Vaccination of adults appears to protect children around them; bar opening event linked to 46 COVID-19 cases

(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.

Vaccination of adults appears to protect children as well

New data from Israel, where health officials acted quickly to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE, suggest that vaccinating adults also protects the unvaccinated people living around them. Approximately one-third of Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS) 1.95 million members – all over the age of 16 – received at least a single dose of vaccine by January 30. When analyzing the results in 223 communities, the researchers found that as the number of vaccinated adults increased, infection rates among unvaccinated MHS members in the same community decreased – especially among children. MHS is Israel’s second largest health maintenance organization. “While the observed protection associated with the vaccine against non-vaccines is encouraging, further studies are needed to understand whether and how it can support the prospect of collective immunity and disease eradication,” concluded the researchers in the study published on Wednesday in medRxiv before peer review. (bit.ly/3wnIVVf)

Illinois bar opening event linked to 46 COVID-19 cases

An internal celebration of the opening of a rural Illinois bar in February led to 46 new cases of COVID-19 and broader ramifications, according to a U.S. study that serves as an alert on how these events can affect local communities. . Four participants had symptoms similar to those of COVID-19 that day. Of the 46 coronavirus infections linked to the party, there were 26 cases among patrons, three in team members and 17 “secondary cases” in people infected by them, according to a report published Monday in the States’ Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report United Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Secondary cases included children and residents of long-term care facilities. “The transmission associated with the opening event resulted in the closing of a school, affecting 650 children (9,100 people-days lost from school) and the hospitalization of a long-term resident with COVID-19,” the researchers said. “These findings demonstrate that opening up environments such as bars, where wearing masks and physical distance are challenging, can increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the community,” said the researchers. Companies should “work with local health authorities to promote behaviors and maintain environments that reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and develop strategies to safely reopen to prevent outbreaks in the community, such as changing layouts and operating procedures” , they said. (bit.ly/3mtsoKU)

Congenital heart disease does not aggravate the risks of COVID-19

Adults with congenital heart defects are no more likely than the average person to have severe COVID-19, or to die from it, according to an international study. The risk factors associated with poor results in these individuals are the same as those associated with poor results in the general public – old age, male gender, history of heart failure, irregular heart rhythm, kidney problems, diabetes and need for extra oxygen before infecting with the coronavirus, said study co-author Dr. Jamil Aboulhosn of the UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Center. The researchers analyzed data from 1,044 adults with COVID-19 from 58 centers for congenital heart disease worldwide. Even people with very complex heart defects do not appear to be at an increased risk of severe COVID-19, as long as they no longer have severe signs and symptoms of heart disease, said Aboulhosn, calling the discovery “something surprising”. The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (bit.ly/2PPhFxQ; bit.ly/2OcdzQ0)

Stroke patients with COVID-19 have worse results

Among patients who went to a hospital because they were having a stroke, those who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to die there, a new study shows. COVID-19 patients were also more likely to have a more severe stroke and to suffer another stroke during hospitalization, the researchers reported in the journal Stroke. They studied about 42,000 patients who arrived at 458 hospitals with ischemic stroke, caused by blockages in the arteries that carry blood to the brain. About 3% of patients tested positive for COVID-19. On average, they arrived at the hospital as quickly as patients without coronavirus infection. After that, things slowed down. “Probably due to the need for the use of personal protective equipment and other precautions” by hospital staff, it took longer for patients with COVID-19 to receive anti-clot treatments that reopen blocked vessels, said study co-author Dr Gregg Fonarow, University of California, Los Angeles. The study cannot prove that treatment delays caused the worst results. However, Fonarow said, “these findings suggest that there is a need to further improve stroke protocols to provide a more timely diagnosis and treatment for patients with (ischemic stroke) to accelerate care and still protect healthcare professionals from exposure . ” (bit.ly/3sLF2Hp)

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