– Here is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that requires further study to confirm the findings and that has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Blood thickness linked to risk of death in severe COVID-19
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 whose blood flows less freely than normal are at greater risk of dying from complications, a US study has shown. The findings suggest that measuring blood viscosity, or the thickness of the blood, should be a regular part of the medical examination of these patients, the researchers said.
High blood viscosity reduces flow in small vessels and increases the risk of blood clots, researchers noted in the study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology Data on 5,621 COVID-19 patients treated at six city hospitals of New York. between February 2020 and November 2021 showed that patients with high blood viscosity had death rates 38% to 60% higher than those with low blood viscosity. The inflammation associated with COVID-19 likely contributes to high viscosity, which in turn can lead to damage to blood vessel linings and clogging of arteries, according to the researchers.
“This study demonstrates the importance of testing blood viscosity in patients with COVID-19 early on admission to the hospital, which is easily accomplished through routine laboratory work,” said Dr. Robert Rosenson of Mount Sinai Health System. His team called for further studies to see if measures to reduce blood viscosity, such as treatment with blood-thinning drugs, would be helpful.
A few extreme effects of the COVID-19 booster, the flu are treated together
People who receive a flu vaccine at the same time as a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine booster are slightly more likely to report side effects than people who receive the booster alone, US researchers have found. Previous studies have found that giving flu shots and COVID-19 shots at the same time doesn’t make either less effective and may be more convenient. As reported Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open, researchers followed 981,099 American teenagers and adults who received booster shots with or without flu shots in September or October 2021. The following week, reports from study participants of a “ “systemic” reaction such as fatigue, headache, or body aches was 8% higher for those who got the flu shot and the Pfizer-BioNTech booster and 11% higher for those who got the flu shot and a Moderna booster, compared with the risk in subjects who received only one mRNA. vaccine adjuvant. Based on the results, “clinicians can confidently advise patients that coadministration of the COVID-19 booster and seasonal influenza vaccine is safe and associated with only a slight increase in adverse events compared with the COVID booster -19 only,” a separate team of researchers wrote in an accompanying article
Children with vaccine allergies safely receive Pfizer vaccines
The Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccine can be safely given to children even after a suspected allergic reaction to the first dose or a suspected allergy to the vaccine ingredients polyethylene glycol (PEG) or polysorbate, according to immunologists. Other allergists have previously reported that second doses may be given to adults with suspected reactions to the first dose. The results of the study involving a small number of children were published Wednesday in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice At a specialist vaccine clinic, nine children were evaluated after having an allergic reaction to the first dose of the vaccine, including three who developed a potentially life-threatening reaction. life anaphylaxis. All nine children — including one who had received prior treatment — eventually received the second dose “with little or no symptoms,” the researchers said. Three other children with a history of possible PEG/polysorbate reactions elected to receive the vaccine in the clinic and tolerated both doses without allergic symptoms.
“Any child who develops possible anaphylaxis after vaccination should definitely be evaluated,” study leader Dr. Joel Brooks of Children’s Nationwide Hospital in Washington said in a news release. “Benefits and risks must be carefully weighed when considering a second dose. However, we have demonstrated that for this study, most of the initial allergic reactions did not meet the criteria for anaphylaxis, and our participants were able to tolerate a second dose of the vaccine.”
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