Nancy Lapid

(Reuters.) – Here is a list of recent COVID-19 studies. These include studies that need further investigation to confirm the results and those that are yet to receive peer review certification.

Statins might be slightly more effective against death from COVID-19

The new findings suggest that the widespread use of statin drugs to lower cholesterol could be associated with a reduced risk of COVID-19-related death. Karolinska Institute, Sweden, reviewed nearly one million Stockholm residents’ medical records between March 2020 and November 2020. About 18% had received a statin prescription, according to researchers. Pfizer Inc (NYSE:)’s Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Merck & Co’s Zocor (simvastatin). Statin users had higher risk factors for bad COVID-19 outcomes. They were more likely to be older and more frequently male. Statin-users were still less likely than those who took statins to prevent COVID-19 death during the study, according to a Thursday report published in PLOS Medicine https://. They also had only data about prescriptions and not whether patients followed the prescribed medication. These findings would need to be confirmed by a clinical trial. Their data still suggest that statin may be able to reduce COVID-19 deaths by having a small preventive effect.

A different vaccine may offer safer boosters.

People who got Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:)’s COVID-19 vaccine as a first shot had a stronger immune response when boosted with vaccines from either Pfizer Inc/BioNTech SE or Moderna According to a National Institutes of Health study, Inc. The trial, which included more than 450 adults who received initial shots from Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, or J&J, also showed that “mixing and matching” booster shots using different vaccine technology is safe in adults, the researchers reported in a paper posted on medRxiv on Wednesday https:// ahead of peer review. Moderna’s and Pfizer’s vaccines are based on messenger RNA (mRNA) while J&J’s uses viral vector technology. Nine combinations of boosters and initial shots were tested in the trial. The researchers found that different boosters produced comparable, or even higher antibodies than those of the same shot. They stated that mixing booster doses may offer immunological benefits to maximize the protection provided by vaccines currently in use.

CoVID-19 mortality rate is not dependent on age.

New data suggests that older patients have a higher chance of poor outcomes from the coronavirus infection. However, there are other factors that help to predict which COVID-19-infected individuals will do well. Northwell Health Hospitals in New York concluded that age alone did not predict whether an individual would die. They reviewed data from 4,783 patients 65 years and over who were admitted for COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic. BMC Geriatrics published a report on Thursday. They found that older patients had more reliable predictors than age. These factors included how well they were able to live independently before getting infected, their level of illness when they got there, and any medical conditions they may have such as diabetes, hypertension, renal disease, or lung disease. Researchers noted that some guidelines used advanced age to justify denial of care when facilities were forced to limit care or faced with resource shortages. Researchers stated, “Our findings confirm the American Geriatrics Society Position Statement that states age should not be used alone to decide on resource allocation in situations of resource scarcity.” While age remains a significant factor in COVID-19 mortality, it is important to have a complete approach which accounts for these other factors in order prevent ageism.

Click for a Reuters graphic https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl on vaccines in development.