(Reuters) – The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that requires further study to confirm the findings and which has not yet been certified by peers. The fourth dose of the vaccine protects against Omicron for at least one month A fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech provided significant additional protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death for at least one month in the elderly, according to an Israeli study conducted when the Omicron variant was dominant. The estimated efficacy of the fourth dose on days 7 to 30 after administration compared with a third dose administered at least four months earlier was 45% against infection, 55% for symptomatic disease, 68% for hospitalization, 62% for severe disease. and 74% for death, the research team reported Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study compared 182,122 people aged 60 and over who received a fourth dose and 182,122 very similar individuals who received a third dose but not a fourth. “The results of our real-world study suggest that a fourth dose of the vaccine is, at least initially, effective against the Omicron variant,” the researchers said. “Additional monitoring will allow further evaluation of the protection provided by the fourth dose over time.” A recently published major Israeli study examining only rates of unprecedented infections and serious illnesses after the fourth dose found that efficacy declined rapidly against infection but remained stable against serious illness. COVID-19 may increase the risk of rare eye clots Patients with COVID-19 may be at increased risk for infrequently threatening blood clots in the eye for months afterward, new findings suggest. Because SARS-CoV-2 infections increase the risk of blockage of blood vessels elsewhere in the body, researchers studied nearly half a million patients with COVID-19 to see if they would develop blood clots in the veins or arteries of the retina. tissue. in the back of the eye that takes pictures and sends them to the brain. Over the next six months, 65 patients had retinal vein occlusion. Although this number is low, it reflects a statistically significant increase of 54% compared to pre-COVID-19 infection rates, according to a report published Thursday in JAMA Ophthalmology. Retinal artery thrombi were 35% more common after COVID-19 than before, but this difference may have been due to chance. Blood clots are more common in patients with other conditions that increase the risk of blood vessel problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. The story goes on The risk of thrombosis did not appear to be related to the severity of the coronavirus infection. The study could not prove that COVID-19 caused blood clots in the eyes of these patients, the researchers said, adding that more studies were needed. Risk of revolutionary infections associated with psychiatric problems People with mental health problems are at higher risk for unprecedented infections after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, according to new data. Researchers in California tracked more than a quarter of a million fully vaccinated patients in the U.S. health care system for veterans. Almost all were men and about half had received at least one psychiatric diagnosis in the last five years. Overall, 14.8% developed COVID infections despite vaccination. Compared to participants in the study without a psychiatric diagnosis, those over the age of 65 with substance abuse, psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder, adjustment disorder or anxiety had up to a 24% higher risk of infections, the study found. For people under 65, the risks were up to 11% higher than for those without a psychiatric history, the researchers said on Thursday at the JAMA Network Open. “Our research shows that increased infections in people with psychiatric disorders cannot be fully explained by sociodemographic factors or pre-existing conditions,” said study leader Aoife O’Donovan of the San Francisco VA Health Care System. “It is possible that post-vaccination immunity decreases more rapidly or more sharply for people with psychiatric disorders and / or could have less protection in newer variants.” For a Reuters graphic on vaccines in development, click: https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/VACCINE-TRACKER/xegpbqnlovq/ (Report by Nancy Lapid · Edited by Bill Berkrot)
