Coronavirus / COVID

It was a week marked by significant FDA decisions and COVID-19 treatment updates.

The last available COVID-19 monoclonal antibody, bebtelovimab, is now no longer authorized due to suspected inability to neutralize the most dominant COVID-19 variants, Omicron BQ.1.1 and BQ.1.

With an already overwhelming respiratory virus season with RSV and influenza, the hope is to prevent COVID-19 with these vaccines available to younger pediatric populations.

A deep dive into the number of deaths from COVID-19 and other causes reveals a significant disparity between the US and its peer nations.

A new study examining COVID-19 outcomes over time found evidence supporting the use of dexamethasone and raised concerns about using nonconcurrent controls in large platform trials.

COVID-19 hospital patients were prescribed 21.81% more antibiotics than patients without COVID-19. How did this affect their risk of coinfection?

Today, Pfizer-BioNTech filed submitted an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to administer their Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster in children under 5 years of age.

Alternative strategies to increase immunogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines in immunosuppressed kidney transplant recipients are evaluated in clinical trial.

Investigators looked at COVID-19 related hospitalizations in infants less than 6 months old who were unable to be vaccinated. The researchers used population-based surveillance for lab-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations.

A recent study by investigators at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found few mild adverse events from monoclonal antibody treatment among pregnant people with COVID-19, but no difference in COVID-19 outcomes.

Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline are the latest companies to bring their COVID-19 booster vaccine to the marketplace with the European Commission’s approval of VidPrevtyn Beta.

New clinical findings suggest the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster elicited more neutralizing antibody titers for all tested emerging Omicron sublineages, compared to their original COVID-19 vaccine.

Earlier and higher rates of RSV and other respiratory illnesses following reduced COVID precautions challenge capacity of pediatric units.

Read and watch the infectious disease trial data shared this week.

Young women who binge drink, and especially those who use multiple substances, had a higher risk of COVID-19 infection and mental health complications.

Safety profile in this study showed the frequency of adverse reactions with these boosters were similar or lower than that of either a second or third dose of the original vaccine.

Looking for the latest developments in infectious disease? Here are the top stories Contagion covered this week.

In Boston school districts, lifting mask mandates was correlated with an additional 44.9 COVID-19 infections per 1000 students and staffers.

Studies suggest young women’s substance use is catching up to men's. Tammy Chung, PhD, examined whether this was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frontier Biotechnologies reported data from its phase 1 trial for its investigational therapy, FB2001, for patients exposed to the virus.

The benefits to children of wearing face masks to prevent COVID-19 outweigh potential infectious risks from face touching, according to a study analyzing hand-to-face contact in a simulated school environment.

In communities of color, hesitancy, mistrust, and access issues all drove low COVID-19 vaccination rates during the pandemic.

Vaxxinity is moving forward with research to bring its UB-612 COVID-19 vaccine to market as a mix-and-match booster to authorized vaccines.

Is it safe and beneficial to administer a second immunomodulator in patients with moderate COVID-19? How do we identify which patients are likely to progress to severe disease?

Remdesivir was the first FDA-approved drug to fight COVID-19, but how has it held up against the latest variants?

“In the long run, what we will have is a virus that will become endemic in our population," said Donald J. Alcendor, MD. "The idea of thinking we can chase variants with boosters is a failed effort. We must realize that.”

Nearly 150 million people were affected by common symptoms of long COVID in 2020 and 2021, according to an analysis of global data on more than 1.2 million people.

The simple truth is that the long-lasting symptoms of COVID are something we should all be worried about.

What makes Novavax’s COVID-19 booster different? The adjuvanted vaccine “has kept recognizing variants that arise,” says Novavax executive director Germán Áñez, MD.

Our cover story for the October 2022 print edition of Contagion details the original coronavirus.