Covid Vaccine Race

As National Immunization Awareness Month concludes this August, it is a good time to review and update your vaccination schedules before the fall season begins.

Matthew M Davis, MD, MAPP elaborates on how higher COVID-19 vaccination rates may curb the virus, alleviate childhood asthma symptoms, and protect against other common colds.

Recent study examines the relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and post-COVID conditions, shedding light on the potential long-term effects of vaccination.

Regarding new-onset seizures in the general population, there was not a statistically significant variance in the risk of experiencing seizures between those who received the vaccine and those who got a placebo.

A large study on the future directions unveiling COVID-19 vaccine safety and risks.

This study, presented at MAD-ID, The Antimicrobial Stewardship Meeting, evaluates patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms compared to those with severe cases.

Insights from the Annual Conference on Vaccinology Research (ACVR) in mitigating severe outcomes in older adults and individuals with underlying medical conditions.

Investigating the long-term efficacy beyond short-term benefits.

Despite overall reductions, the elderly remain vulnerable to severe COVID-19 outcomes.

Evaluating inpatient mortality for patients without supplemental oxygen at admission across different variants of concern periods with insights from Dr. Andre Kalil.

Study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) explores future directions for pediatric COVID-19 vaccination amid emerging variants.

The efficacy of SPIKEVAX from Delta to Omicron protection in pediatric patients.

Defense against omicron in HIV-positive patients post-COVID.

New insights challenge assumptions on SARS-CoV-2 immunity duration.

Study compares immune responses in cancer vs. non-cancer patients.

A study compared COVID-19 vaccination rates and found people with HIV (PWH) had a lower rate of completing the primary vaccination series.

UCLA-led study examines outcomes in infants born to mothers exposed to SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy.

Early administration of simnotrelvir plus ritonavir shortened the time to sustained resolution of COVID-19 symptoms.

Patients with cancer, cancer survivors, and matched controls maintained immunity against severe COVID-19 for at least 5 months after a third or fourth vaccine dose.

This study found a substantial increase in Alzheimer's-related deaths during the initial year of the pandemic due to limited access to healthcare, social isolation, and disrupted care routines. However, the second year brought positive developments with prevention strategies and vaccinations, leading to a substantial decline in excess deaths.

This study analyzed 81 communities in Los Angeles and found that once vaccines became widely available, there was no significant difference in COVID-19 incidence between communities of varying income levels.

Though rare, Guillain-Barré syndrome can occur after vaccination. Did Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Janssen COVID-19 vaccination increase the risk of Guillain-Barré syndrome?

The findings showed that heterologous vaccination, or mixing different vaccines, was safe and effective, with the Novavax vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) providing enhanced protection against the Omicron variant.

ABNCoV2, a non-adjuvanted COVID-19 booster vaccine by Bavarian Nordic, demonstrates promising results in phase 2 trials. The vaccine generates strong immune responses, neutralizing multiple variants of concern, including Beta, Delta, and Omicron.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) unanimously voted 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccines should be updated to a monovalent XBB strain.

"It does take the immune system a while to build up antibodies and recover," said Madeline King-Patel, PharmD, BCIDP, "So you don't want to give the vaccines too close to each other, or you're not going to get the full benefits."

As the official COVID-19 emergency is declared over, our Editor-in-Chief Jason Gallagher, PharmD, FCCP, FIDP, FIDSA, BCPS, reflects on the public health response, the scientific successes, and the shortcomings that were experienced.

Neutralizing antibodies were initially lowest among Janssen vaccine recipients, but this all changed 6 months after vaccination.

Although vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant drops rapidly over time, a booster dose bolsters protection levels.

The vaccine efficacy of the Novavax’s NVX-CoV2373 was 79.5% in adolescents.