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.
Highly protective vaccines for healthcare professionals
Data from healthcare professionals in medical centers in the United States and Israel are confirming the effectiveness of the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines against COVID-19, according to reports in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday. Data from health system employees at the University of California, San Diego and the University of California, Los Angeles show that, while cases of COVID-19 increased in the general population, new infections detected among employees fell dramatically, starting at second week after receiving the first dose of vaccine. Separately, in Texas, where hospital staff were vaccinated during the largest peak of COVID-19 the region had ever seen, the researchers found that 2.61% of unvaccinated staff tested positive against 0.05% of fully vaccinated staff . Texas researchers saw a reduction of more than 90% in the number of isolated or quarantined employees, which “preserved the workforce when it was needed most” during the sudden increase, they said. In Jerusalem, with a high rate of COVID-19 in the community, including many cases caused by the virus variant first identified in the UK, researchers found that the Pfizer vaccine achieved “a large reduction in new cases of COVID- 19 “among healthcare professionals who received two doses. (https://bit.ly/3f7io8l; https://bit.ly/3d2dbvQ; https://bit.ly/3cclPso)
Antigen tests at the service location are not reliable in asymptomatic cases
The “while you wait” tests for COVID-19 that detect proteins in the virus are better at diagnosing the disease in patients with symptoms than in those without symptoms, according to data gathered from 64 studies. The analysis, published on Wednesday by The Cochrane Library, found that, on average, “antigen tests” correctly identified 72% of symptomatic COVID-19 cases, but only 58% of cases in people without symptoms. The best performing test – the SD Biosensor STANDARD Q – correctly identified the virus in 88% of symptomatic patients and in 69% of those without symptoms. For screening purposes, among 10,000 people without symptoms, where 50 people had COVID-19, this test would correctly identify 35, lose 15 cases and incorrectly provide positive results for 90 people who were not infected, the authors estimate. “Confirming a positive result of a rapid test with an RT-PCR test, particularly where COVID-19 cases are low, can help prevent unnecessary quarantine,” said co-author Jac Dinnes of the University of Birmingham, UK , in a statement. “All antigen tests will miss some people with an infection, so it is important to inform people who receive a negative test result that they may still be infected.” Dinnes co-author and colleague Jon Deeks noted that repeated rapid antigen testing is being used to examine students, teachers and health professionals. “These testing policies were implemented without any evidence of real-world support,” he said. (https://bit.ly/2NOCeKh)
Sleep problems, exhaustion may increase the risk of COVID-19
People with sleep problems and daily exhaustion may be at increased risk for COVID-19, new research suggests. Health workers who reported sleep problems in the year before the pandemic were 88% more likely to contract COVID-19 than those who slept well, according to research published in BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health on Monday. Those who suffered from a daily feeling of exhaustion were twice as likely to become infected with the coronavirus and about three times more likely to say that their infection had been serious, compared to workers without burnout. The researchers interviewed 2,884 health professionals with strong exposure to coronavirus in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, including 568 who said they had experienced the symptoms of COVID-19 or tested positive for the virus. They were more likely to have trouble sleeping at night than those who had not been infected (24% vs 21%). In addition, more of them (5% vs 3%) reported at least three sleep problems, such as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or regularly needing sleeping pills. More survivors of COVID-19 also reported experiencing daily exhaustion in the previous year (5.5% vs 3%). Participants had an average of 6 to 7 hours of sleep every night. After taking into account other risk factors, each extra hour of nighttime sleep in the previous year was associated with a 12% lower likelihood of COVID-19, the researchers reported. (https://bit.ly/3tWWxot)
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(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Additional reporting by Gene Emery; Editing by Bill Berkrot)