Christina Menni, Ana M. Valdez, Tim D. Spector u. a.: Symptom prevalence, duration, and risk of hospital admission in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 during periods of omicron and delta variant dominance: a prospective observational study from the ZOE COVID Study, in: The Lancet Vol. 399, Issue 10335 (April 23, 2022), pp. 1618-1624. Summary Background The SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, omicron, appears to be less severe than delta. The authors aim to quantify the differences in symptom prevalence, risk of hospital admission, and symptom duration among the vaccinated population. Methods In this prospective longitudinal observational study, the authors collected data from […]
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WHO (ed.): COVID-19-Explorer, online in: https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/covid/ (Retrieved April 11, 2022).
Vivek Naranbhai et al.: T cell reactivity to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is preserved in most but not all prior infected and vaccinated individuals, in: medRxiv, online in: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.04.21268586. Abstract The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) contains mutations that mediate escape from infection- and vaccine-induced antibody responses, although the extent to which these substitutions in spike and non-spike proteins affect T cell recognition is unknown. In their article the authors show that T cell responses in individuals with prior infection, vaccination, both prior infection and vaccination, and boosted vaccination are largely preserved to Omicron spike and non-spike proteins. However, the authors […]
COVID-19 Excess Mortality Collaborators (Haidong Wang u. a.): Estimating excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic analysis of COVID-19-related mortality, 2020–21, in: The Lancet Online (March 10, 2022), online in: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02796-3. Summary Background Mortality statistics are fundamental to public health decision making. Mortality varies by time and location, and its measurement is affected by well known biases that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims to estimate excess mortality from the COVID-19 pandemic in 191 countries and territories, and 252 subnational units for selected countries, from Jan 1, 2020, to Dec 31, 2021. Methods All-cause […]
rme/aerzteblatt.de: WHO empfiehlt IL-6-Antagonisten bei COVID-19 [WHO recommends IL-6 antagonists for COVID-19], in: Aerzteblatt.de (July 7, 2021). This article, published July 7, 2021, in the Deutsches Ärzteblatt [German Medical Journal], discusses the WHO recommendation to use interleukin-6 (IL-6) antagonists to treat patients with covid-19. The use of IL-6 antagonists reduces the risk of death if glucocorticoids are given at the same time. The prices of certain preparations are criticized, which, according to Ärzte ohen Grenzen [Doctors Without Borders], are six to sixty times higher than the manufacturing costs.
The following graphics were presented by Karl Heinz Roth in March 2022 on his lecture tour for his book Stowaways. Link to the lecture tour announcement Link to the graphics
Christiane Druml, Herwig Czech: Comment. A Pandemic is no private matter: the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in Austria, in: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine online (February 17, 2022), online in: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00063-7. On February 5, 2022, the first mandatory Covid 19 vaccination law in Europe came into force in Austria. In their commentary, the authors trace the history and path of the law, which represented a sudden about-face by the Austrian government.
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (ed.): Editorial. Future pandemics: failing to prepare means preparing to fail, in: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine 10, Issue 3 (March 1, 2022), pp. 221-222, online in: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00056-X. In their editorial, the editors of The Lancet Respiratory Medicine advocate for a global pandemic response with an integrative and multi-pronged approach that includes not only the Covid-19 pandemic but also other current and future pandemics. Many countries, especially those with middle and low incomes, are still heavily involved in the fight against covid-19 and are also inadequately prepared for future pandemics. Investments made through global funds in mechanisms […]
Stéphanie Vandentorren, Sabira Smaïli u. a.: The effect of social deprivation on the dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 infection in France: a population-based analysis, in: The Lancet Public Health 7 (March 2022), S. e240-e249, online in: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00007-X. Summary of the article: “Background Data on health inequalities related to the dynamic of SARS-CoV-2 infection in France are scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse the association between an area-based deprivation indicator and SARS-CoV-2 incidence, positivity, and testing rates between May 2020 and April 2021. Methods We analysed data reported to the Système d’Information de Dépistage Populationnel surveillance system between May 14, […]
RECOVERY Collaborative Group (ed.): Casirivimab and imdevimab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled,open-label, platform trial, in: The Lancet 339, Issue 10325 (February 12, 2022), S. 665-676, online in: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00163-5. Summary of the study “Background Casirivimab and imdevimab are non-competing monoclonal antibodies that bind to two different sites on the receptor binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, blocking viral entry into host cells. The authors aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of casirivimab and imdevimab administered in combination in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods RECOVERY is a randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial […]
Max Schroeder, Spyridon Lazarakis, Rebecca Mancy, Konstantinos Angelopoulos: How Do Pandemics End? Two Decades of Recurrent Outbreak Risk Following the Main Waves, in: CESifo Working Paper Nr. 9475 (December 2021). Abstract “The risk of recurrent outbreaks following the main waves of a pandemic has been acknowledged. The authors provide evidence of the scale and duration of this outbreak risk. They compile municipal public health records and use national data to model the stochastic process of mortality rates after the main pandemic waves of two historical pandemics across multiple locations. For the 1890-91 influenza pandemic in England and Wales, as well […]
Yan Xie, Evan Xu, Benjamin Bowe, Ziyad Al-Aly: Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19, in: Nature Medicine (Februrary 7, 2022), online in: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01689-3. Abstract “The cardiovascular complications of acute coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are well described, but the post-acute cardiovascular manifestations of COVID-19 have not yet been comprehensively characterized. In their study the authors used national healthcare databases from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to build a cohort of 153,760 individuals with COVID-19, as well as two sets of control cohorts with 5,637,647 (contemporary controls) and 5,859,411 (historical controls) individuals, to estimate risks and 1-year burdens of a set of […]
Interviews Lea Gekle: The Great Fear of 2020 by Karl Heinz Roth, in: Endnotes (May 2022; Interview conducted on March 10, 2022). “Below we publish Lea Gekle’s interview with Roth, in which he presents his analysis of these measures, as well as his criticisms of the Zero Covid platform defended by some on the German left. Today, when the severe lockdown in Shanghai is producing desperate hunger riots, Roth’s book is a timely intervention. We hope, as he suggests, that it can be the beginning of a serious debate on the return of what he and his comrades in the […]
Monday, March 21 in Bremen Lecture and discussion, moderated by Arno Armgort Venue: Haus der Wissenschaft Sandstr. 4/5 28195 Bremen Start of event: 7:30 p.m. Link to the event announcement Tuesday, March 22 in Münster Talk with Michael Ramminger from ITPOL Venue: Hörsaal F2 am Fürstenberghaus Domplatz 20-22 48143 Münster Start of event: 6:30 p.m. Link to the event announcement Wednesday, March 23 in Wuppertal Lecture and discussion, moderated by Dieter Nelles Venue: Kommunikationszentrum Die Börse Wolkenburg 100 42119 Wuppertal Start of event: 7 p.m. Link to the event announcement Thursday, March 24 in Munich Book […]
Karl Heinz Roth: Kein Grund zur Entwarnung [No reason to give the all-clear], in: Tagebuch No. 3 (March 1, 2022). In his article, Karl Heinz Roth outlines the Covid 19 pandemic as “the worst respiratory pandemic since the influenza catastrophe of 1918 to 1920.” He describes the lack of preparation, despite all advance warnings, and the panic-stricken responses of those with political responsibility. Alternative concepts had been marginalized. The vaccination campaign relied increasingly on coercive measures, and the situation was aggravated by the rise of vaccination nationalism, especially in emerging and developing countries. The manifold consequences of the pandemic could […]
Erik Duijvelaar u.a.: Long-term clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients treated with imatinib, in: The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, online in: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00052-2 (February 17, 2022). In this article the authors report the 90-day outcomes of the CounterCOVID study and investigate the mechanisms underlying the clinical benefit of imatinib. “Hypoxaemia in COVID-19 is primarily caused by disruption of the alveolocapillary barrier on inflammation and dysfunction of the endothelium. To date, antiviral or immune-modulatory treatment options have been thoroughly studied, yet there is no approved therapy targeting endothelial dysfunction. Imatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that attenuates vascular leakage under inflammatory conditions. In the […]
Lavienraj Premraj, Nivedha V. Kannapadi, Jack Briggs, Stella M. Seal, Denise Battaglini, Jonathon Fanning, Jacky Suen, Chiara Robba, John Fraser, Sung-Min Cho: Mid and long-term neurological and neuropsychiatric manifestations of post-COVID-19 syndrome: A meta-analysis, in: Journal of the Neurological Sciences 434 (2022) 120162, 7 pages. Key points Question: How commonly are neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms reported three months or more after acute COVID-19 onset in adults? Findings: In a meta-analysis of 19 studies encompassing 11,324 patients (hospitalised and non-hospitalised), overall prevalence for neurological symptoms three months after COVID-19 onset was: fatigue (37%), brain fog (32%), memory issues (27%), attention […]
David Adam: Die wahre Zahl der Coronapandemie-Toten. Übersterblichkeit wegen COVID-19 [The true number of corona pandemic deaths. Excess mortality due to COVID-19], in: Spektrum.de (January 24, 2022). According to official estimates, more than 5 million people should have died as a result of COVID-19 by the beginning of 2022. This estimate does not take into account the number of unreported cases. As the author of this article has pointed out, according to The Economist magazine, the number of actual deaths is two to four times higher than the official figure. Meanwhile, a determination of the actual number of Covid-19 fatalities, […]
Kasper Staub et al.: Historically High Excess Mortality During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain, in: Annals of Internal Medicine (February 2022), M21-3824, online in: https://doi.org/10.7326/M21-3824. Abstract Background: Excess mortality quantifies the overall mortality impact of a pandemic. Mortality data have been accessible for many countries in recent decades, but few continuous data have been available for longer periods. Objective: To assess the historical dimension of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 for 3 countries with reliable death count data over an uninterrupted span of more than 100 years. Setting: Switzerland, Sweden, and Spain, which were militarily neutral and […]
Paul-Ehrlich-Institut: Sicherheitsbericht. Verdachtsfälle von Nebenwirkungen und Impfkomplikationen nach Impfung zum Schutz vor COVID-19 seit Beginn derImpfkampagne am 27.12.2020 bis zum 31.12.2021, Langen, February 7, 2022. The Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), as the Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedical Products, reports on suspected cases of adverse reactions or vaccine complications reported from Germany in temporal association with vaccination with the mRNA vaccines Comirnaty (BioNTech Manufacturing GmbH) and Spikevax (MODERNA BIOTECH SPAIN, S.L.) and the vector vaccines Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca AB) and COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen for protection against COVID-19 from the start of the vaccination campaign on Dec. 27, 2020, to Dec. 31, […]