ABSTRACT
Evaluation of the safety and immunogenicity of new vaccine platforms is needed to increase public acceptance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. Here, we evaluated the association between reactogenicity and immunogenicity in healthy adults following vaccination by analyzing blood samples before and after sequential two-dose vaccinations of BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. Outcomes included anti-S IgG antibody and neutralizing antibody responses, adverse events, and proinflammatory cytokine responses. A total of 59 and 57 participants vaccinated with BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, respectively, were enrolled. Systemic adverse events were more common after the first ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 dose than after the second. An opposite trend was observed in BNT162b2 recipients. Although the first ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 dose significantly elevated the median proinflammatory cytokine levels, the second dose did not, and neither did either dose of BNT162b2. Grades of systemic adverse events in ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 recipients were significantly associated with IL-6 and IL-1β levels. Anti-S IgG and neutralizing antibody titers resulting from the second BNT162b2 dose were significantly associated with fever. In conclusion, systemic adverse events resulting from the first ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 dose may be associated with proinflammatory cytokine responses rather than humoral immune responses. Febrile reactions after second BNT162b2 dose were positively correlated with vaccine-induced immune responses rather than with inflammatory responses.
ABSTRACT
The age of Southeast Asian developing countries’ populations is still younger than that of other regions around the world. However, recent statistics show that the tide is now turning in this regard, with many of these populations beginning to age at rates much faster than many other countries. Such developments require immediate policy action in order to create a sustainable path towards economic growth before demographic changes become less benign in the medium term. In this study, we discuss the economic consequences of population aging, increases in the economic support ratio, and a declining potential growth rate. We argue that it is essential for Southeast Asian developing countries to raise total factor productivity (TFP) growth rates so as to achieve more sustainable economic outcomes. By conducting panel regressions using data from 82 countries across the 1996–2019 study period, our study shows that increasing research and development (R&D) spending and the facilitation of structural changes that transform the digital economy landscape are key policy options that promote TFP growth.
ABSTRACT
Dysregulated IL-1{beta} and IL-6 responses have been implicated in the pathogenesis of severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Innovative approaches for evaluating the biological activity of these cytokines in vivo are urgently needed to complement clinical trials of therapeutic targeting of IL-1{beta} and IL-6 in COVID-19. We show that the expression of IL-1{beta} or IL-6 inducible transcriptional signatures (modules) reflects the bioactivity of these cytokines in immunopathology modelled by juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and rheumatoid arthritis. In COVID-19, elevated expression of IL-1{beta} and IL-6 response modules, but not the cytokine transcripts themselves, is a feature of infection in the nasopharynx and blood, but is not associated with severity of COVID-19 disease, length of stay or mortality. We propose that IL-1{beta} and IL-6 transcriptional response modules provide a dynamic readout of functional cytokine activity in vivo, aiding quantification of the biological effects of immunomodulatory therapies in COVID-19.