When science hits the headlines, we seek the views of expert sources who assess the news rigorously and quickly, according to the available evidence.
In recent days, several countries have modified the quarantine times for close contacts and the isolation of infected people, while others are already considering it. Spain has announced that it will reduce these periods to 7 days, both for people who have tested positive in a test and for close contacts who require quarantine (in the case of our country, unvaccinated people).
La EMA ha recomendado hoy la autorización de la quinta vacuna frente a la covid-19 para mayores de 18 años: la estadounidense Novavax, la primera basada en una plataforma de proteínas recombinantes.
In the last few days, data, preprints, press releases and even graphs have started to arrive via social media showing how neutralising antibodies against the omicron variant behave. These studies are preliminary and we will have to wait and see how these lab data translate into the real world.
The Public Health Commission (CSP) of the Spanish National Health System approved last December 7 the vaccination of children aged 5-11 against covid-19. Attached are statements by the coordinator of the Vaccine Commission of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, Francisco Álvarez García, as well as other journalistic resources on this subject.
The discovery of the Omicron variant has led to the cancellation of flights to several African countries, while many countries are beginning to detect cases among travellers from countries such as South Africa, but also Nigeria and Egypt. Spain has just announced the first detected case of Omicron, which corresponds to a traveller who had visited South Africa. What measures should be taken to stop the spread of this variant? Is it even possible?
A new variant of the coronavirus causing COVID-19 has been identified in South Africa, with numerous mutations present in other variants, including Delta. Variant B.1.1.529, as it is now called, appears to be spreading rapidly in South Africa. Attached is the rapid reaction of three Spanish researchers with expertise in genomic surveillance.
A study has monitored T-lymphocyte responses to the SARS-CoV-2 spicule in 71 healthy donors who received two doses of Pfizer's vaccine. After up to six months' follow-up, the researchers found that specific memory cells were generated and maintained and persisted for at least six months.
An analysis of 602 community contacts of 471 covid-19 index cases indicates that the secondary attack rate (SAR) for household contacts exposed to the delta variant is 25% in fully vaccinated individuals, compared to 38% in unvaccinated individuals.
A study of 32 million adults in England has shown a small increase in the risk of suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome and Bell's palsy, two neurological conditions, after receiving AstraZeneca's vaccine. There was also an increased risk of stroke after receiving Pfizer's vaccine. However, according to the paper, these side effects are rare and the chances of suffering them are much higher after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Two studies, one published in The New England Journal of Medicine and the other, the CDC's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), find that vaccination against COVID-19 effectively protects children and adolescents aged 12-18 years from both infection and severe disease. Both papers cover periods when the more transmissible Delta variant was dominant. Paediatrician Ángel Hernández Merino assesses these results.