EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has recommended updating the product information for Comirnaty to clarify that each vial contains 6 doses of the vaccine. In order to extract six doses from a single vial, low dead-volume syringes and/or needles should be used. The low dead-volume syringe and needle combination should have a dead volume of no more
ApoE4, a strong genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, has been associated with increased risk for severe COVID-19. However, it is unclear whether ApoE4 alters COVID-19 susceptibility or severity and the role of direct viral infection in brain cells remains obscure. In this paper, published in Cell Stem Cells, the Authors tested the neurotropism of
Therapies to interrupt the progression of early coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) remain elusive. Among them, convalescent plasma administered to hospitalized patients has been unsuccessful, perhaps because antibodies should be administered earlier in the course of illness. In this paper, published on NEJM, the Authors conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of convalescent plasma with high
Corticosteroid therapy is now recommended as a treatment in patients with severe COVID-19. But one key question is how to objectively identify severely ill patients who may benefit from such therapy. In a paper just published on Cell Metabolism, 12,862 COVID-19 cases from 21 hospitals in Hubei Province were equally assigned to a training and
The proximal origins of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV from civets and camels, respectively, are well documented. Few genetic changes in these viruses are required for the interspecies transfers to humans. While precise details and timing of the evolutionary pathways remain to be elucidated, it is also apparent that SARS-CoV-2 emerged from the Sarbecovirus subgenus of the
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has had a major impact on human health globally; infecting a large number of people; causing severe disease and associated long-term health sequelae; resulting in death and excess mortality, especially among older and vulnerable populations; interrupting routine healthcare services; disruptions to travel, trade, education and many other societal functions;
Does it spread more easily? Make people sicker? Mean that treatments and vaccines won’t work? Questions are multiplying as fast as new variants of the coronavirus, especially the one moving through England and now popping up in the U.S. and other countries. Scientists say there is reason for concern and more to learn but that
In an in-depth study of how COVID-19 affects a patient’s brain, National Institutes of Health researchers consistently spotted hallmarks of damage caused by thinning and leaky brain blood vessels in tissue samples from patients who died shortly after contracting the disease. In addition, they saw no signs of SARS-CoV-2 in the tissue samples, suggesting the
The new vaccine has been approved today after meeting the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards. The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University/AstraZeneca has today been given regulatory approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) after meeting required safety, quality and effectiveness standards. Following a rigorous, detailed scientific review by the MHRA’s
Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by the intense formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), leading to the occlusion of microvessels, as shown in pulmonary samples. The occurrence of ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a serious cardiac manifestation of COVID-19; the intrinsic mechanism of coronary thrombosis appears to still be unknown. Objective of the
