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
New CDC genomic data shows continued rise of the KP.3 variant that accounts for 1 of 3 Covid cases.
LB.1 is gaining, too, as JN.1 fades away
This variant growth advantage plot by @BenjMurrell (H/T @siamosolocani) shows why this is the case. Note KP.3 is the one at far left w/ almost 3-fold advantage to JN.1.
Reinforces why the decision to develop the KP.2 vaccine booster (instead of JN.1) was a good one
Spike mutation map to show the differences betweem KP.3 and JN.1 (and LB.1, KP.2)
The connection between #SARSCoV2 and neurodegeneration
@TheLancetNeuro
Quotes below: 1. SARS-CoV-2 infection should be considered as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, even though the distinction between causation versus disease acceleration is not clear.thelancet.com/journals/laneu…
2. Inflammation in patients with COVID-19, and controlled experiments show prolonged neuro-inflammation after mild SARS-CoV-2 infection
in macaques.
3. A direct correlation has been reported
between prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and increased risk
of Alzheimer’s disease (figure).
4. So far, the estimated lifetime cumulative risk of dementia due to hospitalisation for any viral infection is 1·48 (95% CI 1·15–1·91).
Breaking down the risks and benefit for lecanemab, the amyloid beta-directed antibody vs Alzheimer's drug approved @US_FDA last year. It doesn't look good.
My oped on the JN.1 variant and the 2nd biggest US wave of infections (after Omicron) since the pandemic began
@latimes @latimesopinion #LongCovid latimes.com/opinion/story/…
Recent @CDCgov #SARSCoV2 wastewater data for current wave (vs Omicron Jan 2022 and subsequent waves), graph by @luckytran
Sorry, @washingtonpost, but this is not "another Covid-19 uptick" as you put it in your Health Alert. You ignore the best metric for infections that we have at present—wastewater—focusing only on hospitalizations washingtonpost.com/health/2024/01…
3 New #LongCovid reports 1. Vaccination protection—1 dose 21%, 2 doses 59%, 3 doses 73% among ~590,000 people in Sweden (strong association) bmj.com/content/383/bm…
2. 3-year prospective follow up of a cohort of ~1350 participants, hospitalized in China
—Lung function restored back to baseline in most
—Higher risk of reinfection that people w/o Long Covid
—Half w/ persistent symptoms thelancet.com/journals/lanre…
3. At @RSNA annual meeting, brain MRI with microstructure imaging (DMI), participants with #LongCovid vs controls had microstructure changes associated with impaired cognition, sense of smell and fatigue eurekalert.org/news-releases/…