Development of an effective immune response in adults with Down Syndrome after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination

Immune dysregulation in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) leads to an increased risk for hospitalization and death due to COVID-19 and may impair the generation of protective immunity after vaccine administration. The cellular and humoral responses of 55 DS patients who received a complete SARS-CoV-2 vaccination regime at one to three (V1) and six (V2) months were characterised. SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes with a predominant Th1 phenotype were observed at V1, and increased at V2. Likewise, a sustained increase of SARS-CoV-2-specific circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells was observed one to three months after vaccine administration. Specific IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 S protein were detected in 96% and 98% of subjects at V1 and V2, respectively, though IgG titers decreased significantly between both timepoints.

Vaccine-associated complications: a comparative multicenter evaluation among dental practitioners and dental students—which candidate vaccine is more safe in SARS COV II, Gam-COVID-Vac (Sputnik V), ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AstraZeneca), BBV152 (Covaxin), or BBIBP-CorV(Sinopharm)?

Background The rapidly developed vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 carry a risk of provoking side effects. This study aimed to evaluate current vaccination non-serious/serious side effects. Methods A multicenter electronic questionnaire via an online platform was conducted over a 1-week period among vaccinated dental staff and dental students inquiring whether they experienced vaccine-related side-effects after vaccine administration. Results A total of 1205 respondents with a mean age of 39 (SD: 12) were retained for the analyses. The following vaccines were reported; Gam-COVID-Vac (Sputnik V), ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AstraZeneca), BBV152 (Covaxin), or BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm). The majority of respondents received ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (51.1%) and Gam-COVID-Vac (37.6%). The symptoms most frequently reported after vaccination were fatigue (79%), local pain in the injection site (77.4%), malaise (73%), and body pain (71.1%). Enrollees reported more onset of reactions on 0–12 h (44.1%) and 12–24 h (29.0%) after vaccine administration (p value <0.001). In 75.7%, the side effects last for up to 3 days. Merely 5.5% of cases reported the presence of side effects after the first week. Individuals with a history of SARSCoV-2 and other infections (MERS, influenza, and EBV) were more likely to report a number of unserious systemic side effects. Conclusion The commonly reported adverse events were in line with similar studies. We have concerns with the frequency of serious adverse effects. This work necessitates the need for further clinical assessments with larger sample sizes.

Vaccine Administration in Children’s Hospitals

OBJECTIVES: To examine inpatient vaccine delivery across a national sample of children’s hospitals. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study examining vaccine administration at 49 children’s hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information System database. Children &lt;18 years old admitted between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2019, and age eligible for vaccinations were included. We determined the proportion of hospitalizations with ≥1 dose of any vaccine type administered overall and by hospital, the type of vaccines administered, and the demographic characteristics of children who received vaccines. We calculated adjusted hospital-level rates for each vaccine type by hospital. We used logistic and linear regression models to examine characteristics associated with vaccine administration. RESULTS: There were 1 185 667 children and 1 536 340 hospitalizations included. The mean age was 5.5 years; 18% were non-Hispanic Black, and 55% had public insurance. There were ≥1 vaccine doses administered in 12.9% (95% confidence interval: 12.8–12.9) of hospitalizations, ranging from 1% to 45% across hospitals. The most common vaccines administered were hepatitis B and influenza. Vaccine doses other than the hepatitis B birth dose and influenza were administered in 1.9% of hospitalizations. Children had higher odds of receiving a vaccine dose other than the hepatitis B birth dose or influenza if they were &lt;2 months old, had public insurance, were non-Hispanic Black race, were medically complex, or had a length of stay ≥3 days. CONCLUSIONS: In this national study, few hospitalizations involved vaccine administration with substantial variability across US children's hospitals. Efforts to standardize inpatient vaccine administration may represent an opportunity to increase childhood vaccine coverage.

Modeling the Influence of Vaccine Administration on COVID-19 Testing Strategies

Vaccination is considered the best strategy for limiting and eliminating the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of this strategy relies on the rate of vaccine deployment and acceptance across the globe. As these efforts are being conducted, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is continuously mutating, which leads to the emergence of variants with increased transmissibility, virulence, and resistance to vaccines. One important question is whether surveillance testing is still needed in order to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a vaccinated population. In this study, we developed a multi-scale mathematical model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a vaccinated population and used it to predict the role of testing in an outbreak with variants of increased transmissibility. We found that, for low transmissibility variants, testing was most effective when vaccination levels were low to moderate and its impact was diminished when vaccination levels were high. For high transmissibility variants, widespread vaccination was necessary in order for testing to have a significant impact on preventing outbreaks, with the impact of testing having maximum effects when focused on the non-vaccinated population.