Global & Public Health (all articles)
Large observational study in Israel showed a third dose (booster) of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine had 90% effectiveness at preventing death due to Covid-19 compared to a two-dose regimen.
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:35h | UTCBNT162b2 Vaccine Booster and Mortality Due to Covid-19 – New England Journal of Medicine
Editorial: Booster Doses and Prioritizing Lives Saved
[Press release – not published yet] Lab study suggests a third dose (booster) of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine may be necessary to provide an adequate immune response to the Omicron variant.
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:29h | UTCPress release: Pfizer and Biontech provide update on Omicron variant
Commentaries:
Omicron likely to weaken COVID vaccine protection – Nature
Pfizer-BioNTech says COVID booster should protect against Omicron – CIDRAP
Covid: Pfizer says booster shot promising against Omicron – BBC
Large observational study in Israel showed a third dose (booster) of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine reduced the rates of confirmed Covid-19 and severe illness compared to a two-dose regimen.
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:32h | UTCProtection against Covid-19 by BNT162b2 Booster across Age Groups – New England Journal of Medicine
Editorial: Booster Doses and Prioritizing Lives Saved
As 57 countries report Omicron cases, Pfizer says its boosters offer protection – but WHO cautions more research is needed.
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:28h | UTCSee also: Covid: Vaccines should work against Omicron variant, WHO says – BBC
Multiple early studies find notable Omicron vaccine evasion.
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:26h | UTCMultiple early studies find notable Omicron vaccine evasion – CIDRAP
Related: A first, small study suggests Omicron is a larger threat to Covid-19 immunity than other variants.
Opinion: Why are we still isolating vaccinated people for 10 days?
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:24h | UTCWhy Are We Still Isolating Vaccinated People for 10 Days? – The Atlantic
New Zealand to ban smoking for next generation in bid to outlaw habit by 2025 – “New legislation means the legal smoking age will increase every year, to create a smoke-free generation of New Zealanders”.
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:12h | UTCNew Zealand to ban smoking for next generation in bid to outlaw habit by 2025 – The Guardian
Systematic Review: Benefits and harms of annual, biennial, or triennial breast cancer mammography screening for women at average risk of breast cancer.
9 Dec, 2021 | 10:08h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
https://twitter.com/ccaneloa/status/1464655542010494981
[Preprint] Risk of Hospitalization, severe disease, and mortality due to COVID-19 in children with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Germany – “overall hospitalization rate associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection was 35.9 per 10,000 children, ICU admission rate was 1.7 per 10,000 and case fatality was 0.09 per 10,000”.
8 Dec, 2021 | 10:18h | UTCRelated:
Review: Should children under 12 years of age be vaccinated against COVID-19?
A first, small study suggests Omicron is a larger threat to Covid-19 immunity than other variants.
8 Dec, 2021 | 10:22h | UTCOriginal Study: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron has extensive but incomplete escape of Pfizer BNT162b2 elicited neutralization and requires ACE2 for infection – medRxiv
Commentary from the author on Twitter (thread – click for more)
We have completed our first experiments on neutralization of Omicron by Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccination elicited immunity
Manuscript available at https://t.co/rGaEB9GdmS
and should be available on medRxiv in the coming days
— Alex Sigal (@sigallab) December 7, 2021
See also (thread – click for more)
New work from AHRI's @sigallab strongly suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 #Omicron variant escapes antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer vaccine, but that considerable immunity is retained in people who were both vaccinated & previously infected. https://t.co/AZWi3qexin pic.twitter.com/3phPFyKEPh
— Africa Health Research Institute (@AHRI_News) December 7, 2021
Phase 2 RCT: Immunogenicity and safety of a third dose of CoronaVac, and immune persistence of a two-dose schedule.
8 Dec, 2021 | 10:12h | UTCInvited Commentary: Booster doses for inactivated COVID-19 vaccines: if, when, and for whom – The Lancet Infectious Diseases
Editorial: Omicron is bad, but the global response is worse – “The pandemic will not end while vaccine equity keeps getting pushed to the margins”.
8 Dec, 2021 | 10:07h | UTCOmicron is bad but the global response is worse – Nature
Case series with 139 adolescents and young adults with suspected myocarditis following mRNA vaccination showed most cases had a mild clinical course and rapid resolution of symptoms.
7 Dec, 2021 | 10:19h | UTCNews Release: Young people recover quickly from rare myocarditis side effect of COVID-19 vaccine – American Heart Association
Study shows increased immunogenicity of extended mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dosing intervals.
7 Dec, 2021 | 10:21h | UTCImmunogenicity of Extended mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Dosing Intervals – JAMA
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
1/ Not surprisingly, a longer delay between 1st & 2nd doses of mRNA COVID vaccines (i.e. 6-7 weeks rather than 3-4 weeks) results in better immune responses.https://t.co/XhiU6u0hYb
— Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA 🇺🇦 (@celinegounder) December 3, 2021
The world has the tools to end the coronavirus pandemic. They’re not being used properly.
7 Dec, 2021 | 10:15h | UTCThe world has the tools to end the coronavirus pandemic. They’re not being used properly – CNN
WHO Report: More malaria cases and deaths in 2020 linked to COVID-19 disruptions.
7 Dec, 2021 | 08:55h | UTCNews Release: More malaria cases and deaths in 2020 linked to COVID-19 disruptions – World Health Organization
Report: World Malaria Report 2021 – World Health Organization
Commentaries:
More people died of malaria in 2020 than in 2019. Here’s why – NPR
Malaria kills 180,000 more people annually than previously thought, says WHO – The Guardian
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
#COVID19 pandemic has disrupted #malaria services, leading to a marked increase in cases and deaths: 14 million more cases in 2020 compared to 2019, and 69,000 more deaths – new report.
➡️https://t.co/M9sNo2Pn4u #EndMalaria pic.twitter.com/g6MKFVpQKf— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 6, 2021
Perspective | ‘It’s misinformation at worst.’ Weak health studies can do more harm than good, scientists say.
7 Dec, 2021 | 10:17h | UTC
A qualitative study identified a wide variation of expected impacts of the 626 low-value services spotted by the US Choosing Wisely recommendations.
7 Dec, 2021 | 08:39h | UTCLongitudinal Content Analysis of the Characteristics and Expected Impact of Low-Value Services Identified in US Choosing Wisely Recommendations – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
Editorial: The Next Frontier of Less Is More—From Description to Implementation – JAMA Internal Medicine (free for a limited period)
See complete lists of low-value practices: Choosing Wisely U.S. / Choosing Wisely UK / Choosing Wisely Australia AND Choosing Wisely Canada
Six different COVID-19 boosters are safe and increase immunity when given after two doses of AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech, with significant variations in immune responses, UK trial shows.
5 Dec, 2021 | 23:57h | UTCCommentaries:
Six different COVID-19 boosters induce variable immune response – CIDRAP
Covid booster shots significantly strengthen immunity, trial finds – The Guardian
Commentary on Twitter
NEW—Six different COVID-19 boosters are safe and increase immunity when given after two doses of #AstraZeneca or #Pfizer-BioNTech, with large variations in immune responses, UK trial shows. https://t.co/ktUp1m2Rsb pic.twitter.com/wlwxcLYDm1
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) December 2, 2021
European data on Omicron: Out of 109 cases confirmed so far, all cases for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild.
5 Dec, 2021 | 23:50h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter:
EUROPEAN EQUIVALENT OF CDC AS OF THIS AM: "All cases [of Omicron] for which there is available information on severity were either asymptomatic or mild. No deaths have been reported among these cases so far.". But let's keep on watching. https://t.co/3jHm4Wezi8
— Monica Gandhi MD, MPH (@MonicaGandhi9) December 3, 2021
Early data from South Africa hints Omicron variant may cause less severe Covid, but more research is needed.
5 Dec, 2021 | 23:51h | UTCOriginal report: Tshwane District Omicron Variant Patient Profile – Early Features
Fauci says early reports encouraging about omicron variant – “Thus far, it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it”.
5 Dec, 2021 | 23:47h | UTCFauci says Omicron variant doesn’t look severe, but ‘got to be careful’ – Associated Press
WHO has no reports yet of Omicron Covid deaths.
5 Dec, 2021 | 23:48h | UTCWHO has no reports yet of Omicron Covid deaths – MedicalXpress
Commentary on Twitter
Despite #OmnicronVariant's global spread, the WHO says there are no Omicron deaths so far. The agency warns it may take weeks to determine how infectious the variant is, whether it causes more severe illness & how effective antivirals & vaccines are https://t.co/NSN6Ysf3gc pic.twitter.com/Wnp90HvUng
— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) December 4, 2021
Editorial: Emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern Omicron (B.1.1.529) – highlights Africa’s research capabilities, but exposes major knowledge gaps, inequities of vaccine distribution, inadequacies in global COVID-19 response and control efforts.
5 Dec, 2021 | 23:46h | UTC
The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.
5 Dec, 2021 | 23:09h | UTCInvited Commentary: Burden of cancer in adolescents and young adults – The Lancet Oncology