With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev

Use of Covid donor organs

Data regarding organ donation from donors who currently had Covid-19 or had the infection in the past will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases meeting to be held next month in Lisbon, Portugal. Experimental protocols for the use of these organs may be presented. Lungs or intestines should only be used if the donor last tested positive for the virus ≥20 days before, while other organs can be transplanted safely if the donor did not die due to Covid-19 or had excessive blood clotting … (Source: Medscape, March 24, 2022)

Moderna seeks EUA for Covid vaccine for children aged 6 months

Moderna has applied for emergency use authorization of its mRNA vaccine for use in children aged 6 months to 6 years based on data from the KidCOVE study. Moderna is also seeking approval of two doses of the vaccine in children six to 12 years old. According to the study, the vaccine induced similar levels of antibodies as in adults with a higher dose. The vaccine efficacy in protecting children aged six months to two years from Omicron was nearly 44% and that in children aged two to six years was 37.5%. Moderna vaccine is at present authorized for use only in adults aged ≥18 years … (Source: Times, March 23, 2022)

Common symptoms of long Covid 

More than 20% of the young and middle-aged adults, who had mild Covid-19, continue to experience post-acute symptoms of fatigue, difficulty in concentration, memory problems, dyspnea and rapid physical exhaustion 6-12 months after the mild acute infection, according to the EPILOC (Epidemiology of Long Covid) study. These symptoms greatly affected their general health and working capacity … (Source: medRxiv, March 15 2022)

Higher risk of diabetes in Covid-19 patients

A study reported in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology suggests that patients with Covid-19 are at a 40% higher risk of developing diabetes at one year. They also had an increased risk for incident use of antihyperglycemic drugs, according to analysis of data from 181,280 individuals in the US Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare database with diagnosis of COVID-19. While those with severe infection were at a higher risk of diabetes, even patients with mild Covid-19 had a high risk of diabetes. Hence, Covid patients should be regularly screened for diabetes…. (Source: Medscape, March 23, 2022)

Third dose of Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective

New data gives credence to the safety and efficacy of the third booster dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in persons aged ≥ 16 years. The third dose of the vaccine administered a median of 10.8 months after the second dose provided 95.3% efficacy against Covid-19 as compared with two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine during a median follow-up of 2.5 months. Covid-19 with onset at least 7 days after dose 3 was observed in 6 participants in the vaccine group and in 123 participants in the placebo group… (Source: NEJM, March 23, 2022)