Vaccinating adults seem to protect children around them; 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 attempts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Vaccinating adults also appears to protect children

New data from Israel, where health officials quickly moved to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE, suggests that the vaccination of adults also protects unvaccinated people around them. About a third of the 1.95 million members of Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS) – all over the age of 16 – had received at least a single dose of vaccine by January 30. Analyzing the results in 223 communities, researchers found that as the number of vaccinated adults increased, the number of infections among unvaccinated MHS members in the same community decreased – especially among children. MHS is Israel’s second largest healthcare maintenance organization. “While the perceived vaccine-related protection of unvaccinated individuals is encouraging, further studies are needed to understand if and how this might support the prospect of herd immunity and disease eradication,” the researchers concluded in the study published Wednesday on medRxiv. was posted prior to peer review. . (bit.ly/3wnIVVf)

Opening event for the Illinois bar in connection with 46 cases of COVID-19

An indoor celebration of a bar that opened in rural Illinois in February sparked 46 new cases of COVID-19 and greater consequences, according to a US study that serves as a warning about how such events could affect local communities. Four attendees had COVID-19-like symptoms that day. Of the 46 coronavirus infections associated with the party, 26 were cases among principals, three among staff and 17 “secondary cases” among people infected by them, according to a report published Monday in the Morbidity and Mortality. Weekly Report from the US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The secondary cases included children and residents of long-term care facilities. “Transfer in connection with the opening event resulted in a school closure involving 650 children (9,100 person-days lost from school) and hospitalization of a long-term care facility resident on COVID-19,” said researchers. “These findings show that opening up environments such as bars, where mask wearing and physical distance are challenging, can increase the risk of community transmission of SARS-CoV-2,” said researchers. Companies should “work with local health officials to promote behaviors and maintain environments that reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and develop strategies for safe reopening to prevent outbreaks in the community, such as modifying lay-out. -outs and operating procedures, ”they said. (bit.ly/3mtsoKU)

Congenital heart defects do not worsen COVID-19 risks

According to an international study, adults with congenital heart defects are no more likely than the average person to have or die from severe COVID-19. Risk factors associated with poor outcomes in these individuals are the same as those associated with poor outcomes in the general public – older age, male gender, a history of heart failure, irregular heart rhythm, kidney problems, diabetes, and need for supplemental oxygen for becoming infected with the coronavirus, said co-author Dr. Jamil Aboulhosn of the UCLA Adult Congenital Heart Center. Researchers analyzed data from 1,044 adults with COVID-19 from 58 congenital heart disease centers worldwide. Even people with highly complex heart defects did not appear to have an increased risk of serious COVID-19 as long as they did not already have severe signs and symptoms of heart disease, said Aboulhosn, calling the finding “somewhat surprising.” The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. (bit.ly/2PPhFxQ; bit.ly/2OcdzQ0)

Stroke patients with COVID-19 have worse outcomes

Among patients who went to hospital because they had a stroke, those who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to die there, a new study shows. The patients with COVID-19 were also more likely to have a more serious stroke and another stroke during their hospitalization, researchers reported in the journal Stroke. They studied nearly 42,000 patients who arrived at 458 hospitals with ischemic stroke caused by blockages in arteries that carry blood to the brain. About 3% of patients tested positive for COVID-19. On average, they were hospitalized just as quickly as patients without a coronavirus infection. After that, things slowed down. “Probably because of the need for the use of personal protective equipment and other precautions” by hospital staff, it took longer for COVID-19 patients to receive clot-removing treatments that reopen the clogged arteries, said study co-author Dr. Gregg Fonarow of the University of California, Los Angeles. The study cannot prove that treatment delays caused the worse outcomes. However, Fonarow said, “These findings suggest that there is a need for further improvement in stroke protocols to provide faster diagnosis and treatment for patients with (ischemic stroke) to accelerate care while protecting health professionals from exposure. ” (bit.ly/3sLF2Hp)

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