Very important @NEJM paper today on breakthrough infections (BTI) post-vaccination in Israeli health care workers.
5 key points: 1. Of ~1500 people, 0.4% had BIs, sequenced to be Alpha 85% (this was pre-Delta) nejm.org/?query=feature…
2. All these BTIs were mild (67%) or without symptoms (33%), done due to routine testing. No hospitalizations.
3. 7 of 36 (19% ) of BTIs had "persistent symptoms" > 6 weeks. Table below
An indicator for the potential of #LongCovid in BTIs in a few of these people at > 6 weeks, but that's a very limited and early time for assessment.
4. There were NO secondary attacks, no indication of transmission of BTIs. 5. The neutralizing antibody levels in the people with BTIs were lower than matched controls, raising the question of need for a booster dose. Unsettled.
#LongCovid from breakthrough infections?
We needed time to determine whether they can occur post-vaccination. This is the 1st report I've seen that suggests that can occur, a preliminary assessment.
All this pertains to Alpha, not Delta, which, of course, will not be as favorable
As I wrote in SUPER AGERS, the immune system is the key to modulating our aging process and the opportunity to extend healthspan. Today @NatureAging 7 new articles, summarized here, that reinforce its central role nature.com/articles/s4358…
The new special issue @ScienceMagazine features Immunity with 4 outstanding review papers, 5★
Our immune system over the lifespan, sex differences, influence on physiology, and host antiviral defenses science.org/toc/science/cu…
We've learned a lot more about the principal drivers of age-related diseases in the past few weeks. And that leads to a unified model to pull it all together. (open-access)
I review 4 new reports, summarized here: 1. The proteins from senescent cells predict age-related clinical outcomes 2. A new epigenetic age clock connects the dots between aging, the immune system, inflammation and lifestyle factors 3. People with a fast pace of aging had an increased risk of cognitive impairment, age-related diseases, disability, and mortality 4. The Importance of “Immune Resilience” for Healthspan
And present a unified I/I model for what we now know
Most people haven’t heard of this test, which is available in the US. It accurately predicts Alzheimer’s (not just if there’s a risk, but when). It is favorably affected by exercise and likely many other lifestyle factors.
Here’s (almost) everything we know about it. In Ground Truths (link in my profile d/t X-suppression)
A major @Nature paper this week found a significant decline in dementia after an outdated Shingles vaccine.
I've reviewed the study and many other relevant ones in a new Ground Truths (link in profile)
A Table from the post
The effect in the 2 natural experiments differed substantially by sex with the benefit predominant in women
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @Nature nature.com/articles/s4158… nature.com/articles/d4158…