Research Roundup: Covid; Vaccines; Nano-Capsules; Happiness; HAIs

CIDRAP: Study: Half Of COVID-19 Survivors Have At Least 1 Symptom A Year Later
Roughly half of 1,276 adult COVID-19 survivors in Wuhan, China, still had at least one symptom—with a third still reporting shortness of breath—a year after their release from the hospital, finds a single-center study yesterday in The Lancet. Led by researchers at Capital Medical University in Beijing, the study involved evaluating and interviewing COVID-19 survivors 6 and 12 months after symptom onset (Jan 7 to May 29, 2020). (Van Beusekom, 8/27)

CIDRAP: COVID Long-Haulers May Be At Risk For Severe Kidney Disease 
COVID-19 long-haulers—even those who experienced mild cases—are at significantly increased risk for substantial declines in kidney function, such as organ damage and chronic and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), according to a study today in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Long COVID-19 consists of lung and other organ dysfunction and symptoms for months after recovery from the initial infection. (Van Beusekom, 9/1)

CIDRAP: Study: Vaccines Slash Long-Haul COVID, Hospital Rates
The odds of long COVID-19 fall by more than half after two doses of vaccine, the risk of hospitalization drops by more than two-thirds, and breakthrough infections are nearly twice as likely to be asymptomatic, according to a UK study yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. (Van Beusekom, 9/2)

CIDRAP: SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Doubles Hospital Risk, Study Shows 
The SARS-CoV-2 Delta (B1617.2) variant poses twice the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization as the Alpha (B117) strain, according to a large study late last week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study, led by researchers at Public Health England, is the first to report the hospitalization risks of the Delta and Alpha variants and the largest whole-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequencing effort in a high-income country, the authors said. It involved 43,338 English COVID-19 patients of all ages infected with either variant from Mar 29 to May 23, 2021. (Van Beusekom, 8/30)

New England Journal of Medicine: Effectiveness Of Covid-19 Vaccines In Ambulatory And Inpatient Care Settings 
There are limited data on the effectiveness of the vaccines against symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) currently authorized in the United States with respect to hospitalization, admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), or ambulatory care in an emergency department or urgent care clinic. (Thompson et al, 9/8)

CIDRAP: Vaccine Less Protective But Very Beneficial Vs Delta SARS-CoV-2 Variant
COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against the Delta (B1617.2) variant was 65% in those fully vaccinated, according to a population-based study in Norway. The results, published in Eurosurveillance yesterday, looked at 4,204,859 infected adults without previous COVID-19 from mid-April to mid-August. (9/3)

CIDRAP: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine 96% Effective In Pregnant Women, Study Says
Results from an observational cohort study of pregnant women indicated a 96% vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 infection and an 89% VE against hospitalization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in pregnant women, according to a study in Nature Medicine today. The researchers matched 10,861 Israeli pregnant women who received the Pfizer vaccine with 10,861 who weren't from Dec 20, 2020, to Jun 3, 2021. All women were 16 and older (median age, 30 years), and 26%, 48%, and 26% of pregnancies were in the first, second, and third trimesters, respectively. Almost one in five women (18%) had at least one risk factor for severe COVID-19, most commonly obesity. Median follow-up was 77 days. (9/7)

Also —

ScienceDaily: Scientists Distill Cow’s Milk Into Nano-Capsules For Drug Delivery
Exosomes are nano-sized biological capsules that cells produce to protect and courier delicate molecules throughout the body. The capsules are hardy enough to withstand enzymatic breakdown, as well as acidic and temperature fluctuations in the gut and bloodstream, making them a prime candidate for drug delivery. (Virginia Tech, 8/23)

ScienceDaily: Think Leisure Is A Waste? That May Not Bode Well For Your Mental Health
Feeling like leisure is wasteful and unproductive may lead to less happiness and higher levels of stress and depression, new research suggests. In a series of studies, researchers examined the effects of a common belief in modern society: that productivity is the ultimate goal and time's a-wasting if you're just having fun. People who most strongly agreed with this belief not only enjoyed leisure less, but also reported poorer mental health outcomes, said Selin Malkoc, co-author of the study and associate professor of marketing at Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. (Ohio State University, 8/23)

CIDRAP: Healthcare-Associated Infections Rose In 2020, CDC Says
A new study by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, after years of decline, US hospitals saw significant increases in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in 2020, largely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Published today in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the analysis of National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) data from acute care hospitals in 12 states found that rates of central-line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), and ventilator-associated events (VAEs) saw significant increases in 2020 compared with 2019, particularly in the second half of the year. (Dall, 9/2)