Small children are less ill from Omicron.Gene mutations protect against severe COVID

A child is seen near a syringe containing the Pfizer BioNTech Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the Smoketown Family Wellness Center in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, November 8, 2021.Reuters / John Cherry

January 21 (Reuters)-The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They require further research to support the findings and include studies that have not yet been certified by peer review.

Small children are less ill from Omicron

In very young children, the omicron variant of coronavirus causes less severe illness than the delta variant, according to new studies.

Researchers review data on approximately 80,000 US children under the age of 5 with the first infection, including 7,201 infected in late December or early January when Omicron caused more than 90% of cases. Did. After considering other risk factors, including medical conditions and socioeconomic conditions, researchers found that children infected during the Omicron surge had a 29% lower risk of going to an emergency outpatient clinic, a 67% lower risk of hospitalization, and intensive care. We found that the risk of needing a delta was 68% lower, and the risk of needing a machine to breathe was 71% lower than in a child infected with Delta. However, according to reports, “due to the increased infectivity of Omicron, the total number of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and ventilator use in children may still be higher in Omicron than in Delta. I have” Posted on medRxiv Prior to peer review.

Rong Xu, a research leader at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, said that black and Hispanic children have disproportionately high prevalence in both Omicron and Delta in this age group, widening the gap in Omicron infection. I also observed that. Unpublished data show that “children under the age of 5 had the highest prevalence of Omicron” compared to older children and adults of all ages.

Gene mutations protect against severe COVID-19

New discoveries add evidence that people with a particular version of the gene are less likely to develop severe COVID-19.

Previous studies have confirmed that a specific gene group, called the OAS1 / 2/3 gene cluster, is involved in the risk of severe COVID-19. One version of the gene in that cluster (inherited from Neanderthals) appeared to protect against severe illness and reduce risk by about 23%. Early studies were mainly done on people of European descent.According to the report published in Nature GeneticsResearchers are now seeing the same association between this genetic variation and less severe COVID-19 in people of African descent.

In a statement, co-author Dr. Jennifer Huffman said, “The fact that African-American individuals received the same protection identifies a unique variant of DNA that actually protects against COVID-19 infection. I was able to do it. ” The OAS gene is involved in a series of effects that help cells fight the virus, the researchers said. Understanding these genes and their impact on COVID-19 risk may help in the development of future drugs, they added.

Less delta breakthrough by Moderna vs Pfizer / BioNTech

A double-dose recipient of Moderna when a delta variant of coronavirus was endemic in the United States (MRNA.O) The mRNA vaccine was less likely to experience a breakthrough infection than the recipient of the double-vaccinated mRNA vaccine from Pfizer, and if so, was slightly less likely to be hospitalized. (PFE.N) And BioNTech, a large study was found.

The researchers analyzed the health records of more than 637,000 vaccinated people who had not previously been infected with the virus and had not received booster shots.As reported JAMA Thursday, Breakthrough infections increased steadily every month from July to November 2021, and the infection rate of the Pfizer / BioNTech Group increased. In November, 2.8 cases occurred for every 1000 people vaccinated with Pfizer / BioNTech, compared to 1.6 cases for every 1,000 people vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine. The vaccine protected against death as well, with hospitalization rates of 12.7% for infected Moderna recipients and 13.3% for Pfizer / BioNTech recipients. When researchers compared 62,584 Moderna recipients to a group of exactly the same size of Pfizer / BioNTech recipients, the risk of breakthrough infection was 15% lower in the Moderna group.

“Although there are differences in breakthrough infections, both vaccines are very protective against SARS-COV2 infections, especially the most serious consequences of the infection,” said Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine co-author. One Pamela Davis said in a statement.

Click Reuters graphics About the vaccine under development.

Report by Nancy Rapid; Edited by Bill Berkrot

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