Vaccine Confidence and Uptake of the Omicron Bivalent Booster in Tennessee: Implications for Vulnerable Populations.

The COVID-19 Omicron variant and its subvariants are now the dominant variants circulating in the US. Therefore, the original COVID-19 vaccine cannot offer full protection. Instead, vaccines that target the spike proteins of the Omicron variants are warranted. Hence, the FDA recommended the development of a bivalent booster. Unfortunately, despite the safety and immunogenicity of the Omicron bivalent boosters from Pfizer and Moderna, uptake in the US has been poor. At this time, only 15.8% of individuals in the US aged five and older have received the Omicron bivalent booster (OBB). The rate is 18% for those aged 18 and older. Poor vaccine confidence and booster uptake are often fueled by misinformation and vaccine fatigue. These result in more problems associated with vaccine hesitancy, which are particular prevalent in Southern states in the US. In Tennessee, the OBB vaccination rate for eligible recipients is only 5.88% at time of writing (16 February 2023). In this review, we discuss (1) the rationale for developing the OBBs; (2) the efficacy and safety of the bivalent boosters; (3) the adverse events associated with these boosters; (4) vaccine hesitancy associated with the OBBs uptake in Tennessee; (5) implications for vulnerable populations, disparities in uptake of OBBs in Tennessee, and strategies to improve vaccine confidence and OBB uptake. In support of public health, it is essential that we continue to provide education, awareness, and vaccine access to the vulnerable and medically underserved populations in Tennessee. Receiving the OBBs is the most effective method to date of protecting the public against severe COVID disease, hospitalization, and death.

Moderating role of healthcare disruptions on friend and family pandemic-related negative life events predicting latines' anxiety and alcohol use over time

The Latine community has experienced a disproportionate amount of pandemic-related negative life events during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study, therefore, adopted a contextual and environmental lens to understand the moderating role of healthcare disruptions on friend and family pandemic-related negative life events (e.g., PRNLE) predicting anxiety and alcohol use over time. The current study was part of a more extensive longitudinal study on students' genetic and environmental experiences. Findings indicated that among Latines who experienced more significant healthcare disruptions, increased family PRNLE predicted greater alcohol use but not anxiety over time. Additionally, friend PRNLE did not significantly predict alcohol or anxiety with high or low healthcare disruptions present. Our findings suggest that Latines may rely on the family to navigate their concerns and mitigate the PRNLE when experiencing healthcare disruptions. Therefore, clinical and policy implications are discussed to reduce alcohol-related inequalities during the ongoing global pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The causal effect of education and cognitive performance on risk for suicide attempt: A combined instrumental variable and co-relative approach in a Swedish national cohort.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to clarify the possible causal associations between education phenotypes and non-fatal suicide attempts. In particular, we evaluated the roles of academic achievement (school grades), cognitive performance (IQ), and educational attainment (education level). METHODS: Based on longitudinal Swedish registry data, we included 2,335,763 individuals (48.7% female) with available school grades, 1,448,438 men with IQ measures, and 4,352,989 individuals (48.4% female) with available data on education level. We combined two different approaches to aid in causal inference: 1) instrumental variables analysis, using month of birth as an instrument related to education but not suicide attempt, to control for measured and unmeasured confounders, and 2) co-relative analysis, comparing pairs of different genetic relatedness (cousins, half, and full siblings) to control for genetic and environmental influences. RESULTS: High education was associated with reduced risk of suicide attempt. Instrumental variable analysis indicated evidence of a likely causal association between higher school grades and lower risk of suicide attempts (HR = 0.71). Co-relative analyses supported the causality between the three predictors and suicide attempt risk (school grades, HR = 0.80, IQ, HR = 0.83, education level, HR = 0.76). Finally, we examined the specificity of education phenotypes and found that both cognitive (IQ) and non-cognitive (school grades, education level) processes were involved in suicide attempt risk. LIMITATIONS: IQ was only available in men, limiting the generalizability of this analysis in women. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts to support causal associations in psychiatric research are needed to offer better intervention. Programs improving education during adolescence would decrease suicide attempt risk.