Coverage From ID Week 2020

Kevin Kunzmann is the managing editor for 

. Prior to joining parent company MJH Life Sciences in 2017, he worked as a health care and government reporter for The Pocono Record, and as a freelance writer for NJ Advance Media, The Express-Times, The Daily Journal, and more. He graduated from Rowan University with a degree in journalism in 2015. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cooking, running his dog, and complaining about the Mets. Follow him on Twitter 

To-be-published clinical data from Novavax and Seqirus show the former’s COVID-19 vaccine remains efficacious and safe when co-administered with the latter’s influenza vaccines.

The findings, currently in pre-print status, are the first step toward assessment of coinciding vaccination among persons who may be at increased risk of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variant infection—as well as the flu—in the upcoming fall and winter season.

The threat of simultaneous respiratory viral outbreaks was averted last flu season, despite expressed concern from infectious disease experts, due to social distancing and masking mandates put in place during a resurgent third wave of COVID-19. But this upcoming year presents another opportunity for a pandemic-epidemic overlap.

In the second segment of an interview with 

, study author Dr. Raja Rajaran, Medical Affairs Led of EMEA at Seqirus, discussed the need for clinical and public health preparedness against a winter flu surge.

“The problem is we’ll never know until the surge, so people are starting to recognize from a public health standpoint that we should be prepared, and we should continue the vaccination updates,” he explained.

Rajaran also discussed the fascinating, nearly-identical crossover of standard COVID-19 and flu risk populations—which certainly helps to simplify vaccination target groups for the upcoming flu season. He added though, the effects of COVID-19 and flu in children is significant, and requires its own attention in preventive measures.

Videos

COVID-19 response restrained flu outbreaks last year. An expert explains his concern that won't be enough this winter.

What Will the 2021-22 Flu Season Look Like?

Was it natural zoonotic spillover that catapulted SARS-CoV-2 from an emerging virus into a pandemic pathogen or was it something much more sinister? Is it at all possible that a lab leak in Wuhan, China, was the spark that lit the fuse?

Debate and discussion about the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been at the forefront of the global consciousness since the first cases were reported in December 2019.

Early on, whispers of a potentially engineered virus quickly grew to a roar and fueled speculation that China was behind the pandemic. This narrative was so pervasive that, in February 2020, a group of 27 public health scientists 

 disputing the lab leak theory and announcing their support of their counterparts in China: the scientists, public health officials, and medical professionals combating the pandemic.

“The rapid, open, and transparent sharing of data on this outbreak is now being threatened by rumors and misinformation around its origins,” wrote the authors, who all declared no competing interests in their disclosures as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. “We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.”

And although it’s true that analyses of the genomic sequence of the virus subsequently pointed to natural origins, the questions regarding China’s role persisted, led by pesky discrepancies and conflicting reports.

Fast forward to June 2021 and new evidence that has breathed new life into those origin questions. In an update to the February 2020 letter, 

 an addendum with revised disclosure statements from virologist and investigator Peter Daszak, one of the 27 authors. In the revised document, Daszak noted that his remuneration is paid solely in the form of a salary from EcoHealth Alliance, a New York-based nonprofit research foundation of which he is president. The company has reportedly worked directly with Wuhan laboratories and funded gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Consider, too, other odd associations. Recent reports have uncovered financial ties between Google and EcoHealth Alliance. This comes after accusations that the tech giant was censoring lab leak “conspiracy theory” stories in its search results. Google’s health lead, David Feinberg, has dismissed those reports, insisting that the company is simply taking steps to protect users from unverified information.

Are these coincidences or “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” situations? It’s unclear. But they add to the bank of troublesome questions standing in the way of the truth about COVID-19.

The questions extend beyond origin theory, though. With the US Food and Drug Administration’s green lighting of vaccines for adolescents and young adults comes hesitation over long-term effects: What is the effect on fertility? Do the vaccines cause heart inflammation? Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of the mRNA technology, appeared on television recently, expressing strong concern over the risk-benefit analysis of vaccination for young adults, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently met to discuss instances of myocarditis or pericarditis in people aged 30 and younger who have received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.

Of course, the answer to our ultimate question is that we may never know.

We may never know where this virus came from. We may never know what triggered the global pandemic that has claimed more than 3.8 million lives. And we won’t know the long-term effects until enough time has elapsed. What we do know for certain is that the incredible strength and collaboration of the scientific community have allowed us to regain some semblance of normalcy. The development and rollout of multiple effective vaccine options have been the medical miracle of our lifetime.

That, right now, will have to be the only answer that matters.

Mike Hennessy Sr
Chairman and founder
MJH Life Sciences™

Articles

A preview of our August 2021 issue Chairman’s Letter.

Questions Linger Around COVID-19’s Origin 

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) announced today it had added 3 new evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of 

The guidelines, developed by a multidisciplinary panel with representatives from IDSA and SHEA, include 3 recommendations on suggested treatments for patients with initial and recurring CDI episodes, based on new data for fidaxomicin and for bezlotoxumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting toxin B produced by 

According to the panel, the recommendations are the result of systematic review of available evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of alternative care options. The panel adhered to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach to assess the certainty of the evidence and strength of recommendations. The guidelines are intended to aid clinicians in determining which treatments are best for individual patient scenarios.

The organizations set out 3 recommendations for initial and recurrent C diff treatment.

IDSA, SHEA Announce New Clostridioides Difficile Clinical Guidelines

Preprint data has been published from the first phase 3 trial to demonstrate efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of a 

The findings from a collaborative sub-study assessment between Novavax and Seqirus show the former’s recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373 and 2 of the latter’s seasonal flu vaccines had preserved immune efficacy in administered volunteers versus placebo, without observed new safety concerns and adverse events similar to those associated with each individual vaccine.

The trial included 431 volunteers from the UK being randomized 1:1 to either investigative NVX-CoV2372 plus adjuvanted trivalent or cell-based quadrivalent flu vaccine, or placebo.

regarding the findings, study co-author Raja Rajaran, Medical Affairs Led of EMEA at Seqirus, highlighted the impact of a COVID-19 and flu vaccine co-administration going into the 2021-22 flu season.

As Rajaran noted, experts and peers have begun speaking confidently to the conception that COVID-19 will remain active in the global population for “at least a few years,” due to circulating variants.

“Would we call that seasonal endemic, or what we would call what will happen in the next few years is a matter of debate,” Rajaran said. “I don’t think there’s a straightforward answer, but we will have COVID-19 circulating for the next few years, and one of the concerns is that when you open the travel up and reduce the social distancing measures, then flu can also emerge.”

Rajaran also discuss how the global population’s lack of exposure to overall viruses has created a “danger” to flu exposure and severity going forward.

An interview with a study author on new Novavax-Seqirus co-administration trial data, and the future concerns of circulating COIVD-19 and influenza.

Co-Administration of COVID-19, Flu Vaccine Yields Promising Results

, joined the MJH Life Sciences team in November 2020. He graduated from William Paterson University with a degree in liberal studies, and concentrations in history and psychology. He enjoys film, reading, and pretending he is a good cook. Follow him on Twitter 

Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been of significant concern to public health experts since the start of the pandemic. Initial variants, like the UK and South African strains, have caused additional outbreaks of 

One of the most recent variants, the Delta variant, is now one that is worrying experts the most.

The strain initially began in India, where it caused one of the worst outbreaks of infections the world has seen to date.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

 the Delta mutation to a classification of a "variant of concern”, where it was previously a “variant of interest.”

A “variant of concern” is defined by the CDC as “a variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (e.g., increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.”

The variant has made its way across the west, with it now becoming the dominant strain in the United Kingdom.

Luckily, COVID-19 vaccines still appear to be effective against it. A recent study conducted by Public Health England demonstrated that the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic disease from the variant 2 weeks after the second dose, compared to 93% effectiveness against the UK variant.

Likewise, the Astra Zeneca vaccine showed a 60% efficacy against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant compared to 66% effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 variant.

However, public health experts have now identified a variant of the Delta strain, which is being called “Delta Plus”.

Cases of the Delta Plus variant have now been identified in multiple countries, including the US, Canada, India, Japan, Nepal, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey.

Three worrying characteristics of the Delta Plus variant have been identified, which include increased transmissibility, stronger binding to receptors of lung cells and the potential reduction in monoclonal antibody response.

“If we go by the currently available evidence, Delta plus is not very different from Delta variant. It is the same Delta variant with one additional mutation,” Chandrakant Lahariya, a physician-epidemiologist and vaccines and health systems expert based in New Delhi said. “The only clinical difference, which we know till now, is that Delta plus has some resistance to monoclonal antibody combination therapy. And that is not a major difference as the therapy itself is investigational and few are eligible for this treatment.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that it is tracking recent reports of the Delta Plus variant. Experts advise the public to remain following COVID-19 restrictions and to get vaccinated as soon as possible if not inoculated already.

Delta Plus is very similar to the Delta variant with 1 additional mutation.

Mutation of Delta Variant Concerning Global Experts

Greater disease severity was associated with low executive functioning.

Patients Develop Cognitive and Behavioral Issues After COVID-19 Infection 

According to a small study, the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines do not impact male fertility.

MRNA COVID-19 Vaccines and Male Fertility

Examining pharmacological management in COVID-19 patients with ARDS requiring antifungal therapy during extracorporeal life support.

COVID-19–Associated Fungal Infections During EMCO: Review of Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Pharmacotherapy

Ken reports on medical innovations and advances in practice and edits presentations for news and professional education publications. He previously taught and mentored pharmacy and medical students, and provided and managed pharmacy care and drug information services. He regularly contributes to Contagion Live, HCP Live, Neurology Live, and Pain Medicine News.

The course of COVID-19 illness was likely to be less severe than of influenza in a study of hospitalized children.

Comparing COVID-19 and Influenza Course in Hospitalized Children

New findings on an available 15-minute test show an approximate 81% sensitivity in detection of SARS-CoV-2.

Rapid COVID-19 Antigen Test Provides Less Sensitivity Than PCR Assay

New findings from the ASM 2021 World Microbe Forum suggest the emergency-authorized platform can capably detected the highly transmissible UK-borne variant.

ThermoFisher RT-PCR COVID-19 Test Detects B.1.1.7 Variant

Investigators looked at data from 3 analyses showed a reduction in mortality was observed across a spectrum of baseline oxygen requirements, at different timeframes, over the course of the pandemic, and in various geographies.

Remdesivir Demonstrates Reduced Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19 

Africa sees third wave as only 1% of the population is fully vaccinated.

China Passes 1 Billion COVID-19 Vaccination Mark

The recombinant human IgG1κ monoclonal antibody binds and neutralizes the virus.

Treating Zaire ebolavirus With Ansuvimab-zykl

Saskia v. Popescu, PhD, MPH, MA, CIC, is a hospital epidemiologist and infection preventionist. During her work as an infection preventionist, she performed surveillance for infectious diseases, preparedness, and Ebola-response practices. She holds a doctorate in Biodefense from George Mason University where her research focuses on the role of infection prevention in facilitating global health security efforts. She is certified in Infection Control and has worked in both pediatric and adult acute care facilities.

A study paired long-term care facilities (LTCF) staff who were recovered with susceptible residents to help reduce transmission. The goal was simple: pair those susceptible staff and residents with those who were recovered and felt to have protective immunity.

Top Medical News

What Will the 2021-22 Flu Season Look Like?

Questions Linger Around COVID-19’s Origin

IDSA, SHEA Announce New Clostridioides Difficile Clinical Guidelines

Co-Administration of COVID-19, Flu Vaccine Yields Promising Results

Mutation of Delta Variant Concerning Global Experts

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