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Below is a summary of recent research on COVID-19. They include studies that have not yet been qualified by peer review that require further research to support their findings.
Children’s noses are less protective against omicron
A subspecies of Omicron may be more efficient at infecting children through the nose than previous versions of the coronavirus, a small study suggests.
Early in the pandemic, children’s noses were less welcoming to the virus that causes COVID-19 than adult noses. In some studies of the original SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, the virus encountered stronger immune responses in young nasal lining cells than in adult nasal lining cells, and in children. It was found to be less efficient at making copies of itself than the cells that line the nose. nose. However, recent test-tube experiments mixing virus with nasal cells from 23 healthy children and 15 healthy adults found that nasal antiviral defenses in children were “significantly weaker in the case of Omicron.” Okay, the researchers reported Monday in PLOS Biology. They also report that Omicron self-replicated more efficiently in nasal mucosal cells in children compared to both Delta and the original virus.
As BA.5 OMICRON subvariant surges, vaccine experts urge at-risk people to get COVID-19 boosters now
“These data are consistent with the observed increase in the number of childhood infections during the Omicron wave,” the researchers wrote, calling for additional research.
Smell problems may predict memory problems after COVID-19
Severity of olfactory impairment after coronavirus infection may be a better predictor of long-term cognitive impairment than overall severity of COVID-19, according to a study from Argentina.
Researchers randomly sampled 766 people over the age of 60 and found that about 90% of them had the virus. Physical, cognitive, and neuropsychiatric examinations performed 3–6 months after infection showed some degree of memory impairment in her two-thirds of the infected participants. After considering an individual’s other risk factor, the severity of the loss of sense of smell known as anosmia, the researchers reported on Sunday at the 2022 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference held online and online in San Diego.
Study leader Gabriela Gonzalez said: “There is so much more we can track and do to gain insight into who, or at least who, will experience significant long-term cognitive impacts from COVID-19 infection.” We will be able to start developing ways to prevent Aleman, from Pontificia Catolica Argentina University in Buenos Aires, said in a statement:
Mandatory vaccines leading to improved staffing in nursing homes
In U.S. states that have mandated COVID-19 vaccines for nursing home staff, the rules have had the desired effect and did not lead to mass retirements or staffing shortages, a study found.
But states without such mandates experienced staffing shortages at nursing homes during the study period, researchers reported Friday at the JAMA Health Forum.From mid-June to mid-November 2021 National Healthcare Data collected from the Safety Network showed staff vaccination rates ranged from 78.7% to 95.2% in the 12 states with mandatory COVID-19 vaccines. States without mandates “had consistently lower staff vaccination rates during the study period” and “higher rates of reported staff shortages throughout the study period,” the report said. .
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“The association of higher vaccination coverage and mandates contrasts with previous efforts to increase uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine among nursing home staff through education, outreach, and incentives,” said Dr. researchers said. They added that the data “suggests that fears of massive staffing shortages due to vaccine mandates may be unfounded.”