Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Industry
European Medicines Agency finds AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and benefits outweigh the risks
19 Mar, 2021 | 08:37h | UTCCommentaries: Restoring confidence after the covid-19 Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine pause will be an uphill battle – The BMJ Opinion AND European Medicines Agency: AstraZeneca Vaccine Safe – Benefits Outweigh Risks – Despite Possible Rare Events – Health Policy Watch AND Expert reaction to announcement from EMA on Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots – Science Media Centre AND European regulators say AstraZeneca vaccine safe, but can’t rule out rare events – CIDRAP AND AstraZeneca vaccine safe, but rare risk of blood clots not ruled out, EU regulator says – LiveScience AND European Medicines Agency Finds AstraZeneca Vaccine Safe And Effective – NPR
Current evidence for COVID-19 therapies: a systematic literature review
19 Mar, 2021 | 08:36h | UTC
How do you treat coronavirus? Here are physicians’ best strategies
19 Mar, 2021 | 08:33h | UTCHow do you treat coronavirus? Here are physicians’ best strategies – Science (a few articles per month are free)
Leprosy drug holds promise as at-home treatment for COVID-19
19 Mar, 2021 | 08:22h | UTCOriginal article: Clofazimine broadly inhibits coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2 – Nature
Review: Preoperative management of surgical patients using dietary supplements
18 Mar, 2021 | 08:53h | UTCPreoperative Management of Surgical Patients Using Dietary Supplements – Mayo Clinic Proceedings
Systematic Review: Biologics for chronic rhinosinusitis
18 Mar, 2021 | 08:44h | UTCBiologics for chronic rhinosinusitis – Cochrane Library
Opinion | “’It’s a very special picture.’ Why vaccine safety experts put the brakes on AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine”
18 Mar, 2021 | 09:14h | UTC‘It’s a very special picture.’ Why vaccine safety experts put the brakes on AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine – Science (a few articles per month are free)
Related: Update on the safety of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca (statement and commentaries)
WHO Statement | The benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks – vaccinations should continue
18 Mar, 2021 | 09:17h | UTCWHO statement on AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safety signals – World Health Organization
Related: Update on the safety of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca (statement and commentaries)
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
At this time, WHO considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue.
Full statement on AstraZeneca #COVID19 vaccine safety signals:
? https://t.co/9J6MtxXWK8 pic.twitter.com/fWGzqbjMuE— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) March 17, 2021
Opinion | “The zero-risk mentality stifling Europe is now killing its people”
18 Mar, 2021 | 09:11h | UTCThe zero-risk mentality stifling Europe is now killing its people – The Sidney Morning Herald
Related: Update on the safety of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca (statement and commentaries)
Opinion | “Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Safety: Reports of blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are very likely just background events.”
18 Mar, 2021 | 09:09h | UTCRelated: Update on the safety of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca (statement and commentaries) AND What is Going on With the AstraZeneca/Oxford Vaccine? – Science Translational Medicine
COVID-19 vaccines vs. variants—determining how much immunity is enough
18 Mar, 2021 | 08:58h | UTCCOVID-19 Vaccines vs Variants—Determining How Much Immunity Is Enough – JAMA
RCT: No benefit from marine Omega-3 fatty acid and Vitamin D supplementation on incident atrial fibrillation
17 Mar, 2021 | 02:38h | UTCEffect of Marine Omega-3 Fatty Acid and Vitamin D Supplementation on Incident Atrial Fibrillation: A Randomized Clinical Trial – JAMA (free for a limited period)
Editorial: Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Atrial Fibrillation – JAMA (free for a limited period)
RCT: Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine does not protect against mild-to-moderate Covid-19 due to the B.1.351 variant
17 Mar, 2021 | 03:01h | UTCCommentaries: AstraZeneca vaccine doesn’t prevent B1351 COVID in early trial – CIDRAP AND Oxford/AstraZeneca Fails to Prevent Mild to Moderate Covid-19 From B.1.351 (“South Africa”) Variant – Brief19
FDA: Why you should not use Ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19
17 Mar, 2021 | 02:51h | UTCWhy You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19 – U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Commentary: FDA Rejects Ivermectin, Despite Growing Interest In Some Corners Of The Internet – Brief19
Related: RCT: Ivermectin does not improve time to resolution of symptoms among adults with mild COVID-19
COVID antibody treatments show promise for preventing severe disease
17 Mar, 2021 | 02:46h | UTCCOVID antibody treatments show promise for preventing severe disease – Nature
Meta-analysis of randomized trials bring into question the belief that betablockers cause depression
16 Mar, 2021 | 01:47h | UTCDo β-Blockers Cause Depression? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Psychiatric Adverse Events During β-Blocker Therapy – Hypertension (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
News release: Beta-blockers not likely to cause depression yet may contribute to sleep disturbances – American Heart Association
Commentary: Beta blockers not associated with risk of depression – Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Update on the safety of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca
16 Mar, 2021 | 02:35h | UTCUpdate on the safety of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca
Related: Countries should continue AstraZeneca rollout: WHO – MedicalXpress AND Expert reaction to news that Germany has halted vaccinations with the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine – Science Media Centre AND AstraZeneca finds no evidence of increased blood clot risk from vaccine – Reuters AND Data suggest no increased risk of blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine. Australia shouldn’t pause its rollout – The Conversation
Commentary on Twitter
As of March 8th, Around 17 million people in the EU & UK received the vaccine , there have been 15 events of DVT & 22 events of pulmonary embolism reported among those given the vaccine,This is much lower than would be expected to occur naturally in a general population
Please RT https://t.co/tnn4brxwpp— Antibiotic Steward? Bassam Ghanem (@ABsteward) March 14, 2021
Systematic Review: Encephalitis induced by immune checkpoint inhibitors
16 Mar, 2021 | 01:36h | UTCEncephalitis Induced by Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Systematic Review – JAMA Neurology
Phase 2 RCT: Donanemab in early Alzheimer’s Disease
14 Mar, 2021 | 20:21h | UTCDonanemab in Early Alzheimer’s Disease – New England Journal of Medicine (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: Experimental Alzheimer’s drug could slow cognitive decline in patients, early results suggest – CNN AND Alzheimer’s study shows mixed results for Lilly’s donanemab on secondary outcomes – First World Pharma
Commentary on Twitter
In a phase 2 trial, patients with early Alzheimer’s disease who received donanemab, an antibody that targets amyloid deposits, showed a better composite score for cognition & ability to perform activities of daily living at 76 weeks than those who received placebo. #ADPD2021
— NEJM (@NEJM) March 13, 2021
WHO adds Janssen vaccine to list of safe and effective emergency tools against COVID-19
14 Mar, 2021 | 20:57h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
WHO has greenlighted the J&J vaccine, so it can be rolled out through COVAX & UN agencies! ? COVAX has an agreement for half a billion doses of the single-shot vaccine …1/2 https://t.co/3zaGoOC30i
— Hilda Bastian, PhD (@hildabast) March 13, 2021
[Preprint] RCT: Full-dose/therapeutic anticoagulation provides no benefit in critically ill patients with Covid-19
14 Mar, 2021 | 20:59h | UTCTherapeutic Anticoagulation in Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19-Preliminary Report – medRxiv
Related (results on moderately ill patients): [Not published yet] Full-dose Heparin best for moderate COVID-19 regardless of D-dimer — Data released from ACTIV-4a, ATTACC, and REMAP-CAP trials
Covid vaccinations: No reason to stop using AstraZeneca jab, says WHO
14 Mar, 2021 | 20:46h | UTCCovid vaccinations: No reason to stop using AstraZeneca jab, says WHO
See also: Benefits Of AstraZeneca Vaccine Outweigh Risks, Say EMA and WHO Officials – Urging Jabs To Continue While Safety Data Around Blood Clots Is Reviewed – Health Policy Watch AND COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca: PRAC investigating cases of thromboembolic events – vaccine’s benefits currently still outweigh risks – Update – European Medicines Agency AND Canada says AstraZeneca vaccine is safe after Norway and Denmark suspend use – Reuters
Urgent lessons from COVID 19: why the world needs a standing, coordinated system and sustainable financing for global research and development
14 Mar, 2021 | 20:47h | UTC
Commentary on Twitter
#COVID19 vaccines—developed, trialled, manufactured & authorised in several countries within a year. @VictorDzau et al. on lessons from the pandemic to inform an end-to-end global research & development preparedness & response ecosystem. Read https://t.co/G9PA5JBuaJ pic.twitter.com/EtFORBxvTl
— The Lancet (@TheLancet) March 12, 2021
Epidemiological and evolutionary considerations of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dosing regimes
14 Mar, 2021 | 20:43h | UTCEpidemiological and evolutionary considerations of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dosing regimes – Science
Multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants escape neutralization by vaccine-induced humoral immunity
14 Mar, 2021 | 20:44h | UTCMultiple SARS-CoV-2 variants escape neutralization by vaccine-induced humoral immunity – Cell
Commentary: Vaccine-induced antibodies may be less effective against several new SARS-CoV-2 variants
Commentary on Twitter (thread – click for more)
Our paper describing the potential for mRNA vaccines to induce antibodies capable of neutralizing many of the circulating variants is now available online at Cell!https://t.co/c8B87Tg55S pic.twitter.com/eRM8ABJrQY
— Balazs Lab (@BalazsLab) March 12, 2021