Dr. Boarhead’s Summary of Global Updates on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus: 14 February 2021
1. bioRxiv:
Vaccines BBIBP-CorV and ZF2001 developed by China largely preserved neutralizing titers against the 501Y.V2 virus with slight reduction, compared to their titers against both the original SARS-CoV-2 and the currently circulating D614G virus. These data indicated that 501Y.V2 would not escape the immunity induced by vaccines targeting the whole virus or the recombinant dimeric receptor-binding domain (RBD).
<2 Feb.>
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Both BBIBP-CorV and ZF2001 could be used to prevent the new variants.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.02.01.429069v1
2.
Cell
:
The astrocytes of ApoE4, a strong genetic risk factor for the Alzheimer’s, exhibited enlarged size and elevated nuclear fragmentation upon SARS-CoV-2 infection, while remdesivir treatment was found effective in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection of hiPSC neurons and astrocytes. These findings suggest that ApoE4 is associated with increased risk for severe COVID-19.
<4 Feb.>
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ApoE4 may result in COVID-19 severity.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33450186/
3.
Nature
:
A COVID-19 patient treated with two courses of remdesivir and, later, two courses of convalescent plasma died 102 days after admission. After each course of convalescent plasma, the samples were dominated by viruses with a particular pair of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The mutations weakened the potency of the antibodies in convalescent plasma.
<5 Feb.>
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The potential for viral evolution calls for caution in using convalescent plasma.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03291-y
4.
New York Times
:
South Africa has halted the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222, after evidence emerged that the vaccine did not protect clinical-trial participants from mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious variant 501Y.V2, which was first seen in the country.
<7 Feb.>
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AZD1222 may be ineffective against 501Y.V2.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/world/south-africa-astrazeneca-vaccine.html
5.
Journal of the American Medical Association
:
In a study of 116 SARS-CoV-2-positive mothers who breastfed their 120 newborns, all newborns tested negative and were asymptomatic. In the study, the infants roomed in with their mothers in a closed Isolette, and mothers wore surgical masks before breastfeeding and other interactions with infants.
<8 Feb.>
[key info]
Appropriate precautions can prevent mother-to-infant transmission.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776447?widget=personalizedcontent&previousarticle=2776199
6. Virological:
A study analyzed the SARS-CoV-2 samples collected from various regions of Slovakia between Nov. and Dec. 2020, which were presumed to contain the new variant VOC-202012/01 (a.k.a. lineage B.1.1.7). Sequencing of these isolates revealed that although in some cases the samples were indeed confirmed as VOC-202012/01, a substantial fraction of isolates belonged to lineage B.1.258, which had been circulating in Central Europe since Aug. 2020, long before the import of B.1.1.7.
<8 Feb.>
[key info]
Lineage B.1.258 may be the more prevalent variant in Slovakia.
https://virological.org/t/b-1-258-a-sars-cov-2-variant-with-h69-v70-in-the-spike-protein-circulating-in-the-czech-republic-and-slovakia/613
