Coronavirus News Explained

 Hospitalization in COVID-19 Breakthrough Cases      Countless studies have proven that one of the most important forms of protection from COVID-19 infection is vaccination. As of Sep 21, 2021 54.8% of Americans and 64.5% of people who are age 12 and above are fully vaccinated. While the chances of COVID-19 infection after vaccination are significantly reduced, there have been reports of rare cases of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection in fully vaccinated individuals. (See COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections ) Previous studies have found that the viral load of an individual with a COVID-19 breakthrough infection is not significantly different than that of an individual who is unvaccinated. (See Can Vaccination Reduce COVID-19 Transmission? ) However, more questions related to breakthrough infections have arisen including whether or not a vaccinated individual with COVID-19 has a reduced risk of severe illness and hospitalization. A study published in The Lancet in Septe...

 Can Vaccination Reduce COVID-19 Transmission?     It's no secret that the B.1.617.2, or delta variant, has been found to be highly transmissible compared to other variants and has thus spread quickly across the globe. Although data prior to the spread of Delta found that vaccination reduces COVID-19 transmission, new reports find that Delta is more likely than other variants to spread among vaccinated individuals. Yes, it is still crucial for those who can to get vaccinated because of the protection it offers. But while many people believe that vaccinated individuals are less likely to transmit the virus, recent studies suggest otherwise. A study published in the medRxiv preprint server examines the viral load and transmission rates of those who are vaccinated and unvaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine. About the Study     The study was conducted in multiple Wisconsin counties including Dane County, a populous county which has one of the highest rates of ...

 Safety of the Moderna Vaccine in Adolescents     With the reopening of schools this August and through September, many adolescents will be subject to a much higher chance of potential COVID-19 exposure. As proven by multiple studies and real-world events, COVID-19 vaccines are the best way to minimize infection. Although multiple COVID-19 vaccines are available to adults, as of August 2021, the Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine available to children aged 12-17 years. However, a recent study published on August 11, 2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine examined the safety and efficacy of the Moderna vaccine, which is currently available for ages 18 and up, in adolescents between 12 and 17 years. While only the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have published studies with children, if more vaccines are studied and deemed safe and effective in adolescents, adolescents would not only have more vaccine options, but a greater availability of vaccines for their age group. Abo...

 COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections     As of August 2021, a little over 50% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, despite the increasing number of vaccinated individuals and high efficacy of the vaccines, rare breakthrough cases have occurred. With the reports of breakthrough cases, or instances when people who are fully vaccinated get infected with COVID-19, many questions have arisen. How common are breakthrough infections? What are the symptoms? How severe are the cases? These questions are addressed in a peer-reviewed study investigating breakthrough cases among healthcare workers in Israel. The study was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 28, 2021.  About the Study     The study setting took place in the Sheba Medical Center, which is the largest medical center in Israel staffed with 12,586 healthcare workers. By April 28, 2021, 11,453 workers (91%) had been fully vaccinated with the ...

Large Scale Study on Pfizer's Effectiveness Against the Delta Variant           With the delta, or B.1.617.2 variant spreading rapidly to over 100 countries and causing a surge of COVID-19 cases, there have been concerns as to whether or not COVID-19 vaccines provide sufficient efficacy against the highly transmissible variant. A previous study analyzed the antibody levels of 20 individuals who were fully vaccinated with Pfizer and later exposed to a SARS-CoV-2 variant. It was found that the delta variant did not significantly reduce antibody levels. While this study served as a good starting point for researching vaccine efficacy against delta, more recent studies utilizing COVID-19 case data and larger sample sizes have come out and produced more detailed conclusions. One of these studies was published on July 21, 2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine  and investigated the efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine against the delta ...

 Organ Transplant Recipients Receive 3 Vaccine Doses           As of July 13, 2021, 159 million Americans or 48.5% of the U.S. have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. Most of these individuals will produce the antibodies needed to fight off COVID-19 infection in response to coronavirus exposure. However, some recipients of the vaccine, like the immunocompromised, produce little to no antibodies in response to vaccines or infection. Immunocompromised individuals commonly consist of blood cancer survivors, organ transplant recipients, and those taking drugs that kill or block B cells, which produce the antibodies needed to fight an infection. Previously, a study published in March 2021 investigated the effects of one dose of the Pfizer vaccine on organ transplant recipients. Only 17% of the study group produced detectable antibody levels three weeks after vaccination. ( See Immunocompromised Individuals and the COVID-19 Vaccine ) Antibody response...

 Pfizer Vaccine Efficacy Against the Delta and Other Variants     The Delta Variant, or variant B.1.617.2 was first identified in India in late 2020. This COVID-19 variant has since spread to many other areas including Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Delta variant is estimated to be more infectious and about 60% more transmissible than the Alpha, or B.1.1.7 variant. Despite its rapid spread, scientists hope to lower the variant's impact through vaccination. However, there has been much discussion as to whether or not the vaccines are as effective, or effective at all, against the Delta variant. A study published in Nature in June 2021 analyzed the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against multiple COVID-19 variants including B.1.617.2. As of June 28, 2021, 81 million Americans have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine which has a 95% efficacy against the coronavirus and is available for ages 12 and up. The efficacy data is taken from Pfi...

 Myocarditis Following mRNA Vaccination     In May 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to those aged 12-15 years. As vaccines become more available, the percentage of people receiving vaccines are going up: As of June 14, 2021, 52.5% of the U.S. population received at least one vaccine dose. However, since April 2021, there have been increased reports of myocarditis/pericarditis, or inflammation of the heart, after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (currently, the approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. are by Pfizer and Moderna). While the reports of myocarditis and pericarditis are rare, the rates for ages 16-24 are higher than expected. On June 10, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee held a meeting where they evaluated cases of myocarditis following vaccination.  Evaluating the Data   ...

 Factors that Influence the Willingness to Vaccinate        As of June 1, 2021, about 135 million Americans have been fully vaccinated according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, despite the increasing availability of vaccines, over half of the United States' population (59%) is not fully vaccinated. While some have just not yet gotten the chance to be vaccinated, others are hesitant or even opposed to vaccination. Unfortunately, public vaccine hesitancy could slow down society's return to normalcy and negatively impact COVID-19 infection rates. So why are people hesitant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine? What factors could persuade or discourage someone from getting vaccinated? A recent study published in the Nature Public Journal (npj) Vaccines , investigated how vaccine type, vaccine efficacy, and other factors can impact the public's willingness to be vaccinated.  About the Study     The study was conducted from October ...

Pfizer Vaccine Efficacy Against the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 Variants     According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , or CDC, as of May 17, 2021, 274 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the United States. Of these 274 million doses, 147 million doses are the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has been the most popular vaccine choice among U.S. citizens and is the only COVID-19 vaccine available for those aged under 18. With the fast-spreading B.1.1.7 and B.1351 variants now dominating COVID-19 cases in the U.S., many vaccine recipients are wondering how effective, if at all, the Pfizer vaccine is against these variants. A correspondence article published in the New England Journal of Medicine  on May 5, 2021, addresses the effectiveness of the vaccine against the aforementioned virus strains using data from a study conducted in Qatar. About the Variants     The B.1.1.7 variant originated in the United Kingdom a...

How the COVID-19 Vaccine Affects Organ Transplant Recipients      According to the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 143.7 million individuals, or 43.3% of the total U.S. population, received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of April 29, 2021. About 99.7 million people, or 30% of the total U.S. population, have been fully vaccinated. As a result of the tremendous vaccination efforts, the 7-day average of daily COVID-19 cases have decreased by 79.0% compared to January 2021. With cases going down and an increasing number of people receiving protection from the vaccine, things are starting to look up. However, not everyone who receives the vaccine is guaranteed a form of protection against the coronavirus. One community in particular is especially susceptible to severe COVID-19 infection and has been excluded from the majority of COVID-19 vaccine studies: the immunocompromised.  About the Immunocompromised     Millions of Amer...

 The Cause of the Pause: Johnson and Johnson Vaccine           As of April 12, 2021, 6.85 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine have been administered in the United States. On April 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a pause in the distribution of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine. This pause was due to a small number of reports of a rare type of blood clot in individuals after they received the Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Similar blood clotting events have also been reported in recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine in European countries. Some may be wondering, what exactly are these rare blood clots and what effect does the Johnson and Johnson vaccine have on them? Do the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have a similar effect? Should I be concerned if I received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine? Using reports and data from the CDC, FDA, and papers publis...

 Neutralizing Efficacies of Antibodies Produced by new COVID-19 Variants     This past year, multiple coronavirus variants have emerged and have been deemed  more transmissible than preexisting variants. The most prominent include the B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the UK, and the 501Y.V2 or B.1.351 variant, which originated in South Africa. Much concern has grown surrounding these variants: recently approved vaccines demonstrate decreased efficiencies against these new strains, particularly the B.1.351 variant. Nevertheless, different treatment methods including  convalescent plasma , have shown promise in reducing COVID-19 severity and speeding up recovery time. Convalescent plasma, or blood (donated by recovered COVID-19 patients) that contains antibodies which fight off the coronavirus, can prevent individuals from reinfection or be injected in other COVID-19 patients to speed up recovery. With the emergence of new variants, some may wonder how t...

Efficacy of 3 vs. 6 Feet of Social Distancing     Mask up. Stay 6 feet apart. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these measures must be followed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. However on March 19, 2021, after nearly a year of social distancing, the CDC updated their guidelines: "with universal masking, students should maintain a distance of at least 3 feet in classroom settings." In other words, the minimum social distancing requirement in schools has been reduced to 3 feet with a masking mandate. Some people are skeptical of this updated guideline; is 3 feet really a safe distance? A study published on March 10, 2021 in the Clinical Infectious Disease s journal by Oxford University Press investigates the effectiveness of 3 feet versus 6 feet of social distancing in public schools. About the Study      Data for the study was obtained from September 24, 2020 through January 27, 2021. A total of 251 K-12 school di...

 Elders at Higher Risk of COVID-19 Reinfection     If someone has received a COVID-19 vaccine or been infected with the virus, does this prevent them from reinfection? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , "cases of reinfection with COVID-19 have been reported, but remain rare." As of March 21, 2021, a Dutch news site that has been tracking repeat infection confirms 66 worldwide cases of  coronavirus reinfection , or instances where individuals are infected with COVID-19 for a second (or more) time(s). Understanding the degree of protection against COVID-19 reinfection is important to develop effective strategies in mitigating coronavirus infection rates. A study conducted in Denmark and published in The Lancet  on March 17, 2021 used COVID-19 data to estimate the protection towards COVID-19 reinfection. About the Study     Individual-level data was collected from the Danish Microbiology Database for individuals who had a ...