COVID-19 News and Discussions

[wjfox]

Virus that causes COVID-19 is widespread in wildlife, Virginia Tech scientists find

Six out of 23 common wildlife species showed signs of SARS-CoV-2 infections in an examination of animals in Virginia, as revealed by tracking the virus’s genetic code

29 July 2024

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, is widespread among wildlife species, according to Virginia Tech research published Monday (July 29, 2024) in Nature Communications. The virus was detected in six common backyard species, and antibodies indicating prior exposure to the virus were found in five species, with rates of exposure ranging from 40 to 60 percent depending on the species.

Genetic tracking in wild animals confirmed both the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and the existence of unique viral mutations with lineages closely matching variants circulating in humans at the time, further supporting human-to-animal transmission, the study found.

The highest exposure to SARS CoV-2 was found in animals near hiking trails and high-traffic public areas, suggesting the virus passed from humans to wildlife, according to scientists at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the Department of Biological Sciences in Virginia Tech’s College of Science, and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.

The findings highlight the identification of novel mutations in SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife and the need for broad surveillance, researchers say. These mutations could be more harmful and transmissible, creating challenges for vaccine development.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1052501



Credit: Joseph Hoyt/Virginia Tech

[wjfox]

The risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults diagnosed with COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

8 August 2024


• COVID-19 linked to 65% of new-onset cognitive impairment

• Time since infection may impact cognitive outcomes

• Cognitive impairment is an important sequela of COVID-19

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 3724002666

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

FDA approves updated Pfizer, Moderna Covid vaccines as virus surges; shots to be available within days

Source: CNBC

Published Thu, Aug 22 2024 1:36 PM EDT

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, putting the new shots on track to reach most Americans in the coming days amid a summer surge of the virus.

The jabs target a strain called KP.2, a descendant of the highly contagious omicron subvariant JN.1 that began circulating widely in the U.S. earlier this year. KP.2 was the dominant Covid strain in May, but now only accounts for roughly 3% of all U.S. cases as of Saturday, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Still, Pfizer and Moderna have said their KP.2 vaccines can produce stronger immune responses against other circulating subvariants of JN.1, such as KP.3 and LB.1, than last year’s round of shots targeting the omicron strain XBB.1.5 can.

In June, the CDC recommended that everyone over 6 months old receive an updated Covid vaccine and flu jab this year. The new shots from Pfizer and Moderna are specifically approved for people ages 12 and older and are authorized under emergency use for children 6 months through 11 years old.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/22/covid-v ... shots.html

[weatheriscool]

[wjfox]

Wrong thread.

[weatheriscool]

Wrong thread.

I am sorry i"ll put it in the other thread. But in other news!

[firestar464]

More on that by The Hill:

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4 ... -relaunch/

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

Needle-free COVID-19 intranasal vaccine provides broad immunity, study finds
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08- ... ccine.html
by Griffith University

A next-generation COVID-19 mucosal vaccine is set to be a gamechanger not only when delivering the vaccine itself, but also for people who are needle-phobic.

New Griffith University research, "A single-dose intranasal live-attenuated codon deoptimized vaccine provides broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants" published in Nature Communications, has been testing the efficacy of delivering a COVID-19 vaccine via the nasal passages.

Professor Suresh Mahalingam from Griffith's Institute for Biomedicine and Glycomics has been working on this research for the past four years.

"This is a live attenuated intranasal vaccine, called CDO-7N-1, designed to be administered intranasally, thereby inducing potential mucosal immunity as well as systemic immunity with just a single dose," Professor Mahalingam said.

[caltrek]

The Covid Vaccine Just Got a Lot More Expensive—If You’re Uninsured
by Julia Métraux
August 31, 2024

Introduction:

(Mother Jones) All but three US states have very high or high levels* of Covid-19 in their sewage right now, according to the CDC. Due to a drop in efforts to count individual cases, that data is the most accurate way to paint a picture of the current extent of Covid cases—and it’s bad.

In addition to wearing respirators, getting the updated Covid vaccine (mRNA shots were approved last week, and the Novavax vaccine this week) is an important way to reduce one’s chance of getting the infectious disease. Even if a person contracts it, the shot will reduce their risk of death and developing Long Covid.

But for uninsured and underinsured Americans, the vaccine has just gotten significantly more costly. On August 22, the CDC sunsetted its Bridge Access Program, which provided free Covid vaccines to 1.5 million Americans over the past year. A CDC spokesperson told Mother Jones that the sunsetting was a consequence of the new 2024-2025 vaccines being approved—which meant the 2023-2024 vaccines could no longer be administered. But many people did not know that the program would only cover the vaccine approved last year—just that it would end in August, potentially after the new shots became available. The CDC’s page on the program, which was live until some point Friday, did not clarify any of this information.

A rhetorical staple of the Biden administration is that it’s ensured people have the tools to fight Covid—but that is not the case for people unable to afford the updated vaccine out-of-pocket, which typically costs around $200.

Elizabeth Jacobs, an epidemiologist and professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, has studied the reasons why people do not get Covid-19 boosters. One reason, Jacobs says, is the logistics and challenges of getting the vaccines.

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/coronaviru ... insured/

*To view an interactive map that shows current viral activity levels of SARS-COV-2 in wastewater: https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-currentlevels.html

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

More on that by BNO News:

https://bnonews.com/index.php/2024/09/u ... ptember-1/

[weatheriscool]

Newly discovered antibody protects against all COVID-19 variants
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09- ... iants.html
by University of Texas at Austin

Researchers have discovered an antibody able to neutralize all known variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as distantly related SARS-like coronaviruses that infect other animals.

As part of a new study on hybrid immunity to the virus, the large, multi-institution research team led by The University of Texas at Austin discovered and isolated a broadly neutralizing plasma antibody, called SC27, from a single patient. Using technology developed over several years of research into antibody response, the team led by UT engineers and scientists obtained the exact molecular sequence of the antibody, opening the possibility of manufacturing it on a larger scale for future treatments.

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

New Covid XEC variant starting to spread in Europe – what we know

3 hours ago



Scientists have warned that a “more contagious” variant of the Covid virus, dubbed XEC, is starting to spread more rapidly across Europe and could soon become the dominant strain.

“At this juncture, the XEC variant appears to be the most likely one to get legs next,” Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, said in a post on X on Sunday.

Researchers predicted in August that this variant could take a few weeks to a couple of months to take off and spread more rapidly.

“XEC is definitely taking charge,” Dr Topol said.

XEC, a sublineage of the omicron variant, was first reported in Berlin, Germany, in June and is now spreading “quite rapidly” across Europe, North America and Asia, according to Covid data analyst Mike Honey.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/scie ... 13485.html

[caltrek]

Samples from Huanan Seafood Market Provide Further Evidence of COVID-19 Animal Origins
September 19, 2024

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A new international study provides a shortlist of the wildlife species present at the market from which SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, most likely arose in late 2019.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Cell, is based on an analysis of genetic data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The data comes from more than 800 samples collected in and around the Huanan Seafood Wholesale market in Wuhan, China, beginning on Jan. 1, 2020, and from viral genomes from early COVID-19 patients.

"This may be the last big, new set of data directly from the market, and in a way, it's like finishing the last piece of a puzzle showing a picture that has been pretty clear already," said Michael Worobey, one of three co-corresponding authors on the paper and head of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. "We present a thorough and rigorous analysis of the data and how it fits in with the rest of the huge body of evidence we have about how the pandemic started."

On Jan. 1, 2020, just hours after the market closed, investigators from the Chinese CDC went to the market to collect samples. Although they encountered little in the way of live wildlife, they swabbed the floors, walls and other surfaces of many stalls. They came back days later to focus on surfaces in stalls where wildlife was sold, such as a cages and carts used to move animals, and also collected samples from drains and sewers.

Conclusion:

"We need to start putting the evidence of how this pandemic started into action by taking serious, concrete action to stop the perilous practice of bringing live animals with potential pandemic pathogens into densely populated urban areas," he said.

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1058525

Results of the study as present in Cell: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S00 ... ll%3Dtrue

[weatheriscool]

[firestar464]

Two studies find SARS-CoV-2 virus becoming resistant to antiviral drugs used to treat patients

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09- ... viral.html

[Time_Traveller]

Covid hospitalisations surge as new variant XEC spreads across UK

3 hours ago

Covid hospitalisations have surged across Britain at an “alarming” rate as a new variant of the virus emerged, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned.

UKHSA figures showed the admission rate for patients testing positive for Covid XEC stood at 4.5 per 100,000 people in the week to October 6 – up from 3.7 a week earlier.

The North East has seen the highest hospital admission rates at 8.12 per 100,000, whilst those aged 85 and older face an alarming surge, reaching 52.48 per 100,000, according to the UKHSA.

Cases of the XEC variant, first detected in Germany in June, have also been found in the United States, Denmark and other countries.

The strain, a combination of the KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 variants, presents symptoms similar to those of other Covid variants including tiredness, headaches, a sore throat and high temperatures.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/heal ... 28650.html