Intensivist: BA.5 "re-infection" hospitalization mortality rate skyrocketed! Understand who can get the bivalent vaccine and when to get it
BA.5 Is the risk of “re-infection” high? Risk of all-cause death ‘more than doubled’, study says
The BA.5 epidemic in Taiwan is approaching fiercely. People who have not been diagnosed must continue to take preventive measures to avoid contracting the epidemic; those who have been diagnosed and recovered must not take it lightly and be careful to prevent “reinfecion” of BA.5. Dr. Huang Xuan, an expert in critical care medicine, pointed out in a social post that according to the latest research, reinfection of BA.5 may increase the risk of Long Covid, and hospitalization and mortality rates of certain groups are also on the rise.
According to the “Annals of Medicine and Surgery” study, the team used computer simulations to simulate five reinfections, and the chance of suffering from COVID-19 would increase from 20% to about 50%; and if one is repeatedly infected with COVID-19 twice in one year, the chance of contracting COVID-19 will increase in the next three years. During the year, the risk of contracting COVID-19 increased from 10% to 50%.
In addition, Dr. Huang Xuan also emphasized that more than two reinfections of BA.5 may increase the risk of hospitalization by about three times; it will also increase the risk of all-cause death among reinfected patients by 114% within 6 months. According to the above, risk groups that are prone to reinfection and severe illness include patients with diabetes, cardiopulmonary disease, kidney disease, gastrointestinal disease, and neurological disease.
Is the vaccine effective against BA.5? Critical care doctor reveals: The third dose is nearly 90% protective against death
“Re-infection” is one of the characteristics of BA.5, and vaccination plays a vital role. The authoritative international journal “NATURE” reported that according to a latest survey that analyzed the health records of 13 million people, vaccination can reduce the chance of contracting COVID-19 by 15%. Although the symptoms of COVID-19 are difficult to quantify and are inconsistently defined, the study concluded that the vaccine does have some efficacy against COVID-19.
Dr. Huang Xuan also added that the vaccine has a protective effect on BA.5 severe cases and hospitalization rates. Research shows that after completing 2 doses of vaccination, the protection against BA.5 virus is already 22%; after completing the third dose, the protection against BA.5 virus increases to 77%. In addition, after the third dose of vaccination, the protection against death due to BA.5 is 88%, which shows that the new crown vaccine does provide good protection against the BA.5 variant.
Who can be given priority for the “bivalent vaccine”? When will the BA.4/BA.5 next-generation vaccine be available?
Talking about vaccines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just announced its approval of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine (containing the mRNA of the BA.1 variant strain) of Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech. The authorities believe that September coincides with the resumption of schools and the weather is getting colder. People will turn to indoor activities. Approving an upgraded version of the vaccine as soon as possible may help deal with the winter pandemic. According to reports, the United States, Japan and other countries have begun administering bivalent vaccine injections, and Taiwan has opened appointments for vaccinations on September 19 for seniors over 65 years old, residents of long-term care institutions, and those over 18 years old with incomplete or low immunity. .
In addition, Dr. Huang Xuan also said that animal experiments have confirmed that both the original monovalent vaccine and the new coronavirus bivalent vaccine can increase neutralizing antibodies in mice: for the BA.4/BA.5 virus, the former has increased neutralizing antibodies. 11.3 times, and the latter increased by 4.9 times.
Although research published in the preprint of “bioRxiv” pointed out that the bivalent BA.4/BA.5 mRNA vaccine increased the antibody concentration in mice and was expected to produce a stronger immune response against current variants (such as BA.5) , and helps protect against the original strain. However, human trials of Moderna’s bivalent vaccine are about to begin, while BNT’s bivalent vaccine has not yet passed human trials; Taiwan will not be able to purchase the vaccine until November at the earliest. Therefore, if you belong to a high-risk group, it is recommended to receive the BA.1 bivalent vaccine as soon as possible, which also has certain protection against the BA.5 virus strain.
Source:
“Bivalent vaccine, ready to start?”
“BA.5 Reinfection (Reinfecion) increases the threat to the body”
The mystery of COVID-19 reinfections: A global systematic review and meta-analysis
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