Life Course Education, Health, and Ageing Well: A Short Inter-Academic Report.

After the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the severity of the disease in certain countries was attributed to a lack of basic education of the inhabitants, the authors of this paper initiated a literature review of educational trajectories, health, and ageing well. The findings strongly demonstrate that alongside genetics, the affective and educational family environment, as well as the general environment, greatly interact starting from the very first days of life. Thus, epigenetics plays a major role in the determination of health and disease [DOHAD] in the first 1,000 days of life as well as in the characterization of gender. Other factors such as socio-economic level, parental education, schooling in urban or rural areas, also play a major role in the differential acquisition of health literacy. This determines adherence (or lack thereof) to healthy lifestyles, risky behaviours, substance abuse, but also compliance with hygiene rules, and adherence to vaccines and treatments. The combination of all these elements and lifestyle choices facilitates the emergence of metabolic disorders (obesity, diabetes), which promote cardiovascular and kidney damage, and neurodegenerative diseases, explaining that the less well educated have shorter survival and spend more years of life in disability. After having demonstrated the impact of the educational level on health and longevity, the members of this inter-academic group propose specific educational actions at three levels: (1) teachers and health professionals, (2) parents, (3) the public, emphasizing that these crucial actions can only be carried out with the unfailing support of state and academic authorities.

Memory CD4+ T-Cell Lymphocytic Angiopathy in Fatal Forms of COVID-19 Pulmonary Infection.

The immunopathological pulmonary mechanisms leading to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)-related death in adults remain poorly understood. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and peripheral blood sampling were performed in 74 steroid and non-steroid-treated intensive care unit (ICU) patients (23-75 years; 44 survivors). Peripheral effector SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detected in 34/58 cases, mainly directed against the S1 portion of the spike protein. The BAL lymphocytosis consisted of T cells, while the mean CD4/CD8 ratio was 1.80 in non-steroid- treated patients and 1.14 in steroid-treated patients. Moreover, strong BAL SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell responses were detected in 4/4 surviving and 3/3 non-surviving patients. Serum IFN-γ and IL-6 levels were decreased in steroid-treated patients when compared to non-steroid treated patients. In the lung samples from 3 (1 non-ICU and 2 ICU) additional deceased cases, a lymphocytic memory CD4 T-cell angiopathy colocalizing with SARS-CoV-2 was also observed. Taken together, these data show that disease severity occurs despite strong antiviral CD4 T cell-specific responses migrating to the lung, which could suggest a pathogenic role for perivascular memory CD4 T cells upon fatal COVID-19 pneumonia.

Cell-Mediated Immune Responses to COVID-19 Infection

An unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV), subsequently termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, emerged in Wuhan City (China) in December 2019. Despite rigorous containment and quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 continues to expand, causing explosive outbreaks in more than 160 countries with waves of morbidity and fatality, leading to significant public health problems. In the past 20 years, two additional epidemics caused by CoVs have occurred: severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV, which has caused a large-scale epidemic in China and 24 other countries;and respiratory syndrome-CoV of the Middle East in Saudi Arabia, which continues to cause sporadic cases. All of these viruses affect the lower respiratory tract and manifest as pneumonia in humans, but the novel SARS-Cov-2 appears to be more contagious and has spread more rapidly worldwide. This mini-review focuses on the cellular immune response to COVID-19 in human subjects, compared to other clinically relevant coronaviruses to evaluate its role in the control of infection and pathogenesis and accelerate the development of a preventive vaccine or immune therapies.

[Reforming Biosciences and Health Research: Part I, Funding]. / Rapport 21-06. Réformer la recherche en sciences biologiques et en santé : partie I, le financement.

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the context of a dramatic decline in support for biological and health research in France. An analysis of resources allocated to this sector shows that the credits in 2020 correspond to only 17.2 % of the total credits allocated to research, the lowest ratio inat least 15 years. Another weakness in the system of support for hospital research is the way funds from the health insurance system are allocated. To bring it into line with international best practices, the task of allocating these funds should be entrusted to a "Hospital Research Orientation Council", which should also be involved in the implementation of national research programming. Another article deals with the organization of research. Recommendations are also made to improve the functioning of the research system at the local level, particularly in university hospitals, and at the national level.

Challenges and Issues of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines.

At the beginning of 2021, anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaigns had been launched in almost 60 countries with more than 500 million doses having been distributed. In addition to the few vaccines already in use, many other candidates are in preclinical phases or experimental stages in humans. Despite the fact that the availability of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine constitutes a major advance and appear to be the only way to control the pandemic, some investigation remains to be carried out, and this is notably concerning the impact on transmissibility, the duration of the conferred protection in the mid- and long term, the effectiveness against present and future viral mutants, or the ideal schedule that should be applied. In this paper, we review the circumstances that facilitated such a rapid development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and summarize the different vaccine platforms under investigation as well as their present results and perspectives in different settings. We also discuss the indications of vaccination under special conditions, such as a history of previous COVID-19 infection or belonging to extreme age categories like children and elderly. Overall, this review highlights the multiple challenges to face if aiming to find a global solution to the pandemic through high vaccination coverage all over the world.

[Epidemics: lessons from History]. / Épidémies: Leçons d'Histoire.

TITLE: Épidémies: Leçons d'Histoire. ABSTRACT: Jusqu'au milieu du XVIIIe siècle, l'espérance de vie était de 25 ans dans les pays d'Europe, proche alors de celle de la préhistoire. À cette époque, nos ancêtres succombaient, pour la plupart, à une infection bactérienne ou virale, quand la mort n'était pas le résultat d'un épisode critique, comme la guerre ou la famine. Un seul microbe suffisait à terrasser de nombreuses victimes. L'épidémie de SARS-CoV-2 est là pour nous rappeler que ce risque est désormais à nouveau d'actualité. Si son origine zoonotique par la chauve-souris est probable, la contamination interhumaine montre son adaptation rapide à l'homme et permet d'évoquer ainsi la transmission des épidémies, qu'elle soit ou non liée à des vecteurs, ces derniers pouvant représenter dans d'autres occasions un des maillons de la chaîne.

Cell-Mediated Immune Responses to COVID-19 Infection.

An unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV), subsequently termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, emerged in Wuhan City (China) in December 2019. Despite rigorous containment and quarantine efforts, the incidence of COVID-19 continues to expand, causing explosive outbreaks in more than 160 countries with waves of morbidity and fatality, leading to significant public health problems. In the past 20 years, two additional epidemics caused by CoVs have occurred: severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV, which has caused a large-scale epidemic in China and 24 other countries; and respiratory syndrome-CoV of the Middle East in Saudi Arabia, which continues to cause sporadic cases. All of these viruses affect the lower respiratory tract and manifest as pneumonia in humans, but the novel SARS-Cov-2 appears to be more contagious and has spread more rapidly worldwide. This mini-review focuses on the cellular immune response to COVID-19 in human subjects, compared to other clinically relevant coronaviruses to evaluate its role in the control of infection and pathogenesis and accelerate the development of a preventive vaccine or immune therapies.