contagious coronavirus may not realize it, a new report warns. Some of them are “presymptomatic”, that is, they show no symptoms but eventually develop them. Others will remain asymptomatic for the duration of their infection. “An infection without symptoms … is important because infected people can pass the virus on to others even if they have no symptoms,” the researchers said in Annals of Internal Medicine on Friday. They analyzed data from 43 studies that used standard PCR tests to diagnose COVID-19 and 18 that used antibody tests to look for evidence of previous infection. These studies “provide compelling evidence that the asymptomatic fraction of SARS-CoV-2 infection is large,” they said. The researchers called for new strategies to control the spread of the virus, such as “rapid and inexpensive home tests to identify and contain presymptomatic or asymptomatic cases, as well as government programs that provide financial assistance and, if necessary , housing to allow infected people to isolate themselves. “It will be important to know if the vaccines prevent asymptomatic infections, they said. (Https://bit.ly/3oiHFNG)
Open https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl in an external browser for a Reuters graphic on vaccines in development.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid, Manas Mishra and Caroline Humer; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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