Coronavirus Breaking News

Oxford Languages, the creator of the Oxford English Dictionary, announced on November 1, 2021, it chose "vax" as its Word of the Year for 2021.

"By September 2021, it was over 72 times more frequent than at the same time last year," Oxford said.

The use of the word 'Vax' can be either a noun or a verb.

And it's spawned various derivatives, including "vax cards" and "being fully vaxxed," according to Oxford.

Consumer emotions regarding the word "vax" are not universal.

Many people see the promise of protection against COVID-19 provided by the vaccine as a welcome scientific advancement.

Others view the new drug with skepticism.

This attitude may be why the U.S. trails most developed countries in the percentage of population fully-vaxxed.

According to the U.S. CDC, less than 59% of the people in the U.S.A are fully-vaxxed, as of November 4, 2021.

UK-based Vaccitech plc today announced the publication in The Lancet Microbe of the first Phase 1 clinical trial conducted in the Middle East, evaluating the safety and tolerability of the ChAdOx1 MERS vaccine candidate.

The ChAdOx1 MERS vaccine candidate was generally well tolerated and induced both humoral and cellular immune responses, which continued through the six-month follow-up period.

The Phase 1 trial is part of a collaboration between the University of Oxford's Jenner Institute and the King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC). It is the first vaccine clinical trial to be conducted within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Vaccitech retains commercial rights to the vaccine.

"The high fatality rate of diagnosed MERS-CoV makes it one of the most dangerous coronaviruses communicable between humans," says Naif Alharbi, KAIMRC, DPhil, vaccinologist, and co-principal investigator on the MERS vaccine trial, in a press release issued on November 4, 2021.

"Research into robust preventative measures for a virus with pandemic potential is a global health imperative."

"The completion of our trial is the latest achievement for KAIMRC's world-leading MERS research and supports advancing the ChAdOx1 MERS vaccine candidate into its next phase of development."

"This multi-partner experience has also set the stage for more MERS vaccine clinical development in KSA, improving both research and regulatory expertise."

The study builds on the first Phase 1 clinical trial of ChAdOx1 MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) conducted in the United Kingdom and published in Lancet ID in April 2020.

First identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, MERS is a zoonotic viral respiratory illness caused by the highly pathogenic MERS coronavirus. The source of the viral virus remains unknown, says the U.S. CDC.

More than 2,500 cases of MERS were reported globally to the World Health Organization (WHO), including 886 deaths. The MERS case fatality rate (34%) is more significant than COVID-19, another betacoronavirus-related disease.

Scientific evidence suggests that people can be infected through direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels.

However, South Korea's MERS outbreak in 2015 stemmed from a single Korean man who carried the coronavirus home after a trip to the Middle East.

The WHO lists MERS-CoV as a priority pathogen for vaccine development due to its threat to global health security.

Vaccitech is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company located in Oxford, England, engaged in discovering and developing novel immunotherapeutics and vaccines for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases and cancer.

The U.S. Safer Federal Workforce Task Force announced new guidance regarding mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for federal employees. To promote the safety of the Federal workforce and the public they serve, agencies must grant leave-eligible employees up to four hours of administrative leave to receive any authorized COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.

Similarly, agencies must grant leave-eligible employees up to four hours of administrative leave to receive any authorized additional dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The administrative leave will cover the time it takes to travel to the vaccination site, receive the vaccination dose, and return to work.

Because there is currently no requirement for Federal employees to receive a vaccine booster shot or additional dose, granting duty time is not allowable in these instances.

In the case of booster shots, this policy may be applied retroactively to the time when authorized booster shots became available (i.e., no earlier than September 22, 2021, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to allow for the use of a single booster dose).

In the case of additional doses, this policy may be applied retroactively to the time when authorized extra doses became available (i.e., no earlier than August 12, 2021, when the FDA amended the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to allow for the use of an additional dose in specific immunocompromised individuals).

For more information on booster shots, go to the CDC web page on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.

For more information on additional doses, go to the CDC web page on immunocompromised patients & the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Swiss Federal Council confirmed on October 20, 2021, it wants to facilitate access to the COVID certificate for people who have recovered from COVID-19.

The Federal Council seeks to facilitate access to the COVID certificate for specific groups by introducing a 'Swiss COVID certificate.'

These new certificates are to be valid in Switzerland only.

At present, people who have recovered from COVID-19 can only obtain a certificate to prove their recovery status with a PCR test result.

Under the latest proposal, Swiss COVID certificates would also be issued to anyone who can present a current positive antibody or serology test.

Certificates issued in such cases would be valid for 90 days only.

Also, the validity period for all recovery certificates issued to date (with a PCR test) is to be doubled from 180 to 365 days.

Based on the evidence currently available, this provides sufficient protection against serious illness and hospitalization.

However, as recovery certificates are valid for only 180 days in the EU, with some exceptions, this extended certificate is also only for use in Switzerland.

The Federal Council intends to postpone any lifting of certificate requirements for the time being and will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation over the next few weeks.

The Council intends to reassess the situation in mid-November 2021 when the effects of the cooler temperatures and the schools' reopening can be evaluated.

Additional SARS-CoV-2 virus immunity news is posted on this CoronavirusToday webpage.

Researchers in Israel conducted a retrospective observational study comparing various vaccinated groups with the mRNA Comiranty (BNT162b2) produced by Pfizer-BioNTech.

Israel's rapid rollout of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign empowered these researchers to investigate the risk for additional virus infection – either a breakthrough infection in vaccinated individuals or reinfection in previously infected ones – over a more extended period than thus far described.

The findings from a non-peer-reviewed study published on October 25, 2021, demonstrated that natural immunity affords longer-lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease, and hospitalization due to the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, compared to the BNT162b2 two-dose vaccine-induced immunity.

Notably, individuals who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 and given a single dose of the Comirnaty vaccine gained additional protection against the Delta variant.

However, protection provided by a third dose, administered in Israel since late July 2021, remains unknown, stated these researchers.

Specifically, this analysis demonstrates that SARS-CoV-2-naïve vaccinees had a 13.06-fold increased risk for breakthrough infection (fully-vaccinated people) with the Delta variant than those previously infected when the first event (infection or vaccination) occurred during January and February of 2021.

The increased risk was significant for symptomatic disease as well.

Broadening the research question to examine the extent of the phenomenon, they allowed the infection to occur between March 2020 to February 2021, when different virus variants were dominant in Israel, compared to vaccination only in January and February 2021.

Although the analysis results suggest waning natural immunity against the Delta variant, those vaccinated are still at a 5.96-fold increased risk for breakthrough infection.

And at a 7.13-fold increased risk for symptomatic disease compared to those previously infected.

However, SARS-CoV-2-naïve vaccinees were also at a greater risk for COVID-19-related-hospitalization compared to those previously infected.

'The advantageous protection afforded by natural immunity that this analysis demonstrates could be explained by the more extensive immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 proteins than that generated by the anti-spike protein immune activation conferred by the vaccine.'

'However, as a correlate of protection, including the role of B-Cell and T-cell immunity, this concept remains a hypothesis,' said these researchers.

This study had several limitations; there was no external funding for the project.; the authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Furthermore, the study from Israel contrasts with the U.S. CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report issued on October 29, 2021.

This multistate analysis of hospitalizations for COVID-19–like illness among adults aged ≥18 years during January–September 2021, in the U.S.

This study stated 'among COVID-19–like illness hospitalizations among adults aged ≥18 years whose previous infection or vaccination occurred 90–179 days earlier, the adjusted odds of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 among unvaccinated adults with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection were 5.49-fold higher than the odds among fully vaccinated recipients of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine who had no previous documented infection (95% confidence interval = 2.75–10.99).'

And these researchers added, 'This report focused on the early protection from infection-induced and vaccine-induced immunity, though it is possible that estimates could be affected by time.'

'Understanding infection-induced and vaccine-induced immunity over time is important, particularly for future studies to consider.'

California-based Meissa Vaccines announced today positive preliminary data from the interim analysis of 49 patients in a Phase 1 clinical study of MV-014-212, the company's intranasal recombinant, live-attenuated COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

The data show that a single adjuvant-free dose of MV-014-212 stimulated a strong nasal IgA antibody response in seropositive and seronegative adults.

Doses ranged from 10^3 to 10^5 PFU, with the 10^5 PFU dose inducing nasal IgA antibody levels that resembled natural immunity to SARS-CoV-2. In addition, safety data at all dose levels indicate MV-014-212 is highly attenuated, with no infectious vaccine virus recovered from any participant and no serious adverse events reported to date.

The Phase 1 clinical study is still enrolling participants, and full results are expected to be presented in a scientific forum next year.

While circulating IgG antibodies are essential for preventing serious lung disease, nasal IgA antibodies are necessary for blocking infection and transmission of respiratory viruses.

Injectable vaccines typically induce only serum (IgG) antibodies that circulate in the blood, whereas intranasal vaccines also generate mucosal (IgA) antibodies in the nasal cavity.

"The preliminary clinical data indicate a single, adjuvant-free, needle-free dose of Meissa's COVID-19 intranasal vaccine can stimulate a nasal IgA antibody response similar to that seen after SARS-CoV-2 infection, with an important difference – safety," said Robert Walker, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Meissa Vaccines, in a press release.

"The initial safety data from this trial combined with our preclinical COVID-19 data and clinical data from Meissa's RSV vaccine candidate, which was also built on the AttenuBlock platform, support continued clinical development of MV-014-212."

"We will continue to advance Meissa's COVID-19 intranasal vaccine in this Phase 1 clinical trial in adults."

"And, we plan to evaluate it as a booster to complement injectable vaccines and initiate a Phase 1 pediatric study next year."