Five unrelated people with this clotting complication, known as vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia, all had unusually-structured antibodies against a protein called PF4 that is involved in blood clotting, the researchers found. Furthermore, all five had a specific version of a gene responsible for producing these antibodies, they reported onahead of peer review.
The finding "paves the way for a potential genetic screening tool to identify patients carrying this gene variant who are at risk of this severe complication" after receipt of these vaccines, said Tom Gordon and Jing Jing Wang of Flinders University of South Australia, two of the study's authors. "Additionally, this provides a unique opportunity for targeted, specific therapy development aimed at neutralizing this highly damaging but very specific antibody.
Netherlands-based researchers measured the need for mechanical ventilation, high-flow nasal oxygen, readmission for COVID-19 after hospital discharge or lack of clinical improvement among 18 subjects four weeks after administration of either SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune globulin or immune globulin that did not contain antibodies to the coronavirus.
In severely immunocompromised patients, SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune globulin "may reduce the risk for severe COVID-19 and can be used when no monoclonal antibody therapies are available," the researchers concluded.People who regularly wear glasses have a moderately lower risk of contracting COVID-19 while contact lenses offered no added protection, according to a large study that highlights the importance of the eye as a route of coronavirus infection.
More than 19,000 participants in the Virus Watch study in England and Wales responded to a questionnaire on the use of glasses and contact lenses. Starting as early as June 2020, participants had been reporting weekly on their COVID-19 status, and more than 11,000 provided monthly blood samples to show whether or not they had been infected with the coronavirus.