SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to be a topic of great concern. As weeks go by, it is evident that the Omicron family of viruses continue to grow in complexity. Figures one and two show the extent of variation from the beginning of the pandemic up to the present. Figure 1 roughly illustrates the complexity of SARS-CoV-2
On Wednesday, Maryland-based vaccine manufacturer Novavax released preliminary results from an early clinical phase study of its combination Covid/flu vaccine. The results found that the combination vaccine produced immune responses in patients that were comparable to those of its standalone flu and Covid vaccines. The company also found the vaccine formulation to be safe, with
Researchers say the drug fluvoxamine is effective as an outpatient treatment for COVID-19. Experts say fluvoxamine could widen access to COVID-19 treatments, although they expect it to be a somewhat minor tool in the medical community’s toolkit. They also note that more studies need to be done on fluvoxamine’s effectiveness against the Omicron variant. Fluvoxamine,
New UCLA research finds that 30% of people treated for COVID-19 developed Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), most commonly known as “Long COVID.” People with a history of hospitalization, diabetes, and higher body mass index were most likely to develop the condition, while those covered by Medicaid, as opposed to commercial health insurance, or
About 87% of children hospitalized with Covid-19 when the omicron variant was dominant were unvaccinated, according to a study released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offering a stark reminder of the risks of leaving children unvaccinated. KEY FACTS From mid-December to late February, unvaccinated children ages 5 to 11 had a hospitalization rate
Three percent of 10,403 adults with COVID-19 pneumonia were diagnosed as having new-onset dementia after a median of 182 days, a significantly higher proportion than that observed with other types of pneumonia, finds a study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases. University of Missouri at Columbia researchers conducted a case series of COVID-19 pneumonia patients along
How a well-known drug can become a game changer There is a steadily growing arsenal of drugs for COVID-19. Researchers from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Freie Universität (FU) Berlin have studied the mechanisms of action of antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs. Their findings, which have been published in Molecular Therapy, show
The New York State Department of Health today announced the emergence of two Omicron subvariants in New York State, BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1. Both variants are sub-lineages of BA.2, which now accounts for 80.6% of COVID-19 infections in New York. The subvariants have been estimated to have a 23% – 27% growth advantage above the original BA.2 variant.
A clinical study from Spain recently confirmed laboratory experiments made by researchers of Goethe University Frankfurt and University of Kent who showed that the protease inhibitor aprotinin prevented cells to be infected by SARS-CoV2. The authors of the clinical study report that patients receiving an aprotinin aerosol could be discharged from hospital significantly earlier. SARS-CoV-2, the
The Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus does not only cause infections of the respiratory tract. Other organ systems, such as the nervous system, can also be affected. In fact, Sars-CoV-2 mRNA has been detected in the brain in autopsies of patients who died from Covid-19. There is also growing evidence that coronaviruses can enter the retina of the
