Nancy Lapid

(Reuters) – The following summarizes recent research on COVID-19. There is some research that needs to be further investigated to verify the results and has not been peer reviewed.

Omicron helps children with small illnesses.

A new study has shown that the Omicron coronavirus variant causes less severe diseases in very young children than the Delta variant.

Nearly 80,000 children in the United States had a first infection. This included 7,201 who were infected during Omicron’s peak period of 90%. Researchers accounted for socioeconomic and medical factors. They found that Omicron-infected children had 29% less need of emergency room visits and 67% less need of hospitalization. There was also a 71% reduced risk of them needing to use machines to breath, as opposed to Delta children. Omicron’s higher transmissibility meant that Omicron still has a greater number of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, ICU admissions and mechanical ventilators in children than Delta. A report published on medRxiv before peer review was completed shows this.

Investigators also found that Omicron and Delta infection rates were significantly higher among Black and Hispanic kids. The gap was even wider for Omicron infections, according to Rong Xu, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She said that Omicron infection rates were higher in children under five than those of older kids and people over all ages. However, this data is not yet available.

Protective genetic mutation against COVID-19 severe

Recent evidence shows that severe COVID-19 is less common in people who have a particular gene.

Research had previously identified the OAS1/2/3 cluster of genes as the ones responsible for the severe COVID-19 risk. The risk of severe COVID-19 was reduced by 23% in the case of an OAS1/2/3 gene cluster variant that had been passed on from Neanderthals. This research had been done mostly in Europeans. A Nature Genetics report now shows that researchers see the same genetic variant as COVID-19, but with less severe symptoms in Africans.

In a statement, Dr. Jennifer Huffman coauthor said “The fact that individuals from Africa had the same protection enabled us to identify and isolate the unique variant of DNA that protects against COVID-19 infections.” The researchers found that OAS genes have a number of benefits for cells fighting viruses. They suggested that understanding these genes and how they affect COVID-19 risk could help in the development of future medicines.

There are fewer Delta breakthroughs Moderna (NASDAQ:) vs Pfizer/BioNTech

Two doses (or more) of Moderna’s Moderna’s MRNA vaccine made it less likely that a person with the Delta coronavirus variant was infected. If they were, the chances of them getting a breakthrough infection were lower than those who received two doses. Pfizer BioNTech and NYSE: A large study was conducted.

More than 630,000 vaccine recipients were analyzed by researchers. They had never been infected before and received no booster shots. JAMA reported Thursday that breakthrough infections increased each month between July and November 2021. There was a higher rate in the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine group. There were 2.8 cases for every 1,000 people who received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in November. This compares to the 1.6 cases per 1000 Moderna recipients. Both vaccines provided protection against death. However, the hospitalization rate for Moderna-infected recipients was 12.7% and 13.3% respectively for Pfizer/BioNTech beneficiaries. The risk of breakthrough infections was lower for Moderna recipients than in a close-matched group of Pfizer/BioNTech recipients.

In a statement, Pamela Davis of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine said that “even though there are some differences in breakthrough infections”, both vaccines protect against SARS and COV2 infection. She also stated that they can help to prevent severe side effects.

You can click here to see a Reuters graphic about vaccines in the development.