Largest study of its kind also finds vaccines appear to protect against worst effects of Delta variant

This study aimed to investigate age differences in risk-taking concerning the coronavirus pandemic, while disentangling the contribution of risk attitude, objective risk and numeracy. We tested (i) whether older and younger adults differed in taking coronavirus-related health risks, (ii) whether there are age differences in coronavirus risk, risk attitude and numerical ability and (iii) whether these age differences in coronavirus risk, attitude and numerical ability are related to coronavirus risk-taking. The study was observational, with measures presented to all participants in random order. A sample of 469 participants reported their coronavirus-related risk-taking behaviour, objective risk, risk attitude towards health and safety risks, numerical ability and risk perception. Our findings show that age was significantly related to coronavirus risk-taking, with younger adults taking more risk, and that this was partially mediated by higher numeracy, but not objective risk or risk attitude. Exploratory analyses suggest that risk perception for self and others partially mediated age differences in coronavirus risk-taking. The findings of this study may better our understanding of why age groups differ in their adoption of protective behaviours during a pandemic and contribute to the debate whether age differences in risk-taking occur due to decline in abilities or changes in risk attitude.

Saskatchewan faces similar surge in hospitals, while Manitoba is at risk from low vaccination rates

What is already known about this topic? Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of prevention strategies to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission in overnight camps. What is added by this report? During June–August 2021, a total of 7,173 campers and staff members attended nine U.S. overnight camps that implemented multiple prevention strategies including high vaccination coverage (>93% among eligible persons aged ≥12 years); prearrival and frequent screening testing (38,059 tests); and additional concomitant prevention measures. Nine laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and no secondary infections were detected. What are the implications for public health practice? Implementation of high vaccination coverage coupled with multiple prevention strategies is critical to averting COVID-19 outbreaks in congregate settings, including overnight camps. These findings highlight important guiding principles for school and youth-based COVID-19 prevention protocols.

Key points There is no FDA or USDA legally-binding definition of the word natural. Labeling a product as natural does not necessarily convey any health or safety benefits. The distinction between natural and artificial is somewhat arbitrary.

Children are not small adults. This is a critical point that many pediatricians and other child health professionals get bored of saying, yet it does seem to need repeating. While children have the lowest risk from COVID-19 directly, they risk suffering the indirect impacts of policy decisions, many of which appear to have been made with next to no explicit consideration of their interests. Public health interventions should not only be about infectious disease control, they should consider a broad set of outcomes. In addition, they ought to consider vulnerability, including that in early childhood - a time when young children’s brains are developing rapidly and are most susceptible to adversity. We believe that mandating masking of pre-school children is not in line with public health principles, and needs to be urgently re-considered.

Recently, we reported oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1) contributed to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, by its enrichment in transcriptional networks expressed by microglia. However, the function of OAS1 within microglia was not known.Using genotyping from 1313 individuals with sporadic Alzheimer’s disease and 1234 control individuals, we confirm the OAS1 variant, rs1131454, is associated with increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The same OAS1 locus has been recently associated with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes, linking risk for both diseases. The single nucleotide polymorphisms rs1131454(A) and rs4766676(T) are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, and rs10735079(A) and rs6489867(T) are associated with severe COVID-19, where the risk alleles are linked with decreased OAS1 expression. Analysing single-cell RNA-sequencing data of myeloid cells from Alzheimer’s disease and COVID-19 patients, we identify co-expression networks containing interferon (IFN)-responsive genes, including OAS1, which are significantly upregulated with age and both diseases. In human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia with lowered OAS1 expression, we show exaggerated production of TNF-α with IFN-γ stimulation, indicating OAS1 is required to limit the pro-inflammatory response of myeloid cells.Collectively, our data support a link between genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease and susceptibility to critical illness with COVID-19 centred on OAS1, a finding with potential implications for future treatments of Alzheimer’s disease and COVID-19, and development of biomarkers to track disease progression.

Inherited genetic factors can influence the severity of COVID-19, but the molecular explanation underpinning a genetic association is often unclear. Intracellular antiviral defenses can inhibit the replication of viruses and reduce disease severity. To better understand the antiviral defenses relevant to COVID-19, we used interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression screening to reveal that OAS1, through RNase L, potently inhibits SARS-CoV-2. We show that a common splice-acceptor SNP (Rs10774671) governs whether people express prenylated OAS1 isoforms that are membrane-associated and sense specific regions of SARS-CoV-2 RNAs, or only express cytosolic, nonprenylated OAS1 that does not efficiently detect SARS-CoV-2. Importantly, in hospitalized patients, expression of prenylated OAS1 was associated with protection from severe COVID-19, suggesting this antiviral defense is a major component of a protective antiviral response.

When there are supply constraints, unvaccinated patients with COVID-19 are among the populations who should be prioritized to receive monoclonal antibodies, according to an updated statement on NIH COVID-19 treatment guidelines released on Thursday.

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

Sydney is celebrating its own version of “freedom day”. After living under lockdown for 107 days to curb an outbreak of the delta coronavirus variant, residents can socialise, dine out and go shopping again, now that more than 70 per cent of people aged 16 and over have been vaccinated.

Chris Baraniuk explains the elements that have made the UK’s vaccination programme a front runner globally and describes the hurdles that lie aheadIt looks like a world beating performance—the United Kingdom has administered more covid-19 vaccine first doses per 100 people (19) than any other nation of comparable population size.1At the time of writing, 12 million people—roughly as many as the entire population of another vaccine front runner, Israel—have received their first dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Daily reports indicate that, on some days, more than half a million people have received a dose. The government seems reasonably well placed to hit its target of giving 15 million people their first dose by mid-February. But the full story of the vaccination programme shows bumps in the road as well as successes.

The UK JCVI committee recently announced that vaccines would not be offered to all 12-17 year olds, as the potential risks were not outweighed by the benefits. Here, we offer a quantitative risk-benefit analysis of vaccines among 12-17 year olds in England, showing that the benefits of vaccination greatly outweigh risks among12-17 year olds in England in the current context.

The agency has promised to move quickly on the request and tentatively plans to meet on Oct. 26 to consider it. A decision could come soon after Halloween.

As Australia strives to reach its national COVID vaccination targets, there’s unprecedented focus on the biological effects of vaccines.

The only remaining randomized trial that found a benefit for ivermectin on Covid-19 mortality has serious issues

Covid misinformation remains on site for months adding to concern over impact of social media on young people

This paper explores how a global health crisis affects the causes and consequences of social movements. Drawing on media coverage, press releases, emails, and other available primary data sources, we examine how the pandemic changed the opportunities and conditions for activists on the right and left and those they challenge. We begin by considering the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and the concomitant government response, which alters the structure of political opportunities activists face. We then look at the development of a range of protest campaigns that have emerged in response, assessing changes in opportunities for activists to reach and mobilize target constituencies, the construction of grievances, nature of alliances, as well as innovation in tactics and organization. Finally, we consider the potential outcomes of these protests during the pandemic and extending afterward.

The Merck pill, which could become the first oral antiviral COVID treatment, forces the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus to mutate itself to death.

International agencies need the mandate, funds and expertise to connect information — otherwise pandemics, hunger and unsustainability will go unsolved.

From time immemorial, the plagues and pandemics have been a challenge to the church. The covid-19 is such a challange to the church. The cure is not in sight, hence the talk of adaptation and healing in the context of a pandemic such as covid-19. These interventions will include the role of the church. This is because the church is one of the important social pillars that has huge influence on people at any given time. It is because of this understanding that this paper will discuss the role of the church in such a context. A practical ecclesiological method will be employed because of its disciplinary nature so as to consider the empirical issues related to the pandemic, the historical perspective in studing the church's role in the response against pandemics, the hermeneutical perspective into such a role of the church, and then strategise on how best the church can contribute to nurture, healing and adaptation. Though this paper treats the pandemic of covid-19 globally, it however has a special interest to the Zimbabwean situation.

Well, it has finally happened. News this week of widespread and disruptive anti-vaccine protests at Canadian medical centres means that America’s destructive, self-defeating and totally nonsensical anti-vaccine movement has begun crossing the border.

Conservative firebrand Bob Enyart, the pastor of the Denver Bible Church and indelible talk show host, has died from COVID-19, his radio co-host announced Monday on Facebook.

So, to summarise, long COVID is common - even in young people with mild infection - who don't have to go into hospital. And it also affects children, and is usually multiple symptoms, that in many affect day to day lives. Let's look at other data now.

"Misinformation" is creating a "real dilemma" for young people considering whether they should take the Covid-19 vaccine, Northern Ireland's mental health champion has said.

Estimates of the prevalence of self-reported "long COVID" and associated activity limitation, using UK Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey data.

The public's verdict on SARS-CoV2, the virus causing Covid-19, and the importance this has in Hospitals. Firstly the majority of frontline staff and public surveyed agree #COVIDisAirborne. Yes echo chamber and all but this is the best I have till a big hitter does similar. /1

As a rural Alberta man fights for his life in an Edmonton ICU, his wife, who was once against COVID-19 vaccines, is urging others to get the shot and guard against misinformation online.

The risk of myocarditis for children under 16 years is 37 times higher for those infected with COVID-19 than those who haven’t been infected with the virus, according to a new study.

EuroPCom 2021 will run as a fully digital event from 10:00 on Monday 8 November until 14:00 on Tuesday 9 November. Under the headline “Changing communication - Communicating change", this year's edition will focus on three main themes: Democracy, Green Deal and Digitalisation, which will include the discussion themes suggested by the applicants.The event will have a strong interactive element, offering opportunities for attendants to participate actively during the EuroPCom Talks, the workshop Q&As and the Ideas Labs. The Virtual Market Place, which will be open throughout the event and during the breaks, will also provide various networking opportunities.The call for applications for EuroPCom 2021 has been very successful and we thank all the applicants. We have received: 120 proposals for workshops and speakers;32 applications for Ideas Labs; and​34 applications for the Market Place​ from the partner EU institutions as well as Regional offices, associations, consultancies, communication agencies, academia and private persons. While our teams are currently concentrating their efforts on the development of the digital platform, the website and the web app, and on the structure and content of the sessions, we can already highlight that during the Opening Session a panel of speakers will look at how the COVID 19 has changed the way we communicate, both externally and internally, and what we can expect for the future.EuroPCom, the European Public Communication Conference, is an annual conference and networking event for communication experts from local, regional, national and European authorities, as well as private communication agencies, NGOs and academia. Since its launch in 2009, EuroPCom has featured high-level speakers from the world of public communication, workshops, participatory ideas labs and training sessions, plus a EuroPCom Market Place for participants to network and engage with exhibitors. The event is organised by the European Committee of the Regions in partnership with the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Investment Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Each year, a call for proposals is launched to offer the EuroPCom community an opportunity to submit their ideas for interesting workshop topics and speakers, as well as a call for ideas labs organisers and exhibitors to submit their applications to be part of the conference.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby joined Stephanie Ruhle to discuss the impact of his decision to mandate coronavirus vaccines for his employees. Kirby says he has spoken with other CEOs about requiring the shots for airline passengers, but they're relying on the Biden administration to take action.

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis and the corresponding first nationwide lockdown from mid-March to 10 May 2020 engendered considerable psychological strain among people in Switzerland. This study analyzes determinants of changes in subjective levels of psychological strain experienced during the lockdown. Methods: An online survey conducted as part of a larger mixed methods study examined the material and emotional aspects of individual reactions to the lockdown from a socio-ecological perspective. Participants (N = 5932) were asked about their personal and employment status, housing features, changes in various activities (e.g., physical activity, watching TV, social media use) and aspects of mental distress and well-being. Results: A substantial share of participants reported to feel depressed (33%) and anxious (43%) more often during the COVID-19 lockdown than before, whereas significantly (p < 0.001) less persons reported a decrease of these negative feelings (depressed 17%; anxious 14%). Women, single people, students and people who lost their jobs or were temporally unemployed due to the lockdown experienced a particularly strong increase of subjective psychological strain. Important residential factors reducing subjective psychological strain were the general comfort of the housing situation and having a private garden or multiple types of outdoor space. Considering leisure activities, the strongest positive psychological effect resulted from increased physical activities, followed by reading and cooking. However, 45% of the participants reported a decreased frequency of physical activity during the lockdown compared to before, whereas significantly less persons (26%) reported a corresponding increase (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Consistent with other studies, the results indicate a substantial reduction of subjective psychological well-being of the population during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland. The psychological burdens which the participants experienced differ depending on personal characteristics and situational factors. Negative psychological and economic consequences and gender inequalities should accordingly be carefully considered and actively prevented when designing COVID-19 measures. Supportive economic and social, cognitive and behavioral psychological interventions need to be designed and implemented to maintain the well-being of residents during lockdown.

The British Society for Immunology has partnered with the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC) to create an infographic which explains the difference in immunity against COVID-19 gained through natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 compared to vaccination. Scroll down this page to discover more, click the download link to print the graphic or share on social media tagging @britsocimm and @UKCICstudy to help strengthen public understanding. The UK-CIC is looking at what parts of the immune system are involved in generating a protective response against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as after vaccination. It's likely that for most people vaccination against COVID-19 will induce more effective and longer lasting immunity than that induced by natural infection with the virus. Even if you've had COVID-19, you're recommended to get the vaccine because it will boost whatever immunity you have from natural infection. Knowledge of COVID-19 and vaccine immunology will continue to evolve and this infographic is accurate at the time of publishing in June 2021.

Report comes as government scientific adviser describes Tuesday’s maskless cabinet meeting as ‘toxic’ for public adherence

A second dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine substantially increased its protection against Covid-19, the company announced Tuesday morning.

Joe Biden has introduced a vaccine mandate affecting millions, but some countries have gone further

School mask mandates have generated controversy in many parts of the country. Now, two studies, published on Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provide additional evidence that masks protect children from the coronavirus, even when community rates are high and the contagious Delta variant is circulating.

A new poll suggests tensions over COVID-19 vaccines in Canada are high as frictions grow between those who are vaccinated against the virus and those who are not.

Will the large numbers of people with disabilities from COVID make our society more accessible and inclusive?

People who had the coronavirus and then got the vaccine may be at an extreme advantage. Here's how.

Provincial change comes after 3 school districts made own decisions to tighten rules

Background Close contact with children may provide cross-reactive immunity to SARs-CoV-2 due to more frequent prior coryzal infections from seasonal coronaviruses. Alternatively, close contact with children may increase risk of SARs-CoV-2 infection. We investigated whether risk of infection with SARs-CoV-2 and severe outcomes differed between adults living with and without children.Methods Working on behalf of NHS England, we conducted a population-based cohort study using primary care data and pseudonymously-linked hospital and intensive care admissions, and death records, from patients registered in general practices representing 40% of England. Using multivariable Cox regression, we calculated fully-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of outcomes from 1st February-3rd August 2020 comparing adults living with and without children in the household.Findings Among 9,157,814 adults ≤65 years, living with children 0-11 years was not associated with increased risks of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 related hospital or ICU admission but was associated with reduced risk of COVID-19 death (HR 0.75, 95%CI 0.62-0.92). Living with children aged 12-18 years was associated with a small increased risk of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection (HR 1.08, 95%CI 1.03-1.13), but not associated with other COVID-19 outcomes. Living with children of any age was also associated with lower risk of dying from non-COVID-19 causes. Among 2,567,671 adults >65 years there was no association between living with children and outcomes related to SARS-CoV-2. We observed no consistent changes in risk following school closure.Interpretation For adults living with children there is no evidence of an increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. These findings have implications for determining the benefit-harm balance of children attending school in the COVID-19 pandemic.Funding This work was supported by the Medical Research Council MR/V015737/1.Evidence before this study We searched MEDLINE on 19th October 2020 for population-based epidemiological studies comparing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease in people living with and without children. We searched for articles published in 2020, with abstracts available, and terms “(children or parents or dependants) AND (COVID or SARS-CoV-2 or coronavirus) AND (rate or hazard or odds or risk), in the title, abstract or keywords. 244 papers were identified for screening but none were relevant. One additional study in preprint was identified on medRxiv and found a reduced risk of hospitalisation for COVID-19 and a positive SARS-CoV-2 infection among adult healthcare workers living with children.Added value of this study This is the first population-based study to investigate whether the risk of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes from COVID-19 differ between adults living in households with and without school-aged children during the UK pandemic. Our findings show that for adults living with children there is no evidence of an increased risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes although there may be a slightly increased risk of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection for working-age adults living with children aged 12 to 18 years. Working-age adults living with children 0 to 11 years have a lower risk of death from COVID-19 compared to adults living without children, with the effect size being comparable to their lower risk of death from any cause. We observed no consistent changes in risk of recorded SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes from COVID-19 comparing periods before and after school closure.Implications of all the available evidence Our results demonstrate no evidence of serious harms from COVID-19 to adults in close contact with children, compared to those living in households without children. This has implications for determining the benefit-harm balance of children attending school in the COVID-19 pandemic.

We know, we know: Vaccines are a polarizing topic which is all the reason to take note of where they’re mandatory. More and more countries are requiring vaccinations for all tourists in an effort to keep everyone safe while new variants take hold. Travelers themselves are also putting themselves at higher risk when leaving home. That might be a calculated risk, or perhaps an essential trip where you don’t have much choice, but if you’re looking for extra peace of mind, these countries require travelers to be fully vaccinated.

Scientists around the world are working faster than ever to develop and produce vaccines that can stop the spread of COVID-19, with 21 vaccines now being rolled out in countries worldwide. Here is an at-a-glance overview of those vaccines and recent developments of candidates in clinical trials.

Misinformation flooding some of Alberta's biggest online communities has become a major problem during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to three volunteer Reddit moderators in Edmonton.

Now that covid-19 vaccination of children in the UK is starting, it is essential that the legal basis of consent is well understoodA Court of Appeal, on 17 September 2021, overturned a previous High Court ruling and decided that parental consent is not needed for children under 16 to take puberty blockers.1 This reaffirms, again, that the responsibility to consent to treatment depends on the ability of medical staff to decide on the capacity of those who are under 16.

BackgroundDespite high vaccine coverage and effectiveness, the incidence of symptomatic infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been increasing in Israel. Whether the increasing incidence of infection is due to waning immunity after the receipt of two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine is unclear. MethodsWe conducted a 6-month longitudinal prospective study involving vaccinated health care workers who were tested monthly for the presence of anti-spike IgG and neutralizing antibodies. Linear mixed models were used to assess the dynamics of antibody levels and to determine predictors of antibody levels at 6 months. ResultsThe study included 4868 participants, with 3808 being included in the linear mixed-model analyses. The level of IgG antibodies decreased at a consistent rate, whereas the neutralizing antibody level decreased rapidly for the first 3 months with a relatively slow decrease thereafter. Although IgG antibody levels were highly correlated with neutralizing antibody titers (Spearman’s rank correlation between 0.68 and 0.75), the regression relationship between the IgG and neutralizing antibody levels depended on the time since receipt of the second vaccine dose. Six months after receipt of the second dose, neutralizing antibody titers were substantially lower among men than among women (ratio of means, 0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55 to 0.75), lower among persons 65 years of age or older than among those 18 to less than 45 years of age (ratio of means, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.70), and lower among participants with immunosuppression than among those without immunosuppression (ratio of means, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.20 to 0.46). ConclusionsSix months after receipt of the second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine, humoral response was substantially decreased, especially among men, among persons 65 years of age or older, and among persons with immunosuppression.

Vaccination is an essential component of the public health strategy to end the COVID-19 pandemic.1-3 Recently, there have been reports of acute myocarditis following COVID-19 mRNA vaccine administration.4-6 We evaluated acute myocarditis incidence and clinical outcomes among adults following mRNA vaccination in an integrated health care system in the US. googletag.cmd.push(function() { if (!App.suppressAds && (App.isAbstract || ((App.isSplitScreen || App.isMag) && !App.hasAccess))) { App.Ads.Mappings.dualMobile = googletag.sizeMapping() .addSize([1023, 600], [0, 0]) .addSize([0, 600], [[300, 250], [300, 600]]) .addSize([0, 0], [300, 250]) .build(); App.Ads.slots[8] = googletag.defineSlot(App.Ads.adPath + '/textbreak', [300, 250], 'ad-dual-box-mobile') .setTargeting('pos', ['bta']) .defineSizeMapping(App.Ads.Mappings.dualMobile) .addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.display('ad-dual-box-mobile'); } else { $(".ad-dual-box-mobile").removeClass("ad-text"); } }); Methods We included Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) members aged 18 years or older who received at least 1 dose of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer) or mRNA-1273 (Moderna) mRNA vaccine between December 14, 2020, and July 20, 2021. Potential cases of postvaccine myocarditis were identified based on reports from clinicians to the KPSC Regional Immunization Practice Committee and by identifying hospitalization within 10 days of vaccine administration with a discharge diagnosis of myocarditis. All cases were independently adjudicated by at least 2 cardiologists. We calculated incidence rates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of myocarditis using vaccine administration as the denominator and compared it with the incidence of myocarditis in unexposed individuals between December 14, 2020, and July 20, 2021; and with vaccinated individuals during a 10-day period 1 year prior to vaccination. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% CIs were calculated using STATA statistical software (version 14, Stata Corp). We described the characteristics and outcomes of acute myocarditis cases. A 2-sided P < .05 was used to define statistical significance. This study was approved by the institutional review board of KPSC with a waiver of informed consent because of the observational nature of the study in the course of standard care. Results Of 2 392 924 KPSC members who received at least 1 dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, 50.2% received mRNA-1273 and 50.0% BNT162b2. In this cohort, 54.0% were women, 31.2% White, 6.7% Black, 37.8% Hispanic, and 14.3% were Asian individuals. Median age was 49 years (IQR, 34-64 years), 35.7% were younger than 40 years, and 93.5% completed 2 doses of vaccines. In the unexposed group of 1 577 741 individuals, median (IQR) age was 39 (28-53) years, 53.7% were younger than 40 years, 49.1% women, 29.7% White, 8.8% Black, 39.2% Hispanic, and 6.6% were Asian individuals. There were 15 cases of confirmed myocarditis in the vaccinated group (2 after the first dose and 13 after the second), for an observed incidence of 0.8 cases per 1 million first doses and 5.8 cases per 1 million second doses over a 10-day observation window (Table 1). All were men, with a median (IQR) age of 25 (20-32) years. Among unexposed individuals, there were 75 cases of myocarditis during the study period, with 39 (52%) men and median (IQR) age of 52 (32-59) years. The IRR for myocarditis was 0.38 (95% CI, 0.05-1.40) for the first dose and 2.7 (95% CI, 1.4-4.8) for the second dose. Sensitivity analyses using vaccinated individuals as their own controls showed similar findings (Table 1). Of the patients with myocarditis postvaccination, none had prior cardiac disease (Table 2). Eight patients received BNT162b2 and 7 received mRNA-1273. All were hospitalized and tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 by polymerase chain reaction on admission. Fourteen (93%) reported chest pain between 1 to 5 days after vaccination. Symptoms resolved with conservative management in all cases; no patients required intensive care unit admission or readmission after discharge. Discussion In this population-based cohort study of 2 392 924 individuals who received at least 1 dose of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, acute myocarditis was rare, at an incidence of 5.8 cases per 1 million individuals after the second dose (1 case per 172 414 fully vaccinated individuals). The signal of increased myocarditis in young men warrants further investigation. This vaccinated cohort is unique in its racial and ethnic diversity and in receiving care at community hospitals with treatment reflective of real-world practice. Limitations of this study include the observational design; short follow-up time; absence of myocardial biopsy for definitive diagnosis; lack of uniform testing of all cases; possible more extensive workup of chest pain in vaccinated individuals during the immediate postvaccination period; and possible underdiagnosis of subclinical cases. No relationship between COVID-19 mRNA vaccination and postvaccination myocarditis can been established given the observational nature of this study.

EMA’s human medicines committee (CHMP) has concluded that an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccines Comirnaty (BioNTech/Pfizer) and Spikevax (Moderna) may be given to people with severely weakened immune systems, at least 28 days after their second dose.The recommendation comes after studies showed that an extra dose of these vaccines increased the ability to produce antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19 in organ transplant patients with weakened immune systems.1 2Although there is no direct evidence that the ability to produce antibodies in these patients protected against COVID-19, it is expected that the extra dose would increase protection at least in some patients. EMA will continue monitoring any data that emerges on its effectiveness.The product information of both vaccines will be updated to include this recommendation.

Analysis: Experts say it is first time since start of pandemic that sustained decline is recorded out of lockdown

Dr. Hotez urged parents to avoid misinformation and to get their younger children vaccinated after Pfizer officially asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its Covid-19 vaccine with BioNTech for kids ages 5 to 11.  

Vaccine hesitancy is “not a stable trait,” concludes a new American study, which found that a majority of initially hesitant respondents shifted their stance in favour of getting the jab.

Patterns of public opinion recently observed in American politics tempt the conclusion that substantive arguments and evidence are less effective, or ineffective, at changing partisan minds when they overtly contradict cues from in-party leaders. This conclusion follows naturally from theories of partisan motivated reasoning. However, observations of public opinion do not provide the counterfactual outcomes required to draw this conclusion. Here we report a large-scale survey experiment in which we randomized exposure to the policy positions of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, as well as information that overtly contradicts their positions. Our design incorporates 24 policy issues and 48 information treatments. We find that the information does persuade partisans on average, and, critically, fully retains its persuasive force even when paired with countervailing cues from in-party leaders. This result holds across policy issues, demographic subgroups, and one- and two-sided cue environments, and is puzzling for partisan motivated reasoning theory.

Study shows protection against severe illness stays high, but scientists say boosters key to stopping spread of infection

Covid-19 cases are falling among almost every age group in England, apart from school children and their parents’ generation.

The divide between the Covid vaccine haves and have-nots has been described as “criminal”, with only 20% of people in low and middle income countries having had one dose, compared with 80% in higher income countries. Countries with high vaccination rates have been called on to give up their place in the vaccine queue. The dual-track global vaccination programme has led to real anger, made worse by announcements of booster programmes in richer countries (despite the World Health Organisation calling for such plans to be put on hold). Claudia Hammond and her panel of global experts discuss the scale of vaccine inequity and consider whether evidence of waning vaccine immunity justifies the rollout of booster jabs, or if the soundest scientific case dictates everybody in the world should be vaccinated first. Claudia’s guests include Dr Yodi Alakija, co-chair of the African Union’s Delivery Alliance for Covid-19 in Abuja, Nigeria, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organisation’s Technical Lead for Covid in Geneva, Switzerland and two world leading immunologists, Dr Peter Openshaw, Professor of Experimental Medicine at Imperial College, London, UK and Dr Akiko Iwasaki, Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University in the US.

In many academic fields, the number of papers published each year has increased significantly over time. Policy measures aim to increase the quantity of scientists, research funding, and scientific output, which is measured by the number of papers produced. These quantitative metrics determine the career trajectories of scholars and evaluations of academic departments, institutions, and nations. Whether and how these increases in the numbers of scientists and papers translate into advances in knowledge is unclear, however. Here, we first lay out a theoretical argument for why too many papers published each year in a field can lead to stagnation rather than advance. The deluge of new papers may deprive reviewers and readers the cognitive slack required to fully recognize and understand novel ideas. Competition among many new ideas may prevent the gradual accumulation of focused attention on a promising new idea. Then, we show data supporting the predictions of this theory. When the number of papers published per year in a scientific field grows large, citations flow disproportionately to already well-cited papers; the list of most-cited papers ossifies; new papers are unlikely to ever become highly cited, and when they do, it is not through a gradual, cumulative process of attention gathering; and newly published papers become unlikely to disrupt existing work. These findings suggest that the progress of large scientific fields may be slowed, trapped in existing canon. Policy measures shifting how scientific work is produced, disseminated, consumed, and rewarded may be called for to push fields into new, more fertile areas of study.

I'm interested to hear which COVID studies by psychologists you think have had a measurable positive effect on the world. E.g. a proposed intervention that was actually implemented and affected the spread of the virus, or mitigated indirect (e.g. social) negative consequences.

OTTAWA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Canada will place unvaccinated federal employees on unpaid leave and require COVID-19 shots for air, train and ship passengers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, as he unveiled one of the world's strictest vaccine mandate policies.

Despite extensive studies into severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the effect of maternal infection on the neonate is unclear. To investigate this, we characterized the immunology of neonates born to mothers with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy. Here we show that maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection affects the neonatal immune system. Despite similar proportions of B cells, CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells, increased percentages of natural killer cells, Vδ2+ γδ T cells and regulatory T cells were detected in neonates born to mothers with recent or ongoing infection compared with those born to recovered or uninfected mothers. Increased plasma cytokine levels were also evident in neonates and mothers within the recent or ongoing infection group. Cytokine functionality was enhanced in neonates born to SARS-CoV-2-exposed mothers, compared to those born to uninfected mothers. In most neonates, this immune imprinting was nonspecific, suggesting vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is limited, a finding supported by a lack of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgM in neonates despite maternal IgG transfer.

Media reports investigating the challenges that lead to relatively low covid-19 vaccine uptake rates in younger age groups highlight a need to consider “vaccine hesitancy” not as a single phenomenon, but as part of a spectrum.

The South Dakota COVID-19 Family Impact Survey 2021 was conducted from July 31st to August 14th, 2021 by The SDSU Poll, a research group housed in the School of American and Global Studies at South Dakota State University. This survey builds upon similar surveys conducted by The SDSU Poll in October 2020 and April 2021. In this poll, a total of 573 registered voters in South Dakota answered questions about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their daily lives. The margin of error of this survey was +/- 4 %, on par with other state-wide polls.

Dr. Peter Hotez, the direct of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital, spoke with CNN’s Ana Cabrera on Thursday about the impact of Covid misinformation and how the high number of deaths, especially in the Hispanic community, would cause lasting harm.

At a time when pseudoscience threatens the survival of communities, understanding this vulnerability, and how to reduce it, is paramount. Four preregistered experiments (N = 532, N = 472, N = 605, N = 382) with online U.S. samples introduced false claims concerning a (fictional) virus created as a bioweapon, mirroring conspiracy theories about COVID-19, and carcinogenic effects of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). We identify two critical determinants of vulnerability to pseudoscience. First, participants who trust science are more likely to believe and disseminate false claims that contain scientific references than false claims that do not. Second, reminding participants of the value of critical evaluation reduces belief in false claims, whereas reminders of the value of trusting science do not. We conclude that trust in science, although desirable in many ways, makes people vulnerable to pseudoscience. These findings have implications for science broadly and the application of psychological science to curbing misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The phrase took off earlier this year but flew too close to the sun. Maybe we should let it burn.

Why the pandemic has hit low-income places so hard

Representatives of clubs and bars want fresh poll after Tory member could not vote due to Zoom issue

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world.

The government has refused to release the minutes of the meeting in which its vaccine advisory committee decided not to recommend vaccinating all 12-15 year olds against covid-19.1

The behavioral immune system is considered to be a psychological adaptation that decreases the risk of infection. Research suggests that, in the current environment, this system can produce attitudes with negative health consequences, such as increased vaccine hesitancy. In three studies, we investigated whether two facets of the behavioral immune system—germ aversion (i.e., aversion to potential pathogen transmission) and perceived infectability (i.e., perceived susceptibility to disease)—predicted intentions to accept COVID-19 and influenza vaccination during the pandemic. The behavioral immune system mechanisms were measured before the COVID-19 pandemic in one study, and during the pandemic in two. In contrast to previous research, those with higher germ aversion during the pandemic perceived vaccines to be safer and had higher intentions to accept vaccination. Germ aversion before the pandemic was not associated with vaccination intentions. Individuals who perceived themselves as more susceptible to disease were slightly more willing to accept vaccination. We conjecture that high disease threat reverses the relationship between the behavioral immune system response and vaccination. As the associations were weak, individual differences in germ aversion and perceived infectability are of little practical relevance for vaccine uptake.

Fake news sites, politicians, and advertisers often make false claims believable by repeating them. Repeated statements feel easier to process, and thus truer, than new ones. In two large experiments (N = 1188), we investigated whether monetary incentives for accuracy reduce this 'illusory truth effect.' Repetition misled people regardless of whether they could earn money for correct answers. The illusion occurred even when participants received item-by-item reminders about possible rewards. Our findings suggest that motivation is not always enough to disengage people from using heuristics to evaluate truth, with implications for a “post-truth world.”

STOCKHOLM, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Sweden and Denmark said on Wednesday they are pausing the use of Moderna's (MRNA.O) COVID-19 vaccine for younger age groups after reports of possible rare cardiovascular side effects.

The spread of online misinformation poses serious challenges to societies worldwide. In a novel attempt to address this issue, we designed a psychological intervention in the form of an online browser game. In the game, players take on the role of a fake news producer and learn to master six documented techniques commonly used in the production of misinformation: polarisation, invoking emotions, spreading conspiracy theories, trolling people online, deflecting blame, and impersonating fake accounts. The game draws on an inoculation metaphor, where preemptively exposing, warning, and familiarising people with the strategies used in the production of fake news helps confer cognitive immunity when exposed to real misinformation. We conducted a large-scale evaluation of the game with N = 15,000 participants in a pre-post gameplay design. We provide initial evidence that people’s ability to spot and resist misinformation improves after gameplay, irrespective of education, age, political ideology, and cognitive style.

Background Claims about what improves or harms our health are ubiquitous. People need to be able to assess the reliability of these claims. We aimed to evaluate an intervention designed to teach primary school children to assess claims about the effects of treatments (ie, any action intended to maintain or improve health). Methods In this cluster-randomised controlled trial, we included primary schools in the central region of Uganda that taught year-5 children (aged 10–12 years). We excluded international schools, special needs schools for children with auditory and visual impairments, schools that had participated in user-testing and piloting of the resources, infant and nursery schools, adult education schools, and schools that were difficult for us to access in terms of travel time. We randomly allocated a representative sample of eligible schools to either an intervention or control group. Intervention schools received the Informed Health Choices primary school resources (textbooks, exercise books, and a teachers' guide). Teachers attended a 2 day introductory workshop and gave nine 80 min lessons during one school term. The lessons addressed 12 concepts essential to assessing claims about treatment effects and making informed health choices. We did not intervene in the control schools. The primary outcome, measured at the end of the school term, was the mean score on a test with two multiple-choice questions for each of the 12 concepts and the proportion of children with passing scores on the same test. This trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry, number PACTR201606001679337. Findings Between April 11, 2016, and June 8, 2016, 2960 schools were assessed for eligibility; 2029 were eligible, and a random sample of 170 were invited to recruitment meetings. After recruitment meetings, 120 eligible schools consented and were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n=60, 76 teachers and 6383 children) or control group (n=60, 67 teachers and 4430 children). The mean score in the multiple-choice test for the intervention schools was 62·4% (SD 18·8) compared with 43·1% (15·2) for the control schools (adjusted mean difference 20·0%, 95% CI 17·3–22·7; p<0·00001). In the intervention schools, 3967 (69%) of 5753 children achieved a predetermined passing score (≥13 of 24 correct answers) compared with 1186 (27%) of 4430 children in the control schools (adjusted difference 50%, 95% CI 44–55). The intervention was effective for children with different levels of reading skills, but was more effective for children with better reading skills. Interpretation The use of the Informed Health Choices primary school learning resources, after an introductory workshop for the teachers, led to a large improvement in the ability of children to assess claims about the effects of treatments. The results show that it is possible to teach primary school children to think critically in schools with large student to teacher ratios and few resources. Future studies should address how to scale up use of the resources, long-term effects, including effects on actual health choices, transferability to other countries, and how to build on this programme with additional primary and secondary school learning resources. Funding Research Council of Norway.

RationaleSeasonal influenza vaccination rates are below the recommended targets, contributing to significant preventable harms. Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), a widely applied model of motivation to respond to threats, may provide some insights into strategies to increase the rate of vaccine uptake. Yet, previous research has omitted some of the proposed predictors of intention when applying this model to vaccination.ObjectiveThe aim of the study is to assess the utility of the PMT in predicting intention to obtain the seasonal influenza vaccine. This study will be the first to examine the role of all six PMT constructs in predicting intention to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine.MethodA cross-sectional study of 547 US residents was conducted using Amazon MTurk.ResultsAll constructs show significant bivariate correlations in the direction expected from the prior literature. Further examination of the theory within a linear regression model, however, found that perceived costs of vaccinating (i.e., response costs) did not uniquely account for variance in intention. All other components, perceived severity of and susceptibility to influenza, the perceived benefits of not vaccinating (i.e., maladaptive response rewards), the self-efficacy to vaccinate, and the perceived efficacy of vaccinating in preventing influenza (i.e., response efficacy) were unique predictors of intention. Overall, the PMT accounted for 62% of the variance in intention to vaccinate.ConclusionsThe study is the first to investigate influenza vaccination using all six theorised predictors of intention from the PMT. The findings highlight the importance of the simultaneous inclusion of all components of the model in assessing their potential utility as targets for intervention. Importantly, the results identify under-utilised constructs in the promotion of vaccine uptake, such as maladaptive response rewards, which should be considered targets for future intervention.

When Eigil Rosegar Poulsen first heard about the controversy over the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination in Denmark, he became quite upset. Still, the debate sparked a desire to share his story.

BackgroundFunding for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in Japan began in 2010 for girls aged 12–16 years, with three-dose coverage initially reaching more than 70%. On June 14, 2013, 2 months after formal inclusion in Japan's national immunisation programme, proactive recommendations for the HPV vaccine were suspended following reports of adverse events since found to be unrelated to vaccination, but which were extensively covered in the media. Vaccine coverage subsequently dropped to less than 1% and has remained this low to date. We aimed to quantify the impact of this vaccine hesitancy crisis, and the potential health gains if coverage can be restored.MethodsIn this modelling study, we used the Policy1-Cervix modelling platform. We adapted the model for Japan with use of data on HPV prevalence, screening practices and coverage, and cervical cancer incidence and mortality. We evaluated the expected number of cervical cancer cases and deaths over the lifetime of cohorts born from 1994 to 2007 in the context of the vaccine hesitancy crisis. We assessed a range of recovery scenarios from 2020 onwards, including a scenario in which routine coverage is restored to 70%, with 50% catch-up coverage for the missed cohorts (aged 13–20 years in 2020). To estimate the impact of the vaccine crisis to date, we also modelled a counterfactual scenario in which 70% coverage had been maintained in 12-year-olds from 2013 onwards.FindingsThe vaccine crisis from 2013 to 2019 is predicted to result in an additional 24 600–27 300 cases and 5000–5700 deaths over the lifetime of cohorts born between 1994 and 2007, compared with if coverage had remained at around 70% since 2013. However, restoration of coverage in 2020, including catch-up vaccination for missed cohorts, could prevent 14 800–16 200 of these cases and 3000–3400 of these deaths. If coverage is not restored in 2020, an additional 3400–3800 cases and 700–800 deaths will occur over the lifetime of individuals who are 12 years old in 2020 alone. If the crisis continues, 9300–10 800 preventable deaths due to cervical cancer will occur in the next 50 years (2020–69).InterpretationThe HPV vaccine crisis to date is estimated to result in around 5000 deaths from cervical cancer in Japan. Many of these deaths could still be prevented if vaccination coverage with extended catch-up can be rapidly restored.FundingNational Health and Medical Research Council Australia Centre of Research Excellence in Cervical Cancer Control, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

The World Health Assembly has adopted the global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem.

Objective To quantify the effect on cervical disease at age 20 years of immunisation with bivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at age 12-13 years.Design Retrospective population study, 1988-96.Setting National vaccination and cervical screening programmes in Scotland.Participants 138 692 women born between 1 January 1988 and 5 June 1996 and who had a smear test result recorded at age 20.Main outcome measures Effect of vaccination on cytology results and associated histological diagnoses from first year of screening (while aged 20), calculated using logistic regression.Results 138 692 records were retrieved. Compared with unvaccinated women born in 1988, vaccinated women born in 1995 and 1996 showed an 89% reduction (95% confidence interval 81% to 94%) in prevalent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 3 or worse (from 0.59% (0.48% to 0.71%) to 0.06% (0.04% to 0.11%)), an 88% reduction (83% to 92%) in CIN grade 2 or worse (from 1.44% (1.28% to 1.63%) to 0.17% (0.12% to 0.24%)), and a 79% reduction (69% to 86%) in CIN grade 1 (from 0.69% (0.58% to 0.63%) to 0.15% (0.10% to 0.21%)). Younger age at immunisation was associated with increasing vaccine effectiveness: 86% (75% to 92%) for CIN grade 3 or worse for women vaccinated at age 12-13 compared with 51% (28% to 66%) for women vaccinated at age 17. Evidence of herd protection against high grade cervical disease was found in unvaccinated girls in the 1995 and 1996 cohorts.Conclusions Routine vaccination of girls aged 12-13 years with the bivalent HPV vaccine in Scotland has led to a dramatic reduction in preinvasive cervical disease. Evidence of clinically relevant herd protection is apparent in unvaccinated women. These data are consistent with the reduced prevalence of high risk HPV in Scotland. The bivalent vaccine is confirmed as being highly effective vaccine and should greatly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. The findings will need to be considered by cervical cancer prevention programmes worldwide.

In November 2017, it was announced that the new dengue vaccine (“Dengvaxia”) had risks for those not previously exposed to dengue. While some countries proceeded with adjusting guidance accordingly, the Philippines reacted with outrage and political turmoil with naming and shaming of government officials involved in purchasing the vaccine, as well as scientists involved in the vaccine trials and assessment. The result was broken public trust around the dengue vaccine as well heightened anxiety around vaccines in general. The Vaccine Confidence ProjectTM measured the impact of this crisis, comparing confidence levels in 2015, before the incident, with levels in 2018. The findings reflect a dramatic drop in vaccine confidence from 93% “strongly agreeing” that vaccines are important in 2015 to 32% in 2018. There was a drop in confidence in those strongly agreeing that vaccines are safe from 82% in 2015 to only 21% in 2018; similarly confidence in the effectiveness of vaccines dropped from 82% in 2015 to only 22%. This article highlights the importance of routinely identifying gaps or breakdowns in public confidence in order to rebuild trust, before a pandemic threat, when societal and political cooperation with be key to an effective response.

New research from First Draft goes into detail on how staged footage became an engine for vaccine misinformation and mistrust in Pakistan, derailing efforts to immunise millions of children.

Although conspiracy theories are endorsed by about half the population and occasionally turn out to be true, they are more typically false beliefs that, by definition, have a paranoid theme. Consequently, psychological research to date has focused on determining whether there are traits that account for belief in conspiracy theories (BCT) within a deficit model. Alternatively, a two-component, socio-epistemic model of BCT is proposed that seeks to account for the ubiquity of conspiracy theories, their variance along a continuum, and the inconsistency of research findings likening them to psychopathology. Within this model, epistemic mistrust is the core component underlying conspiracist ideation that manifests as the rejection of authoritative information, focuses the specificity of conspiracy theory beliefs, and can sometimes be understood as a sociocultural response to breaches of trust, inequities of power, and existing racial prejudices. Once voices of authority are negated due to mistrust, the resulting epistemic vacuum can send individuals “down the rabbit hole” looking for answers where they are vulnerable to the biased processing of information and misinformation within an increasingly “post-truth” world. The two-component, socio-epistemic model of BCT argues for mitigation strategies that address both mistrust and misinformation processing, with interventions for individuals, institutions of authority, and society as a whole.

On social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, we are increasingly witnessing the division of people into filter bubbles.1 These bubbles are driven by personal biases, because we selectively orient ourselves toward people, groups, organizations, and institutions who share our attitudes and beliefs. Although the idea of connecting to like-minded others is not new, social media amplify this process. In the past five years, increasingly polarizing topics have come to the forefront of society facilitated by these networked, online platforms. Even though these platforms have the potential to facilitate open dialogue and inclusion, they also allow anonymous participants to inject commentary and vitriol in what some have described as a Wild West–like atmosphere.In this issue of AJPH, in their article on Twitter bots, Russian trolls, and the public health vaccine debate, Broniatowski et al. (p. 1378) describe just how sophisticated the exploitation of the social media environment can be. Their study serves as a warning for all who study public health communication on social media and those who seek to use these platforms to either inform communication strategies or communicate with the public.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby said Monday that 98.5% of its U.S.-based employees have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

The state has the highest rate of Covid in America, leaving hospitals overwhelmed and health workers burned out

The brains trust behind CovidbaseAU was anonymous before Wesley, 14, and 15 year olds Jack and Darcy tweeted a photograph of themselves

Studies suggesting ivermectin is an effective Covid treatment relied on evidence ‘that has substantially evaporated under close scrutiny’, fresh research shows

As Covid-19 cases in Peru rose rapidly during the early months of the pandemic, public interest in the drug ivermectin surged.

The Indian Council of Medical Research and the Covid-19 National Task Force have dropped the usage of Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) drugs from their revised "clinical guidance for management of adult Covid-19 patients".

Canadians overwhelmingly support the idea of requiring vaccine passports to gain admittance to public places such as restaurants, bars and gyms, a new poll suggests. Fully 78 per cent of respondents to the Leger poll said they strongly support (56 per cent) or somewhat support (22 per cent) requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to visit non-essential public places where numerous people typically congregate, including concert halls and festivals.

Abstract Background: Long COVID is a complex multiorgan disorder that can affect patients’ lives severely. Recent reports suggest that symptoms improve after COVID-19 vaccination. Methods: We used data from the ComPaRe long COVID cohort to emulate a target trial evaluating the effect of vaccination among patients with long COVID who still had persistent symptoms at baseline. Vaccinated patients were matched to unvaccinated controls in a 1:1 ratio by their propensity scores. Outcomes, all measured at 120 days after baseline, include disease severity (long COVID ST, range 0-53), rate of complete remission (ie, disappearance of all symptoms), disease impact on patients’ lives (long covid IT, range 0-60), and the proportion of patients reporting an unacceptable symptom state. Vaccinated patients reported all adverse events occurring after vaccination in free text. Findings: In total, 455 patients were allocated to the vaccination group and 455 to the control group; 545 (60·1%) had confirmed infections, and 81 (8·9%) had been hospitalized during their acute COVID-19. By 120 days, vaccination reduced the long COVID symptoms (mean (SD) ST score in the vaccination group 13·0 (9·4) vs. 14·8 (9·8) in the control group; mean difference: -1·8, 95% CI -2·5 to -1·0) and doubled the rate of patients in complete remission (remission rate 16·6% vs 7·5%, HR: 1·97, 95% CI 1·23 to 3·15). Furthermore, vaccination reduced both disease impact on patients’ lives (mean (SD) IT score 24.3 (16·7) vs 27·6 (16·7); mean difference: -3·3, 95% CI -6·2 to -0·5) and the proportion of patients with an unacceptable symptom state (38.9% vs 46.4%, risk difference -7·5%, 95% CI -14·4 to -0·5). In the vaccination group, two (0·4%) patients reported serious adverse events leading to hospitalisation. Interpretation: COVID-19 vaccination lowers the severity and life impact of long COVID at 120 days among patients with persistent symptoms.Funding Information: The authors received no specific funding for this work.Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests and no financial associations that may be relevant or seen as relevant to the submitted manuscript. The authors have no association with commercial entities that could be viewed as having an interest in the general area of the submitted manuscript.Ethics Approval Statement: All patients provided online consent before participating in the cohort. The Institutional Review Board of Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Paris, approved the study (IRB: 0008367). Keywords: COVID-19, long COVID, COVID-19 vaccination, comparative effectiveness research, causal inference, target trial emulation

Recent research has explored the possibility of building attitudinal resistance against online misinformation through psychological inoculation. The inoculation metaphor relies on a medical analogy: by pre-emptively exposing people to weakened doses of misinformation cognitive immunity can be conferred. A recent example is the Bad News game, an online fake news game in which players learn about six common misinformation techniques. We present a replication and extension into the effectiveness of Bad News as an anti-misinformation intervention. We address three shortcomings identified in the original study: the lack of a control group, the relatively low number of test items, and the absence of attitudinal certainty measurements. Using a 2 (treatment vs. control) × 2 (pre vs. post) mixed design (N = 196) we measure participants’ ability to spot misinformation techniques in 18 fake headlines before and after playing Bad News. We find that playing Bad News significantly improves people’s ability to spot misinformation techniques compared to a gamified control group, and crucially, also increases people’s level of confidence in their own judgments. Importantly, this confidence boost only occurred for those who updated their reliability assessments in the correct direction. This study offers further evidence for the effectiveness of psychological inoculation against not only specific instances of fake news, but the very strategies used in its production. Implications are discussed for inoculation theory and cognitive science research on fake news.

Misinformation can undermine a well-functioning democracy. For example, public misconceptions about climate change can lead to lowered acceptance of the reality of climate change and lowered support for mitigation policies. This study experimentally explored the impact of misinformation about climate change and tested several pre-emptive interventions designed to reduce the influence of misinformation. We found that false-balance media coverage (giving contrarian views equal voice with climate scientists) lowered perceived consensus overall, although the effect was greater among free-market supporters. Likewise, misinformation that confuses people about the level of scientific agreement regarding anthropogenic global warming (AGW) had a polarizing effect, with free-market supporters reducing their acceptance of AGW and those with low free-market support increasing their acceptance of AGW. However, we found that inoculating messages that (1) explain the flawed argumentation technique used in the misinformation or that (2) highlight the scientific consensus on climate change were effective in neutralizing those adverse effects of misinformation. We recommend that climate communication messages should take into account ways in which scientific content can be distorted, and include pre-emptive inoculation messages.

Country on frontline of information war teaches everyone from school pupils to politicians how to spot slippery information

Social media are often criticized for being a conduit for misinformation on global health issues, but may also serve as a corrective to false information. To investigate this possibility, an experiment was conducted exposing users to a simulated Facebook News Feed featuring misinformation and different correction mechanisms (one in which news stories featuring correct information were produced by an algorithm and another where the corrective news stories were posted by other Facebook users) about the Zika virus, a current global health threat. Results show that algorithmic and social corrections are equally effective in limiting misperceptions, and correction occurs for both high and low conspiracy belief individuals. Recommendations for social media campaigns to correct global health misinformation, including encouraging users to refute false or misleading health information, and providing them appropriate sources to accompany their refutation, are discussed.

Employment data shows that very few Maine health care workers have quit their jobs over the recent statewide COVID vaccine mandate, despite a number of lawsuits and ongoing protests organized by anti-vaccine activists, suggesting that opponents of the mandate represent a vocal minority in Maine.

Vaccine-specific CD4+ T cell, CD8+ T cell, binding antibody, and neutralizing antibody responses to the 25-μg Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine were examined over 7 months post-immunization, including multiple age groups, with a particular interest in assessing whether pre-existing cross-reactive T cell memory impacts vaccine-generated immunity. Vaccine-generated spike-specific memory CD4+ T cells 6 months post-boost were comparable in quantity and quality to COVID-19 cases, including the presence of T follicular helper cells and IFNγ-expressing cells. Spike-specific CD8+ T cells were generated in 88% of subjects, with equivalent memory at 6 months post-boost compared to COVID-19 cases. Lastly, subjects with pre-existing cross-reactive CD4+ T cell memory had increased CD4+ T cell and antibody responses to the vaccine, demonstrating the biological relevance of SARS-CoV-2–cross-reactive CD4+ T cells.

One in four American adults have yet to receive even one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. To explain the risk they pose to themselves and others, we propose an analogy: The choice to remain unvaccinated is equivalent to driving while intoxicated. Support our journalism. Subscribe today ArrowRightSome might balk at this comparison, but here are the similarities. Both causes of severe bodily harm are largely preventable — covid-19 through vaccination, and drunken driving by not driving after drinking alcohol. Both are individual decisions with societal consequences.

The past several months have witnessed the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with novel spike protein mutations that are influencing the epidemiological and clinical aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. These variants can increase rates of virus transmission and/or increase the risk of reinfection and reduce the protection afforded by neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and vaccination. These variants can therefore enable SARS-CoV-2 to continue its spread in the face of rising population immunity while maintaining or increasing its replication fitness. The identification of four rapidly expanding virus lineages since December 2020, designated variants of concern, has ushered in a new stage of the pandemic. The four variants of concern, the Alpha variant (originally identified in the UK), the Beta variant (originally identified in South Africa), the Gamma variant (originally identified in Brazil) and the Delta variant (originally identified in India), share several mutations with one another as well as with an increasing number of other recently identified SARS-CoV-2 variants. Collectively, these SARS-CoV-2 variants complicate the COVID-19 research agenda and necessitate additional avenues of laboratory, epidemiological and clinical research.

When the highly transmissible delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 hit the United States in July, our levels of vaccination across the country were highly variable. Places like California had just opened up (June 15, 2021) with a 55% full vaccination rate of eligible adults and others (like Missouri) had only one third of their eligible population at that time. These discrepancies in vaccination rates with the onset of delta across the country played out dramatically. Although cases rose throughout the country, the hospitalization to case ratio was much lower in states with high levels of vaccination, a function of the vaccines’ ongoing protection against severe disease.

Perverse academic incentives that reward researchers primarily for publishing papers in high-impact journals have long pushed entire fields toward sloppy, irreproducible work; during the pandemic, scientists have flooded the literature with similarly half-baked and misleading research. Pundits have urged people to “listen to the science,” as if “the science” is a tome of facts and not an amorphous, dynamic entity, born from the collective minds of thousands of individual people who argue and disagree about data that can be interpreted in a range of ways.

Israeli data adds to mounting evidence that taking a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy is safe.

Drug companies and wealthy countries are facing increased pressure to partner with firms in the global south but are reluctant to relinquish control.

Guidelines say health staff can decide whether children receive jab without parental consent, as headteachers fear protests

We have been asked on WhatsApp about what is known on the Covid-19 vaccines crossing the placenta. Can a baby get any protection from their mother’s vaccination, and does mRNA —which is present in some of the vaccines— go across the placenta and pass from the mother to the baby? Most of the research about the Covid-19 vaccines in pregnancy has focussed on evidence of any harms to mother and baby, and the effectiveness of the vaccines for pregnant women, rather than looking directly at what crosses the placenta. We have written more about this previously.  Both of the Covid-19 vaccines recommended in pregnancy at present are mRNA vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer). mRNA vaccines work by using a lipid (fatty) membrane to deliver the genetic code (mRNA) for a protein specific to the pathogen’s surface (in the case of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein). Cells in the body then use this mRNA to build copies of these proteins which the immune system responds to by producing antibodies. This provides protection if the person catches the real disease later. 

Our results indicate that for the first post-pandemic interval evaluated (i.e., March 2020 - February 2021), suicide rates in Canada decreased against a background of extraordinary public health measures intended to mitigate community spread of COVID-19. An externality of public health measures was a significant rise in national unemployment rates in population measures of distress. Our results suggest that government interventions that broadly aim to reduce measures of insecurity (i.e., economic, housing, health), and timely psychiatric services, should be prioritised as part of a national suicide reduction strategy, not only during but after termination of the COVID-19 pandemic.

am a cognitive scientist at the University of Bristol. My research explores these major streams: People’s responses to misinformation and propaganda, and how corrections affect our memory. Why people reject well-established scientific facts, such as climate change or the effectiveness of vaccinations. The potential conflict between the architecture of our online information ecosystem and democracy.

Trial enrolled over 30,000 adult & elderly participants across 4 continents; 100% of SARS-CoV-2 strains observed in efficacy analysis were variants (Delta was predominant strain)  Primary and secondary efficacy endpoints were successfully met  100% efficacy against severe COVID-19 & hospitalization and 84% efficacy against moderate-to-severe COVID-19 caused by any strain of SARS-CoV-2 in SPECTRA 79% efficacy against COVID-19 of any severity caused by the globally dominant Delta variant  Favorable safety profile; no significant differences in systemic adverse events or severe/serious adverse events compared to placebo  First COVID-19 vaccine to demonstrate significantly reduced risk of COVID-19 disease in previously infected individuals

7/n so I don't think "we don't want coercive measures" can simultaneously feature as a premise/reason in that argument.

6/n and passports are *inherently* coercive (by design). So that setting against these data the argument "we don't want coercive measures"(your second reply) seems question begging to me. We are *evaluating* whether or not the coercive measure of vaccine passports is justified.

5/n moreover, that "event" is explicitly *designed* to promote this response (at least in part), as is clear in all of the write ups I just listed

4/n You had two replies: 1. inferring causation from correlation. I'm a behavioural scientist, so couldn't agree more. But these are *massive spikes* after same event across multiple, distinct populations. I'm comfortable with that evidence Replying to @SciBeh and @alexdefig

3/n Alberta, Canada (to fight COVID surge collapsing health care system) https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/covid-19-main-september-17… same policies, nice graph: https://tvo.org/article/heres-ontarios-latest-vaccine-and-vaccine-passport-update-september-14… British Columbia, Canada https://globalnews.ca/news/8141626/bc-vaccine-passport-bookings/… Ontario, Canada

2/n here some data: Increased vaccine uptake after vaccine passport: France https://newstatesman.com/international-content/2021/08/why-emmanuel-macrons-vaccine-passport-scheme-worked… https://cp24.com/news/are-vaccine-passports-moving-the-needle-on-getting-people-inoculated-1.5535875?cache=%3FclipId%3D89750%3FclipId%3D263414… Italy https://forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2021/07/27/explosion-in-vaccinations-and-protests-follow-health-pass-announcements-as-europe-cracks-down-on-vaccine-holdouts/?sh=669cc59b136b… Netherlands

To clarify: you posted arguments against introducing vaccine passports. One was that there is a survey suggesting passports might decrease vaccine intention. I suggested that one needs to set against that the finding that vaccine uptake increased (often dramatically) 1/n

Hundreds of scientists had worked on mRNA vaccines for decades before the coronavirus pandemic brought a breakthrough.

Cradle of auto industry was poised for U.S.'s 1st seat belt law in early '80s, but mandate faced a bitter battle.

Delta was recognised as a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern in May 2021 and has proved extremely difficult to control in unvaccinated populations.Delta has managed to out-compete other variants, including Alpha. Variants are classified as "of concern" because they're either more contagious than the original, cause more hospitalisations and deaths, or are better at evading vaccines and therapies. Or all of the above.So how does Delta fare on these measures? And what have we learnt since Delta was first listed as a variant of concern?

Just 0.2% of COVID-19 vaccine doses delivered to lower-income countries through COVAX expired before they could be administered, estimated to be a significantly lower quantity than in wealthier countries.

Although people who have recovered from COVID-19 may be less likely to catch it again, there are many reasons to avoid becoming infected in the first place.

In order to control the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19, it will be important to develop a communication strategy to counteract “vaccine resistance”, that is, the refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine even when available. This paper reports the results of a survey experiment testing the impacts of several types of message content: the safety and efficacy of the vaccine itself, the likelihood that others will take the vaccine, and the possible role of politics in driving resistance to the vaccine. In an original survey of 1,123 American M-Turk respondents conducted in the summer of 2020, we provided six different information conditions suggesting the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, the lack of safety/efficacy of the vaccine, the suggestion that most others would take the vaccine, the suggestion that most others would not take the vaccine, the suggestion that the vaccine is being promoted by liberals to gain greater control over individual freedom, and the suggestion that its approval is being by President Trump rushed for political motivations. We compared the responses for those in the treatment groups with a control group who received no additional information. In comparison to the control group, those who received information about the safety/efficacy of the vaccine were more likely to report that they would take the vaccine, those who received information that others were reluctant to take the vaccine were more likely to report that they themselves would not take it, and those who received information about political influences on vaccine development expressed resistance to taking it. Communication of effective messages about the vaccine will be essential for public health agencies that seek to promote vaccine uptake.

The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine has been accompanied by increased discussion of vaccine hesitancy. However, it is unclear if there are shared patterns between general vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 vaccine rejection, or if these are two different concepts. This study characterized rejection of a hypothetical COVID-19 vaccine, and compared patterns of association between general vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 vaccine rejection. The survey was conducted online March 20-22, 2020. Participants answered questions on vaccine hesitancy and responded if they would accept the vaccine given different safety and effectiveness profiles. We assessed differences in COVID-19 rejection and general vaccine hesitancy through logistic regressions. Among 713 participants, 33.0% were vaccine hesitant, and 18.4% would reject a COVID-19 vaccine. Acceptance varied by effectiveness profile: 10.2% would reject a 95% effective COVID-19 vaccine, but 32.4% would reject a 50% effective vaccine. Those vaccine hesitant were significantly more likely to reject COVID-19 vaccination [odds ratio (OR): 5.56, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.39, 9.11]. In multivariable logistic regression models, there were similar patterns for vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 vaccine rejection by gender, race/ethnicity, family income, and political affiliation. But the direction of association flipped by urbanicity (P=0.0146, with rural dwellers less likely to be COVID-19 vaccine rejecters but more likely to be vaccine hesitant in general), and age (P=0.0037, with fewer pronounced differences across age for COVID-19 vaccine rejection, but a gradient of stronger vaccine hesitancy in general among younger ages). During the COVID-19 epidemic’s early phase, patterns of vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 vaccine rejection were relatively similar. A significant minority would reject a COVID-19 vaccine, especially one with less-than-ideal effectiveness. Preparations for introducing the COVID-19 vaccine should anticipate substantial hesitation and target concerns, especially among younger adults.

On Facebook, videos of people reporting disturbing side effects from the shots have been viewed by millions. Fact-checking efforts can't keep up.

Ein Pharmakonzern soll die Impfstoffentwicklung gegen das Coronavirus eingestellt haben, weil es besser wäre, infiziert zu werden und sein Immunsystem arbeiten zu lassen. Aber diese Behauptung stimmt nicht.

This episode of #StratComTalks​ looks at how this disinformation spreads vis-à-vis vaccination and how governments can prepare for this communications challenge.

Neutrophils are immune cells with unusual biological features that furnish potent antimicrobial properties. These cells phagocytose and subsequently kill prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms very efficiently. Importantly, it is not only their ability to attack microbes within a constrained intracellular compartment that endows neutrophils with antimicrobial function. They can unleash their effectors into the extracellular space, where, even post-mortem, their killing machinery can endure and remain functional. The antimicrobial activity of neutrophils must not be misconstrued as being microbe specific and should be viewed more generally as biotoxic. Outside of fighting infections, neutrophils can harness their noxious machinery in other contexts, like cancer. Inappropriate or dysregulated neutrophil activation damages the host and contributes to autoimmune and inflammatory disease. Here we review a number of topics related to neutrophil biology based on contemporary findings.