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.
Antiviral inhibitor seems safe for children
The antiviral drug inhibitor seems to be as safe and effective for use with children with COVID-19 as in adults, according to the largest study to date of children with severe COVID-19 receiving the drug. Remdesivir, sold by Gilead Sciences Inc under the brand name Veklury, shortens the recovery time in adults with COVID-19. It has not yet been approved for children under 12. In March 2020, Gilead began accepting physicians’ requests for compassion for the use of brake desivir in critically ill children with COVID-19. In the new study among 77 children in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, ‘brake drug is well tolerated, with a low incidence of serious side effects’, associated with the drug, researchers reported in Pediatrics on Wednesday . Within four weeks of starting treatment, 88% of children reduced their need for oxygen support, 83% recovered and 73% were discharged. Among those in need of mechanical ventilation, 90% of the fans could be removed. A randomized controlled trial is underway to confirm that the high level of recovery was due to the effects of remdesivir, the researchers said. An editorial co-published with the study states: “Although diseases and mortality rates differ, children hospitalized with acute COVID-19 often have a similar disease to adults. Children are likely to have a similar response to remdesivir as an adult. ” (https://bit.ly/3eeoGRy, https://bit.ly/3enAnoW)
Patients may not pose the highest COVID-19 risk to hospital staff
U.S. health care workers on the front lines of the pandemic who fall ill with COVID-19 are more likely to have contracted the infection in the community than through patient care, new research indicates. In a large medical center in Wisconsin, researchers investigated probable sources of infections by analyzing the gene sequences of the virus obtained from swab samples from 95 health workers and their patients. Only 11% of participants’ infections can be traced back to a colleague and only 4% to a patient, the researchers reported in Clinical Infectious Diseases. They said their observations were consistent with recent studies evaluating healthcare-associated infections in the Netherlands and the UK, and with another recent study that found that the major risk factor for COVID-19 was the disease in surrounding communities. factors in the workplace. “It appears that health care professionals are mostly infected with SARS-CoV-2 through exposure to the community,” the researchers conclude. “It emphasizes the continuing importance of mask wear, physical distance, robust testing programs and rapid vaccine distribution.” (https://bit.ly/3xausMz)
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(Reported by Nancy Lapid; edited by Bill Berkrot)