Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Knowing whether COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness wanes is crucial for informing vaccine policy, such as the need for and timing of booster doses. We aimed to systematically review the evidence for the duration of protection of COVID-19 vaccines against various clinical outcomes, and to assess changes in the rates of breakthrough infection caused by the delta variant with increasing time since vaccination. ⋯ Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
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Background and Objectives: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to changes in population daily patterns. In order to adapt oral health promotion measures for future similar conditions, the main objective of the study was to assess changes in dental hygiene and eating and smoking habits during the government lockdown in Romania. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted immediately after the end of the lockdown and consisted of 800 adult subjects. ⋯ A decrease of tobacco consumers was assessed in the lockdown period (from 66.6% to 60.4% in the M/D group, from 68.5% to 61.9% in the N-/M/D group). Conclusions: Oral habits were changed during the pandemic lockdown through the increase in the frequency of the consumption of snacks and sweets and the decrease in frequency of smokers. Only minor changes were observed in oral hygiene.
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The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the betacoronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In November 2021, the Omicron variant was discovered and immediately classified as a variant of concern (VOC), since it shows substantially more mutations in the spike protein than any previous variant, especially in the receptor-binding domain (RBD). We analyzed the binding of the Omicron RBD to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 receptor (ACE2) and the ability of human sera from COVID-19 patients or vaccinees in comparison to Wuhan, Beta, or Delta RBD variants. ⋯ These results indicate an immune escape focused on neutralizing antibodies. Nevertheless, a boost vaccination increased the level of anti-RBD antibodies against Omicron, and neutralization of authentic Omicron SARS-CoV-2 was at least partially restored. This study adds evidence that current vaccination protocols may be less efficient against the Omicron variant.