By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) -The following is a summary of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Antibodies to Moderna vaccine last at least 6 months
A follow-up study of 33 people who received the COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc in early trials shows that the antibodies that cause it are still present six months after the second dose. “Antibody activity remained high in all age groups,” researchers said. They confirmed the findings using three different tests, according to a report Tuesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier this month, Pfizer Inc. and partner BioNTech SE said their vaccine using similar messenger RNA (mRNA) technology has remained very effective for at least six months. lasts longer than six months. They are also evaluating the possibility of a booster dose to prolong the duration of the antibodies and enhance their potential against new more infectious variants of the coronavirus. (https://bit.ly/3mCGpWz)
Lung transplants may save some COVID-19 survivors
Surgeons worldwide have performed lung transplants on COVID-19 survivors with irreversible lung damage, and an international group of transplant specialists has suggested guidelines for selecting eligible patients. To be potentially eligible for a transplant, COVID-19 survivors with complete lung failure must be under 65 years of age, non-smokers, and have no existing medical conditions, or only manageable conditions. They said transplants should be performed at least four weeks after the diagnosis of irreversible lung damage. In the United States alone, more than 50 double lung transplants have been performed on COVID-19 survivors, and all the patients are alive, Drs. Ankit Bharat of Northwestern Medicine in Chicago said, who did a dozen of them. A study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine examining 12 of the first double lung transplants performed in COVID-19 patients in the United States, Italy, Austria, and India showed that all but two survived and performed well, co-authored Bharat said. . “It really is a remarkable outcome, given how critically ill these patients were,” he said. “Without the possibility of transplantation, the medical team and the families were ready to withdraw the care.” (https://bit.ly/31EHcwy)
Pfizer / BioNTech Vaccine Safe During Cancer Immunotherapy
The MRNA COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is safe for patients being treated with cancer immunotherapies such as Merck & Co’s Keytruda and Opdivo sold by Bristol Myers Squibb, Israeli doctors said in a report published in The Lancet Oncology. They studied 134 vaccine recipients who were treated with the so-called immune system inhibitors, including some who also received chemotherapy. The vaccine was ‘safe from both sides: we did not see any side effects with regard to immunotherapy nor did we see any serious side effects from the vaccine’, said Dr. Ido Wolf, co-author of the report, from the Tel Aviv Medical Center said. “We believe the vaccine should be given to these patients … especially in areas of an active COVID-19 outbreak.” However, questions still need to be answered for these patients, including whether there are long-term problems. “We only looked at our patients for the second dose a few weeks ago and cannot rule out the possibility of long-term side effects,” Wolf said. His team is also investigating whether other cancer drugs, such as chemotherapies, could reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine. (https://bit.ly/3uiSvqk)
Skin reactions to mRNA vaccines were not serious
According to researchers who have 414 cases in a register managed by dermatology associations, a wide range of skin reactions have been documented in recipients of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna. The majority (83%) were associated with the Modern shot. Most started the day after, or often a few days to a week, after vaccination, dr. Esther Freeman of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said, who was co-author of a report published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Less than half of the patients who experienced a delayed skin reaction after the first dose experienced a recurrence with the second dose. Furthermore, no patients in the registry developed serious side effects after the first or second dose. “If the patient develops a delayed rash more than four hours after vaccination, while the rash may be uncomfortable, our data suggest that they … should feel comfortable to continue with the second dose of their vaccination,” Freeman said. said. However, she said hives that start within four hours of vaccination should be ‘taken very seriously’ as it could be a sign of an immediate allergic reaction. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you refer to an allergist-immunologist in those cases. (https://bit.ly/3cYclSc)
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(Reporting by Nancy Lapid, Marilynn Larkin, Megan Brooks and Ronnie Cohen; Editing by Bill Berkrot)