Researchers at Gladstone Institutes and UC San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered in a study that bromodomain and extraterminal (BET) proteins are vital for the body to fight Covid-19 infection.
The research also found that BET proteins play two distinct roles in affecting how the SARS-CoV-2 virus interacts with human cells.
They provide the virus with a pathway into cells while aiding cells to defend themselves.
Gladstone Institutes senior investigator and UCSF Quantitative Biosciences Institute director Nevan Krogan made a detailed map in 2020 displaying which proteins of the virus directly interact with which proteins in infected human cells.
On examining the map, a pairing was observed where the viruss envelope protein was found to bind to BRD2 and BRD4, the two members of the BET proteins family.
Furthermore, researchers found that one of the genes turned on by these BET proteins is ACE2, the same protein that the virus depends on to get into cells.
In the latest study, Gladstone graduate student Irene Chen and the team found that the BET proteins switch on genes that block viruses, in SARS-CoV-2 infected cells.
This property is apart from turning on the ACE2 gene, which aids the virus in entering human cells.
On blocking BRD4 in Covid-19-infected mice, the symptoms of the mice worsened and progressed to severe disease.
These findings indicated that BET proteins have a vital role in enabling and combating Covid-19.
A close look at the virus also showed that the envelope protein has a small region that looks like human histones, which are protein complexes seen along DNA.
In addition, the team revealed that the virus could engage the BRD4 protein at the cell nucleus periphery by imitating the histones that BET proteins attach to. This, consequently, hindered BRD4 from activating antiviral genes.
The latest results show that current therapies that hinder all BET proteins at the same time are unlikely to be effective for Covid-19, at least in infected patients.
It was established in the study that various BET proteins play distinct roles in the infection cycle and could lead to the development of therapies that act on particular BET proteins or their parts in the future.
Gladstone Institute of Virology director Melanie Ott said: Its clear from our results that the BET drugs currently available are not suitable for Covid-19.
But certain elements of these drugs could be adapted for future drug development.
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Northern Health is expanding the access to its virtual emergency department service to people living in residential aged care facilities and COVID-19 patients being treated at home via the COVID-19 Positive Pathway Program.
This comes as part of the additional A$162 million ($122 million) funding provided by the state government of Victoria to the health service to improve the operations of Ambulance Victoria.
Due to this, the capacity of the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) will be doubled from 250 patients per day. The service virtually connects patients with non-life-threatening emergencies to nurses and doctors via video call. It also enables paramedics to connect patients on scene for virtual assessment, management and referral.
THE LARGER CONTEXT
The additional funding for the VVED is part of the Victorian government's initiative to support the state health workers and patients amid a fresh outbreak caused by the emergence of new COVID-19 variants.
This week, COVID-19 cases in Victoria went above 10,000 with nearly 900 people hospitalised. The state health department reported seeing a 99% increase in COVID-19 patients in hospitals this month compared in late June.
"Well have more paramedics working alongside our nurses and doctors, to get more support to Victorians who can be treated in their home, [p]lus the tools to get patients the best care in the right place if they need to go to the hospital," said Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews.
THE LARGER TREND
In late-May, Northern Health deployed The Clinician's ZEDOC platform to replace the old patient intake platform at its VVED. The new platform has been configured to simplify the virtual ED's digital patient intake and clinical tracking processes. Since its implementation, the ZEDOC platform has helped manage the increase in patient flow in the VVED, which was recently expanded across Victoria.
News Release
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended that Novavaxs COVID-19 vaccine be used as another primary series option for adults in the United States ages 18 years and older. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) previously authorized for emergency use the protein-based vaccine, known as NVX-CoV2373.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health; the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response; the Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND); and the Defense Health Agency supported the development of NVX-CoV2373 as part of the U.S. governments rapid response to develop safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.
DoD funded the early development of technology used in the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine, and NIAID, BARDA, JPEO-CBRND and DoD provided support for clinical trials evaluating its safety and efficacy. BARDA also provided funding and expertise to support manufacturing and procurement of the vaccine.
NVX-CoV2373 contains a stabilized form of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteina surface protein that facilitates entry to human cells. The approach for stabilizing the spike proteinwas invented by NIAID scientists and their collaborators. The spike proteins are organized in tiny protein particles called nanoparticles. The vaccine is formulated with a saponinbased adjuvant. Saponins are naturally occurring compounds from soapbark trees. Adjuvants are sometimes added to vaccines to enhance immune responses.
The U.S. government supported the Phase 3 clinical trial known as PREVENT-19 that enrolled 29,960 adult participants in the United States and Mexico between Dec. 27, 2020, and Feb. 18, 2021. Participants were randomly assigned to receive two doses of the candidate vaccine 21 days apart or two injections of a saline placebo. Randomization occurred in a 2:1 ratio, with two volunteers receiving NVX-CoV2373 for each one who received placebo. Results published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the candidate vaccine was 90.4% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among trial participants and 100% effective in preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19. The trial was conducted before the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 became dominant.
The PREVENT-19 trial expanded in May 2021 to enroll adolescents ages 12 to 17 years. Novavax has noted that the trial results in adolescents demonstrated comparability to those observed in the adult population. PREVENT-19 also is evaluating a third shot or booster dose in both adult and adolescent participants. In addition, NIAID is studying NVX-CoV2373 in the Phase 1/2 mix & match trial, in which adult volunteers who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 receive booster doses of different COVID-19 vaccines to determine the safety and immunogenicity of mixed boosted regimens.
Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., Senior Official Performing the Duties of the NIH Director; Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director; and Gary Disbrow, Ph.D., BARDA Director, released the following statements:
This is the third COVID-19 vaccine available in the U.S. as a result of the unprecedented government research response to develop safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, for which NIH spearheaded the clinical testing. This collaborative approach involving many public-private partners provides an important blueprint for pandemic preparedness now and into the future. Dr. Tabak
People in the United States now have an additional COVID-19 vaccine available to them that offers protection against severe disease. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine contains a SARS-CoV-2 protein and an adjuvant to boost the immune response. Other vaccines in routine use in the United States, including the hepatitis B vaccine, use this traditional protein-based platform. I continue to encourage all eligible adults and children to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and to stay up-to-date on boosters. Dr. Fauci
We are pleased to see this vaccine achieve FDA authorization, giving Americans another option for a vaccine to protect against COVID, particularly with cases on the rise again. Even with other FDA-approved vaccines available, we continue to support development of flexible vaccine technologies like this one so that we can respond more rapidly to future public health emergencies as well as the current health crisis. Dr. Disbrow
Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., is performing the duties of the Director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., is Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.
Gary Disbrow, Ph.D., is Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), in the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
NIHTurning Discovery Into Health
LM Dunkleet al.Efficacy and Safety of NVX-CoV2373 in Adults in the United States and Mexico.The New England Journal of MedicineDOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2116185 (2021).
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Public health messages that promote COVID-19 vaccination rates at state, city and community levels may have less influence on vaccination decisions than the signals people receive from their own family and friends.
Thats according to a study published on the cover of the July 19 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Therefore, the most promising public health interventions to promote COVID-19 vaccine uptake should seek ways to leverage social norms among close ties, the findings assert.
One of the takeaways is the importance of peoples perceptions of the intentions of the people around them, said Nathaniel Rabb, a project manager at the Policy Lab at Brown University and the lead author of the study. It lends further credence to the idea about changing disclosure norms. Its likely given other survey data weve seen that in groups where vaccination is less common, people read the norms and talk about it less, even if they are vaccinated. Its almost taboo.
The research team posits theres a feedback loop that needs to be disrupted, Rabb said.
It will certainly need a very different public health policy approach than putting up a billboard with how many people in your state got vaccinated, or berating people into doing it or telling them theyre at terrible risk of peril, Rabb said. Its going to require a long-game strategy. In our results, it seems like you have to break these taboos about talking about it and thats not trivial.
The findings were based on surveys of Rhode Island respondents and the general U.S. population in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic, and again in March 2021 once vaccines were becoming available to segments of the general population. The data were collected and analyzed in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Health.
Jakub Kaczmarczyk/PAP
Poland will allow a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine to be received by people aged 60-79 and by persons over 12 years of age suffering from immune deficiency, the health minister has announced.
"From July 22... we will allow vaccinations for people in the 60-79 age group and an additional vaccination for people with immune deficiency who are over 12 years of age," Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said at a press conference on Thursday.
Close to 12 million people in the 38-million nation have received the third dose of the vaccine so far, according to Niedzielski. Till now, the fourth dose has been offered to everybody over 80.
Niedzielski also said that the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic will likely peak at 8,000-10,000 daily new cases in the second half of August.
"If we look at the last three days, we're dealing with new infections of about 3,000," the health minister said. "Today's number is 2,999 infections. This result means that the weekly growth rate is about 60 percent."
However, according to Niedzielski, the current coronavirus mutation is not as dangerous as previous strains.
"In our base scenario, we assume the peak of hospitalisations at about 3,000," Niedzielski said. "This level will not trigger the need to change our policy."
Brazzaville, 20 July 2022 Administered COVID-19 doses rose by 74% in June 2022 compared to the previous month after a sustained three-month decrease between March and May. This is due to mass COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in 16 countries in June. Nineteen mass vaccination campaigns are being implemented in July.
The dramatic rise in vaccines doses administered has pushed six countries beyond the critical benchmark of having more than 10% of their total population completing their primary series of vaccine doses. This has reduced the number of countries in the below 10% category from 14 to eight. Among countries that stepped-up vaccination campaigns in June are Tanzania where vaccination coverage for a completed primary series rose from 1.8 to 15.8% while South Sudan rose from 2% to 11%.
As of 10 July 2022, 282 million people on the continent had completed their primary series, representing 21.1% of Africas population. This is an increase in vaccinations by 10% since the beginning of the year. More than 892 million vaccines have been delivered to Africa, 64% of which are from the COVAX Facility.
This uptick in vaccination coverage shows that African countries remain committed to COVID-19 vaccination, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa. This is encouraging because vaccination remains the most effective tool in our response to COVID-19 on the continent.
Several countries that struggled to get their COVID-19 vaccination responses off the ground in 2021 have made notable progress in scaling up coverage for their primary series in the last six months. Coverage in Ethiopia jumped from 3.5% to 33%, Cote dIvoire, from 9% to 25.8%, Zambia, from 3.5% to 25.2%, and Uganda, from 4.4% to 25.5%.
WHO is providing technical support to countries to implement mass vaccination campaigns or to conduct routine immunization activities more frequently in the next six months, targeting high-priority groups, including health workers, people older than 60 years and people with co-morbidities. It is working closely with countries to review lessons learnt, including sustainability of different mass vaccination campaign strategies deployed by countries to improve coverage over the past two months.
COVID-19 vaccination in Africa remains focused on adults older than 18 years; only 7% of doses administered in 23 countries were given to children and adolescents younger than 18. The median coverage among adults older than 18 years who have completed their primary series is 34%.
Across the continent, there are ongoing efforts for the integration of the COVID-19 vaccination into primary health care services, said Dr Moeti. Primary health care facilities currently function as one-stop shops for a range of health services. We are building on the experience garnered to ensure an all-inclusive primary health care approach is implemented for COVID-19 vaccination.
For Additional Information or to Request Interviews, Please contact:
Collins Boakye-Agyemang Communications and marketing officer Tel: + 242 06 520 65 65 (WhatsApp)Email: boakyeagyemangc@who.int
Meenakshi Dalal Communications Consultant Email: dalalm@who.int Tel: + 1 (682) 812 2306 (WhatsApp)
Sakuya OKA Communications Manager WHO Regional Office for Africa Cell: +242 06 508 1009 Email: okas@who.int
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers investigated a potential association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and sudden sensorineural hearing loss(SSNHL).
Severalcase reports of SSNHL linked to COVID-19 vaccination have emerged during the pandemic. The European database of suspected adverse drug reaction reports lists over 1000 reports of SSNHL related to COVID-19 vaccination as of March 15, 2022. A study in Israel reported that the risk for SSNHL increased significantly after vaccination with Pfizers BNT162b2 vaccine.
The association of SSNHL with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection remains controversial. One study observed no apparent association between COVID-19 and SSNHL, wherein no patient with SSNHL was SARS-CoV-2-positive. Nevertheless, a few studies described the incidence of SSNHL post-infection with SARS-CoV-2.
In the present study, researchers assessed the associations of COVID-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection with SSNHL. They examined SSNHL incidence in Finland between January 1, 2019, and April 12, 2022. A national register harboring data on birth, gender, and the unique personal identification codes of all Finnish residents, was utilized to identify all people born or alive during the study.
People diagnosed with sudden hearing loss during 201518 were excluded. Vaccination data were obtained from the national vaccination register and infection data from the National Infectious Disease Register. The first SARS-CoV-2-positive test result was utilized as the date of infection, and recurrent infections were not considered. The first occurrence of sudden idiopathic hearing loss after January 1, 2019, was deemed an incident SSNHL case.
Vaccination status was classified as pre-epidemic non-vaccinated, epidemic non-vaccinated, and vaccinated. The vaccination status changed to pre-vaccination for every individual 30 days before and to vaccinated from the first vaccination date. Further, the vaccinated state was stratified into primary ( 54 days) and secondary ( 55 days) risk states. The infection status was defined as infected or non-infected.
The infection status was non-infected for the entire cohort before the COVID-19 pandemic. The infected state was stratified into primary and secondary risk periods following infection. Using a Poisson regression model, the researchers computed adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRRs) between vaccine exposure states and the pre-epidemic non-vaccinated state and between infection exposure states and the non-infected state.
Time-invariant covariates were gender, diabetes, chronic disease count, nursing home care, cardiovascular disease, number of primary care visits, assisted living, and other institutional living. Time-independent covariates were vaccination/infection status, age groups, and calendar months. A natural spline function was utilized, accounting for the non-linear changes in the SSHNL incidence by calendar month.
In the Finnish population, the crude monthly incidence of SSNHL was variable between 2016 and 2019, from 13 to 23 per 100,000 person-years (pyrs). After 2016, the incidence was the lowest in April (11/100,000 pyrs) and May 2020 (12/100,000 pyrs) and the highest in February 2021 (27/100,000). After that, the monthly incidences were variable, similar to pre-2020. From January 2019 to pre-COVID-19, 1216 subjects experienced SSNHL with a crude incidence of 18.7 per 100,000.
A sudden decrease in SSNHL incidence was noted in the initial phase of the pandemic (March 2020) that increased to pre-COVID-19 levels by the end of 2020. The crude incidence dropped shortly after the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination program commenced in early 2021. The crude SSNHL incidences during the primary risk period following first dose administration of Oxfords ChAdOx1, BNT162b2, and Modernas mRNA-1273 vaccines were 24, 20.9, and 16 per 100,000, respectively.
The aIRRs were < 1, indicating no elevated risk of SSNHL post-first vaccination. The primary and secondary risk periods post-administration of second and third doses were not significantly different than the pre-COVID-19 non-vaccinated period. Furthermore, the authors found no evidence that the risk of SSNHL increased following infection with SARS-CoV-2. The aIRRs were 1.3 and 1.1 for the primary and secondary risk periods post-infection, implying that the SSNHL incidence was not significantly different relative to the non-infected period.
The study assessed the association between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and infection with SSNHL, comparing the incidence of SSNHL post-vaccination to that before the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, there was no evidence of the suspected association of COVID-19 vaccination with SSNHL, and the aIRRs were mostly 1 during the primary risk period following vaccination.
medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Lucille says she has an autoimmune disorder that will certainly trigger a bad reaction with the COVID shot.
CLEVELAND An Akron woman needs a life saving kidney transplant but one issue stands in the way of Cleveland Clinic doctors being able to perform the surgery, a COVID vaccination.
Lucille Johnson needs a kidney transplant. She has lupus and the disease has attached itself to the kidneys and her twin sister Lillian Mitchell is a perfect match. However the story takes a complicated turn, both refuse to get the COVID vaccine that is required for Cleveland Clinic surgeons to perform a life-saving kidney transplant.
Lucille says she has an autoimmune disorder that will certainly trigger a bad reaction with the COVID shot.
"We are completely opposed to it I have not taken it and she isn't going to take it. If I get the shot i am going to lose my life for sure. My kidneys are failing the filtration itself will not tolerate that vaccine."
The twins have hired an attorney, Warner Mendenhall who says, "This is discrimination under the Americans with disabilities act this is damaging a major life activity the major life activity is taking care of her own life."
The Cleveland Clinic disagrees saying, "For the living donor, reducing the risk of a COVID-19 infection around the time of their surgery and recovery is crucial. Individuals who are actively infected with COVID-19 have a much higher rate of complications during and after surgery."
"For the transplant candidate, in addition to a major operation, medications taken after an organ transplant weaken a person's immune response. Serious complications of COVID-19 are most likely to develop in those individuals who have weakened immune systems. The FDA-authorized vaccines have been determined to be safe and effective and are the best way to prevent severe illness and death from COVID-19, especially when administered prior to transplantation. "
Time is quickly running out for Lucille says Lillian, "We are now at the end of the road my sister's function is only at 7 percent."
There are 4 program areas to support the funding goals. Applicants may apply to more than one program area. See RFA for more information and detailed instructions. There are no set award amounts or award maximums; please submit a funding request that is appropriate for your agency needs.
This program will fund projects/activities that use authentic community engagement practices to gather community input on population-specific assets and needs related to health equity and the COVID-19 pandemic.
This program will provide support for community health navigators to do vaccine outreach, patient education, and health system navigation.
This program will fund activities focused on community resilience related to the social determinants of health as they relate to COVID-19's impact on communities.
The goal of this program is to improve vaccine education, outreach, access, and administration in communities.
At the start of the 2021-22 season Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins held out until the last possible moment to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The All-Star wing initially refused to get the vaccine and had reportedly requested a religious exemption from getting it, which he later refuted. Wiggins' refusal against getting the vaccine would've caused a problem for the Warriors, as the San Francisco Department of Public Health had an order requiring COVID-19 vaccination for all participants age 12 and older at large indoor events.
If Wiggins held out in getting the vaccine, he would've been unable to play in home games for the Warriors. However, it never came to that as the former No. 1 overall pick eventually decided to receive the vaccine, and he went on to help Golden State win a championship. But now, just over a month removed from hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy, Wiggins says he regrets the decision.
"I still wish I didn't get it, to be honest with you, but you gotta do what you gotta do," Wiggins said in an interview with FanSided. "I did it, and I was an All-Star this year and a champion, so that was the good part. Just not missing out on the year, the best year of my career. But for my body, I just don't like putting all that stuff in my body, so I didn't like that and I didn't like that it wasn't my choice. I didn't like that it was either get this or don't play."
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This is the same sentiment Wiggins had early in the season after receiving the vaccine, saying he was "kind of forced" to get it. As Wiggins pointed out, though, getting vaccinated allowed him to be a crucial part of the Warriors' championship run, and his standout play earned him his first All-Star nod. Despite all of this, though, Wiggins still clearly isn't too fond of getting the vaccine to begin with.
