, 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 

Killian Meara

A recent study conducted by investigators from the RAND Corporation, in collaboration with Indiana University, has found that the early vaccine campaign that was initiated in the United States prevented a significant amount of deaths, as well as cases of COVID-19.

Results from the study were published in the journal 

“This study brings into focus the dramatic success of the early months of the nation’s coronavirus vaccine rollout,” Christopher Whaley, senior author on the study said. “The findings provide support for policies that further expand vaccine administration to enable a larger proportion of the nation’s population to benefit.”

For the study, the team of investigators created models which estimated the number of COVID0-19 deaths and cases that would have occurred if the early vaccine campaign had never happened.

The team gathered information from each state on the number of vaccine doses administered from the Bloomberg COVID-19 vaccine tracker and data on COVID-19 deaths for each state from The New York Times’ Coronavirus (COVID-19) Data in the United States database.

Findings from the study showed that progress of vaccinations varied over time in different states.

Deaths that were prevented because of the early vaccinations were estimated to be around 140,000, with cases prevented being an estimated 3 million by the second week of May, 2021.

Additionally, the economic value of the lives saved during the study period is estimated to be between $625 billion and $1.4 trillion.

“Our results suggest that further efforts to vaccinate populations globally and in a coordinated fashion will be critical to achieving greater control of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sumedha Gupta, first author on the study said.

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The study was supported by the National Institutes on Aging.

Early Vaccine Campaign in United States Prevented Deaths

A recent study conducted by investigators from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has found that even a short stay in the hospital with a COVID-19 infection can results in long-term health and financial impacts for patients.

Results from the study were published in 

“This isn’t patients saying, ‘I can’t run quite as far as I used to’. This is them saying ‘I can’t walk, I can’t cook, I can’t shower’. The effects are devastating,” C. Terri Hough, a co-lead author on the study said. “Unfortunately, we saw this even among patients with quite short hospital stays.”

For the study, the team of investigators enrolled 1,300 patients at 44 major medical centers in the Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Network. The analysis presented in this study included 253 patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19.

The study period lasted from the fall of 2020 through the early part of 2021.

Findings from the study showed that close to 85% of people that were hospitalized with COVID-19 said that they were not back to their pre-COVID live 1 month later. Many of the participants had new or worse cardiopulmonary symptoms, along with other significant factors which may be driving their inability to fully recover.

Financial impact was also widespread, with 23% of the participants reporting using up their life savings.

Additional findings showed that almost half of the patients who were surveyed during the study period reported a new disability that prevented them from taking part in daily living activities 1 month later.

“As we continue, we’re excited that this study will link the biology of initial hospitalizations for COVID-19 to long-term patient-centered outcomes, and thereby help us find treatments to decrease the burden of recovery from COVID-19,” Hough said. “There are few other national studies that have both details about the hospital stay and are continuing to ask for patient perspectives like we are.”

One of the major risk factors was a lack of follow-up healthcare services.

Short COVID-19 Hospitals Stays May Results in Long-Term Health and Financial Impacts

A recent study conducted by investigators from Rutgers University has found that individuals who had a severe case of COVID-19 or experience long-lasting cases of the disease are more likely to have a higher level of an important antibody which helps fight a future infection.

“Neurological changes, including brain fog and problems with memory or vision, were infrequent among infected participants but did tend to last for many months when they occurred," Daniel B. Horton, a co-author on the study said. "Notably, having persistent symptoms was also associated with having higher antibody levels over time. We know from other research that vaccination further enhances immune protection and sometimes even helps ease long-term symptoms.”

The study was part of the Rutgers Corona Cohort Study, which followed 548 healthcare workers, along with 283 non-healthcare workers, from the beginning of the pandemic so that they could better understand risk factors, antibody responses and symptoms associated with a SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Findings from the study showed that within 6 months from when the study started, more than 93 of the participants had tested positive for the virus or for antibodies. Of those, 24 had severe symptoms and 14 were asymptomatic.

The study also found that healthcare workers were significantly more likely to become infected and have severe symptoms.

Around one-third of the participants showed symptoms which lasted for at least 1 month, including fatigue, shortness of breath and loss of taste and smell.

Additionally, the majority of the infected participants developed sustained antibodies which last up to 6 months. However, more of those with the severe symptoms were seen to have antibodies compared to those with mild to moderate symptoms.

“One-third of infected participants had symptoms lasting 1 month or longer. Fatigue, respiratory, and neurologic symptoms lasted for months in at least 10% of affected individuals,” the authors wrote. “Participants with prolonged symptoms, who were generally more severely symptomatic, also tended to have higher antibody levels over time. Going forward, this cohort of uninfected and infected, seropositive and seronegative, participants will allow further investigation of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, risks factors for re-infection, and relationships between infection and vaccine responses.”

IgG titers were positively linked with symptom severity and certain comorbidities.

Those With Severe COVID-19 Have High Levels of Important Antibody

A recent study conducted by investigators from Checkpoint BLN, in collaboration with Freie Universität Berlin, has found that providing free pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy in a community setting can help to increase uptake in men who have sex with men (MSM) and trans individuals.

Results from the study were recently presented at this year’s 

11th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science.

Due to the socio-economic differences in low-income MSM and trans individuals, the uptake of PrEP therapy can be impacted.

The investigators for this study sought to improve PrEP uptake in these populations by implementing what they called Prep500, which included free provision of PrEP, counselling and regular screenings for sexually transmitted infections (STI) in a community setting.

The study included 224 individuals, with 177 having at least 1 follow up STI examination and 160 answering a follow up questionnaire. The patients were followed regularly for 48 weeks and were examined for sociodemographic characteristics and current STI prevalence at baseline.

Findings from the study demonstrated that there were no HIV infections reported during the study period. However, 49% of the participants were diagnosed with at least one bacterial STI, including: 10 Syphilis infections, 72 chlamydial infections and 90 gonococcal infections.

Additionally, among the participants who were without current PrEP use at baseline, high-risk contacts were seen to decrease by 91%, while the number of sex partners and condomless intercourse did not increase.

“PREP500 demonstrated the feasibility of providing PrEP in a community setting in Germany. PREP500 helped increase PrEP uptake among low income MSM and trans individuals in Berlin before PrEP was covered by health insurance,” the authors wrote. “It was effective in targeting economically disadvantaged and other hard-to-reach MSM and trans individuals and in reducing HIV transmission risks.”

HIV risk perception and concern regarding HIV infection declined during the study.

Providing Free PrEP to MSM and Trans Individuals in a Community Setting

A recent study which was conducted by investigators from the University of Waterloo has found that better face masks and good ventilation can help to mitigate the spread COVID-19 while indoors.

“There is no question it is beneficial to wear any face covering, both for protection in close proximity and at a distance in a room,” Serhiy Yarusevych, leader author on the study said. “However, there is a very serious difference in the effectiveness of different masks when it comes to controlling aerosols.”

For the study, the team of investigators conducted experiments which used a mannequin to simulate people seated and breathing in a large room.

Additionally, the team also quantified the impact that ventilation systems can have on the accumulation of aerosols.

Findings from the study demonstrated that the most commonly worn masks, such as cloth and surgical ones, only filter roughly 10% of exhaled aerosol droplets, mostly due to a lack of proper fitting. The other 90% of aerosols are redirected out of the top of the mask and into the ambient air.

Higher quality masks, such as N95 and KN95 masks were seen to filter more than 50% of exhaled aerosols.

The study also found that even moderate air filtration systems can be just as effective as the highest quality masks in reducing the risk of transmission.

“A lot of this may seem like common sense,” Yarusevych said. “There is a reason, for instance, that medical practitioners wear N95 masks – they work much better. The novelty here is that we have provided solid numbers and rigorous analysis to support that assumption.”

Common cloth and surgical masks allow for the build-up of aerosol droplets over time.

Better Face Masks, Ventilation Mitigates Spread of COVID-19

A recent study conducted by investigators from the Centre for Safe Medication Practice and Research at the University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with the School of Nursing, has found that there is an increased risk of Bell’s Palsy after the administration of the CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccine.

“Bell's palsy is usually transient, with 70% of patients recovering within 6 months without treatment,” the authors wrote. “However, patients with incomplete recovery of facial function might have incomplete eye closure, brow ptosis, and nasal valve collapse, which can potentially affect daily life.”

For the study, the team of investigators conducted a nested case-control study where they assessed the risk of Bell’s Palsy within 42 days after the administration of either the Pfizer or CoronaVac COVID-19 vaccines.

The study included participants who received a first dose of either vaccine between February and May of 2021 and were matched 1:4 by age, sex, admission setting and admission date.

Findings from the study showed that 451,939 received 1 dose of CoronaVac and 537,205 received 1 dose of Pfizer. Of those, there were 28 clinically confirmed cases of Bell’s Palsy reported following the CoronaVac vaccine and 16 following the Pfizer vaccine.

Additional findings demonstrated that the nested case-control analysis showed 298 cases which were matched to 1181 controls, and the adjusted odds ratio were 2.385 for CoronaVac and 1.755 Pfizer.

“Our findings suggest an overall increased risk of Bell's palsy after CoronaVac vaccination,” the authors wrote. “However, the beneficial and protective effects of the inactivated COVID-19 vaccine far outweigh the risk of this generally self-limiting adverse event. Additional studies are needed in other regions to confirm our findings.”

While an association was found, the adverse events are very rare.

Killian Meara

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