Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, Yunlong Cao et al: BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 escape antibodies elicited by Omicron infection, in: bioRxiv (June 14, 2022), online in: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.30.489997. Abstract SARS-CoV-2 Omicron sublineages BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 exhibit higher transmissibility over BA.2. The new variants’ receptor binding and immune evasion capability require immediate investigation. In this study, coupled with Spike structural comparisons, the authors show that BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 exhibit comparable ACE2-binding affinities to BA.2. Importantly, BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/BA.5 display stronger neutralization evasion than BA.2 against the plasma from 3-dose vaccination and, most strikingly, from post-vaccination BA.1 infections. To delineate the underlying antibody evasion […]
Monthly archives: June 2022
Gunadi et al: Comparative analysis of the outcomes of COVID-19 between patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants: a retrospective cohort study [Preprint], in: medRxiv (May 3, 2022), online in: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.04.30.22274532. Abstract Background The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has replaced the previously dominant Delta variant because of high transmissibility. It is responsible for the current increase in the COVID-19 infectivity rate worldwide. However, studies on the impact of the Omicron variant on the severity of COVID-19 are still limited in developing countries. In this study, the authors compared the outcomes of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta variants and […]
Gretchen Vogel: New Subvariants are masters of immune evasion, in: Science 376, Issue 6594 (May 13, 2022), pp. 679-680, online in: https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.adc9448. In her article, Gretchen Vogel highlights the immune invasion of the Omicron sublines. While the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants caused a surge in cases in South Africa, the BA.2.12.1 subvariant is spreading on the East Coast of the United States. All three variants, like earlier Omikron versions, have the remarkable ability to evade immunity acquired through vaccination or infection. However, vaccinations and previous infections at least protect against severe disease in most cases, so while the new strains […]
Luis Bosshart, Jeremiah Dittmar: Pandemic shock and economic divergence: political economy before and after the black death, in: CEP (Centre for Economic Performance) Discussion Paper No. 1805 (October 2021). The authors of this study document how the Black Death activated politics and led to economic divergence within Europe. Before the pandemic, economic development was similar in Eastern and Western German cities despite greater political fragmentation in the West. The pandemic precipitated a divergence that coincided with prior differences in politics. After the pandemic, construction and manufacturing fell by 1/3 in the East relative to underlying trends and the Western path. Politics […]
CDC (ed.): COVID-19 Forecasts: Hospitalizations, online at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/forecasting/hospitalizations-forecasts.html (as of June 07, 2022). On its website (https://www.cdc.gov), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides reported and projected hospitalization figures for the U.S. and individual U.S. states for the next month on an ongoing basis.
Mitsuru Mukaigawara, Ines Hassan, Genevie Fernandes, Lois King, Jay Patel, Devi Sridhar: An equitable roadmap for ending the COVID-19 pandemic, in: Nature Medicine 28 (May 2022) S. 890-899, online in: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01787-2. “Many governments are rolling back restrictions, but the pandemic will end only with a renewed focus on equitable distribution of vaccines and therapeutics, responsive public health plans, and policies to protect the vulnerable. More than 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unclear when and how it will end. The global outcome is dependent on multiple factors: the level of cooperation between governments; equitable access to vaccines, testing […]
Agnieszka Dabrowska, Artur Szczepanski, Paweł Botwina, Natalia Mazur-Panasiuk, Helena Jiřincová, Lukasz Rabalski, Tomas Zajic, Grzegorz Popowicz, Krzysztof Pyrc: Efficacy of antiviral drugs against the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 [Preprint], in: bioRxiv (December 23, 2021), online in: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.12.21.473268. Abstract The Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was first detected in South Africa in November 2021. The analysis of the sequence data in the context of earlier variants suggested that it may show very different characteristics, including immune evasion and increased transmission. These assumptions were partially confirmed, and the reduction in protection in convalescent patients and vaccinated individuals have been confirmed. In […]
WHO (ed.): Therapeutics and COVID-19: Living guideline (WHO/2019-nCoV/therapeutics/2022.3), Geneva (April 22, 2022), online in: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-therapeutics-2022.3. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. The WHO Therapeutics and COVID-19: Living guideline contains the organization’s most current recommendations for the use of therapeutics in the treatment of COVID-19. The latest version of this living guideline is available in pdf format and through an online platform, and is updated regularly as new evidence becomes available. This tenth version of the WHO guideline contains 17 recommendations, including two new recommendations on nirmatrelvir-ritonavir. No further updates have been made to existing recommendations in this latest version.