COVID-19

Critically ill COVID-19 patients on a mechanical ventilator or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation lived more often when randomized to receive baricitinib. Doctors call this drug bari, and receiving the pill once a day for up to 14 days yielded one of the largest a survival advantages seen yet in the COVID pandemic, according to a study published.

Two years into the pandemic, health systems are still facing significant challenges in providing essential health services. Ongoing disruptions have been reported in over 90 percent of countries surveyed in the third round of WHOs Global pulse survey on continuity of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nuvaxovid, the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Novavax, has today been given regulatory approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).  Nuvaxovid becomes the fifth COVID-19 vaccine authorised by the UK’s independent medicines regulator.

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE announced that following a request from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the companies have initiated a rolling submission seeking to amend the Emergency Use Authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include children 6 months through 4 years of age 6 months to <5 years of age, in response to the urgent public health need in this population. The companies expect to complete the EUA submission in the coming days.

The clinical and imaging characteristics of COVID-19 breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated patients tend to be milder than those of partially vaccinated or unvaccinated patients, according to a new multicenter study published in the journal Radiology.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide now exceeds 270 million with an overall mortality rate of approximately 2%.

Zydus announced that the company has started the supplies of its COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D, to the Government of India against their order from its newly commissioned state-of-the-art, Zydus Vaccine Technology Excellence Centre at the Zydus Biotech Park in Changodar, Ahmedabad. The group is also planning to make the vaccine available in the private market. ZyCoV-D is a three dose vaccine administered intradermally using the painless PharmaJet® needle free system, Tropis®, on day 0, day 28 and day 56.

Patients under immunosuppressive therapy, who do not respond to primary COVID-19 vaccination, have an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease courses. Until now, it was not clear whether those patients at risk can benefit from an additional booster vaccination. Recent research findings from MedUni Vienna show that a third vaccination is safe and effective in those patients who were initially unable to produce antibodies after vaccination. The study was recently published in the acclaimed journal "Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases".

Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) have found that four COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, J&J/Janssen, and Novavax) prompt the body to make effective, long-lasting T cells against SARS-CoV-2. These T cells can recognize SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern, including Delta and Omicron.

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, and The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, have identified Phytochemicals in the petals of a Himalayan plant that could potentially be used to treat COVID-19 infections.

The findings of the research team have been recently published in the journal Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics.