MRNA vaccines activate the safety immune response; some cancer medications may help

August 25 (Reuters) – Here is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that justifies an additional study to corroborate the findings and has not yet been certified by the peer review.

Antibodies decrease, but other immune defenses remain alert

A new study may help explain why Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines are more effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths than in preventing infections. Experiments with test tubes in blood samples from 61 fully vaccinated adults showed that at six months the vaccine-induced antibodies that can immediately neutralize the virus had decreased. But so-called memory B cells, which produce new antibodies if they come across the virus later, had increased and improved the recognition of viral variants, according to a report released Monday in bioRxiv ahead of the peer review. “Your immune system has a backup,” said study leader John Wherry of the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. B-cell antibody production may take a few days to start, but these memory B cells “come into action and prevent serious disease,” Wherry added.

Early data favor certain cancer treatments during the pandemic

Some cancer drugs may help protect patients with malignant diseases from the new coronavirus infection, preliminary data suggest. The drugs, known as mTOR / PI3K inhibitors and antimetabolites, target the parts of the cells that the virus uses to enter and make copies of itself, including a “gateway” protein to cell surfaces. Called angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The study of 1,701 cancer patients found that, after considering the underlying risk factors, patients treated with mTOR / PI3K inhibitors or antimetabolites that reduced ACE2 were 47% less likely to test positive for viruses than patients who received other pharmacological therapies. Eli Lilly’s Gemzar (gemcitabine) appeared to be especially promising, according to the report published in JAMA Oncology on Thursday. However, the study does not show that the drugs reduced infection rates and much more research is needed to confirm their potential to protect patients with coronavirus cancer.

One in four vaccinated LA residents had COVID

From May to July 2021, as the Delta variant spread, 43,127 residents of Los Angeles County in California were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infections. One in four had been completely vaccinated, although these patients had hospitalization rates (3.2% versus 7.6%), intensive care (0.5% versus 1.5%), and needed machines to help. to breathe (0.2% vs. 0.5%) than unvaccinated patients, public health officials reported Tuesday in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s weekly morbidity and mortality report. During the study period, the prevalence of the Delta variant went from less than 9% to at least 87%, the authors note. As of July 25, hospitalization rates were 29 times higher for unvaccinated patients, they estimated, “indicating that COVID-19 vaccination protects against severe COVID-19 in areas with a prevalence growing of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant ”.

Click for a Reuters chart on developing vaccines.

Nancy Lapid Reports; Edited by Tiffany Wu

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