With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev

Omicron continues to be the dominant strain globally

The dominant SARS-CoV-2 strain is still Omicron, says the WHO in its latest COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update. The BA.2 is the dominant Omicron sublineage, even though there has been a  decreased from 78% to 75% in the preceding 30 days. The prevalence of BA.1 sublineage has also reduced from 7% to 4%. However, there has been a rise in BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages in the same period. BA.2.12.1 has increased from 11% to 16%; BA.4 from 2% to 3%, while BA.5 has increased from 1% to 2%...(Source: WHO, June 1, 2022)

Burnout highly prevalent in medical students

In a survey of 613 medical students conducted in 2021, more than half (54%) of the students were found to have symptoms of burnout due to the pandemic. Eighty percent reported emotional exhaustion; 57% had high cynicism scores, while 36% scored low on academic effectiveness. All these symptoms were more common female students vs male students. Female students were nearly twice as likely to develop burnout than male students with odds ratio of 2.12. The risk of burnout was higher for factors like smoking and death in the family due to Covid (Source: Medscape, June 1, 2022).;

Abnormal gas transfer may explain post-Covid shortness of breath

A hyperpolarized xenon 129MRI (Hp-XeMRI) could detect abnormalities in gas transfer in patients who complained of shortness of breath even months after recovering from Covid-19 but had normal CT scans and lung function tests. The Hp-XeMRI revealed lower DLCO  in post-Covid patients, both hospitalized and non-hospitalized, suggestive of a decline in lung function but no structural abnormality… (Source: Medscape, May 27, 2022)

Vaccination during pregnancy reduces risk of Covid-19 in newborns

A study from Norway has shown a 33% lower odds of newborns testing positive for Covid-19 if their mothers had been vaccinated against Covid-19 during pregnancy at 4 months of age compared to children born to mothers who had not been vaccinated with hazard ratio of 0.67 during the Omicron wave. This difference was even more noticeable during the delta wave where the risk of newborns testing positive for the virus reduced by 71% if their mothers had taken the Covid-19 vaccine... (Source: Medpage Today, June 1, 2022)