Immune response enhancement with GLS-5310 DNA primary vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 followed by administration of an mRNA vaccine heterologous boost.

Heterologous boost regimens are being increasingly considered against SARS-CoV-2. We report results for the 32 of 45 participants in the Phase 1 CoV2-001 clinical trial (Kim et al., Int J Iinfect Dis 2023, 128:112-120) who elected to receive an EUA-approved SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine 6 to 8 months following a two-dose primary vaccination with the GLS-5310 bi-cistronic DNA vaccine given intradermally and followed by application of suction using the GeneDerm device. Receipt of EUA-approved mRNA vaccines after GLS-5310 vaccination was well-tolerated, with no reported adverse events. Immune responses were enhanced such that binding antibody titers, neutralizing antibody titers, and T-cell responses increased 1,187-fold, 110-fold, and 2.9-fold, respectively. This paper is the first description of the immune responses following heterologous vaccination with a DNA primary series and mRNA boost.

The Impacts of Three Educational Technologies on Algebraic Understanding in the Context of COVID-19.

The current study investigated the effectiveness of three distinct educational technologies-two game-based applications (From Here to There and DragonBox 12+) and two modes of online problem sets in ASSISTments (an Immediate Feedback condition and an Active Control condition with no immediate feedback) on Grade 7 students' algebraic knowledge. More than 3,600 Grade 7 students across nine in-person and one virtual schools within the same district were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. Students received nine 30-minute intervention sessions from September 2020 to March 2021. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses of the final analytic sample (N = 1,850) showed significantly higher posttest scores for students who used From Here to There and DragonBox 12+ compared to the Active Control condition. No significant difference was found for the Immediate Feedback condition. The findings have implications for understanding how game-based applications can affect algebraic understanding, even within pandemic pressures on learning.

Safety and immunogenicity of the bi-cistronic GLS-5310 COVID-19 DNA vaccine delivered with the GeneDerm suction device.

OBJECTIVES: The CoV2-001 phase I randomized trial evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of the GLS-5310 bi-cistronic DNA vaccine through 48 weeks of follow-up. DESIGN: A total of 45 vaccine-naïve participants were recruited between December 31, 2020, and March 30, 2021. GLS-5310, encoding for the SARS-CoV-2 spike and open reading frame 3a (ORF3a) proteins, was administered intradermally at 0.6 mg or 1.2 mg per dose, followed by application of the GeneDerm suction device as part of a two-dose regimen spaced either 8 or 12 weeks between vaccinations. RESULTS: GLS-5310 was well tolerated with no serious adverse events reported. Antibody and T cell responses were dose-independent. Anti-spike antibodies were induced in 95.5% of participants with an average geometric mean titer of ∼480 four weeks after vaccination and declined minimally through 48 weeks. Neutralizing antibodies were induced in 55.5% of participants with post-vaccination geometric mean titer of 28.4. T cell responses were induced in 97.8% of participants, averaging 716 site forming units/106 cells four weeks after vaccination, increasing to 1248 at week 24, and remaining greater than 1000 through 48 weeks. CONCLUSION: GLS-5310 administered with the GeneDerm suction device was well tolerated and induced high levels of binding antibodies and T-cell responses. Antibody responses were similar to other DNA vaccines, whereas T cell responses were many-fold greater than DNA and non-DNA vaccines.

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Medical Use of Military Hospitals in Korea.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began in December 2019. While it has not yet ended, COVID-19 has already created transitions in health care, one of which is a decrease in medical use for health-related issues other than COVID-19 infection. Korean soldiers are relatively homogeneous in terms of age and physical condition. They show a similar disease distribution pattern every year and are directly affected by changes in government attempts to control COVID-19 with nonpharmaceutical interventions. This study aimed to identify the changes in patterns of outpatient visits and admissions to military hospitals for a range of disease types during a pandemic. METHODS: Outpatient attendance and admission data from all military hospitals in South Korea from January 2016 to December 2020 were analyzed. Only active enlisted soldiers aged 18-32 years were included. Outpatient visits where there was a diagnosis of pneumonia, acute upper respiratory tract infection, infectious conjunctivitis, infectious enteritis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and fractures were analyzed. Admissions for pneumonia, acute enteritis, and fractures were also analyzed. All outpatient visits and admissions in 2020 for each disease were counted on a weekly basis and compared with the average number of visits over the same period of each year from 2016 to 2019. The corrected value was calculated by dividing the ratio of total weekly number of outpatient visits or admissions to the corresponding medical department in 2020 to the average in 2016-2019. RESULTS: A total of 5,813,304 cases of outpatient care and 143,022 cases of admission were analyzed. For pneumonia, the observed and corrected numbers of outpatient visits and admissions in 2020 decreased significantly compared with the average of other years (P < 0.001). The results were similar for outpatient visits for acute upper respiratory tract infection and infectious conjunctivitis (P < 0.001), while the corrected number of outpatient visits for infectious enteritis showed a significant increase in 2020 (P = 0.005). The corrected number of outpatient visits for asthma in 2020 did not differ from the average of the previous 4 years but the number of visits for the other allergic diseases increased significantly (P < 0.001). For fractures, the observed and corrected numbers of outpatient visits and admissions in 2020 decreased significantly compared with the average of other years (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 pandemic, outpatient visits to military hospitals for respiratory and conjunctival infections and fractures decreased, whereas visits for allergic diseases did not change or increased only slightly. Admissions for pneumonia decreased significantly in 2020, while those for acute enteritis and fractures also decreased, but showed an increased proportion compared with previous years. These results are important because they illustrate the changing patterns in lifestyle as a result of public encouragement to adopt nonpharmaceutical interventions during the pandemic and their effect on medical needs for both infectious and noninfectious diseases in a select group.

Evaluating Basic Income, Basic Service, and Basic Voucher for Social and Ecological Sustainability

This paper discusses the restructuring of the social protection system in the changing labor market by comparing and critically reviewing policy ideas of Universal Basic Income (UBI), Universal Basic Voucher (UBV), and Universal Basic Service (UBS) with a focus on how the Social and Ecological Transition (SET) can be achieved. UBS is a concept often paired with UBI, and UBV is considered a middle way between UBI (cash) and UBS (in-kind). This study first analyzes Korea’s basic income, basic service, and basic voucher cases, according to Bohnenberger’s nine types of social benefits through Standing’s policy evaluation principles. Additionally, we evaluated how each of the benefits included in basic income, basic service, and basic voucher can contribute to social and ecological sustainability in the Korean context. Through this evaluation, to pursue SET in the future, what kind of policy efforts should be accompanied with basic income through a Korean case analysis was discussed. The paper focuses on Korea in particular, as all three policies have been initiated here.

Genomic and phylogenetic analyses of SARS-CoV-2 strains isolated in the city of Gwangju, South Korea (preprint)

Since the first identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China in late December 2019, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread fast around the world. RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, have higher gene mutations than DNA viruses during virus replication. Variations in SARS-CoV-2 genome could contribute to efficiency of viral spread and severity of COVID-19. In this study, we analyzed the locations of genomic mutations to investigate the genetic diversity among isolates of SARS-CoV-2 in Gwangju. We detected non-synonymous and frameshift mutations in various parts of SARS-CoV-2 genome. The phylogenetic analysis for whole genome showed that SARS-CoV-2 genomes in Gwangju isolates are clustered within clade V and G. Our findings not only provide a glimpse into changes of prevalent virus clades in Gwangju, South Korea, but also support genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 to aid in the development of efficient therapeutic antibodies and vaccines against COVID-19.