ABSTRACT
Rapid and low-cost diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is essential to identify infected subjects, particularly asymptomatic cases, primarily to arrest the spread of the disease through local transmission. Antibody-based chromatographic serological tests, as an alternative to the RT-PCR technique, offer only limited help due to high false positives. We propose to exploit our cholesteric liquid crystal biosensor platform for one-step, wash-free, rapid detection of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus directly with minimal sample pre-processing. As mentioned above, cholesteric liquid crystals are an effective and innovative approach to healthcare as a rapid test for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and other diseases.
ABSTRACT
Rapid and low-cost diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is essential to identify infected subjects, particularly asymptomatic cases, primarily to arrest the spread of the disease through local transmission. Antibody-based chromatographic serological tests, as an alternative to the RT-PCR technique, offer only limited help due to high false positives. We propose to exploit our cholesteric liquid crystal biosensor platform for one-step, wash-free, rapid detection of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus directly with minimal sample pre-processing. As mentioned above, cholesteric liquid crystals are an effective and innovative approach to healthcare as a rapid test for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and other diseases.
ABSTRACT
As the unprecedented pandemic of COVID-19 became a major barrier during the past two years, many countries were using the "COVID pass" or COVID-19 vaccination certificates in attempts to facilitate effective international travel and domestic social activities. The difficulty remained in how the "COVID pass" from different countries and regions could be mutually recognised. This study surveys the current practice of COVID-19 vaccination certificates in 12 representative countries/regions around the world and provides a comprehensive mapping of the vaccination certificates in these countries/regions. The study compares and contrasts the vaccination certificates in both format and content, including their primary purposes, international accreditation, naming conventions, recipients' personal information, and the details on vaccines and vaccination. The findings are interpreted in light of implementation practices in each country/region and discussed in relation to their various functions, as well as legal, technical, and ethical considerations. Based on the analysis and discussion recommendations are made on the practice of vaccination certificates in attempts to facilitate effective international travel and domestic social activities.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19 Vaccines , Health Policy , Humans , VaccinationABSTRACT
Importance: To our knowledge, no comprehensive meta-analysis has been published focusing on the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine candidates, although numbers of basic research and clinical trial results have been announced.Objective: To summarize reliable medical evidence by the meta-analysis of all published clinical trials that investigated the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of vaccine candidates against COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).Data Sources: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and medRxiv databases were used to select the studies. 9830 articles were identified initially and 43 were retrieved for more detailed evaluation.Study Selection: Five randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials were selected.Data Extraction and Synthesis: Duplicate independent data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment were performed. Data were pooled using a random-effects model if statistical heterogeneity was present.Main Outcomes and Measure: Main outcomes measures of our meta-analysis included safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine. The safety outcomes were evaluated as local adverse reactions and systemic adverse reactions. Immunogenicity outcomes were mainly evaluated by IgG or other specific antibody responses to the receptor binding domain, and neutralizing antibodies to live SARS-CoV-2.Results: According to the results, there is an increase in total adverse events for subjects with either low or high dose vaccination, compared with placebo controls (P < 0.00001). The adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccine were mainly local ones including pain, itching, and redness, and no significant difference was identified in the systemic reactions. All adverse effects were transient and resolved within a few days. Moreover, the neutralizing and IgG antibody levels post different-dose vaccinations were all significantly increased at day 14/21 (P = 0.0002 and P < 0.00001, respectively) and day 28/35 (both P < 0.00001) in vaccine groups versus placebo controls. Besides, the levels of neutralizing and IgG antibodies were also elevated significantly from day 14 to 35, versus day 0 (all P < 0.001).Conclusion and Relevance: Our analysis suggests that the current COVID-19 vaccine candidates are safe, tolerated, and immunogenic, which provides important information for further development, evaluation, and clinical application of COVID-19 vaccine.Funding: This work was supported in part by research grants from the Major Research plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 91949204 to J.C.Z.), the State Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81830037 to J.C.Z.), the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program Grant No. 2014CB965001 to J.C.Z.), the National Institutes of Health (1R01NS097195-01 to J.C.Z.), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81901333 to X.X.), Shanghai Sailing Program (No. 19YF1451700 to X.X.), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81870042 to P.Y.). Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.Ethical Approval: Not applicable.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeABSTRACT
We aimed to summarize reliable medical evidence by the meta-analysis of all published clinical trials that investigated the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of vaccine candidates against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and medRxiv databases were used to select the studies. 7094 articles were identified initially and 43 were retrieved for more detailed evaluation. 5 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials were selected. A total of 1604 subjects with either vaccines or placebo infections were included in the meta-analysis within the scope of these articles. According to the results, there is an increase in total adverse events for subjects with either low (95% CI: 1.90-4.29) or high (CI: 2.65-5.63) dose vaccination. The adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccine are mainly local ones including pain, itching, and redness, and no significant difference was identified in the systemic reactions. All adverse effects were transient and resolved within a few days. Moreover, the neutralizing and IgG antibody levels post different dose vaccinations were all significantly increased at day 14/21 (P = 0.0004 and P = 0.0003, respectively) and day 28/35 (P < 0.00001) in vaccine groups compared to placebo controls. Besides, the levels of neutralizing and IgG antibodies were also elevated significantly at from day 14 to 35, versus day 0 (All P < 0.001). In conclusion, our analysis suggests that the current COVID-19 vaccine candidates are safe, tolerated, and immunogenic, which provides important information for further development, evaluation, and clinical application of COVID-19 vaccine.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , PainABSTRACT
Objective: This study aimed to determine whether serum vitamin D is independently associated with COVID-19 infection and outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Methods: We identified relevant studies by searching the PubMed, Embase, and medRxiv databases from December 2019 to October 1, 2020. Odds ratios (ORs) were pooled using random-effects models. Only reports with multivariate adjusted results were included to avoid the impact of potential confounding factors. Results: A total of six studies with 377,265 patients were identified. Overall, in the categorical analysis, a low serum vitamin D level was associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 infection (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.09- 1.97, I2=81%), hospitalization (OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.22-2.74, I2=0%), but not in-hospital death (OR: 2.73, 95% CI: 0.27-27.61). Notably, when vitamin D level was analyzed as a continuous variable, each 5 ng/ml increase in vitamin D level was not associated with any increased risk of COVID-19 infection (OR: 1.04, 95% CI: 0.96-1.12, I2=74%) or in-hospital death (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.93-1.12). Conclusions: Low serum vitamin D is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization. In-hospital death showed a tendency to be increased in COVID-19 patients with low vitamin D levels. The ongoing clinical trials for evaluation of vitamin D supplementation will be key to the validation of this adjunctive treatment for COVID-19 patients.
Subject(s)
COVID-19ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic and has been widely reported; however, a comprehensive systemic review and meta-analysis has not been conducted. We systematically investigated the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in mainland China to guide diagnosis and treatment. We searched the PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, bioRxiv, medRxiv, and SSRN databases for studies related to COVID-19 published or preprinted in English or Chinese from January 1 to March 15, 2020. Clinical studies on COVID-19 performed in mainland China were included. We collected primary outcomes including signs and symptoms, chest CT imaging, laboratory tests, and treatments. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were performed by two independent reviewers. Qualitative and quantitative synthesis was conducted, and random-effects models were applied to pooled estimates. This study is registered with PROSPERO (number CRD42020171606). Of the 3624 records identified, 147 studies (20,662 patients) were analyzed. The mean age of patients with COVID-19 was 49.40 years, 53.45% were male, and 38.52% had at least one comorbidity. Fever and cough were the most common symptoms, followed by fatigue, expectoration, and shortness of breath. Most patients with COVID-19 had abnormal chest CT findings with ground glass opacity (70.70%) or consolidation (29.91%). Laboratory findings shown lymphopenia, increased lactate dehydrogenase, increased infection-related indicators, and fibrinolytic hyperactivity. Antiviral therapy, antibiotic therapy, and corticosteroids were administered to 89.75%, 79.13%, and 35.64% of patients, respectively. Most clinical characteristics of COVID-19 are non-specific. Patients with suspected should be evaluated by virological assays and clinically treated.