Archives: 2021-03-04

SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 (UK) variant is more transmissible with a 43%-90% higher reproduction number and could induce cases resurgences.

A variant of SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in southeast England in November 2020 is more transmissible than pre-existing variants, a new modeling study of Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, published on Science, finds. Further analyses suggest the variant B.1.1.7 will lead to large resurgences of COVID-19 cases.

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EMA starts rolling review of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has started a rolling review of Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac), a COVID-19 vaccine1 developed by Russia’s Gamaleya National Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology. The EU applicant for this medicine is R-Pharm Germany GmbH. The CHMP’s decision to start the rolling review is based on results from laboratory studies and clinical studies in adults.

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SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.7 (so called UK) is susceptible to neutralizing antibodies elicited by wild type Spike vaccines

All current vaccines for COVID-19 utilize ancestral wild type SARS-CoV-2 Spike with the goal of generating protective neutralizing antibodies. The recent emergence and rapid spread of several SARS-CoV-2 variants carrying multiple Spike mutations raise concerns about possible immune escape. One variant, first identified in the United Kingdom (B.1.1.7, also called 501Y.V1 or 20I), contains eight

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Study of MIS-C vs. severe COVID in children suggests a continuum of illness, but flags key differences that could guide care

Study in JAMA reports interim findings from CDC-funded Overcoming COVID-19 Public Health Surveillance Registry; other studies ongoing Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) was first formally recognized in May 2020 as a post-infectious syndrome in children exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. In today’s JAMA, a study led by Boston Children’s Hospital refines the medical understanding of MIS-C and helps

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NIH Fauci and BARDA Disbrow: Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine proved 77% effective in preventing severe/critical COVID-19 occurring at least 14 days after vaccination and 85% effective in preventing severe/critical COVID-19 occurring at least 28 days after vaccination.

“The Janssen COVID-19 vaccine is a very welcome addition to the arsenal of COVID-19 vaccines and other prevention strategies. When tested among 45,000 volunteers, the single-injection vaccine proved 77 percent effective in preventing severe/critical COVID-19 occurring at least 14 days after vaccination and 85 percent effective in preventing severe/critical COVID-19 occurring at least 28 days

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Carolina clinical trial tests effectiveness of mouthwash to kill oral SARS-CoV-2

Laboratory experiments have shown mouthwash can quickly kill coronaviruses, but there’s no evidence mouthwash can prevent the virus from infecting people. The Adams School of Dentistry is investigating how well mouthwash works to reduce the amount of SARS-CoV-2. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry have launched a clinical trial to test

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A paper published in NEJM shows that in Israel BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine reduced cases by 94%

The Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine produces as good results in the “real world” as have been previously documented in randomised trials. A case control study, which has been peer reviewed and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, compared 596 618 people who were newly vaccinated in Israel and matched them to unvaccinated controls. Two doses

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Causes of death and comorbidities in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: the majority of patients had died of COVID-19 with only contributory implications of preexisting health conditions to the mechanism of death.

Infection by the new corona virus strain SARS-CoV-2 and its related syndrome COVID-19 has been associated with more than two million deaths worldwide. Patients of higher age and with preexisting chronic health conditions are at an increased risk of fatal disease outcome. However, detailed information on causes of death and the contribution of pre-existing health

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NCI study finds that people with SARS-CoV-2 antibodies may have a low risk of future infection

People who have had evidence of a prior infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, appear to be well protected against being reinfected with the virus, at least for a few months, according to a newly published study from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This finding may explain why reinfection appears to be relatively rare,

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FDA analysis:Janssen COVID vaccine is safe and effective also against Brazil and South Africa variant

The Food and Drug Administration’s staff released a briefing document on Wednesday endorsing Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot coronavirus vaccine as safe and effective. An FDA advisory panel will meet Friday to review the briefing document and vote on whether to recommend an emergency use authorization (EUA). The FDA could then issue the (EUA) as soon as this

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