By Nancy Lapid
(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some of the latest scientific studies on the new coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
Pollen levels linked to COVID-19 rates
Higher concentrations of pollen in the air coincided with increases in the infection rates of COVID-19, shows a large study, suggesting a possible link. Using data from 130 sites in 31 countries, the researchers found that pollen levels in the air, sometimes in combination with humidity and temperature, were responsible for up to 44% of the variability in COVID-19 infection rates during the spring. 2020. The effect was not connected with pollen allergies, the researchers said. In a report published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US, they explained that in all, exposure to pollen reduces the ability of the respiratory tract lining to defend itself against viruses, decreasing the release of the antiviral protein interferon. The study also reports that, under similar pollen concentrations, infection rates fell by half when blocking measures were implemented, because blockages limited exposure to the virus and pollen that lowers the immune response. “Since we cannot completely avoid exposure to pollen, … we encourage high-risk individuals to use particulate filter masks during high concentrations of pollen,” said co-author Athanasios Damialis of the Technical University of Munich in Augsburg, Germany. (https://bit.ly/3byfNCc)
Robust vaccine responses seen during pregnancy and lactation
Pregnant and lactating women who received Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines had immune responses similar to those seen in non-pregnant and non-lactating women, a new study found. In all cases, vaccine-induced COVID-19 antibodies were transferred to babies via the placenta or breast milk, according to a report published on medRxiv on Monday before the peer review. The researchers studied 84 pregnant women, 31 breastfeeding women and 16 non-pregnant women who received the vaccines. The immune responses were equivalent in all three groups, and all three groups had higher levels of antibodies than another group of 37 women infected with the coronavirus during pregnancy. “A weakened response to vaccination has been seen in the past for other vaccines in pregnancy,” said co-author Galit Alter of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She added that the study addressed an important issue as COVID-19 vaccines are launched, as currently “there is limited data on how they work in this population”. Pregnant and lactating women were not included in the initial trials of the COVID-19 vaccine. A study testing the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in pregnant women began last month. (https://bit.ly/3l1BNZr)
The quick test can track variants of concern
A new test can quickly scan thousands of nasopharyngeal smear samples for the worrying and most contagious new variants of the virus, first identified in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, the researchers said. The test uses probes that change color at different temperatures depending on whether they detect a specific mutation, called N501Y, which is present in all three variants. The test, for now, is not able to differentiate between them, so positive samples would need further testing to identify the particular variant, said David Alland of Rutgers University in New Jersey, co-author of a report published on Monday on medRxiv before peer review. “Our next job, which is almost finished, will be to add to the test so that a second mutation … called E484K, can also be detected,” he said. “This will distinguish variants … from the United Kingdom from those of South African or Brazilian origin.” The test should continue to detect these worrying variants, even if the virus continues to mutate, he said. In such cases, the temperature at which the probes change color will be changed, and any unforeseen color changes will signal a sample as likely to contain a new mutant, Alland said. The trial is open source, so it can be updated by researchers at Rutgers or other teams. (https://bit.ly/30uVj6X)
Combination antibody treatment protects against severe COVID-19
A combination of two monoclonal antibody drugs – bamlanivimab and etesevimab – from Eli Lilly and Co reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 87% in a U.S. study of 769 out-of-hospital COVID-19 patients with risk factors for developing serious illness, according to test data released by the company on Wednesday. This is the second randomized, advanced-stage clinical trial that shows that the antibody cocktail is effective in treating mild to moderate COVID-19. The previous study, published in January, used a higher dose of the drugs and reduced the risk of hospitalization by 70%. US regulators authorized combination therapy in February for use in patients with COVID-19 aged 12 and over who have not yet been hospitalized, but are at high risk of developing serious complications. European regulators authorized its use in March. “We have few other diseases in which we have drugs that can offer this magnitude of benefit,” said Daniel Skovronsky, scientific director at Eli Lilly. (https://reut.rs/3l3Ce5i)
Open https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl in an external browser to get a Reuters graph on vaccines under development.
(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; additional reporting by Michael Erman and Carl O’Donnell; Editing by Bill Berkrot)