Changes in lifestyle behaviour and dietary patterns among Iranian medical students during COVID-19 lockdown.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many aspects of human life, including physical and mental health. The public health measures to prevent COVID-19 transmission led to social isolation, physical inactivity, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, obesity, and consumption of unhealthy food. Aims: To evaluate changes in lifestyle behaviour during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Iranian medical students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. In September 2021, an online questionnaire containing 32 questions was administered to 1143 medical students in Teheran universities. Some 286 completed copies of the questionnaire were excluded because of incomplete answers. Descriptive statistics of central tendency measures and dispersion were used and independent t-test and a Chi-square test between two variables were conducted. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 24. Results: A total of 462 (53.9%) students had COVID-19 during the fifth wave of the disease, 657 (76.7%) were deprived of social and sports activities, and 278 (32.4%) had difficulty completing their academic studies. Students who took vitamin supplements experienced lower levels of stress and 711 (83.0%) reported bodyweight change. There were significant relationships between bodyweight change, stress level and hospitalization due to COVID-19. There was a significant relationship between smoking, bodyweight change and hospitalization rate. A total of 426 (50.3%) students did not have a regular sleep-wake pattern, 701 (81.8%) spent more time using social media, 197 (23.0%) consumed more fast food, and 674 (78.6%) experienced stress or anxiety. Conclusion: There was an increased tendency towards unhealthy lifestyle among medical students in Tehran during COVID-19 lockdown. These findings can be useful in assessing lifestyle behaviours among students and in planning for improvements.

Oral Lesions after COVID-19 Vaccination: Immune Mechanisms and Clinical Approach

Background and aim COVID-19 vaccination, although is a promising tool to overcome the pandemic, has side effects. There are increasing reports of oral lesions after COVID-19 vaccination. The aim of this review is to identify the occurrence of some oral lesions after COVID-19 vaccination, and highlight the underlying immune mechanisms involved. Materials and methods A narrative literature review was performed by searching electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science to investigate the oral lesions after COVID-19 vaccination. The inclusion criteria were original studies, including the case reports, case series, letter to the editor, and cross-sectional studies. The exclusion criteria included the studies which examined the oral lesions caused by COVID-19 infection. The information, including the number of participant(s) receiving vaccine, type of vaccine, dose number, side effect(s), time of onset following vaccination, healing time, treatment strategies for the existing lesions, and related mechanisms were then summarized in a data extraction sheet. Results and conclusions The results of this review showed that some vaccines had side effects with oral involvement such as pemphigus vulgaris, bullous pemphigoid, herpes zoster, lichen planus, Stevens-Johnson syndrome and Behçet's disease. Future research needs to elucidate the physiopathology of oral manifestations after the COVID-19 vaccination, and better understand the risk factors associated with such responses. Sometimes vaccine's side effects may be due to the nocebo effect, which means that the person expects some adverse events to occur following the vaccine administration.

Delta Variant: The New Challenge of COVID-19 Pandemic, an Overview of Epidemiological, Clinical, and Immune Characteristics.

The SARS-CoV-2 genome has undergone several mutations since the beginning of the pandemic in December 2019. A number of these mutants were associated with higher transmissibility, higher mortality, or hospitalization rates, which were named the variants of concern. B.1.617.2 or the Delta variant has made a lot of concern as it has been responsible for the most recent COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the world. Higher transmissibility, a 60 percent increase in hospitalization rates compared to the wild type, higher viral loads, and reduced response to available vaccines are among the key factors why this variant has become a variant of concern. 148 countries are currently fighting with this variant, hoping to better understand the epidemiological, immunological, and clinical characteristics of this disease in order to find the best way to overcome these new outbreaks. Although reduced efficiency of vaccines on this variant and its higher pre-symptomatic transmissibility have made it complicated to control the disease, higher vaccination coverage and following sanitation rules can help control the outbreaks.

COVID-19 vaccines mix-and-match: The concept, the efficacy and the doubts.

The search for developing effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 began with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the first vaccine dose was administered in December 2020. Today, full vaccination of most of the world's population is considered the most important means to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccination has been associated with various struggles. Some adverse reactions have resulted in the discontinuation of the specific vaccines use in some countries. Countries in poor regions have faced difficulties supplying enough vaccine doses, and the emergence of new variants of concern has resulted in reduced effectiveness of available vaccines against COVID-19. The mix-and-match strategy, using heterologous vaccines in the first and second doses, might successfully solve the mentioned struggles. Moreover, this strategy has been associated with higher cellular and humoral immune responses without significantly increasing the adverse reactions. Hence, this strategy can help improve the vaccines' effectiveness, and act as a solution for vaccine shortage in poor regions.

COVID-19 Vaccination: What Challenges Are We Going to Face.

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Socialization During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Social and Scientific Networks During Social Distancing.

In the COVID-19 era, while we are encouraged to be physically far away from each other, social and scientific networking is needed more than ever. The dire consequences of social distancing can be diminished by social networking. Social media, a quintessential component of social networking, facilitates the dissemination of reliable information and fighting against misinformation by health authorities. Distance learning, telemedicine, and telehealth are among the most prominent applications of networking during this pandemic. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of collaborative scientific efforts. In this chapter, we summarize the advantages of harnessing both social and scientific networking in minimizing the harms of this pandemic. We also discuss the extra collaborative measures we can take in our fight against COVID-19, particularly in the scientific field.