COVID-19 Vaccines: Fabrication Techniques and Current Status

The year 2020 was the most challenging period due to the havoc caused by the outbreak of novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Scientists and researchers all around the world have endeav-ored every possible approach to find solutions in context to therapeutics and vaccines to control the spread of this life-threatening virus. The acceleration instigated by the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 and its mutated strains has leveraged the use of numerous platform technologies for the development of vaccines against this unfathomable disease. Vaccines could play an important role in miti-gating the effects of COVID-19 and reducing the ongoing health crisis. Various innovative plat-forms like proteins, nucleic acids, viruses, and viral vectors have been exploited to fabricate vaccines depicting almost 90% of efficacy like BNT162b2, AZD1222, Ad5-nCoV, etc. Some of these vaccines are multipotent and have shown potent activity against newly emerged malicious strains of SARS-CoV-2 like B.1.351 and B.1.1.7. In this review article, we have gathered key findings from various sources of recently popularized vaccine candidates, which will provide an overview of potential vaccine candidates against this virus and will help the researchers to investi-gate possible ways to annihilate this menace and design new moieties.Copyright © 2022 Bentham Science Publishers.

Study of Humoral Immunity against Coronavirus Infection COVID-19 in Vaccinated Individuals with Vaccines Available in the Republic of Belarus (Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac), RF and Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV), PRC)

Relevance. Many countries around the world are developing effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. The measure of the effectiveness of the vaccination process has traditionally been antibody production. The frequency and intensity of adverse reactions is also an important factor in making a decision regarding a vaccine. This study presents the results of the evaluation of the formation of humoral immunity and the occurrence of reactions in response to the administration of Sputnik V (Gam-COVID-Vac), RF, and Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV), PRC. Aim. Analyze immunogenicity and reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccines used in the Republic of Belarus (Sputnik V and Sinopharm). Materials and methods. Evaluation of postvaccination immune response by enzyme immunoassay and differential enzyme immunoassay for class G immunoglobulins to S-and N-proteins SARS-CoV-2. Blood plasma of the study participants was used as biological material. Blood sampling was performed 3 times: immediately before the first vaccine dose, on day 42, and 6 months after the first vaccine dose. To evaluate the frequency and intensity of postvaccination reactions, study participants were questioned. Results. At 42 days after administration of both vaccines, antibody levels are rising, with a significantly higher quantitative IgG count for the Sputnik V vaccine. This trend is also observed 6 months after the first dose of both vaccines, both among those previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 and those without a history of COVID-19. The comparison of Sputnik V and Sinopharm vaccine groups in terms of IgG (BAU/ml) levels to S-and N-proteins revealed a statistically significant difference in IgG levels to S-protein: the Sputnik V vaccine group had significantly higher IgG levels to S-protein than the Sinopharm vaccine group (p = 0.0000196). The incidence of adverse reactions in this study was 45%. All reactions noted were mild to moderate in severity. The most common were soreness and redness at the injection site, elevated body temperature, and a combination of several reactions. The increased body temperature after vaccination was more common among those vaccinated with the Sputnik V vaccine. Conclusion. Compared to Sinopharm, Sputnik V vaccine produces higher antibody level. Adverse reactions were observed in both vaccinated groups. However, significant statistical differences were found with regard to fever in the Sputnik V vaccine group, which occurred more frequently. © 2023, Numikom. All rights reserved.

Impact of short-term ambient air pollution exposure on the risk of severe COVID-19

Ecological studies suggested a link between air pollution and severe COVID-19 outcomes, while studies accounting for individual-level characteristics are limited. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the impact of short-term ambient air pollution exposure on disease severity among a cohort of 569 laboratory confirmed COVID-19 patients admitted to designated hospitals in Zhejiang province, China, from January 17 to March 3, 2020, and elucidate the possible biological processes involved using transcriptomics. Compared with mild cases, severe cases had higher proportion of medical conditions as well as unfavorable results in most of the laboratory tests, and manifested higher air pollution exposure levels. Higher exposure to air pollutants was associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 with odds ratio (OR) of 1.89 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 3.53), 2.35 (95% CI: 1.20, 4.61), 2.87 (95% CI: 1.68, 4.91), and 2.01 (95% CI: 1.10, 3.69) for PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and CO, respectively. OR for NO2 remained significant in two-pollutant models after adjusting for other pollutants. Transcriptional analysis showed 884 differentially expressed genes which mainly were enriched in virus clearance related biological processes between patients with high and low NO2 exposure levels, indicating that compromised immune response might be a potential underlying mechanistic pathway. These findings highlight the impact of short-term air pollution exposure, particularly for NO2, on COVID-19 severity, and emphasize the significance in mitigating the COVID-19 burden of commitments to improve air quality. © 2022

Role of vitamin D in modulating the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and other coronavirus infections.

In recent years, new data have been obtained on the significant prevalence of vitamin D (VD) deficiency in the population, and knowledge about the role of vitamin D in the regulation of many physiological processes in the body, including the functioning of the immune system, has increased. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has further highlighted the issue of an adequate immune response in vitamin D deficiency. Objective of the review. To present and summarize the evidence on the role of VD in different parts of the immune response in COVID-19, to analyze available studies of the VD status effect on the course and outcome of COVID-19 in patients from different population groups. Material and methods. A search of domestic and foreign literature on the role of VD in the immune response in respiratory viral infections and SARS-CoV-2, as well as practical measures of VD-status correction in COVID-19, was performed. We used Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, eLibrary, and Cyberleninka databases. Results. Numerous clinical and observational studies have found an association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, COVID-19 severity, and mortality. This association can be explained by the multifaceted role of vitamin D in the physiology of the human immune and endocrine systems. On the immunological side, the active form of VD promotes the secretion of antimicrobial peptides responsible for inhibiting viral replication and stimulates autophagy by increasing the level of Beclin1 protein and decreasing the level of mTOR protein regulating cellular homeostasis. It leads to the presentation of antigens followed by activation of the antiviral pathway of type I interferons. VD also stabilizes intercellular junctions, including those in the airway epithelium, reducing their permeability to pathogens, stimulates the activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme-2, whose receptors are a conduit for SARS-CoV-2 into cells, and several pathophysiological responses associated with the disease symptoms and acute lung injury. Adequate vitamin D status can provide significant benefits during the pandemic. Conclusion. To date, ideas about the role of vitamin D in regulating the immune response in respiratory infections have significantly expanded. However, its use in the complex preventive measures and adjuvant therapy of viral infections, including COVID-19, should be the subject of further scientific research.Copyright © 2023, Media Sphera Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Corrigendum: SARS-CoV-2 antibody response after mRNA vaccination in healthcare workers with and without previous COVID-19, a follow-up study from the University Hospital in Krakow, Poland.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1071204.].

SARS-CoV-2 antibody response after mRNA vaccination in healthcare workers with and without previous COVID-19, a follow-up study from a university hospital in Poland during 6 months 2021.

Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) from the beginning of the pandemic have been at risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, so they were vaccinated as first. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine the level of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in HCWs before and after vaccination with mRNA preparations according to previous COVID- 19. Patients and methods: The HCWs from the University Hospital in Krakow completed two surveys: the baseline survey before receiving the first dose of vaccine (in January 2021) and the follow-up survey in June 2021. In parallel, two blood samples were collected from each participant at baseline and at follow-up. Total anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were measured using the ECLIA technique. Results: At baseline, 41.1% of HCWs had positive antibody test results, and at follow-up, the vaccinated HCWs had almost 100 times higher antibody levels than the unvaccinated HCWs. Participants under 30 years of age had significantly higher antibody levels in June than older HCWs. Among participants with positive antibody test results in January, HCWs who had experienced asymptomatic COVID-19 had more than five times higher antibody levels in June than HCWs self-reported severe COVID-19. In total, 86.9% of HCWs received Comirnaty or Spikevax. The incidence rate of COVID-19 in the unvaccinated vs. vaccinated group was 13 times higher, 20.5% and 1.9% respectively. Conclusions: These results confirm the effectiveness of vaccination in the prevention of COVID-19 in HCWs. It is worth getting vaccinated regardless of previous infection. Furthermore, vaccination among HCWs under 30 years of age induced more effective antibody production compared to older individuals.

COVID-19 and lung involvement

In late December 2019, a novel coronavirus emerged and had a rapid and worldwide spread, resulting in an ongoing pandemic. This virus, designated SARS-CoV-2, causes a respiratory disease named COVID-19 which can range in severity, depending not only on the viral infection but also conditioned by the immune system and the host's response. COVID-19 is often associated with aggressive and uncontrolled inflammation that may lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), multiorgan damage and failure, and death. In this chapter, we review the general characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection, its interaction with target cells and the resulting immune response, as well as current and potential therapeutic interventions. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

Analysis of Serological Biomarkers of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Convalescent Samples From Severe, Moderate and Mild COVID-19 Cases.

Precision monitoring of antibody responses during the COVID-19 pandemic is increasingly important during large scale vaccine rollout and rise in prevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOC). Equally important is defining Correlates of Protection (CoP) for SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease. Data from epidemiological studies and vaccine trials identified virus neutralising antibodies (Nab) and SARS-CoV-2 antigen-specific (notably RBD and S) binding antibodies as candidate CoP. In this study, we used the World Health Organisation (WHO) international standard to benchmark neutralising antibody responses and a large panel of binding antibody assays to compare convalescent sera obtained from: a) COVID-19 patients; b) SARS-CoV-2 seropositive healthcare workers (HCW) and c) seronegative HCW. The ultimate aim of this study is to identify biomarkers of humoral immunity that could be used to differentiate severe from mild or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections. Some of these biomarkers could be used to define CoP in further serological studies using samples from vaccination breakthrough and/or re-infection cases. Whenever suitable, the antibody levels of the samples studied were expressed in International Units (IU) for virus neutralisation assays or in Binding Antibody Units (BAU) for ELISA tests. In this work we used commercial and non-commercial antibody binding assays; a lateral flow test for detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG/IgM; a high throughput multiplexed particle flow cytometry assay for SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S), Nucleocapsid (N) and Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) proteins); a multiplex antigen semi-automated immuno-blotting assay measuring IgM, IgA and IgG; a pseudotyped microneutralisation test (pMN) and an electroporation-dependent neutralisation assay (EDNA). Our results indicate that overall, severe COVID-19 patients showed statistically significantly higher levels of SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralising antibodies (average 1029 IU/ml) than those observed in seropositive HCW with mild or asymptomatic infections (379 IU/ml) and that clinical severity scoring, based on WHO guidelines was tightly correlated with neutralisation and RBD/S antibodies. In addition, there was a positive correlation between severity, N-antibody assays and intracellular virus neutralisation.