THE STOCHASTICITY IN ADHERENCE TO NONPHARMACEUTICAL INTERVENTIONS AND BOOSTER DOSES AND THE MITIGATION OF COVID-19

Facing the more contagious COVID-19 variant, Omicron, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) were still in place and booster doses were proposed to mitigate the epidemic. However, the uncertainty and stochasticity in individuals' behaviours toward the NPIs and booster dose increase, and how this randomness affects the transmission remains poorly understood. We present a model framework to incorporate demographic stochasticity and two kinds of environmental stochasticity (notably variations in adherence to NPIs and booster dose acceptance) to analyze the effects of different forms of stochasticity on transmission. The model is calibrated using the data from December 31, 2021, to March 8, 2022, on daily reported cases and hospitalizations, cumulative cases, deaths and vaccinations for booster doses in Toronto, Canada. An approximate Bayesian computational (ABC) method is used for calibration. We observe that demographic stochasticity could dramatically worsen the outbreak with more incidence compared with the results of the corresponding deterministic model. We found that large variations in adherence to NPIs increase infections. The randomness in booster dose acceptance will not affect the number of reported cases significantly and it is acceptable in the mitigation of COVID-19. The stochasticity in adherence to NPIs needs more attention compared to booster dose hesitancy. © 2023 American Institute of Mathematical Sciences. All rights reserved.

Covid-19 Vaccines and mRNA Technology: Not as New as Many Believe

When the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were announced in December 2020 the world was excited that a vaccine was available to combat the coronavirus pandemic. One of the most frequent comments was a desire to wait because the vaccine technology was "so new.” This article will concentrate on the mRNA vaccines not familiar to the public and is intended to explain the developmental timeline before and after the genome of COVID-19 was announced. We discuss Operation Warp Speed and SARS-CoV-2 and specifically the development of Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines and concurrent other types of vaccines. Other topics of discussion include COVID-19 variants;effectiveness of mRNA vaccines;and late news about the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The article conclusion discusses implications for nurses as they continue to follow future developments, become competent in communicating viral epidemiology, and educate patients and families about vaccine options © 2022,Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. All Rights Reserved.

Hesitancy to Receive the Booster Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Among Cancer Patients in China: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Survey - Four PLADs, China, 2022.

What is already known about this topic?: Cancer patients are more vulnerable and have higher mortality rates from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) than the general population; however, coverage for booster doses of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine was low among cancer patients in China. What is added by this report?: Overall, 32.0% and 56.4% of cancer patients from four Provincial Level Administrative Divisions (PLADs) expressed hesitancy toward the first and second booster doses, respectively. Factors negatively associated with hesitancy to receive booster doses included positive attitudes, perceived support, and higher exposure to COVID-19 vaccination information. Conversely, postvaccination fatigue was positively associated with vaccine hesitancy. What are the implications for public health practice?: Improved COVID-19 vaccination coverage is needed to promote health for cancer patients.

An opinion on Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring (WBEM) with Clinical Diagnostic Test (CDT) for detecting high-prevalence areas of community COVID-19 Infections.

Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring (WBEM) is an efficient surveillance tool during the COVID-19 pandemic as it meets all requirements of a complete monitoring system including early warning, tracking the current trend, prevalence of the disease, detection of genetic diversity as well asthe up-surging SARS-CoV-2 new variants with mutations from the wastewater samples. Subsequently, Clinical Diagnostic Test is widely acknowledged as the global gold standard method for disease monitoring, despite several drawbacks such as high diagnosis cost, reporting bias, and the difficulty of tracking asymptomatic patients (silent spreaders of the COVID-19 infection who manifest nosymptoms of the disease). In this current reviewand opinion-based study, we first propose a combined approach) for detecting COVID-19 infection in communities using wastewater and clinical sample testing, which may be feasible and effective as an emerging public health tool for the long-term nationwide surveillance system. The viral concentrations in wastewater samples can be used as indicatorsto monitor ongoing SARS-CoV-2 trends, predict asymptomatic carriers, and detect COVID-19 hotspot areas, while clinical sampleshelp in detecting mostlysymptomaticindividuals for isolating positive cases in communities and validate WBEM protocol for mass vaccination including booster doses for COVID-19.

Willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine booster doses for adults and their children in Vietnam

This study describes the willingness of receiving the COVID-19 booster doses for adults and their children 12–17 years old, and its related factors in Vietnam. A cross-sectional study was conducted through a national online survey from November 17 to November 24, 2021 using Google Form. Study respondents were Vietnamese citizens who were ≥18 years old and currently living in Vietnam. A total of 900 complete responses were analyzed and of those 93.77% were willingness to receive the booster dose. Participants with a university degree or higher were 8.16 times higher in willingness than those with primary school (p = .017). Those who received the first or the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine were 5.85 (p = .001) and 5.65 (p < 0.001) times higher in willingness to receive booster doses, respectively. About the willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for children 12–17 years, 89.2% of the participants were willing to have their children get the vaccine. Participants who had the first or the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine had a 4.15 (p = .001) and 3.91 (p < 0.001) times higher willingness, respectively. Thus, the rate of willingness to receive the booster doses and the COVID-19 vaccine to children were excellent in this study. Both the education level and COVID-19 vaccination history were two positively associated factors.Abbreviations: COVID-19: Coronavirus Disease 2019;SARS-COV-2: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2;WHO: The World Health Organization;CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;UK: The United Kingdom;US: The United States;MIS-C: Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children

Antibody response following the third and fourth SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose in individuals with common variable immunodeficiency.

Background: The antibody response after vaccination is impaired in common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). Objective: We aimed to study the spike receptor-binding domain IgG antibody (anti-S-RBD) levels during a four-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccination strategy and after monoclonal antibody (mAB) treatment in CVID. Moreover, we assessed the anti-S-RBD levels in immunoglobulin replacement therapy (IgRT) products. Methods: In an observational study, we examined anti-S-RBD levels after the second, third, and fourth dose of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Moreover, we measured anti-S-RBD after treatment with mAB. Finally, anti-S-RBD was assessed in common IgRT products. Antibody non-responders (anti-S-RBD < 7.1) were compared by McNemar's test and anti-S-RBD levels were compared with paired and non-paired Wilcoxon signed rank tests as well as Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results: Among 33 individuals with CVID, anti-S-RBD levels increased after the third vaccine dose (165 BAU/ml [95% confidence interval: 85; 2280 BAU/ml], p = 0.006) and tended to increase after the fourth dose (193 BAU/ml, [-22; 569 BAU/ml], p = 0.080) compared to the previous dose. With increasing number of vaccinations, the proportion of patients who seroconverted (anti-S-RBD ≥ 7.1) increased non-significantly. mAB treatment resulted in a large increase in anti-S-RBD and a higher median level than gained after the fourth dose of vaccine (p = 0.009). IgRT products had varying concentrations of anti-S-RBD (p < 0.001), but none of the products seemed to affect the overall antibody levels (p = 0.460). Conclusion: Multiple SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses in CVID seem to provide additional protection, as antibody levels increased after the third and fourth vaccine dose. However, anti-S-RBD levels from mAB outperform the levels mounted after vaccination. Clinical Implications: Boosting with SARS-CoV-2 vaccines seems to improve the antibody response in CVID patients. Capsule summary: The third and possibly also the fourth dose of mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in CVID improve the antibody response as well as stimulate seroconversion in most non-responders.

COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections in Vaccinated Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality among kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). The administration of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination is the only reliable strategy to prevent COVID-19 and alleviate the severity of COVID-19 in this particular population. The aim of this article was to evaluate the clinical protection by vaccines (breakthrough infections, deaths, and hospitalizations) in KTRs. There were 135 KTRs with COVID-19 breakthrough infections for whom patient-level data were available in PubMed and Web of Science. There was a male predominance (61.4%), 97 were given the standard vaccination regimen, and 38 received three or four doses of the vaccine. The median age was 59.0 (IQR: 49.0-69.0) years. A total of 67 patients were hospitalized, and 10 patients died. In 72.6% of cases, triple-maintenance immunosuppression was employed. The deceased patients were older than the survivors (p < 0.05); an age over 60 years was a risk factor for death (p < 0.05). The KTRs with booster vaccines had a longer time interval from the last vaccine to COVID-19 infection and lower hospitalization rates than the individuals who received the standard vaccination regimen (33.3% vs. 54.8%, p < 0.05). The hospitalized patients were older than the outpatients (p < 0.05). Among 16,820 fully vaccinated or boosted KTRs from 14 centers, there were 633 breakthrough infections (3.58%) and 73 associated deaths (0.41%). The center-level breakthrough infection rates varied from 0.21% to 9.29%. These findings highlight the need for booster doses for KTRs. However, more research is needed to define the long-term effectiveness and immunogenicity of booster doses and to identify methods to boost the protective response to vaccination in these immunocompromised patients.

Covid-19 Vaccines and mRNA Technology: Not as New as Many Believe

When the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were announced in December 2020 the world was excited that a vaccine was available to combat the coronavirus pandemic. One of the most frequent comments was a desire to wait because the vaccine technology was "so new." This article will concentrate on the mRNA vaccines not familiar to the public and is intended to explain the developmental timeline before and after the genome of COVID-19 was announced. We discuss Operation Warp Speed and SARS-CoV-2 and specifically the development of Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines and concurrent other types of vaccines. Other topics of discussion include COVID-19 variants;effectiveness of mRNA vaccines;and late news about the Pfizer-BioNTech® COVID-19 vaccine. The article conclusion discusses implications for nurses as they continue to follow future developments, become competent in communicating viral epidemiology, and educate patients and families about vaccine options. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Online Journal of Issues in Nursing is the property of American Nurses Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Need of booster vaccine doses to counteract the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in the context of the Omicron variant and increasing COVID-19 cases: An update.

The emergence of different variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant in November 2021, has resulted in a continuous major health concern at a global scale. Presently, the Omicron variant has spread very rapidly worldwide within a short time period. As the most mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2, Omicron has instilled serious uncertainties on the effectiveness of humoral adaptive immunity generated by COVID-19 vaccination or an active viral infection as well as the protection provided by antibody-based immunotherapies. Amidst such high public health concerns, the need to carry out booster vaccination has been emphasized. Current evidence reveals the importance of incorporating booster vaccination using several vaccine platforms, such as viral vector- and mRNA-based vaccines, as well as other platforms that are under explorative investigations. Further research is being conducted to assess the effectiveness and durability of protection provided by booster COVID-19 vaccination against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The impact of the vaccination and booster shots in containing the COVID-19 epidemic in Bahrain: A game theory approach

In this study, game theory is used to determine the effect of vaccination and booster shots in containing COVID-19 in Bahrain. The study is divided into three parts and in each part, the payoff matrix and the biometric is generated. The Nash equilibrium points are determined by marking the maximum value in the first entry of each column and the maximum value in the second entry of each row. The results show that the vaccination and the booster shots significantly reduce the number of infected individuals, the number of patients reaching the ICU, and the number of deaths due to COVID-19. © 2021 IEEE.