Featured Headlines
Breakthrough COVID powers up immune response to variants, including Omicron – Nature
Experiments suggest that SARS-CoV-2 infections after vaccination trigger antibody levels similar to those in people whose infections preceded their vaccination.
Tonga Enters Lockdown After Tsunami Aid Deliveries Bring First Covid Infections – Bloomberg
For more than two years, the isolation of the Pacific archipelago nation of Tonga helped keep COVID-19 at bay. But last month’s volcanic eruption and tsunami brought outside deliveries of desperately needed fresh water and medicine — and the virus.
Will Omicron end the pandemic? – Nature
The World Health Organization and others have suggested the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant could signal the end of the pandemic, because of the short-term surge in immunity that will follow. Researchers warn that the situation remains volatile and difficult to model. Different vaccine strategies, types and take-up rates from country to country, as well as fluctuating rates of infection and recovery, have left a diverse immunological landscape. So, how will it end? Not with Omicron, researchers predict. “This will not be the last variant, and so the next variant will have its own characteristics,” says infectious-diseases modeller Graham Medley.
Do plexiglass barriers actually protect against Covid-19? – CNN Video
Omicron Sub-Variant Accounts for Fifth of South Africa Cases – Bloomberg
The omicron sub-variant BA.2, which appears to be more transmissible than the original strain, accounted for almost a fifth of South African coronavirus cases in January compared with 4% in December, a medical official said.
Covid deaths are surging in low-vaccination states – NBC News
Four of the five states with the highest shares of population-adjusted deaths over the past month have fully vaccinated less than 60 percent of their populations.
US COVID-19 cases continue steep decline – CIDRAP
Cases of COVID-19 continue to drop significantly across the country, as the most recent surge caused by the Omicron variant is declining at a rapid pace.
Spain Set to Ditch Outdoor Masks Rule Next Week – Bloomberg
Spain’s government will suspend the obligation to wear face masks outdoors as soon as next week, Cadena Ser reported. The order, which was reintroduced last December to stem the Omicron variant, will take effect by next Wednesday, the radio station said, citing people in the government it didn’t identify.
Life on plastic may be more fantastic for the Omicron variant. This is not how the “Barbie Girl” song goes. Instead, this possibility is based on a study described by a manuscript recently uploaded to bioRxiv. The study suggested that the Omicron variant of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may survive on plastic and skin significantly longer than earlier versions of the virus can.
Vaccine Headlines
History of infectious disease outbreaks and vaccines timeline – Mayo Clinic
Learn about the history of major disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics, as well as the impact vaccines and research had on many infectious diseases.
Austria vaccine mandate to take effect, but few emulating it – AP
A law requiring most adults in Austria to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is ready to take effect, but the sense of urgency that accompanied its announcement in November has largely evaporated. Few other countries look likely to go as far as attention turns to loosening restrictions.
The Covid Vaccine We Need Now May Not Be a Shot – NYT
Nasal vaccines under development around the world may make better boosters by stopping the coronavirus in the airways.
Clinical Considerations
The neurological impact of COVID-19: What we know so far – MedNewsToday
Neurologic complications from COVID-19 are common and can range from decreased mental clarity to stroke. A recent perspective article outlines what we know about these complications so far. The authors explain how prior assumptions that the virus directly affected brain cells have been disproven.
Instead, nervous system injury is likely a result of severe inflammation and neurovascular injury. Neurologic insults from SARS-CoV-2 infection could increase the incidence and severity of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, in future generations.
FDA Advisors Face Difficult Decision on COVID Vaccine for Youngest Kids – MedPageToday
The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) is facing a very difficult decision. Members are being asked to consider whether a three-dose COVID-19 vaccine series should be authorized when there are only data available on two doses, and so far, all that’s known about those data is that noninferiority was not met in a prespecified immunogenicity analysis for kids ages 2 to under 5.
Official Reporting for February 4, 2022
World Health Organization
Weekly Epi Update Feb 1 (latest release)
New Cases: 2,871,646
Confirmed Cases: 386,548,962
Deaths: 5,705,754
Johns Hopkins
Confirmed Cases: 389,640,044
Deaths: 5,718,719
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Total cases: 75,605,991 (+302,529 New Cases)
Total deaths: 892,442 (+2,939 New Deaths)
Science and Tech
UK scientists look to repurpose existing antiviral drugs for COVID – Reuters
British researchers want to repurpose existing antiviral therapies to treat COVID-19, the University of Oxford said on Friday, in an attempt to sidestep lengthy development processes through readily available drugs.
MU scientist helps detect novel SARS-CoV-2 variants in NYC wastewater – Univ of Missouri
First delta, then omicron. The latest Covid variants have spread like wildfire across the globe in recent months, leading many scientists to wonder when the next variant will appear. Now, scientists may be one step closer to making that determination.
What the Omicron wave is revealing about human immunity – Nature
Immunologists have raced to work out how to protect against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2. Their research has yielded a wealth of insights and a few surprises.
What researchers learned from deliberately giving people covid – MIT Technology Review
People who’ve caught covid become infectious far more quickly than previously believed, according to the world’s first “human challenge” study in which healthy young volunteers were deliberately infected with the virus. The study, carried out by a team led by researchers at Imperial College London, is the first to watch what happens from the moment someone is infected with SARS-CoV-2.
A coronavirus variant once helped the global pork industry. Could one protect us? – Science
A killer pig virus vanished when a tamer mutant evolved—a provocative, but not perfect, parallel with Omicron
Beyond Omicron – Harvard Medical School
Scientists set sights on long game of SARS-CoV-2 evolution. On a Friday afternoon this past December, more than 130 scientists gathered on a Zoom meeting to talk about omicron, the latest SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern, which has ripped across the globe with ferocious infectivity.
Psychological and Sociological Impact
Depression and anxiety during COVID-19 – The Lancet
The COVID-19 Mental Disorders Collaborators conclude that, throughout 2020, the pandemic led to a 27·6% increase in cases of major depressive disorders and 25·6% increase in cases of anxiety disorders globally.However, we propose that these prevalence estimates are likely to be substantially inflated. Decades of trauma research has shown that, for most people, negative life events such as bereavement or disaster exposure are typically followed by resilience (minimal effect on symptoms of anxiety, or depression, or both) or recovery (initial short-term increase in symptoms of anxiety, or depression, or both, followed by recovery)
Published Research
COVID-19 vaccine-induced antibody responses in immunosuppressed patients with inflammatory bowel disease (VIP): a multicentre, prospective, case-control study – The Lancet
Epidemiological characteristics of the B.1.526 SARS-CoV-2 variant – Science
Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome in patients after 12 months from COVID-19 infection in Korea – BMJ
Misinformation, Disinformation, and Conspiracy Theories
How it feels to watch a friend lose themselves to covid conspiracy theories – Washington Post
It doesn’t feel helpless. I felt that when Mom had weeks left and all I could do for her was sit and watch “30 Rock” reruns with her. And I feel that each time I remember why I try to forget about the aneurysm in my chest. This feeling ain’t that.
Yes, you can catch the flu and Covid. No, ‘flurona’ isn’t real. – NBC
Researchers have studied what happens when a human body is infected by two viruses, but it’s not yet clear what happens to people who catch Covid and another contagion.
Coping with COVID
