Researchers from South Africa to examine association between HIV and Covid-19 

Accumulating evidence shows that the HIV and Covid-19 pandemics could be producing new coronavirus variants. Coronavirus can linger on for months in immunocompromised persons such as those with untreated HIV and mutate. Some mutations may be advantageous to the virus. Now, researchers at the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) will investigate the impact of the two pandemics acting in concert with each other. Research would study how the immune systems of patients with HIV would react to Covid-19 and whether this would lead to emergence of new variants…. (Source: Medscape, Feb. 2, 2022)

COVID-19 wastewater surveillance as an early warning system

For the first time, the CDC will include data from wastewater Covid-19 surveillance in its online COVID Data Tracker to study the spread of infection in a community. Shedding of the virus in the feces begins very early in the infection. “Because increases in wastewater generally occur before corresponding increases in clinical cases, wastewater surveillance serves as an early warning system for the emergence of COVID-19 in a community”, said Dr Amy Kirby, team lead for the National Wastewater Surveillance System, which collects data from more than 400 testing sites across the US … (CDC, Feb. 4, 2022)

Gut dysbiosis in long Covid patients

Findings from a study published in Gut has for the first time shown altered gut microbiome at 6 months in patients with long Covid or post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS), whereas patients who did not have PACS showed recovered gut microbiome. The bacterial diversity and richness was much lower in patients with PACS vs those without PACS. Gut microbiome of long Covid patients had higher levels of Ruminococcus gnavus, Bacteroides vulgatus and lower levels of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. An association between opportunistic gut pathogens and continued respiratory symptoms was seen. Similarly, a correlation between neuropsychiatric symptoms and fatigue with nosocomial gut pathogens was also observed… (Source: Gut, Jan. 26, 2022)

Novavax files application for EUA of its COVID Vaccine

Novavax has applied for emergency use authorization (EUA) of its Covid-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, for persons aged ≥18 years on the basis of results from clinical trials which demonstrated around 90% efficacy and a “reassuring safety profile”. These trials, however, were conducted before the Omicron variant replaced the delta variant to become the dominant strain in the US. The two-dose vaccine is administered at a gap of 21 days… (Source: Medscape, Feb. 1, 2022)

Pfizer seeks approval of its vaccine for under-5 children 

Pfizer and BioNTech have also applied to the US FDA to expand the EUA for their Covid-19 vaccine to include children aged 6 months to 4 years. Currently, approval has initially been sought for two doses of 3µg each. Permission for the third dose will be filed in the coming months, say Pfizer and BioNTech. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee of the FDA will meet on Feb. 15 to review the application. Currently, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved for use in children 5-11 years of age; a single booster dose has also been approved for children aged 12-15 years … (Source: Medscape, Feb. 1, 2022)

Omicron BA.2 sublineage is more transmissible than BA.1

The BA.2 sublineage of the Omicron variant is more infectious than the BA.1 variant and causes more infections in households. According to a preprint study from Denmark, BA.2 was associated with an increased risk for infection for unvaccinated individuals (Odds Ratio (OR) 2.19), fully vaccinated individuals (OR 2.45) and booster-vaccinated individuals (OR 2.99) compared to BA.1. The unvaccinated persons with BA.2 infection were 2-times (OR 2.62) more likely to transmit the virus among the household compared to those with BA.1... (Source: medRxiv, Jan. 30, 2022)

Unvaccinated persons at 23 times higher risk of hospital admission due to Omicron 

The chances of hospitalization are 23 times higher for unvaccinated adults during the Omicron wave and they are also four times more likely to contract the infection compared to the boosted adults, according to a CDC report. The unvaccinated persons were at 5 times higher risk of hospital admission and 2 times more at risk of getting infected compared to the fully vaccinated, but non-boosted individuals. They were also more likely to need intensive care or mechanical ventilation. Their mortality was also higher …(Source: Medpage Today, Feb. 1, 2022)