Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire

As COVID-19 continues to evolve, a new variant has emerged, garnering attention from health officials across the United States. Known as HV.1, the latest variant has shown a significant surge in cases, raising questions about its potential impact on public health.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HV.1 was first identified in mid-summer, but it wasnt until September that cases began to spike, making it the cause of nearly 20 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the country.

Infectious disease experts, including Dr. Amesh A. Adalja and Dr. Thomas Russo, told the health and wellness website Prevention.com that they have classified HV.1 as an Omicron XBB variant, descending from the EG.5 variant. They said the lineage highlights its genetic connection to the original Omicron strain.

According to Prevention.com, one of the concerning features of HV.1 is its spike protein, which has undergone notable changes from the EG.5 variant. While the full implications of these alterations are not yet fully understood, the rapid increase in casesfrom 0.5 percent in mid-July to nearly 20 percent in mid-Octobersuggests a high level of transmissibility.

Despite the rise in cases, experts remain cautiously optimistic. Dr. Adalja emphasized that new variants of SARS-CoV-2 are expected, and most may not pose a significant threat. Dr. William Schaffner told Prevention.com that, so far, HV.1 doesnt appear to cause more severe illness than other circulating variants.

Symptoms associated with HV.1 largely mirror those of previous strains, including fever, cough, fatigue, and loss of taste or smell. However, it tends to manifest as a more common cold-like illness, with symptoms like congestion and a runny nose being prominent.

Regarding prevention, the updated COVID-19 vaccine based on the XBB.1.5 variant is expected to protect individuals from HV.1. The new variant is considered a grandchild of XBB.1.5, and experts anticipate the vaccine will effectively mitigate severe cases.

While HV.1 is rising, health officials urge the public to maintain standard precautions. This includes vaccination, proper hand hygiene, and avoiding close contact with visibly unwell individuals. For added protection, N95 or Kn95 face masks are recommended.

COVID is still with us. If you develop symptoms, test yourself ASAP and contact your doctor if youre positive. You may be a candidate for an antiviral medication, Dr. Russo underscored.

This article was originally published by NNPA Newswire.

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New COVID-19 variant HV.1 emerges as dominant strain in the U.S. - Afro American Newspaper

The emergence of infectious diseases has historically caused serious problems for both global stability and public health. In 2002, the world grappled with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which, by 2003, had spread to 29 countries, resulting in 774 deaths, and affecting over 8,000 individuals [1]. In a striking parallel, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) surfaced in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has since evolved into a global concern of unprecedented proportions.

The World Health Organization observed over 659million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of January 10, 2023, with more than 6.7million fatalities and more than 13million vaccination doses given globally [2]. The World Health Organization classified the pandemic as a global health disaster of substantial concern because of its enormous scope, which caused severe suffering and fatalities across the globe [3].

Beyond the direct impacts of the illness, the COVID-19 pandemic has still sparked widespread fear and hysteria, with far-reaching implications that are frequently unrelated to the viruss actual medical effects [4, 5]. Addressing the psychological effects of COVID-19 has become a pressing concern in the twenty-first century[6].

Numerous research have examined the COVID-19 pandemics psychological effects and found a variety of negative effects on mental health and wellbeing. Sleep issues, increased alertness, feelings of helplessness, alterations in mood, health-related concerns, depression, and irritation are among these effects[7,8,9,10,11,12]. In addition, the epidemic has sparked an alarming rise in conspiracy views and false information, despite intense efforts by governments and groups to stop the viruss spread [13].

Conspiracy thinking, a well-documented phenomenon during societal crises and health pandemics, has been shown to fuel reluctance to engage in health-related behaviors and foster misunderstandings about the underlying issues [14, 15]. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, subjects such as the viruss origin, severity, and containment have become focal points for conspiracy theories [16] The study of conspiracy thinking has emerged as a burgeoning field, seeking to uncover the factors that influence individuals acceptance of such beliefs [17, 18].

Different studies highlighted that conspiracy beliefs led to anxiety and threat [7, 17, 19]. Douglas, Uscinski [20] found that people who believe in conspiracies tend to be more anxious. Additionally, those who experience high levels of anxiety are more susceptible to such beliefs. Misinformation beliefs during covid-19 brought about feelings of anxiety [21]. Within the perspective of continued influence theories, misinformation not only cause poor judgements and decision-making, but it also has a long-lasting effect on peoples reasoning after correction [22]. In their model of false beliefs drivers, Ecker, Lewandowsky [22] posited that misinformation beliefs might come from cognitive drivers (intuitive thinking, cognitive failure, and illusory truth), and socio-affective drivers (source cues, emotion, world view). Verma et al., (2022) found that anxiety level doubled or tripled among twitter users who shared COVID-19 misinformation compared to other users who refused to share misinformation. As such, conspiracy thinking decreases trust in traditional media and increase reliance on social media which transmit misinformation [23, 24]. In other studies, anxiety was not strongly associated with conspiracy theories and misinformation beliefs [24]. We hypothesize that COVID-19 anxiety and sources of information drive individuals to believe in conspiracy theories and misinformation beliefs.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted Oman, with 399,154 confirmed cases and 4,628 deaths as of January 10, 2023. While the country has made progress in vaccination efforts, with 63.79% of the population having received at least one dose, misinformation remains a significant issue that has not been adequately addressed. In Western cultures, research has shown the importance of conspiratorial and misinformation beliefs in the proliferation of COVID-19 anxiety and Coronaphobia, [25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32] leading to negative effects such as vaccine hesitancy [33]. However, little to no research has been conducted in the Arab Gulf region, specifically in Oman, on the relationship between misinformation beliefs, conspiracy theories, and COVID-19 anxiety.

To address this gap, this study investigates the relationship between misinformation beliefs, conspiracy theories, and COVID-19 anxiety among the Omani population. Research has shown that people believe conspiracy theories when important psychological needs are unmet, such as the desire to satisfy curiosity, avoid uncertainty, and reduce COVID-19 anxiety. By understanding the factors contributing to the spread of misinformation and conspiratorial beliefs in the Omani context, policymakers and health-care professionals can develop targeted interventions to combat this issue.

In simple terms, any activity is conspiratorial if it is undertaken in secret by a group of agents who intend some end [34., p. 24]. Conspiracy theories explain that some kind of conspiracy thinking interprets the incidence of an event. The concept of conspiracy should satisfy three main conditions to be classified as a conspiracy: (a) the conspirators condition (plotters), (b) the secrecy condition, and (c) the goal condition [34]. Considering these three conditions, we can assume that they are inherent in most conspiracy thoughts that accompanied the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

Conspiracy theories significantly increased following the outbreak of COVID-19. The main purpose of these theories is to explain important events and situations as the malicious acts of third parties [35]. For example, during the pandemic, many people believed that COVID-19 was manufactured in a Chinese laboratory, while others believed that governments exaggerated the severity of the virus as part of a plot to control citizens [28]. People who believe in conspiracy theories tend to engage in irrational behaviors, leading to severe or negative impacts on their health [20]. Additionally, conspiracy theories can harm trust in health institutions and hinder efforts to combat the virus [36].

Scholars have begun to explore the impact of conspiracy theories on individual and public health during the pandemic [25, 37, 38]. For example, Romer and Jamieson [39] examined the impact of conspiracy theories on protective measures in the United States. The results showed that these theories lead to resistance to precautionary actions and vaccination. People avoided wearing masks and getting vaccinated because they believed the virus did not exist and that the vaccine was a means of control. Previous studies have also confirmed the link between conspiracy theories and individuals hesitancy to make informed decisions [40, 41].

Uscinski, Enders [32] found that, while many people recognized the seriousness of COVID-19, a significant number of study participants agreed that the danger posed by the virus had been exaggerated and that the virus was purposely produced and spread by other parties. The study highlighted that individuals beliefs in conspiracy theories may be driven by denialism, conspiracy thinking, and biased or ideological motivations.

It is difficult to identify a single mechanism that controls the association between education and conspiracy thinking as different psychological mechanisms underlie this relationship e.g., [17]. Not surprisingly, low-educated individuals and those dissatisfied with government actions in response to the pandemic are particularly susceptible to conspiracy theories [42]. Conversely, past research has shown that high levels of education predict low belief in conspiracy theories due to educations cognitive, emotional, and social outcomes e.g., [17, 43, 44].

It is widely acknowledged in the literature that false beliefs led to an underestimation of the threat and hindered individuals efforts to get vaccinated [45]. Different conspiracy theories spread during the pandemic, for example, the belief that 5G technology was the direct cause of the outbreak of COVID-19 [46] and that the virus was manufactured in a Chinese laboratory [35]. As a result, conspiracy theories describing COVID-19 as a hoax were positively associated with less preparedness in containment procedures [30] and predicted vaccine hesitancy [47].

The spread of the virus worldwide was accompanied by thousands of people, backed by pseudoscientific treatment ideas and conspiracies [31, 48]. Misinformation has increased on social media due to people believing in this type of information and conspiracy theories, which made social media outlets fertile to germinate a massive amount of misinformation [49, 50].

In the last phases of the pandemic, most false claims were about the vaccine, specifically its side-effect, which cause fear and panic [51, 52]. Some examples of these claims are:

Vaccines are not safe and cause health risks,

A way to reduce the population will alter human DNA and causes infertility or death.

In Oman, many refused to get the vaccine because of such rumors [53, 54]. Smith, Ng [55] argued that false information about a cure for the Coronavirus had caused widespread fear and distrust among the public. Vaccine hesitancy was added to the World Health Organizations top ten global health issues for 2019, according to the WHOs website. This highlights the concern over the growing trend of individuals refusing vaccines for themselves or their children. The inclusion of vaccine hesitancy on this list predates the COVID-19 pandemic [56]. The authors revealed that misinformation and unfavorable attitudes are very contagious and can lower vaccination rates. For example, during the 2009 swine flu outbreak, the spread of skepticism and unproven hypotheses about vaccine safety affected peoples willingness to be vaccinated. Several studies have found that exposure to anti-vaccination beliefs and misinformation on Twitter has increased vaccine reluctance and refusal and a drop in vaccination uptake [57,58,59]. Omani citizens and Omani government made positive efforts to deal with misinformation [21].

Health institutions and information systems were not well-prepared to respond to the outflow of infected cases. Although trust in health systems helped shape the public response to the COVID-19 pandemic [60], Peoples belief in misleading thoughts decreased their confidence in medical procedures [36]. In his warning in 2020, the Director General of WHO declared the fighting against infodemic which spreads faster and more easily than the virus [30]. Misleading information about COVID-19 negatively affected governmental efforts in the struggle with the epidemic leading to unintended deaths [61], and vice versa, the awareness of preventive measures might weaken misinformation beliefs also studies found that there was a strong association between trust in science and belief in misinformation e.g., trusting science more are less likely to believe misinformation [62] Those authors later found that the same trust in science scale was associated with COVID-19 vaccination intention [63]. No doubt that misleading information has a negative impact on taking preventative measures [28]. Conversely, Alper, Bayrak [64] found no association between misinformation beliefs and preventative measures. According to Jovanevi and Milievi [65], optimistic people have more preventative measures and less fear than pessimistic people. Kim and Kim [66] claimed that people who perceive danger accept fake news. In this context, McCaffery, Dodd [67] concluded that health knowledge and ways of thinking might have reduced efforts against the pandemic spread in Australia.

The amount of misinformation spread through social networks affected the response to the pandemic, as it had health, psychological and social effects on individuals [25]. The inability to distinguish between facts and misinformation might lead to psychological, health and social distress and may even extend to the economic and political aspects [22, 68]. Many researchers claimed that misinformation increased the level of COVID-19 anxiety among individuals leading to unpredicted actions to avoid infection with covid-19. In addition, it was found that exposure to misinformation increased the level of depression [69]. In order to alleviate these feelings, individuals looked for more information that might comfort them [70].

The COVID-19 outbreak has proved that responding to misinformation is challenging for many reasons. Social, emotional and cultural factors affect the absorption of misinformation, hindering efforts to stop the negative impact of this type of information [71]. In terms of health, Joseph et al. (2022) indicated that spreading false information about the virus through social networks leads to negative results, including reluctance to follow recommendations related to the virus to preserve public health and increasing levels of COVID-19 anxiety and fear. The accumulation of this unfounded information leads to abstaining from vaccinations, which seriously affects public health [72]. Misinformation regarding prevention and treatment measures is particularly harmful because it may directly cause deaths [73]. Misinformation also causes uninformed and rushed health decisions [74].

Psychologically, increased exposure to social media information can negatively affect the community mental health (Hammad and Alqarni [69]. Similarly, in the Arab region, it was believed that the outbreak of the virus has led to continued doubt and uncertainty about the nature of the virus [75]. It has also been proven that the spread of misinformation raises concern and suspicion among the public from the advice given by public health officials [76]. Shehata and Eldakar [75] found that misinformation affects individuals health decisions and mental health, leading to increased fear and anxiety. On the other hand, peoples disagreement about the reality of the virus and their exchange of information led to personal and family conflicts [77]. It can also adversely affect health-care infrastructure and society [76].

People should obtain adequate and accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccine from a trusted source. Public trust building should be a priority through collaboration between citizens and civic institutions in supporting health-care providers [78]. Although Exposure to traditional media regularly undertake efforts to debunk conspiracy theories and misinformation"[24], spread of misinformation about COVID-19 progressed at unprecedented speed worldwide via social media networking sites [79]. Likewise, social media are considered as the main reason behind conspiracy theories as well Georgiou, Delfabbro [42]. Narratives of conspiracy theories and misinformation beliefs were strongly associated with exposure to digital media causing higher feelings of depression [24]. Since COVID-19 preventive precautions were negatively associated with conspiratorial and misinformation beliefs, researchers ought to investigate the psychological, political, and health factors underlying those fake thoughts [80].

A significant number of studies have explored the sources of information adopted by individuals to obtain information about COVID-19 [81,82,83]. These studies have found a variance in the sources utilized by individuals to seek information related to the virus. Interestingly, it was found that social media outlets represented a significant source of information as many used them for health information. However, using social media outlets produced many problems, as much of the information shared through them is false or misleading [84,85,86].

Li, Pastukhova [87] and Andika, Kao [88] explored the use of YouTube as a source of information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both studies revealed that many videos watched by a huge number of viewers contained misleading information that could negatively affect individuals exposed to this information. The studies recommended that health authorities need to collaborate with Youtubers in producing videos that contain reliable health information as the reach of these videos is higher than traditional communication channels.

A study by Mansour, Shehata [89] explored the sources of information utilized by Egyptian physicians working in isolation hospitals. Results indicated that participants prefer to use traditional information sources when dealing with COVID-19 cases, such as research papers and trusted medical databases, with a little emphasis on non-traditional sources, such as social media. Similarly, Tran, Dang [90] focused on Vietnams health and community workers. The results outlined that the Internet, online newspapers, and social networks were the most popular channels used by health workers in Vietnam, revealing a lack of proper information literacy practices and a need for tailored programs for information literacy skills. In Taiwan, Wang, Lu [82] found that while many participants, including health-care workers, are using the Internet and social media to obtain health information related to COVID-19, the use of such channels was associated with the participants confidence in their ability to obtain reliable information.

Studies also found that individuals utilize other sources of information for health information, including COVID-19 information. A study by Shehata [91] revealed that in addition to social media as a source of health information, personal contacts (family and friends) were among the top sources of information. Other sources, such as authorities webpages, newspapers, and magazines, were confirmed to be used by the participants. Notably, many studies confirmed that social outlets such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook were among the highly used sources of health information on the Internet rather than being a source of rumors and misinformation [92,93,94].

Social networks have facilitated the dissemination of information worldwide; however, with the infodemic that accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals could not trust the information they find through social outlets [95]. During the pandemic, COVID-19 misinformation evolved continuously, contributing to the digital destruction of the mental model [96]. Therefore, many studies aimed to explore the factors that affect individuals trust in the information they read on the Internet. On an individual level, Shehata and Alnadabi [97] investigated the factors that lead undergraduates to trust and share information online using the theory of reasoned action. The results revealed that age, gender, self-efficacy, personal beliefs, and subjective norms play a key role in determining trust in information. Moreover, using digital platforms was associated with lack of basic ethical competencies [98].

Pan, Liu [99] confirmed the previous results, as the study showed that pre-existing beliefs lead to acceptance of misinformation and trust in online information sources. On the other hand, the study claimed that education level and age are not associated with the acceptance of misinformation or trust in online information. Similarly, Shehata [91] explored the health information behavior of undergraduates and revealed that personal beliefs affect individuals trust of information, confirming Pan, Liu [99] results. Individuals tend to trust information that is consistent with their beliefs to avoid dissonance in behavior.

Notably, Latkin, Dayton [100] reported a decline in trust in formal information sources in the USA. The study revealed that the state health department and the White House were among the samples top untrusted sources of information due to their doubt that politics are playing a part in the spread of COVID-19. Figueiras, Ghorayeb [101] rated health information sources in terms of trust in these sources in UAE. The study argued that trust is influenced by sociodemographic (culture, age, gender) factors. The most trusted sources were physicians, health-care workers, and formal government channels. The results revealed that the use of sources and levels of trust varied based on age, gender, and education. The study also noted that adopting protective behavior affected the level of trust among the sample.

De Coninck, Frissen [24] investigated the relationship between exposure to information sources and conspiracy, and misinformation beliefs; and tested the moderating role of trust in information sources as well as the mediating role of depression and anxiety in eight European, Asian, and American countries during the pandemic. Results indicated that greater exposure to politicians and digital media and personal contacts was associated with higher rate of belief in conspiracy and misinformation, while exposure to traditional media was associated with lower conspiracy and misinformation beliefs. The difference between our study and that of De Coninck et al. is that their study was cross-national comparative research, yet ours is a within-nation comparative study. They used cross-cultural and overseas samples to collect data from USA, UK, New Zealand, Canada, Philippines, Hong Kong, Switzerland, but we recruited only participants from Omani citizens. It is worth noting that we adopted the same instruments.

Overall, studies have shown that the use of information resources varies. The type of information resources used in one region is not necessarily the same in the other as many variables shape the individuals behavior and acceptance of information resources. However, it can be said that personal beliefs, self-efficacy, culture, age, gender, and education were the most visible factors in all studies [95, 102, 103].

Gender has been found to impact the belief in conspiracy theories. Despite the limited research on gender differences in conspiracy thinking, it has been generally observed that men tend to be more inclined to endorse COVID-19 conspiracy theories than females [16] and are more affected by false beliefs [79]. Conversely, Pan, Liu [99] research indicates that females tend to be more accepting of online misinformation than males.

Different studies indicated that people with high level of education are less inclined than those with low level of education to believe in conspiracy theories [17, 43, 44]. To interpret this, Gerosa, Gui [104] argued that people with higher levels of education display higher levels of knowledge. On the other hand, level of education did not have a significant role in believing misinformation. With regard to age, studies in this area are still nascent but some studies, e.g., Douglas, Sutton [105] concluded that young people in middle adolescence are keen on accepting conspiracy theories. Jolley, Douglas [106] believed that conspiracy theories beliefs change across lifespan, and it is not easy to examine conspiracy theories across the lifespan. Concerning employment, countries with high levels of unemployment offer fertile ground for the conspiracy theories [107].

In this study, our primary aims were to elucidate the intricate interplay between conspiracy theories, misinformation beliefs, and COVID-19 anxiety. Specifically, we sought to examine the moderating effect of trust and the mediating effect of COVID-19 anxiety in shaping the relationship between exposure to information sources and individuals tendencies towards conspiracy theories and misinformation beliefs. Additionally, we endeavored to explore how these relationships may vary across demographic factors, including age group, educational level, gender, and place of residence (governorate).

In line with this literature, we formulated the following hypotheses

H1. Exposure to digital media will be associated with greater conspiracy and misinformation beliefs.

H2. Exposure to traditional media is expected to be associated with lower conspiracy and misinformation beliefs.

H3. The impact of COVID-19 anxiety and exposure to information sources on conspiracy theories and misinformation beliefs is moderated by trust in these sources.

H4. COVID-19 anxiety is positively associated with conspiracy and misinformation beliefs.

H5. The rate of conspiracy and misinformation beliefs is similar across all governorates.

H6. Conspiracy theories, misinformation beliefs, and COVID-19 would differ significantly according to gender, education level, employment, place of residence, and age.

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Trust in information sources as a moderator of the impact of COVID ... - BMC Psychology

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the University of Oxford today announced the launch of a new project to initiate early development of prototype vaccines against the Junn virus, selected as an exemplar of the Arenavirus family which is responsible for multiple deadly hemorrhagic fevers with epidemic and pandemic potential. The data and materials generated by this project could give the world a head start in rapidly developing safe and effective vaccines against Arenaviruses within 100 days of their identification, potentially stopping a future pandemic in its tracks.

CEPI will provide up to $25 million to Oxford for preclinical and Phase I clinical development of a vaccine against the Junn virus using Oxford's ChAdOx platform - the basis for Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine, which saved 6.3 million lives in the first year of the global vaccine rollout - and other rapid response platforms. Endemic to the Pampas of South America, a large region of over a million square kilometers which includes Buenos Aires, Junn virus can cause Argentine Haemmorhagic Fever, with symptoms including muscular pain, dizziness, rashes, and a 15-30% case fatality.

The Oxford team was able to develop a COVID-19 vaccine with unprecedented speed, in part because of their prior work to develop a vaccine against MERS which is a closely related virus from the coronavirus family. This gave the team a significant head start when COVID-19 emerged because they had solved many of the critical vaccinology problems for coronaviruses in advance.

CEPI and Oxford now aim to replicate this approach for the Arenavirus family by generating crucial knowledge about vaccine design and biological mechanisms linked to protection against the Junn virus which could significantly accelerate vaccine development against other viruses within the Arenavirus family. The viral family comprises New World Arenaviruses, a distinctive group within the Arenavirus family that includes viruses like Junn, as well as Old World Arenaviruses like Lassa fever, one of CEPI's priority pathogens which are listed on the WHO R&D Blueprint as needing urgent R&D action.

COVID-19 was a wake-up call to the world, highlighting the critical need to be better prepared for future viral threats. This new project will harness the University of Oxford's extensive vaccinology experience and its innovative ChAdOx vaccine technology - one of only a handful of vaccine platforms proven to work at speed, scale, and low cost - to expand the world's scientific knowledge on Arenavirus vaccines. The project will generate vital resources for the proposed Global Vaccine Library helping accelerate efforts to reduce vaccine development timelines to 100 days when faced with future threats."

Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI

Professor Teresa Lambe, lead of the project and Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology and a Professor of Vaccinology & Immunology based in the Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG), and investigator at the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford, said: "In this new project, scientists here in Oxford and in Latin America will develop and test candidate vaccines for Junn virus using both viral vector and mRNA technology.

"Our work will not only inform best-in-class vaccines against the Junn virus, but it will also support vaccine development for the broader group of Arenaviruses. It is this wider impact that could crucially help the world develop and manufacture safe, affordable vaccines at speed, preparing us for future pandemic threats."

The prototype vaccines, data, and knowledge about Arenaviruses that are generated through this research could make a vital contribution to the proposed Global Vaccine Library: a global repository of vaccine resources, capabilities, and data which can be pulled 'off the shelf' and quickly adapted in response to a future outbreak, accelerating the development of life-saving vaccines.

As part of the project, the University of Oxford's team of scientists (Professors Teresa Lambe, Sandy Douglas, Thomas Brown, and Sue Ann Costa Clemens) will also explore improving vaccine manufacturing processes to accelerate the speed and increase the scale of production of vaccines on their ChAdOx platform. The aim is to provide 'proof-of-concept' that the technology could dramatically accelerate vaccine development timelines from sequence to manufacturing of clinical trial materials, in alignment with the timeframes set out to achieve the 100 Days Mission for fast vaccine rollout during an outbreak.

CEPI and the University of Oxford are committed to enabling equitable access to the outputs of this partnership in line with CEPI's Equitable Access Policy so that vaccines are first available, at affordable prices, to populations when and where they are needed to end an outbreak or curtail an epidemic or pandemic, regardless of ability to pay. CEPI and the University of Oxford will also assess potential technology transfer to manufacturers in the Global South should the vaccine be successful in clinical trials.

Clinical trial data and results generated as part of this project will be published for open access for the benefit of the global scientific community.

This is the first project to be initiated under a strategic partnership between CEPI and the University of Oxford announced in August 2023. Through the partnership, CEPI will provide a total of up to US$80 million to support multiple projects in the design, manufacture, and vaccination strategies for globally accessible vaccines against known and unknown outbreak pathogens (Disease X) in pursuit of the 100 Days Mission. Embraced by the G7 and G20, the global goal aims to accelerate vaccine development timelines to a third of the time taken to develop COVID-19 vaccines. Additional projects which fall under the remit of the strategic partnership will be announced in the coming months.

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CEPI and University of Oxford launch new project to initiate vaccine ... - News-Medical.Net

As the world enters its fourth full year of living with the COVID-19 virus, general attitudes toward the illness are noticeably less concerned than in previous years, as Professor of Preventive Medicine at Northwesterns Feinberg School Mercedes Carnethon said.

Carnethon said that it appears as if the general public feels safer when it comes to the pandemic: Many adults who are vaccinated or in good health do not deem themselves at particular risk for severe illness. However, the COVID-19 virus still looms, and amid another wave of the sickness this season, it remains important to know and follow best practices for preventing its spread.

People can avoid spreading the virus by getting tested. Experts at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommend people get tested for the virus whenever they experience common symptoms including coughing, congestion or a new loss of taste or smell. People who are exposed to COVID regardless of symptoms should also test, though the CDC recommends waiting until five days after initial exposure.

Most COVID tests fall under two categories: PCR lab tests and rapid antigen tests.

PCR lab tests are available through healthcare providers and can take up to three days to return results.

At-home antigen tests can be found over-the-counter at many common pharmaceutical stores like Walgreens and CVS, as well as in general stores like Target. Northwestern students can also go to the Universitys Student Health Service for over-the-counter testing. Most antigen tests produce results within 15 to 30 minutes.

Antigen tests are less likely to detect the virus than PCR tests, so the FDA recommends taking two to three antigen tests over the span of 48 hours to confirm test results.

As a general rule of thumb, Carnethon said its important to err on the side of caution to protect yourself and those around you, especially during the upcoming colder months, when respiratory viruses like the flu and common cold are more prevalent.

It doesnt hurt to rule out COVID-19 since there are many respiratory illnesses circulating, Carnethon said. If [a person isnt] feeling well and even if it isnt COVID, they should try not to pass it along to others. If symptoms dont get better with rest, fluids and over the counter symptom relievers, then they may wish to see a doctor.

In the event of a positive COVID test result, one may feel a lot of uncertainty. However, there are courses of action that people can take to safely and responsibly manage such a situation.

Robert Murphy, professor of Medicine at Feinberg and Biomedical Engineering at McCormick, noted that physical quarantine is key. Even though Northwestern no longer provides isolated housing for those infected with COVID, students can take action independently, he said.

If I was living in the same room with somebody who had COVID, I would leave, Murphy said. Just for a couple of days. As they get better and test negative, then you can go back.

Murphy also said that people should consider themselves infectious for a period of five days after first experiencing symptoms or getting a positive test result, and should at least wear a mask and self-isolate during that time.

There are also ways people can treat infection, should it occur.

The antiviral medication Paxlovid kills the virus and can be an effective treatment for those infected, Murphy said.

If you have an underlying medical problem, you can take Paxlovid even if you're young, he said.

Murphy said vaccines are a very effective method of COVID-19 prevention and treatment.

Although it is true that when people are infected with COVID their body generates an immune response, vaccines provide a more reliable standard of immunity. This is because the degree of immune response that a COVID infection generates depends on how sick the person gets, said Murphy. Vaccines trigger a stronger immunologic response that, according to Murphy, leads to greater protection against future infections than a previous infection alone.

Both Carnethon and Murphy said that the virus is constantly mutating and evading systems of immunity. This means people should keep up to date with available COVID vaccines.

The current vaccine is a new vaccine. It's not the same old one. It's not a booster, Murphy said. It's completely engineered differently.

There are three types of COVID vaccines available: Pfizer, Moderna and NovaVax. All provide immunity against the variant of COVID-19 that is currently circulating, Omicron.

Murphy said COVID is endemic, something that the world has and will continue to have to live with. Ultimately, Carnethon said that operating in a world with COVID entails consideration for others, exercising caution and responsible action.

People should be considerate of others who may be susceptible to severe illness if they catch it and be considerate of others who may not want to risk becoming sick, Carnethon said. It is best to behave in the way one would behave with any other illness they dont want to give to others.

Thumbnail Image: "Hands in protective gloves pushing shopping cart with groceries and protective face mask corona virus or Covid-19 protection" by focusonmore.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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COVID 101: Tips and tricks for navigating the virus - North by Northwestern

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

At the beginning of the pandemic, we heard a lot about shortages of hospital beds, ventilators, testing supplies, as well as doctors and nurses. GAO has reported heavily on the impacts of not being prepared for a pandemic. But in a new report, we look at the actions being taken to make sure we're more prepared next time. We'll learn more from GAO's Mary Denigan-Macauley.

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Public Health Preparedness--Building and Maintaining Infrastructure ... - Government Accountability Office

Shahan Rizvis father, Amir, died in August 2020 of COVID-induced pneumonia.

Rizvi, who lives in Columbia, spoke Friday during a ceremony to officially break ground on a new COVID-19 memorial at Meadowbrook Park and Athletic Complex in Ellicott City, to honor all those in the county affected by the pandemic.

[Track Maryland's COVID-19 data updates]

My family had to watch my father take his final breaths over FaceTime, as the hospital policy at the time did not allow us to visit someone that had the virus, Rizvi said.

Amir Rizvi, 73, worked as an accountant for more than 30 years and also served on the Howard County Board of Educations budget committee, the Howard County Muslim Council and the Howard County police board, his son said. He also established sewing schools in his native Pakistan, where women learned how to build their own businesses.

Im grateful to have this memorial where we can cherish the memory and legacy my dad left behind, Rizvi said.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and Howard County Recreation and Parks Director Nicholas Mooneyhan unveiled plans for the memorial, which will include three main elements a grove of 42 birch trees, a seating area surrounding a water fountain and a sculpture, according to a news release.

The first tree was planted Friday during the ceremony and another 15 will be planted later this month by contractor Environmental Maintenance, according to a news release.

The remaining trees will be planted by May 1. The benches, fountain and walkways are scheduled to be done by early summer, and the sculpture is set for spring 2025.

Balls fiscal 2024 capital improvement budget includes $150,000 for development of the park.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected all of us in ways that we may never be able to adequately express, Ball said in the news release. As we continue to mourn and heal, Howard County residents will now have a quiet space where they can come, reflect, and feel at peace. ... This project is part of the healing process as our community regroups from the tragedies surrounding the pandemic and it empowers us to come together to celebrate all that we have accomplished.

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The fountain will be made of polished black granite and will reflect the trees and surroundings, even when water is not flowing in the winter.

A sculpture will be commissioned and then placed by the path and seating area. It will commemorate all those who were lost to COVID-19 and will honor those who worked hard to bring help, relief and aid.

This memorial incorporates a thoughtful design that focuses on a space for quiet reflection, Mooneyhan said in the release. This space will allow all our residents to reflect upon those we have lost, including our very own Laura Wetherald, while also reminding us that there are brighter days ahead. Wetherald worked for the Department of Recreation and Parks for 34 years. She died in 2021 from complications of COVID-19.

Howard County has reported nearly 66,963 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in 2020, according to state data. There have been more than 472 confirmed deaths in the county. Additionally, the state has reported more than 1.4 million cases, which has resulted in more than 16,809 deaths.

Read this article:

Howard County to honor victims of COVID-19 pandemic with ... - Baltimore Sun

UofL Hospital is now offering a new COVID-19 booster shot that targets new strains of the virus.The new booster is from Pfizer.Dr. Hugh Shoff, an associate medical officer for UofL Hospital, says the new vaccine will combat against possible changes in the virus.Although COVID-19 is not putting as many people in the hospital, the new strains are more transmissible.People are encouraged to get both their flu shots and COVID-19 shots at the same time."The idea around the new vaccine is almost like the flu. Every year we take a look, or what we have done the past could of years is, at the new variants that are out there to formulate the vaccine to allow your body to create the new antibodies to attack the new variants," said Dr. Shoff.UofL Hospital, primary care and urgent care facilities all carry the new booster.Anyone 6 months and older is eligible.For more information and to schedule an appointment, click here.

UofL Hospital is now offering a new COVID-19 booster shot that targets new strains of the virus.

The new booster is from Pfizer.

Dr. Hugh Shoff, an associate medical officer for UofL Hospital, says the new vaccine will combat against possible changes in the virus.

Although COVID-19 is not putting as many people in the hospital, the new strains are more transmissible.

People are encouraged to get both their flu shots and COVID-19 shots at the same time.

"The idea around the new vaccine is almost like the flu. Every year we take a look, or what we have done the past could of years is, at the new variants that are out there to formulate the vaccine to allow your body to create the new antibodies to attack the new variants," said Dr. Shoff.

UofL Hospital, primary care and urgent care facilities all carry the new booster.

Anyone 6 months and older is eligible.

For more information and to schedule an appointment, click here.

Continued here:

UofL Hospital now offering new COVID-19 booster that targets new strains - WLKY Louisville

Personal motivations color people's memories of the COVID-19 pandemic, biasing their assessment of past political actions and complicating emergency-preparedness planning, suggests an analysis of four empirical studies.

For the review, published last week in Nature, a team led by researchersfrom the University of Bamberg in Germany and the University of Chicago evaluated the results of surveys of 10,776 vaccinated and unvaccinated German and Austrian adults about pandemic-related risk perceptions, protective behaviors, and trust in government and science.

Participants were surveyed in 2020 or early 2021 and again in late 2022 or 2023, when they were also asked to recollect their 2020 or 2021 perceptions and behaviors and offered monetary incentives for greater recall.The researchers then generalized the results to 10 countries, again parsing data from vaccinated and unvaccinated participants.

The 10 countries were Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

"Beyond simple forgetting, recall and ex-post evaluation are prone to various forms of bias, reflecting differences in motivation and purpose (for example, a wish to conform with one's own or the prevailing opinion)," the study authors wrote. "For instance, people are more likely to remember true or false information from the past depending on pre-existing beliefs or previous behaviours in the context of vaccination, political campaigns, or political riots."

Both vaccinated and unvaccinated respondents remembered their 2020 or 2021 answers inaccurately but in opposite ways. For example, vaccinated participants tended to overestimate their past risk perceptions and trust in science, while unvaccinated respondents underestimated them. The more strongly respondents identified with their vaccination status, the greater distortion in their recall.

"Because the magnitudes of these effects partly decreased when participants were offered money as an incentive for accurate recall, the distortions seem to be motivated by vaccination-related attitudes, and cannot be explained merely by people forgetting the past," the researchers wrote.

Underestimating past risks, behaviors, and trust was related to beliefs about the appropriateness of past political actions and tied to a desire to punish politicians and scientists for their pandemic responses and even to dismantle the political order altogether.

Because the magnitudes of these effects partly decreased when participants were offered money as an incentive for accurate recall, the distortions seem to be motivated by vaccination-related attitudes.

"It was also linked with being less inclined to vote and to comply with future pandemic regulations," the investigators noted. "Appropriateness ratings were also more extreme the more strongly participants identified with their vaccination status."

In the 10-country study, most respondents in all countries overestimated the odds of infection (from 65% in the United Kingdom to 92% in Italy), while most participants in all countries but Japan (24%) and Mexico (42%) underestimated the severity of COVID-19 in 2020 (from 74% in Spain to 97% in the United Kingdom).

Bias related to government-action effectiveness varied by country (from 31% in Italy to 81% in Japan) and by perceptions of COVID-19 severity. "For instance, in some countries, estimating COVID-19 as more severe than it had actually been perceived in the past by a representative country sample was associated with the evaluation of political action as more appropriate (r,0.11 in Australia, 0.13 in Spain, 0.19 in South Korea, and 0.21 in Sweden).

The investigators said the findings show the influence of pride in being vaccinated or unvaccinated on recall, which they fear could lead to sustained societal polarization on pandemic issues and interfere with preparedness planning for future crises.

"Future political responses must consider the long-term consequences for societal cohesion and trust, as well as the immediate public-health implications," they wrote.

The researchers called for studies to confirm how polarization and recall influence each other over time, evaluate between-country differences, and determine whether people with a stronger tendency for biased recall of the pandemic might have had better psychologic function during the crisis.

"Yet, catastrophic events typically require a rapid response, and this works best when people can agree on a way forward," they wrote. "It follows that diverging representations of the past might impede effective future action, and it would be useful to investigate this problem in other crisis contexts, such as climate change."

Link:

Partial recall: Personal beliefs may skew pandemic memories ... - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

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A study from King's College London, which is published on the pre-print server MedRxiv and has not been peer-reviewed, shows that while two thirds of individuals with post-COVID illness were healthy before infection, individuals with long illness duration were significantly more likely to have similar symptoms one to two months before developing COVID-19.

Most people with COVID-19 recover completely within a few days or weeks. However, some report ongoing symptoms including fatigue, "brain fog," sneezing, a runny nose and headache long after infection. For some individuals, this may manifest as long COVID.

In this study, researchers first analyzed data from over 23,000 ZOE Symptom Study app users, who reported their health (whether healthy or unhealthy) at least once weekly, both before and after they had COVID-19. They found that individuals who had symptoms before they caught SARS-CoV-2 infection were significantly more likely to have a longer illness duration.

The researchers then assessed 1,350 adults who reported long-term symptoms after COVID-19 (at least eight weeks, with nearly a thousand having symptoms for more than 12 weeks), matched with 1,350 individuals whose symptoms had resolved within four weeks.

They found that two-thirds of participants with long illness duration had been well before they experienced COVID-19. However, one third had similar symptoms beforehand, twice as likely as individuals with short illness (32.5% vs. 18.0%).

Consistent with this, individuals with long illness duration were also significantly more likely to have prior physical and mental health comorbidities. This suggests that at least for some individuals, their long symptoms after COVID-19 might be due to other underlying serious illnesses, such as asthma or lung disease, rather than due to SARS-CoV-2 infection itself.

"Individuals with long symptom duration after SARS-CoV-2 need careful and holistic assessment. For many, their symptoms are new, and represent an ongoing legacy after their COVID-19 illness. But for others, their symptoms may be ongoing manifestations of a prior non-COVID illness, such as asthma or depression. It is important that that these other conditions are not missed, as they have well-established and effective treatments," says author Professor Emma Duncan, School of Life Course & Population Sciences

She added, "If all long duration symptoms after COVID-19 are blamed automatically on SARS-CoV-2 infection, then we will miss the opportunity to treat other illnesses appropriately, and to help patients recover as expeditiously as possible."

More information: Carole H. Sudre et al, Symptom experience before vs. after confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection: a population and case control study using prospectively recorded symptom data, MedRxiv (2023). DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.30.23294821

Journal information: medRxiv

Read the rest here:

People with prior illness more likely to report longer symptoms after COVID-19 infection, research finds - Medical Xpress

Reducing psychological stress is an essential aspect of COVID-19 treatment strategies. Since its appearance, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on people'shealth and quality of life worldwide14. Both the infected and non-infected could be at risk of mental health problems as a result of issues such as widespread anxiety, social isolation, healthcare, and other essential workers stress, and unemployment and financial difficulties15,16,17. Other experiences might be specific to individuals infected with the virus, such as concern over the outcome of their illness18.

While many studies have examined the physical and financial effects of the coronavirus, few have examined the mental health care needs of COVID-19 patients18. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of emotional disturbance mental health symptoms as well as the probable correlates of these symptoms among COVID-19 patients in the South Sinai governorate of Egypt. The results revealed a high prevalence of anxiety, depression, and stress among COVID-19-infected patients, with 75.7% having extremely severe anxiety, 46.3% having extremely severe depression, and 19.6% having extremely severe stress.

A cross-sectional study conducted by Li et al.19 in China investigated the prevalence ofanxiety and depression among COVID-19 hospitalized patients during the pandemic and found a mean anxiety score of 6.695.01 and a mean depression score of 8.275.35. Healthcare workers (HCWs) were found to be most likely to experience depression, anxiety, or stress as COVID-19 patients, with 80.2% having extremely severe or severe depression, 86.8% having extremely severe or severe anxiety, and 64.9% having extremely severe or severe stress.

A cross-sectional study in a university hospital in Egypt examined a sample of 270 HCWs employed in COVID-19 isolation units; the DASS revealed a significant frequency of depression disorders, with 28.1% of the HCWs having mild to moderate depressive symptoms and 64.8% having severe symptoms20. Another study conducted in Egypt found a high prevalence of severedepressive symptoms among Egyptian physicians, with 63% having severe or extremely severe depressive symptoms, 77.6% having extremely severe anxiety, and 72% experiencing stress21. In Jordan, a study conducted by Naser et al.22 found a high prevalence of depressive (78.1%) and anxiety (70.8%) symptoms among healthcare professionals. In 2003, a study using the DASS-21 during the SARS outbreak found that 93% of patients had experienced depressive symptoms, with 65% having severe or extremely severe symptoms. Nearly 90% of HCWs who had dealt with SARS patients during the outbreak experienced psychological symptoms. Thus, viruses similar to COVID-19 can be linked to the presence of mental health symptoms among patients and their caregivers23.

HCWs are the first line of defense against highly infectious diseases with unclear outcomes. With a lack of infection control measures and protective equipment, HCWs face a significant amount of stress that may cause them to have a higher prevalence of psychological disorders than ordinary patients24. Li et al. conducted a study in China that demonstrated a substantial positive correlation between depression and anxiety scores using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); these findings were similar to ours in which the presence of depressive symptoms increased the risk of anxiety and stress symptoms among COVID-19 patients19.

Our linear regression results revealed that hospital admission was the main predictor of depression, anxiety and stress and the duration of hospital stay with extended recovery time from COVID-19 symptoms were significantly affecting appearance of depression after infection. Previous studies have also found psychological problems to be linked to prolonged hospitalization for multiple diseases18,25. Others have linked longer hospital stays with higher levels of anxiety and depression in COVID-19 patients26,27. Elgohary et al.20 identified other predictors affecting the presence and severity of psychological disorders among COVID-19 patients, including young age, decreased sleep hours, being female, a past history of a psychiatric disease, fear of COVID-19 infection in themselves or their relatives, and fear of death from COVID-19 for themselves or their relatives. Similarly, Khanal et al.24 reported that females, divorced people and university students with history of chronic disease and high-income earners (1500 JD) were at greater risk of developing anxiety during their infection with COVID-19.

Patients with longer disease duration were shown to have a more depressive attitude about their condition. Effect of steroid use and grade of dyspnea on development of moderate or severe post-COVID depression and showed that higher grades of dyspnea were associated with higher probability of development of moderate or severe post-COVID depression28.

The present study faced some limitations including being single-centered which affect the representation and generalization of results among all patients infected with COVID-19. Other limitations included the fear of patients to admit having problems during COVID-19 infection and Arabic version of DASS has a lot of similar questions which confuse the patients upon answering.

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Depression, anxiety, and stress among COVID-19 patients in South ... - Nature.com