ABSTRACT
Recent studies have provided insights into the effect of vaccine boosters on recall immunity. Given the limited global supply of COVID-19 vaccines, identifying vulnerable populations with lower sustained vaccine-elicited antibody titers is important for targeting individuals for booster vaccinations. Here we investigated longitudinal data in a cohort of 2,526 people in Fukushima, Japan, from April 2021 to December 2021. Antibody titers following two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were repeatedly monitored and information on lifestyle habits, comorbidities, adverse reactions, and medication use was collected. Using mathematical modeling and machine learning, we stratified the time-course patterns of antibody titers and identified vulnerable populations with low sustained antibody titers. Moreover, we showed that only 5.7% of the participants in our cohort were part of the "durable" population with high sustained antibody titers, which suggests that this durable population might be overlooked in small cohorts. We also found large variation in antibody waning within our cohort. There is a potential usefulness of our approach for identifying the neglected vulnerable population.
ABSTRACT
<p>Since students who would like to study Kampo medicine more have no opportunity to communicate each other in Northern Japanese Universities, we newly started joint study conferences held by medical students in 2013. The objectives of this paper are to report on these annually held student-based Kampo study conferences in the Hokkaido and Tohoku areas, and the ways each university studies Kampo medicine. In the conference, the students reported on their club activities. Then they studied the history of Kampo medicine and simulation of abdominal diagnosis, and performed group work on case reports together. The number of student participants in these conferences has tripled over 3 years from 18 to 58 (for a total of 111 participants). All members were satisfied with the content. And this reflects medical students' need for a wider perception of Kampo medicine, rather than a limited one gained in their university club activities. We hope this conference will play a major role in other nationwide student-based Kampo study conferences in the years to come.</p>
