Tag: covid

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COVID Vaccinations for Those Who Have Recovered?

On By ModernMedia

As mass COVID vaccination programmes get underway around the world, an Op-Ed in MedPage Today debates whether people who have recovered from COVID should receive a vaccination.

Even given that there are over 200 vaccines in development, with a typical 7% success rate for vaccines, the 80-95% efficacy reported for the various vaccines being administered and the numbers of successful vaccines is a great outcome. Despite this, considering the great difficulty in producing enough vaccines for the world, should perhaps people who recovered from COVID not receive the vaccine, as they now are protected by a level of immunity?

The perspectives of immunology and bioethics indicate why such a person should also be vaccinated. There would be no difference in vaccinating a person who has had COVID to a person who has recovered then been re-exposed or re-infected. In both cases, a rapid immune response will be mounted in either individual, and either will be asymptomatic or present with mild, manageable symptoms. A re-exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus or receiving a vaccine might strengthen such a person’s immunity to future COVID infections.The immune system maintains an immunological library in our lymphatic system which stores memory lymphocytes (B cells) that respond to any past infection encountered by an individual. On a second or third exposure to a particular pathogen, these B cells are mobilised and rapidly prevent re-infection. Vaccines are designed to mimic a viral exposure without eliciting a dangerous viral infection. B cells don’t cause illness, only prompting the immune system, mitigating the infection.
Furthermore, vaccinations confer additional protections beyond just that of the disease which they are meant to protect against. There are abundant data that shows that vaccinations against measles, influenza, or TB generate lymphocytes that even help protect vaccinated individuals against COVID. In one theory on why young children do not present with severe COVID, standard childhood vaccinations are believed to  boost their overall level of immunity.

With so many factors complicating vaccine administration, it is best not to add yet another wrinkle, and there is also no information to suggest that vaccinating someone who has recovered from a virus will cause harmful effects. On the contrary, re-exposure to a virus or a subsequent vaccination against that virus could generate superior lymphocytes to combat further infection.

Source:MedPage Today

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New Year Sees SA Hospitals Battling for Resources Amid COVID Surge

On By ModernMedia

As the new year begins, South African hospitals are struggling as unprecedented numbers of COVID cases in the second wave are pushing resources to the limit. Hospitals are having to cope with the situation even as their own workers are off sick or self-isolating.

Last week, at least one province was reported to have reached out to the army to request additional personnel to help cope with the additional burden. Wester Cape premier Alan Winde said the province was recruiting an additional 1 300 health care workers (HCWs)In a weekly media briefing, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala stated on Sunday that a total of 8 723 public sector HCWs had been infected with COVID since the start of the pandemic.

“Of the total infected, 98 have sadly succumbed to the disease. The majority of the infected health-care workers are nurses,” he said. HCWs are also struggling with burnout and illness.  Experts had long been predicting the impact the second wave would have on South Africa’s already weakened health infrastructure. As of Sunday, 3rd January, there were a total of 167 492 active cases in the country.  

Dr Kams Govender, who works west of Durban, said: “What we are experiencing now is just the tremor, the tsunami is yet to come in mid January. It’s hit us hard and it’s going to hit us even harder then. We are physically and emotionally exhausted, and worse, losing our health-care colleagues every single day. But still we push on and show up and pray for better days where there is more light than darkness.”

The hospital at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital (PMMH) in Umlazi, KZN, was reported to be full and bodies had to be taken to funeral homes within 48 hours.

One nurse at PMMH said, “The hospital is full, the Covid wards are full, the normal wards are full. There are no beds for our outpatients, they lie in the passage on stretchers waiting for beds. The Covid patients will be placed with one another in a consultation room. We try to separate them but it’s not a proper place for patients to be in because there are no beds, just the stretchers. We are running out of oxygen points because there are so many patients that need oxygen. We tend to prioritise who needs it more, but right now everyone needs it.”
Source: Sowetan Live

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WHO Team Barred from Entry into China

On By ModernMedia

According to the World Health Organization, its team sent to China to investigate the origins of COVID were denied entry.

Conveying his disappointment at the team being barred from entry into China due to visas not being issued, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalized the necessary permissions for the team’s arrival in China.”

Addressing the media in Geneva, he continued, “I’m very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute, but had been in contact with senior Chinese officials.”

“But I have been in contact with senior Chinese officials. And I have once again made it clear that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team.” He added, “We are eager to get the mission underway as soon as possible.” 

The experts were to investigate the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wuhan.  The team of 10 will be led by Peter Ben Embarek, WHO’s expert on zoonoses – diseases that cross over the species barrier into humans from animals.

Dr Michael Ryan, the emergencies chief at WHO, said the understanding was that the team would begin the deployment from Tuesday, and that two of its members had begun travelling to China, with one member already turned back due to visa issues while the other was still in transit.

“We did not want to put people in the air unnecessarily if there wasn’t a guarantee of their arrival in China being successful,” said Ryan. “Dr Tedros has taken immediate action and has spoken with senior Chinese officials and has fully impressed upon them the absolute critical nature of this.”
“We hope that this is just a logistical and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly,” he continued.

According to the The Financial Times, Hua Chunying, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, on Wednesday said, “Tracing the source [of the virus] is a complicated issue. To ensure that the international team’s work progresses smoothly, they must go through the necessary procedures.”

Source: The Independent

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New Study Shows Pollution May Accelerate COVID Spread

On By ModernMedia

A study from the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University shows that pollution may have contributed to the rapid spread of COVID through the United States.

The spread of COVID is directly associated with the long-term ambient level of PM2.5 (particles less 2.5 micrometres in diameter) and the reproduction number R0 for the coronavirus. PM2.5 are small enough to enter the lungs and cause damage. Matters are only worsened with secondary inorganic components in PM2.5.

Looking at 43 factors such as age, population density and time delays in lockdown orders, and comparing it to pollution statistics, they found a linear association with PM2.5 concentrations and inorganic components. Interestingly, this relationship only appeared above a certain level of air pollution.

“Annual mean PM2.5 national standards are set at or below 12 microgrammes per cubic metre, below that you are supposed to be safe,” said Rajan Chakrabarty, associate professor in the Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. “What we saw, the correlation we’re seeing is well below that standard.”

More detailed analysis showed that black carbon in the form of soot had a synergistic effect. “We found black carbon acts as a kind of catalyst. When there is soot present, PM2.5 has more of an acute effect on lung health, and therefore on R0.”

Source: Science Daily

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Black Market for Negative COVID Tests

On By ModernMedia

According to Business Insider South Africa, falsified negative COVID tests are being used around the world, with even a black market for them existing.

In France, seven people were arrested when a traveller at Charles de Gaulle Airport was discovered trying to travel with a falsified negative COVID digital certificate. The fraudulent certificates were being sold for $180 (R2,800) to $360 (R5,600) each. In October, a group of travellers in Brazil faked their own COVID test results trying to get into the Fernando de Noronha island group. While in the UK, a number of people admitted altering the test results for friends, because the certificates were electronic and very simple to alter and then print.

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COVID Risks Resurgence of a Tropical Disease

On By ModernMedia

In an article on The Conversation, Raphael Taiwo Aruleba, a PhD in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town, writes that COVID is causing a dangerous setback for the battle against preventable diseases, potentially leading to the resurgence of a particular tropical disease.

One of these is the tropical disease leishmaniasis, which is caused by a parasite transmitted by sandflies in environments with open sewage. It can cause disability, social stigma and death.

Aruleba believes that COVID has reversed the progress against  leishmaniasis by ten years. Prevention is focused on controlling the insect disease vector with surveillance, insecticides and nets. However, COVID has made it difficult for researchers to assess areas and for routine spraying to be done, and resources have been diverted to fight COVID. Only 0.6% of the WHO’s research budget is for leishmaniasis.

The Leishmania parasite and SARS-CoV-2 are also potentially co-infectious, exacerbating one another. Aruleba concludes that other diseases should not be neglected in the fight against COVID.

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COVID Vaccines May Lose Potency as Virus Evolves

On By ModernMedia

Looking to a time beyond the development of COVID vaccines, researchers are attempting to determine how long the SARS-CoV-2 virus will take to develop resistance to those vaccines.

David Kennedy, assistant professor of biology at Pennsylvania State University said, “A COVID-19 vaccine is urgently needed to save lives and help society return to its pre-pandemic normal,” said David Kennedy, assistant professor of biology. “As we have seen with other diseases, such as pneumonia, the evolution of resistance can quickly render vaccines ineffective. By learning from these previous challenges and by implementing this knowledge during vaccine design, we may be able to maximise the long-term impact of COVID-19 vaccines.”

The researchers recommend that vaccines be designed to create multiple immune responses, making it harder for the vaccine to survive the immune system’s attack, much the way multiple antibiotics are used to suppress bacterial infections, by forcing the virus to have multiple mutations to survive.

Strongly suppressing virus transmission through the host is key to minimising the amount of mutation and thereby the lifespan of the vaccine’s  effectiveness.

“According to the World Health Organization, at least 198 COVID-19 vaccines are in the development pipeline, with 44 currently undergoing clinical evaluation,” said Kennedy. “We suggest that the risk of resistance be used to prioritise investment among otherwise similarly promising vaccine candidates.”

Source: SciTech Daily

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Dolphins, Seals and Whales Are Vulnerable to COVID

On By ModernMedia

The COVID pandemic may infect susceptible marine mammals from wastewater discharge into the oceans, according to researchers from the Department of Pathology at Dalhousie.

The team used genomic mapping to identify which animals would be vulnerable to the virus. Key amino acids which the viruses bound to were found to be shared across humans and certain marine mammals. 
“Many of these species are threatened or critically endangered,” said Dr Graham Dellaire, director of the study. “In the past, these animals have been infected by related coronaviruses that have caused both mild disease as well as life-threatening liver and lung damage.”

18 out of 21 dolphin and porpoise species were predicted to have the same or higher susceptibility to the virus as humans, as well as eight out of nine seal species. SARS-CoV-2 is excreted in faeces, and can survive in the water for 25 days, creating a new pathway for infection. Thus far, no infection in marine animals has been observed.

The animals can be monitored for infection in a number of ways, including with the colourfully named SnotBot drone, which can sample whale mucus from blowholes.

Plans include vaccinating the animals, limiting contact at zoos and monitoring and treating wastewater.

Source: Phys.org 

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Urgent Plea as COVID Leaves SA Blood Stocks Critically Low

On By ModernMedia

The Citizen reports that blood stocks in South Africa are running critically low, and the South African National Blood Service is appealing to businesses, universities, schools and churches to help achieve its minimum requirement of 4 000 units a day.

Demand has surged since lockdown as elective surgeries are now being conducted, as well as a return to increased numbers of accidents.

A statement released by the SANBS reads: “Blood stocks have dropped to critically low levels. The immediate impact is an inability to issue blood in emergencies and the possible loss of lives. We need healthy donors to give blood now.”

Dr Karen de Berg of the SANBS says that the shortfall is resulting from not being able to station blood donation drives at businesses, universities and schools. The SANBS is appealing for donors to visit their website or social media pages to locate their nearest blood donation centres, and is hoping to set up donation drives at churches and petrol stations.

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“Long COVID” Linked to Pre-existing Conditions

On By ModernMedia

Studies on re-admission of diseases other than COVID, such as influenza, concluded that they were caused by complex interactions within the immune system.

Patients are currently considered cleared of COVID after two sequential negative tests.

Researchers from the bio-information firm “nference” performed a retrospective analysis of 266 patients treated for COVID.
This analysis compared patients admitted or re-admitted after viral clearance with patients hospitalised before viral clearance but did not require hospitalisation after viral clearance.
The researchers at nference used neural network models to draw out factors such as comorbidities in their dataset. The results showed that the hospitalised post-viral clearance group showed acute kidney injury (n=15 (16.1%)), anaemia (n=20 (21.5%)), and cardiac arrhythmia (n=21 (22.6%)) in the year preceding the onset of COVID.

The authors of the study by nference hope the information will guide further research into risk factors for COVID.

Source: News-Medical.Net