Coronavirus / COVID

From December 2020-September 2021, approximately 27 million COVID-19 infections, 1.6 million hospitalizations, and 235000 deaths were prevented by vaccination.

Treatment with the novel antiviral sabizabulin reduced COVID-19 death by 55.2% in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe disease.

The revised Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir) allows these providers to offer this COVID-19 therapy.

The commitment to ending the HIV epidemic endures, despite drops in testing and new diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here is a rundown of the most popular and significant stories we covered this past week.

Antibody levels decline in individuals with hybrid immunity similarly to vaccinated individuals, meaning all people need a booster vaccine to protect against future, potentially severe, infection.

Maternal mortalities increased 33.3% during the COVID-19 pandemic, while overall deaths increased 22%. Excess deaths were most prevalent in Hispanic and Black mothers.

The submission is based off both non-clinical and clinical data, including results from the phase 2/3 EPIC-HR study.

A computational framework for estimating vaccine effectiveness based on genetic differences of SARS-CoV-2 variants showed promising results in a new study that verified the model with clinical trial data.

Many people who self-report as symptomatic for COVID-19 neglect to get tested, largely citing not knowing where to go for a test as the reason.

A new analysis from a Massachusetts health system found in-hospital infections occurred at a higher rate when the Omicron variant was present compared to when wild-type SARS-CoV-2 was prevalent.

Sanofi and GSK, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Moderna are all working on booster candidates specifically designed to neutralize Omicron and its subvariants.

Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, signs off on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for individuals 6 through 17 years of age.

Women who were taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for at least 6 months before COVID-19 infection had a 22% reduced risk of mortality.

Wearable health sensors predicted COVID-19 infection with up to 73% accuracy 2-10 days before symptom onset.

The stress of enduring an infectious disease pandemic expresses itself in a variety of mental health conditions, but the likelihood of experiencing particular symptoms depends on who you are.

Outpatients were frequently given systemic corticosteroids on the day of COVID-19 diagnosis, suggesting this usage should be further studied for safety and efficacy.

Patients with a history of infection who were also vaccinated had the strongest protection, the data showed.

Studies, advances, and authorizations continue in this paramount area within infectious disease.

The CDC director endorsed the vote, and vaccines could be available to this young pediatric population by later this week.

This past week has been extremely busy in infectious disease with a lot of vaccine news that could impact young children. In addition, GSK reported on its phase 3 study on its RSV vaccine for seniors.

Following VRBPAC recommendations earlier this week, both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were FDA-authorized for children as young as 6 months.

Government agencies and researchers continue to monitor the potentially troubling trend.

Out of 102 monoclonal antibodies tested, only Cv2.1169 and Cv2.3194 cross-neutralized all variants of concern, including Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants.

The FDA VRBPAC votes to recommend mRNA vaccines in youngest children; WHO moves to rename monkeypox; Anthony Fauci is diagnosed with COVID-19; and Pfizer stops recruiting for a Paxlovid trial.

Today, the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) unanimously voted to recommend both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for children as young as 6 months old.

High vaccination rates at Cornell University prevented severe disease during the Omicron surge of the COVID-19 pandemic but didn’t stop the rapid spread of the virus, even with comprehensive public health measures.

The first report from WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO) concedes SARS-CoV-2 source remains a mystery.

The committee voted twice splitting the questions into younger children (6-11 years) and adolescent (12-17 years) cohorts due to different vaccine dosing amounts.

Aethlon Medical’s proprietary Hemopurifier is being studied to treat COVID-19, and they recently reported results.