BOOSTER VACCINATION AGAINST SARS-CoV-2: CURRENT CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS.

The COVID-19 pandemic is going on, which makes it crucial to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease. Vaccination is the only way of specific prevention of COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is continuously evolving and new variants appear. Moreover, the effectiveness of protective immunity after vaccination tends to decrease over several months. Booster vaccination may be the solution to these problems. The booster is an extra vaccination that helps to reactivate the immunity against COVID-19. Booster doses can be homologous (the same as the primary vaccine) and heterologous (different from the primary vaccine). It is of current interest to study heterologous vaccination as the injection of different vaccines may result in a more intense immune response. Furthermore, the same vaccine may not be available at the time of booster vaccination. This review is aimed at summarizing the key research findings in the field of booster vaccination against COVID-19.Copyright © 2022 Booster vaccination against. All rights reserved.

BOOSTER VACCINATION AGAINST SARS-CoV-2: CURRENT CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic is going on, which makes it crucial to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease. Vaccination is the only way of specific prevention of COVID-19. The SARS-CoV-2 virus is continuously evolving and new variants appear. Moreover, the effectiveness of protective immunity after vaccination tends to decrease over several months. Booster vaccination may be the solution to these problems. The booster is an extra vaccination that helps to reactivate the immunity against COVID-19. Booster doses can be homologous (the same as the primary vaccine) and heterologous (different from the primary vaccine). It is of current interest to study heterologous vaccination as the injection of different vaccines may result in a more intense immune response. Furthermore, the same vaccine may not be available at the time of booster vaccination. This review is aimed at summarizing the key research findings in the field of booster vaccination against COVID-19. © 2022 Booster vaccination against. All rights reserved.

Acute kidney injury and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019: results from a cohort study of 1,280 patients.

BACKGROUND: The development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with a high risk of death. Published data demonstrate the possibility of severe kidney injury in patients suffering from COVID-19. However, these data are still controversial. METHODS: A total of 1,280 patients with a proven diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in our study. COVID-19 was confirmed in all patients using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction test of a nasopharyngeal swab, and based on the typical computed tomography findings. Demographic data, underlying comorbidities, and laboratory blood tests were assessed. We assessed the incidence of AKI and its associated mortality defined by survival status at discharge. RESULTS: Proteinuria was identified with 648 patients (50.6%) with COVID-19. AKI was identified in 371 patients (29.0%). Ten of these patients (2.7%) required dialysis. The risk factors for AKI included age of > 65 years, augmentation of C-reactive protein, ferritin and an increase in values of activated partial thromboplastin time. Overall, 162 of the 1,280 hospitalized patients (12.7%) and 111 of the 371 patients (29.9%) with AKI did not survive. The hazard ratio (HR) for mortality was 3.96 (95% confidence interval, 2.83-5.54) for patients with AKI vs. no AKI. CONCLUSION: AKI was a relatively common finding among patients with COVID-19. The risk factors for AKI in COVID-19 included old age, the inflammatory response, the severity of lung involvement, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. These same factors, in addition to arterial hypertension, were found to increase the risk of mortality.

Acute kidney damage in COVID-19 patients.

The presentation of kidney damage in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) varies significantly. According to recent studies, the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in severe cases of COVID-19 infection significantly worsens the prognosis of these patients. The pathological changes in kidneys might be caused directly by the cytopathic effect mediated by local replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) or indirectly because of systemic immune response or hypercoagulation, so-called immunothrombosis. Other causes, such as hypovolemia and hypoxia, may also contribute to AKI. Acute kidney disease often develops in elderly patients with underlying comorbidities or in critically ill patients with severe respiratory failure. It is known that AKI is a risk factor for mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Efficacy of Interferon Gamma in the Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (COVID-19): Results of a Prospective Controlled Trial

Background: To date, there is no evidence supporting the effectiveness of the use of any drugs for the prevention of COVID-19. However, we have a number of promising drugs at our disposal, which may be potential candidates in COVID-19 prevention. The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 among healthy volunteers using nasal INF-gamma as a preventive measure. Methods and Results: In this observational prospective study, we used INF-gamma in a dosage form for intranasal administration to identify a prophylactic effect in volunteers at high risk of getting COVID-19 - medical workers and personnel working in the "red zone." Prophylactic efficacy was evaluated by the incidence of COVID-19 among volunteers when using the study drug (the study group) in comparison with the control group. The mean score on the WHO clinical improvement scale in the two groups was also analyzed. For each participant in the study, initial demographic and epidemiological data were collected: age, gender, the average frequency of acute respiratory viral infection (per year), as well as information on professional activities (work schedule and the number of patients with whom the participant contacts every day). Findings showed that most participants previously had about 45%-48% cases of acute respiratory diseases per year. As a result, we saw good tolerance to COVID-19: 98% and 86% of subjects of both groups did not get sick during the period of observation, although the first group showed statistically significant (P=0.0019) better results in disease prevalence. In addition, the comparative analysis demonstrated 0.02 and 0.14 scores of the WHO clinical improvement scale in the study group and control group, respectively (P=0.0255). None of the subjects had adverse events. Conclusion: This study concluded that there is a potential positive preventive effect of nasal INF-gamma against ARVI including COVID-19 in healthy volunteers. INF-gamma use was safe and well tolerated.