Mastodawn

Eric Topol Jul 21, 2023

The EG.5 variant of SARS-CoV-2 is showing a growth advantage in the US and many other countries now. It has evolved further from the XBBs.
Data from CDC and mutation map from Daniele Focosi

(4/4) A new biotechnology start-up in Queensland, Australia, is working on vaccine patches for influenza, COVID-19, measles and rubella, and hopes to start manufacturing and shipping vaccine patches within 3-5 years.
https://youtu.be/tFRZOaDTWMw

Biomedical company plans on making skin patches as an alternative to needles | 7NEWS

Vaccine patches could soon be delivered to your door from the floor of a Brisbane factory. A biomedical company plans on making millions of skin patches as a...

YouTube

(3/4) Skin patch vaccines are also likely to have fewer side effects because of the way they slowly dissolve over minutes to hours.

This slow-release formula is less likely to trigger flu-like symptoms that sometimes follow injectable vaccines.

(2/4) A key advantage of this technology is that a vaccine patch can induce a special kind of immunity in the skin, known as mucosal immunity, which can prevent infection and transmission. Injectable vaccines may only prevent severe disease.

(1/4) Could future vaccines be administered via a patch? Researchers have developed skin patches containing tiny “microneedles” made of sugar and salt which dissolve on contact with skin, painlessly administering a vaccine in the process. 🧵
https://asm.org/Articles/2022/December/Vaccines-Delivered-Via-Dissolvable-Skin-Patches

Vaccines Delivered via Dissolvable Skin Patches | ASM.org

No one likes getting a shot. Dissolvable skin patches are the way of the future for delivering vaccines. They are effective, safe and virtually painless. Why aren’t they a reality yet?

ASM.org

Eric Topol Jul 22, 2023

Cognitive testing ~2 years post-Covid in a prospective study with uninfected controls: persistent deficits related to longer duration and ongoing symptoms, not seen in those recovered https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(23)00263-8/fulltext

Dr Zoë Hyde Jul 23, 2023

(4/4) This study shows that super-spreading events can occur outside if the conditions are right. It’s probably a good idea to continue to wear a mask outside if the environment is crowded.

Link to study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1153303/full

Analysis of a super-transmission of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant BA.5.2 in the outdoor night market

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, and mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 continues. The new strain has become more transmissible. The role of aerosol transmission in the pandemic deserves great attention.MethodsIn this observational study, we collected data from market customers and stallholders who had been exposed to the virus in the Qingkou night market on July 31 and were subsequently infected. We analyzed the possible infection zones of secondary cases and aerosol suspension time in ambient air. We described and analyzed the characteristics of the secondary cases and the transmission routes for customers.ResultsThe point source outbreak of COVID-19 in Qingkou night market contained a cluster of 131 secondary cases. In a less-enclosed place like the Qingkou night market, aerosols with BA.5.2 strain released by patients could suspend in ambient air up to 1 h 39 min and still be contagious.ConclusionAerosols with viruses can spread over a relatively long distance and stay in ambient air for a long time in a less enclosed space, but shorter than that under experimental conditions. Therefore, the aerosol suspension time must be considered when identifying and tracing close contact in outbreak investigations.

Frontiers