Coronamonomania Lives Forever, Part 96

Here we go with another round of research summaries, pretty vaccine and Omicron heavy as usual lately.

This study from Switzerland used genetic sequencing to determine that almost all “clusters” in schools were of unrelated variants and represented multiple introductions to students from the community rather than spread in schools.  (Medrxiv Paper)

As Omicron displaced Delta there were fewer hospital admissions, although viral loads in patients were similar, according to this research.  Vaccination status did not deter Omicron infection to the extent it did Delta, but that could be a waning effect as much as differences in the variants.  While vaxed Delta patients had lower viral loads than unvaxed ones, vaxed Omicron ones had similar loads to the unvaxed.  (Medrxiv Paper)

You have immune system components everywhere, including in the mucus tissues in your upper respiratory tract. Does vaccination create adaptive immune responses in that area, particularly compared to infection.  The results suggest why vax may help prevent severe disease but not stop infection.  While vax created good circulating antibody and T cell response, it did not create much of a respiratory tract response.  On the other hand, infection created a strong circulatory and upper respiratory tract response, including against Omicron.  (Medrxiv Paper)

Another study finding that the combination of vax and prior infection creates a stronger immune response, particularly in regard to antibodies, than does vax alone.  T cell responses were stronger than antibody ones.  Older age was associated with a weaker response.  (Medrxiv Paper)

Studies on vaccine effectiveness with short follow-up periods are now inherently suspect, since we know that protection against infection lessens rapidly.  This study finds that the typical two-dose vax series provides almost no protection against Omicron infection, but that a booster restores protection.  That is almost certainly going to be shown to be false, as I personally know a large number of boosted people who recently got infected.  When we look at people who are several months past their boost, I am guessing we won’t see much better protection than with two doses.  (Medrxiv Paper)

Nursing home residents are at particular risk from CV-19.  This research comes from two large chains that examined whether boosters during the Delta surge could help reduce cases and deaths.  Cases seemed to decline by 50% following the administration of a booster and deaths also seemed to be reduced.  (Medrxiv Paper)

Another study finding that deaths supposedly due to CV-19 were not in any way caused by it.  This study from Germany involved a careful audit of death certificates and found a third of deaths attributed to CV-19 shouldn’t have been.  As the authors note, there is a need for death certificate auditing everywhere.  (Medrxiv Paper)

Universities are insane bastions of woke lunacy and have applied that to CV-19 as well, making life hell for students.  Notwithstanding required quadruple masking and vax and every other kind of nonsense restriction, this study from Massachusetts finds that Omicron spread like wildfire on three college campuses in the state.  This despite extremely high vax rates.  Viral loads across Omicron and Delta were similar.  (Medrxiv Study)