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9 hours ago
Covid-19 infection before or after vaccination may trigger stronger immune responses, new study finds
Coronavirus infection, either before or after vaccination, can enhance immune responses, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Science Immunology.
The study, conducted by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University, looked at antibody responses in 104 vaccinated healthcare workers.
Of this group, 31 people had a post-vaccination infection, 31 were infected before vaccination (known as hybrid immunity), and 42 had no history of infection.
The researchers found that both the hybrid and postvaccination infection groups had significantly higher levels of antibodies compared to the uninfected group.
These antibodies were also more efficient and potent, and had higher virus neutralization rates: up to 32 times more in the hybrid group and up to 17 times more in the group with post-vaccination infections.
In the group without infections, antibody levels decreased with age, as previous research had found.
However, this effect was not seen in the other groups.
No significant differences were observed between the hybrid and breakthrough immunity cohorts.
While previous studies have shown increased immune responses from pre-vaccination infections, the researchers stated that there was a gap regarding the response to post-vaccination infections.
"Overall, our results show that SARS-CoV-2 infection before or after vaccination gives a significantly greater boost to the neutralizing antibody response compared to two doses of the vaccine. More importantly, the potency and amplitude of the antibody response seem to improve concomitantly," the authors state.
However, they stress the importance of getting vaccinated, regardless of prior infection status: "Since vaccination protects against severe disease and death, it is safer for individuals to be vaccinated before natural infection than after."
Experts also warn against trying to develop or increase coronavirus antibodies by purposely contracting covid-19.
Even vaccinated people can become seriously ill or spread the virus to people close to them who may be at higher risk of serious complications.
The new study did not include participants with boosters or third doses of the vaccine, although a first external study may suggest that boosters offer increases in immune protection similar to those seen in the hybrid immunity and post-vaccination infection groups, according to the authors. .
12 hours ago
Alabama, Mississippi and Wyoming without fully vaccinating half of their population
By Deidre McPhillips and Jason Kurtz
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its latest report on vaccination efforts in the United States on Tuesday.
Here's a look at some key figures:
About
211 million people in the US
are fully vaccinated.
This figure represents 63.5% of the country's total population.
All but three states have fully vaccinated at least half of their population.
Those states are
Wyoming, Alabama, and Mississippi
.
Six states have fully vaccinated at least
75% of their population
: Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Hawaii.
At least
61 million people
, almost 20% of the eligible population (at least 5 years old), have not received any vaccine against covid-19.
Almost 85 million people have received a booster dose against covid-19.
According to a review of the last seven days, on average more than a million doses of vaccines are given each day, and the vast majority of those doses, nearly 50%, were booster shots.
By contrast, only about 270,000 people start a vaccination regimen each day.
Note:
CDC data on COVID-19 vaccines are estimates.
The agency notes that data on people who are fully vaccinated and those who have a booster dose may be underestimated, while data on people with at least one dose may be overestimated.
12 hours ago
During omicron, illness severity appears to be less than during other periods of high transmission, CDC study finds
By Deidre McPhillips
During a period when the omicron variant was dominant, serious outcomes for hospitalized COVID-19 patients—including admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), use of ventilators, and death—were less common than during the delta peak or the first winter wave, according to a study released Tuesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Furthermore, although the daily average of new cases and hospital admissions reached all-time highs during the omicron period, there were fewer hospitalizations and far fewer deaths per 1,000 COVID-19 cases than during the delta period or during the first winter.
These indexes compared the peaks of each metric within each analyzed period.
Disease severity appears to be less during the omicron period due to a combination of factors, according to the researchers: higher vaccination coverage including booster shots, acquired immunity from previous infection, and potentially lower virulence of the variant. of omicron
Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, around 13% were admitted to the ICU during the omicron period, compared to 18% during delta and the first winter peak.
Around 7% of patients died in hospital during omicron, compared to more than 12% during previous peaks.
In addition, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the period in which the omicron variant predominated had a shorter average length of stay than during other periods of high transmission: about 5.5 days, compared to 7.6 days during the peak. of delta and approximately eight days during the first peak of winter.
For this study, researchers looked at indicators of COVID-19 during three periods of high transmission: the first winter surge from December 2020 to February 2021, a period of delta variant dominance from mid-July to October 2021, and an early period of omicron dominance from mid-December 2021 to mid-January 2022.
"Although disease severity appears less with the omicron variant, the high volume of hospitalizations can overwhelm local health care systems, and the average daily number of deaths remains considerable," the researchers wrote.
"This underscores the importance of national emergency preparedness, specifically hospital emergency capacity and the ability to adequately staff local health care systems."
It also reinforces the value of vaccination in preventing serious illness and death, they said.
These findings reflect general trends and are not indicators of individual risk.
COVID-19 hospitalization indicator data include incidental COVID-19 infections, which could affect severity in hospital.
The delta variant was still circulating during the beginning of the omicron spike, which could also affect gravity indicators.
The researchers analyzed trends in COVID-19 cases and deaths reported to the CDC by state and territorial health departments, and hospital outcomes among more than 300,000 COVID-19 patients in 199 hospitals.
13 hours ago
The European Union recommends lifting travel restrictions for those with covid-19 certificates
By Amy Cassidy
Medical staff wait outside a COVID-19 testing center at Berlin Brandenburg's Willy Brandt Airport on July 28.
(Stefanie Loos/AFP via Getty Images)
On Tuesday, the European Union recommended lifting travel restrictions for citizens who have been fully vaccinated in the past nine months, have tested negative for, or have recently recovered from covid-19.
The European Council has proposed that member states remove testing and quarantine requirements for people holding "EU digital covid certificates" from February 1, 2022, according to an online statement.
According to the new recommendations, "the measures related to COVID-19 should be applied based on the situation of the person and not the region, with the exception of those areas where the virus circulates at very high levels," according to a statement. of the European Council.
The proposal arises in response to the significant increase in vaccination and the rapid implementation of the EU's digital COVID certificate," the statement added.
According to the latest data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, 69.7% of the total population of the EU/European Economic Area have received all vaccinations.
More than 40% of the EU/EEA population have received an additional booster dose.
Those without a digital certificate may be required to submit to a test no later than 24 hours after arrival.
We tell you what the EU digital covid certificate is and how it works.
13 hours ago
Florida closes all monoclonal antibody treatment sites
Florida began closing all monoclonal antibody treatment sites, health officials announced Monday night.
State authorities indicated that the measure is due to a decision by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Monoclonal antibodies, a covid-19 treatment that people may not know about
"Unfortunately, as a result of this abrupt decision made by the federal government, all state monoclonal antibody sites will be closed until further notice," reported the Department of Florida Health in a statement.
More than 2,000 such treatment appointments were canceled in the state on Tuesday alone, according to a statement from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Read here all the information on the subject.
14 hours ago
The mRNA vaccine does not affect the fertility of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization treatments, according to a study
By Carma Hassan
Moderna and Pfizer's mRNA vaccines do not affect the fertility outcomes of people undergoing IVF treatments, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The researchers compared the fertilization rates of pregnant women who received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna covid-19 vaccine and who "underwent controlled ovarian hyperstimulation or euploid frozen-thawed embryo transfer" with those from a control group of unvaccinated patients who underwent the same procedures.
"Administration of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was not associated with oocyte or embryo development, implantation, or early pregnancy loss in patients undergoing IVF in our study. These findings provide additional reassuring data that the vaccination does not adversely affect fertility or early pregnancy outcomes and contribute to the growing body of evidence that the risk-benefit ratio supports vaccination in women who are pregnant or trying to conceive," the study authors wrote.
Of the 1,678 people who underwent controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, 222 were fully vaccinated and 983 were unvaccinated.
The researchers also studied 1,271 people who underwent a single frozen euploid embryo transfer.
Of these, 214 were vaccinated and 733 were not vaccinated.
In both groups, vaccinated patients had similar responses to ovarian stimulation and similar pregnancy outcomes as unvaccinated patients.
"These results provide reassurance that reproductive potential does not appear to be affected by mRNA vaccination in patients undergoing IVF," the study authors said.
According to the authors, some of the limitations of the study are that they do not check antibody levels or test patients for Covid-19, which means they do not know how many people in the control group had developed natural antibodies.
The study also did not include data on neonatal outcomes.
14 hours ago
For the first time, cases of children with covid-19 exceed one million in a week
By Jen Christensen
(Credit: GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
New COVID-19 cases among children surpassed 1 million last week for the first time since the American Academy of Pediatrics began tracking infections, the group reported today.
In the week ending Jan. 20, there were at least 1.15 million new cases, a rate that is almost five times higher than the peak of last winter's increase, the group reported.
According to the organization, children (who make up 22% of the US population) now account for 25.5% of total weekly reported cases.
Since the beginning of September, almost 5.6 million new cases have been reported among children.
The group said it is also the 24th week in a row that more than 100,000 children have tested positive for the virus.
Nonetheless, children remain statistically less likely than adults to be hospitalized with Covid-19, and data from states that report hospitalizations by age showed hospitalization rates were similar last week to the previous week.
15 hours ago
Elton John postpones concerts in Dallas after testing positive for covid-19
Elton John's concerts at the American Airlines Center in Dallas have been postponed after the singer tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement from the venue.
The venue announced that the "Farewell Yellow Brick Road" tour, which has already been postponed, will not be held this Tuesday and Wednesday.
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce that the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour dates in Dallas, for Tuesday, January 25 and Wednesday, January 26, must be postponed due to Elton recently testing positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, Elton He is fully vaccinated, and is only experiencing mild symptoms […] Elton and the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour look forward to returning to the stage shortly," venue officials said in a statement.
The singer had just returned to acting after a hiatus of almost two years due to the pandemic.
The tour was also delayed last year due to testing John had announced tour dates in June 2021, saying then: Elton and the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour hope to return to the stage shortly," the venue wrote in a statement.
The singer had just returned to acting after a hiatus of almost two years due to the pandemic.
The tour was also delayed last year as he underwent hip surgery.
It is not yet clear if the tour, which was scheduled to stop in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Oklahoma City on Saturday and Sunday, will go ahead or be postponed.
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