Coronavirus

Convalescent plasma safely raised antibody levels in children at high risk of severe or fatal COVID-19, successfully neutralizing the virus but unlikely to provide lasting protection.

This decision was based from the analysis of the company’s phase 2 BLAZE-4 trial.

Pfizer-BioNTech previously asked for FDA approval to administer its COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months-4 years of age, but has deferred the request after reviewing more data.

Their investigational vaccine, NVX-CoV2373, demonstrated 82% efficacy against the Delta variant in participants 12-17 years old.

A study looked at COVID-19 vaccination rates and new COVID-19 infections across US counties during the Delta surge last summer. Many of the highly infected counties were considered rural, highlighting some of the vaccination challenges surrounding these areas.

COVID-19 vaccination rates were higher in counties with more primary care physicians, suggesting doctors are in unique positions of trust with their patients and can encourage vaccination.

32% of older adults had 1 or more new, persistent clinical conditions after COVID-19 infection.

Trying to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates in these populations has been challenging. In an attempt to do so, a randomized clinical trial across 133 skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) was performed.

Intranasal COVID-19 vaccines aren’t just needle and pain-free—they may also be more effective at protecting against current and future variants.

Omicron's numerous spike protein mutations caused mass concern, but one research team hypothesizes that its mutations are largely documented and thus susceptible to COVID-19 vaccination.

A recent study in Guangdong, China, confirmed vaccine effectiveness of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines against the Delta variant of COVID-19.

Not all people unvaccinated against COVID-19 people are actively avoiding the vaccine. A new study shows that Black people were vaccinated at lower rates than White people in the US early on, even after they indicated they were willing to get the shot. The study’s authors explain the reasons behind this.

During spring 2021, when Alpha was the dominant COVID-19 variant, a midsized Midwestern university’s vaccination initiative was associated with a significant decrease in COVID-19 infections.

Low COVID-19 vaccination rates among Hispanic populations may be due to limited vaccine information available in Spanish.

The company recently submitted its data to the federal regulatory authorities for an Emergency Use Authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine, NVX-CoV2373. As it's time to think about this potential vaccine being available in the US, clinicians offer some insights and perspective on it.

Triple COVID-19 vaccination or infection-plus-vaccination hybrid immunity induces high-quality antibodies, capable of neutralizing even the Omicron variant.

Economists from Johns Hopkins argue against government-mandated lockdowns and that they did not have the intended health care policy of protecting people during the pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13-0 in favor of the vaccine for adults.

COVID-19 patients who were vitamin D deficient before infection were 14 times more likely to have severe or fatal COVID-19 disease.

Findings could help in the development of “screening biomarkers and/or therapeutics,” authors say.

Pfizer-BioNTech asked the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization to administer its COVID-19 vaccine to children 6 months-5 years of age, despite evidence that 2 vaccine doses may not be enough to elicit the desired immune response.

Veru inc. received FDA Fast Track designation for the phase 3 trial oral sabizabulin, a treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients at high risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or death.

Health care workers in Taiwan who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-1 showed a more robust antibody response to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, a new study found.

Backed by solid data, clinicians can work to overcome vaccine hesitancy due to fears about negative pregnancy outcomes.

Moderna recipients were less likely to experience COVID-19 breakthrough infections and hospitalizations than the Pfizer-BioNTech group.

The company’s Spikvax vaccine was approved based on its submission that included efficacy and safety data approximately 6 months after second dose.

The first study to use optical genome mapping to assess severely ill COVID-19 patients identified 7 key structural variants.

A booster vaccination increases protection against COVID-19 whether homologous or heterologous with the primary vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compared 2-dose mRNA vaccination to third dose booster and to unvaccinated, against both Omicron and Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2.

Before children were authorized to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, living with 1-2 fully vaccinated parents significantly reduced children’s risk of COVID-19 infection during the Alpha and Delta periods.