Coronamononia Lives Forever, Part 146

Happy fathers day.  Fathers are a beset breed these days, but the key to regaining our sanity as a society and to improving the lives of young men and women everywhere.  We need principled fathers to exhibit strong moral values and all the best attributes of masculinity.  Missing a good father and male role model is largely responsible for all the reprehensible and violent behavior we see among so many children and young adults today.

Yet another in a series of good research reports from Qatar, once more on the topic of protection provided by either vax or prior infection, in this case against Omicron variants.  Previous infection alone provided 46% protection against subsequent Omicron infection.  Two doses of vax provided zero protection, although most people had received their second dose at least 6 months earlier.  A booster provided 52% protection, but a lot of those were received more recently.  A combination of prior infection and two doses gave 55% protection and the combination of prior infection and a booster gave 77% protection, but again, the boosters were received relatively recently.  All forms of adaptive immunity provided better protection against severe disease, over 70%, but Omicron cases were mild and rarely resulted in serious disease.  There can be no question at this point that infection-derived immunity is at least as good as vax and probably superior.   (NEJM Article)

This is a detailed and technical study of the B and T cell responses to infection and vaccination with respect to variants, including Omicron.  The subsequent immune response appears to differ depending on the variant with which a person was infected.  Multiple vax doses don’t appear to improve the response in all cases.  The study is an interesting reflection on the complexity of the immune system and how exposure to a pathogen may actually lead to an impaired response to a similar variant of the same pathogen.  Vaccination can further muddy the waters.  (Science Article)

Some of the misleading information on CV-19 hospitalizations involves people who test positive on admission, but were not at the hospital for CV-19 treatment.  But another bucket covers people who actually got infected in the hospital.  This study finds that during Omicron, the percent of patients getting CV-19 in the hospital increased significantly, from 3.4% to 4.7%, despite heavy vaccination of staff and other patients during this period.  (JAMA Article)

This study looked at CT values over time during the epidemic and their potential correlation with factors such as prior infection and vax status.  It also covered CT values during the course of an infection, finding that they typically peaked about 1 to 3 days after symptom onset.  Variant seemed to be the leading factor associated with differences in CT results.  (Medrxiv Paper)

One of the primary issues with the mRNA vaccines is the use of lipid nanoparticles as carriers.  These lipids can cause issues within the body and this article discusses ways to improve those lipid carriers.  (Science Study)

The study purports to pimp for boosters but actually shows their limitations.  It was done in the VA population and had a maximum followup period of 4 months.  Compared to persons with no booster, those boosted had 42% lower risk of infection, 53% lower risk of hospitalization and 79% lower risk of death.  Pretty modest and likely to wane further.  Vaccine effectiveness was greater in persons with worse health status and improved with greater time between primary series and booster.   (Medrxiv Study)

These authors estimate that almost 90% of the US population has some adaptive immunity, either from infection or vax or a combination, but only about a fifth have immunity that would likely prevent Omicron infection.  Uhhh, I think that was pretty obviously going to be the case with a respiratory virus.  (JID Article)

The risks and characteristics of serious CV-19 or influenza disease in children is almost exactly identical, according to this research.  (JID Article)