Safety, Acceptance, and Hesitancy of COVID-19 Vaccines Among High-risk Sub-populations: A Narrative Review

To end the new COVID-19 pandemic, most of the world's population needs to be immune to the virus, protecting individuals from infection, and ultimately ensuring herd immunity at the population level. A variety of COVID-19 vaccines have been developed worldwide for adults and children over the age of 12 years, and the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing symptomatic diseases and hospitalization is being studied. One of the major obstacles to COVID-19 vaccination that has emerged along with the global immunization program is vaccine hesitation or disapproval. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported vaccine hesitation as one of the 10 global health threats of 2019. This is also related to COVID-19. The present review, explore the current evidence on COVID-19 vaccination platforms and vaccination efficacy, safety, and adverse effects among strategic sub-populations, including elderly people, people with chronic disease (diabetes, cancer), pregnant and lactating women, children, youth, and vaccination willingness or hesitancy among the target population.

Impacts on Global Temperature During the First Part of 2020 Due to the Reduction in Human Activities by COVID-19

One of the major events transpiring in the 21st century is the unforeseen outbreak due to COVID-19. This pandemic directly altered human activities due to the forced confinement of millions of inhabitants over the world. It is well known that one of the main factors that affect global warming is human activities;however, during the first part of 2020, they were severely reduced by the spread of the coronavirus. This study strives to investigate the possible impact of quarantine initiation worldwide and the linked outcomes on a global scale related to the temperatures since the worthwhile. To achieve this goal, the evaluation of the short-term temperature status at the continental scale was conducted in two particular forms: (i) concerning the short-term comparing the data from 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019;and, assessing the long-term differences comprising 30 years of data (1981-2010). The data employed in this study were obtained from the respective NASA and Copernicus databases. The temperature maps and temperature differences of different years before the pandemic was compared to the Coronavirus onset (winter and spring) data with the aid of Python programing language. Continental temperature mapping results showed that the temperature difference of the American continent had attained its maximum value in January 2016, and yet, the temperature is observed to be warmer than in 2016. The largest difference in the short-term temperature in terms of comparison to 2020 referred to the months when the maximum quarantine began, that is, February and March, and the temperature was cooler in comparison to the prior years. The long-term mean study denoted that the temperatures throughout the South American continent remained consistent during the first part of 2020 in comparison to the 30-year average data, but temperatures in North America declined from February to April. Similarly, the temperatures in Eurasia in April is observed to be lower compared to the 30 years average in February and March. Accordingly, the average temperature of the Earth has dropped about 0.3 degrees C compared to 2019. We concluded that temperature could show some specific changes and hypothesize that under the COVID-19 pandemic, it could manifest different trends. The next step would be to conduct further analysis to observe at the regional scale if under unforeseen phenomena are or not affecting global warning during the coming years.

Magnetic Nanomaterials in Microfluidic Sensors for Virus Detection: A Review

Magnetic nanomaterials (MNMs) have gained great interest from different fields of study ranging from wastewater treatment to (bio)sensor development, taking advantage of both nanoscale size (allowing high surface-to-volume ratios) and the opportunity for magnetic manipulation. These materials can be surface-modified with antibodies, oligonucleotides, and aptamers to enable selective binding with target viruses or their biomarkers in biological samples. Using an external magnetic field, MNM-virus/biomarker complexes can be effectively isolated for further analysis. In some cases, the role of MNMs is not limited to simply serve as magnetic sorbents for extraction purposes as they have become an active part of some emerging detection processes (e.g., the use of magnetoresistive sensors). The combined application of MNMs with microfluidics for virus detection provides promising avenues for diagnostic tests that are of lower cost, require less time, and have higher specificity and sensitivity over conventional tests. This review focuses on the different approaches of virus detection using MNMs integrated in microfluidic chips. We will discuss recent research findings and provide insights and future perspectives for the development of low-cost and effective COVID-19 diagnostics tests. © 2021 American Chemical Society.

Pneumothorax as an ominous side effect in COVID-19 patients under mechanical ventilation: Report of seven patients

Today, due to the pandemic of novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), extensive information over all parts of the world is spreading rapidly. We present seven cases of COVID-19 patients with pneumothorax as one of the ominous side effects of the disease and a strong predictor of death which is a new challenge in controlling the transmission and distribution of the disease.

COVID-19-Related severe heterogeneous acute respiratory distress syndrome: A therapeutic challenge

Background: A heterogeneous pattern was detected in COVID-19 severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients. The aim of this study was to define special features and individualized treatment modalities for this fatal infectious disease. Methods: Thirty-six patients diagnosed as COVID-19 severe ARDS were chosen. Lung mechanics (compliance), the extravascular lung water index (EVLWI) and pulmonary vascular permeability index (PVPI), and serum concentrations of immunology markers (interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6, IL-8, ferritin, and C-reactive protein) were measured. Accordingly, individualized treatment consisting of Actemra, hemoperfusion (HP), continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was implemented for each patient. Results: Patients were categorized according to the lung compliance: 18 in 'L type' with compliance >40 cc/cmH2O and 18 in 'H type' with compliance ≤40 cc/cmH2O. In 16 patients, standard mechanical ventilation management and antiviral therapy were unsuccessful;therefore, hemodynamic and immunity responses were evaluated. Results of transpulmonary thermodilution in L-type patients surprisingly showed EVLWI = 8.8 ± 1.3 (6.9-9.7) and PVPI = 2.4 ± 0.1 (2.2-2.6). In the H-type patients, five cases showed EVLWI = 8.7 ± 0.8 (7.5-9.8) and PVPI = 2.6 ± 0.3 (2.1-2.8) which were subclassified as 'Ha type' and five cases with EVLWI = 17.5 ± 1.9 (15.7-20.6) and PVPI = 3.9 ± 0.4 (3.5-4.5) were named 'Hb type'. By measuring immunologic markers, these two groups were subdivided into high and low marker groups. Individualized treatment resulted in 2 survivals with Actemra, 1 with HP, 2 with HP + CRRT, and 1 with ECMO. Conclusion: According to the heterogeneity of COVID-19 severe ARDS presentation, which is due to various immunologic and hemodynamic responses, a systematic approach is an important and relatively successful strategy in choosing the appropriate treatment modality. © 2020 Medknow.

Review of therapeutic agents for treatment of COVID-19

In late December 2019, a cluster of unexplained pneumonia cases has been reported in Wuhan, China, named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID -19) which has been spreading in 204 countries. To date no pharmaceutical products have been approved for the treatment of this viral pneumonia. Based on rapid spread of the disease and high disease burden, several agents have been proposed for treatment of this viral pneumonia, mainly antivirals and immunomodulator agents and underwent in-vitro, animal and clinical trials. Some of these agents have been revealed promising preclinical results but, non of them approved yet. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge about the mechanism and considerations of widely used investigational agents that are used in the treatment of COVID-19 as off-label.

Twin pregnant woman with COVID-19: A case report

A pregnant woman (Gravida 2, Abortion 1, twin pregnancy with microinjection, Gestational Age: 23 weeks and 3 days) was referred to a tertiary referral hospital with complaints of fever, dry cough and dyspnea. She was admitted with a diagnosis of COVID-19. During her hospitalization, O2 saturation progressively declined, which required acute respiratory care and support leading to intubation and mechanical ventilation. Gradual recovery occurred through treatment processes and finally the patient was extubated. However, there was another episode of respiratory failure leading to reintubation after 5 days. Meanwhile, serum liver enzymes increased significantly and leaded to intrauterine death of both fetus followed by a critical decline in cardiac output to less than 10% and cardiac arrest followed by unsuccessful resuscitation within hours.