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 yet to receive peer review certification.

The mild COVID-19 antibody protection may not be long-lasting

A small study found that nearly everyone with mild COVID-19 has still antibodies to it a year later. However, this might not be enough protection against newer variants. 91% of 43 Australians with mild COVID-19 suffered from antibodies twelve months after the outbreak. However, only 51.2% of these antibodies had “neutralizing activities” against the original variant of the virus. And only 44.2% of the antibodies could neutralize early Alpha variants. This was according to the University of Adelaide research team. Only 16.2% of the antibodies that neutralized the highly transmissible Delta virus were found, while 11.6% for Gamma and 4.6% for Beta. The researchers stated that those with mild COVID-19 were “vulnerable to infection by newly emerged and circulating SARS-CoV-2 varieties 12 months later after their recovery”. These findings support the idea of tailoring booster vaccines to newly emerging variants. It is similar to how seasonal flu vaccines are designed to target current strains.

Study estimates that 100 million people have had or are currently living with COVID for a long time.

Researchers from Michigan estimated that 40% of COVID-19 patients have lingering effects of their illness. This is based upon their analysis of 40 previous studies, which included 17 different countries. The study looked at the experiences of COVID patients with “long COVID”, defined as persistent or new symptoms occurring at 4 weeks or more after the infection. Researchers reported Tuesday via medRxiv http:// that 57% of survivors need hospitalization. This is in advance of peer review. They reported that the rate of survivors who were female was at 49% and for males it was 37%. In Asia, the long-term COVID rate was estimated at 49% and 44% respectively in Europe, North America and 37% in North America. The most prevalent problem was fatigue, which is reported to be 23%. Shortness of breath and joint pain were also common. Memory problems affected 13%. Researchers believe that the study did not include all long-term COVID cases. This global pooled… estimate, based on an estimate by WHO of 237 millions COVID-19 worldwide infections indicates that about 100 million people are currently experiencing or have had to deal with the long-term effects of COVID-19. The health effects can be severe for the system of healthcare, warns Dr.

Clots are caused by the virus’ effect upon blood-thinning molecules

Recent research suggests that blood clots can be dangerous for patients suffering from COVID-19. It happens in part due to the virus’ spike attaching itself to proteins in blood, which are key in inhibiting clotting. Jingyu Yan of China’s Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics said that once the virus is bound to them, the “these molecules [heparan sodium/heparin] can no longer do their usual anticoagulant activity.” COVID-19 can lead to blood clots that cause serious damage to the lungs or other organs. These can also result in strokes and heart attacks. SARS-CoV-2 infection has caused excessive clotting. It has not been clear until now that the virus itself also has a direct effect, Yan’s team reported in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0141813021022704. They also point out that patients with COVID-19 can be given blood-thinning medication to “significantly decrease” the risk of the virus clotting.

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