Dr. Boarhead’s Summary of Global Updates on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus: 10th January 2021
1.
Guardian
:
In a change of policy, applying across the UK, the NHS will now prioritize administering to as many people on the priority list as possible the first dose of vaccine to maximize the number of people protected against the disease. More than 500,000 people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 will have their second dose delayed for up to 12 weeks. That gap was originally expected to be three or four weeks.
<30 Dec.>
[key info]
Sec
ond-stage
COVID-19
vaccinations are to be delayed across the UK.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/30/covid-19-second-stage-nhs-vaccinations-delayed-across-uk
2. Virological:
Widespread transmission of an emerging pathogen, such as SARS-CoV-2, can potentially lead to further mutations that affect the transmissibility or effectiveness of countermeasures. Infrastructure for continuous monitoring of infectious viral diseases, as implemented in the UK, should be enabled worldwide in response to such changes.
<3 Jan.>
[key info]
The entire world needs better infrastructure to help monitor infectious viral diseases.
https://virological.org/t/mutations-arising-in-sars-cov-2-spike-on-sustained-human-to-human-transmission-and-human-to-animal-passage/578
3.
New York Times
:
The inactivated coronavirus vaccine BBIBP-CorV created by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and put into clinical trials by the state-owned Chinese company Sinopharm was approved by China on 31 Dec. 2020. Sinopharm’s clinical trials have demonstrated that BBIBP-CorV can protect people against COVID-19 with an efficacy rate of 79.34%.
<4 Jan.>
[key info]
BBIBP-CorV is 79.34% effective.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/health/sinopharm-covid-19-vaccine.html
4. US FDA:
Despite the discussions and news reports about reducing the number of doses, extending the length of time between doses, changing the dose (half-dose), or mixing and matching vaccines in order to immunize more people against COVID-19, the FDA reminds the public about the importance of receiving COVID-19 vaccines according to how they have been authorized in order to safely receive the level of protection observed in the large randomized trials supporting their effectiveness.
<4 Jan.>
[key info]
The US FDA recommends following the authorized dosing schedule for each COVID-19 vaccine.
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-statement-following-authorized-dosing-schedules-covid-19-vaccines
5.
Cell Metabolism
:
12,862 COVID-19 cases from 21 hospitals in Hubei, China were assigned equally to a training and a validation cohort. It was found that a neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) > 6.11 at admission was associated with a higher risk for mortality. Importantly, however, corticosteroid treatment in such individuals was associated with a lower risk of 60-day all-cause mortality. Conversely, in individuals with an NLR ≤ 6.11 or with type 2 diabetes, corticosteroid treatment was associated not with reduced mortality but with increased risks of hyperglycemia and infections.
<5 Jan.>
[key info]
Corticosteroid treatment may benefit non-diabetic COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms as defined by NLR.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413121000024
6.
New England Journal of Medicine
:
A total of 160 older adult patients were included in a randomized and placebo-controlled trial, in which convalescent plasma with high IgG titers against SARS-CoV-2 was given to the patients within 72 hours after the onset of mild symptoms. In the intention-to-treat population, severe respiratory disease developed in 13 of 80 patients (16%) who received convalescent plasma and in 25 of 80 patients (31%) who received the placebo, with a relative risk reduction of 48%. A modified intention-to-treat analysis that excluded 6 patients who had a primary end-point event before infusion of convalescent plasma or the placebo showed a larger effect size. No solicited adverse events were observed.
<6 Jan.>
[key info]
Early administration of high-titer convalescent plasma to mildly ill older adults may prevent severe COVID-19.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2033700
7.
Journal of the American Medical Association
:
VOC 202012/01 had accumulated 17 lineage-defining mutations prior to its detection in early Sep., which suggests a significant amount of prior evolution, possibly in a chronically infected host. As of 28 Dec. 2020, this variant accounted for approximately 28% of cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in England, and population genetic models suggest that it is spreading 56% more quickly than other lineages.
<6 Jan.>
[key info]
The new variant may have been evolving in last summer.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2775006?resultClick=1
8.
Science
:
Researchers analyzed multiple compartments of the circulating immune memory of SARS-CoV-2 in 254 samples from 188 cases, including 43 samples collected ≥ 6 months after infection. The level of Spike IgGs was relatively stable over the period. Spike-specific memory B cells were more abundant at Month 6 than Month 1 post symptom onset. SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells declined with a half-life of 3 to 5 months.
<6 Jan.>
[key info]
Immunity may be durable for 5 to 8 months after symptom onset.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/01/05/science.abf4063
9.
Wall Street Journal
:
CoronaVac, Sinovac’s vaccine, has shown to be 78% effective against COVID-19 in Brazilian late-stage trials and offers total protection against severe cases of the disease. Although the vaccine is less effective than those being developed by Moderna and jointly by Pfizer and BioNTech, it can be kept in a standard refrigerator between about 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit, making it easier and cheaper to transport and store in less developed countries.
<7 Jan.>
[key info]
CoronaVac is 78% effective and may be more welcome in the developing world.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sinovacs-covid-19-vaccine-is-78-effective-in-brazil-late-stage-trials-11610032825
This is issue fifty-four
, edited on the basis of information from the official websites including but not limited to those of
The World Health Organization,
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control,
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States of America, &
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy of the University of Minnesota
and from the forums of FluTrackers.com.
This issue is edited by Alex Sun, Dorothy Fang, Dora Zhang, and
Fred Wong,
under the supervision of Dr. Jason Chu and Conch Zhang.
2020 © The Chung Kwong Wui
