Evaluation of response to different COVID-19 vaccines in vaccinated healthcare workers in a single center in Iran.

Due to the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and emergent administration of various vaccines worldwide, comprehensive studies on the different aspects of vaccines are in demand. This study evaluated antibody response after the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Children's Medical Center personnel. The blood samples of 174 healthcare workers were gathered at least 10 days after vaccination. The administered vaccines included Oxford/AstraZeneca, COVAXIN, Sinopharm, and Sputnik V. This study assessed all antibodies employing ELISA methods, including anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody by DiaZist and Pishtazteb kits, anti-SARS-CoV-2-nucleocapsid by Pishtazteb kit, and anti-SARS-CoV-2-Spike by Razi kit. The cutoff for the tests' results was calculated according to the instructions of each kit. Totally, 174 individuals with an average age of 40 ± 9 years participated in this study, the proportion of men was 31%, and the frequency of past COVID-19 infection was 66 (38%). Sixteen (9%) personnel received Oxford/AstraZeneca, 28 (16%) COVAXIN, 29 (17%) Sinopharm, and 101 (58%) Sputnik V. anti-SARS-CoV-2-nucleocapsid and anti-SARS-CoV-2-Spike were positive in 37 (21%), and 163 (94%) participants and their mean level were more in adenoviral-vectored vaccines (p value < 0.0001). Neutralizing antibody was positive in 74% using Pishtazteb kit while 87% using DiaZist kit. All antibodies' levels were significantly higher in those with a past COVID-19 infection (p value < 0.0001). In conclusion, Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sputnik V had a similar outcome of inducing high levels of anti-SARS-Cov-2-spike and neutralizing antibodies, which were more than Sinopharm and COVAXIN. The titers of Anti-SARS-CoV-2-nucleocapsid antibody were low in all of these four vaccines.

How Prevalent Is Cancer in Confirmed Cases with Coronaviruses and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes?

Novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a crucial hazard to global health. The new species share similarities with the two previously emerged entities: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) that have caused outbreaks in 2002 and 2012, respectively. Interestingly, all of these coronaviruses can cause potentially fatal respiratory syndromes, though behave differently in patients with cancer compared to patients without cancer. Accordingly, the present chapter aims to, through a systematic investigation, estimate the prevalence of cancer among COVID-19, SARS, and MERS confirmed cases. Our analysis based on data from 78 studies with SARS, MERS, and COVID-19 confirmed cases showed that the prevalence of cancer (4.94%) stands at fourth place after hypertension (20.8%), diabetes (11.39%), and cardiovascular diseases (7.46%). According to the findings of the present study, comorbidities are significantly more common in patients with MERS compared to patients with COVID-19 and SARS, and this was the cancer case as well. Further studies need to address whether or not patients with coronaviruses and cancer are different from patients with coronaviruses without cancer in terms of clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, outcomes, and men to women ratio.

Geriatrics and COVID-19.

Since December 2019, a novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has begun to infect people. The virus first occurred in Wuhan, China, but the whole world is now struggling with the pandemic. Over 13 million confirmed cases and 571,000 deaths have been reported so far, and this number is growing. Older people, who constitute a notable proportion of the world population, are at an increased risk of infection because of altered immunity and chronic comorbidities. Thus, appropriate health care is necessary to control fatalities and spread of the disease in this specific population. The chapter provides an overview of diagnostic methods, laboratory and imaging findings, clinical features, and management of COVID-19 in aged people. Possible mechanisms behind the behavior of SARS-CoV-2 in the elderly include immunosenescence and related impaired antiviral immunity, mature immunity and related hyper-inflammatory responses, comorbidities and their effects on the functioning of critical organs/systems, and the altered expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) that acts as an entry receptor for SARS-CoV-2. This evidence defines the herding behavior of COVID-19 in relation to ACE2 under the influence of immune dysregulation. Then, identifying the immunogenetic factors that affect the disease susceptibility and severity and as well as key inflammatory pathways that have the potential to serve as therapeutic targets needs to remain an active area of research.

A systematic review of pregnant women with COVID-19 and their neonates.

BACKGROUND: In December 2019, a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, China, with an incredible contagion rate. However, the vertical transmission of COVID-19 is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: This is a systematic review of published studies concerning pregnant women with confirmed COVID-19 and their neonates. SEARCH STRATEGY: We carried out a systematic search in multiple databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Scopus, and WHO COVID-19 database using the following keywords: (Coronavirus) OR (novel coronavirus) OR (COVID-19) OR (COVID19) OR (COVID 19) OR (SARS-CoV2) OR (2019-nCoV)) and ((pregnancy) OR (pregnant) OR (vertical transmission) OR (neonate) OR (newborn) OR (placenta) OR (fetus) OR (Fetal)). The search took place in April 2020. SELECTION CRITERIA: Original articles published in English were eligible if they included pregnant patients infected with COVID-19 and their newborns. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSES: The outcomes of interest consisted of clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in pregnant patients with COVID-19 and also the effect of COVID-19 on neonatal and pregnancy outcomes. MAIN RESULTS: 37 articles involving 364 pregnant women with COVID-19 and 302 neonates were included. The vast majority of pregnant patients were in their third trimester of pregnancy, and only 45 cases were in the first or second trimester (12.4%). Most mothers described mild to moderate manifestations of COVID-19. Of 364 pregnant women, 25 were asymptomatic at the time of admission. The most common symptoms were fever (62.4%) and cough (45.3%). Two maternal deaths occurred. Some pregnant patients (12.1%) had a negative SARS-CoV-2 test but displayed clinical manifestations and abnormalities in computed tomography (CT) scan related to COVID-19. Twenty-two (6.0%) pregnant patients developed severe pneumonia. Two maternal deaths occurred from severe pneumonia and multiple organ dysfunction. Studies included a total of 302 neonates from mothers with COVID-19. Of the studies that provided data on the timing of birth, there were 65 (23.6%) preterm neonates. One baby was born dead from a mother who also died from COVID-19. Of the babies born alive from mothers with COVID-19, five newborns faced critical conditions, and two later died. A total of 219 neonates underwent nasopharyngeal specimen collection for SARS-CoV-2, of which 11 tested positive (5%). Seventeen studies examined samples of the placenta, breast milk, umbilical cord, and amniotic fluid, and all tested negative except one amniotic fluid sample. CONCLUSIONS: A systematic review of published studies confirm that the course of COVID-19 in pregnant women resembles that of other populations. However, there is not sufficient evidence to establish an idea that COVID-19 would not complicate pregnancy.