During COVID-19 stay at home even if you are a hemodialysis patient

Long-Term Dynamic Humoral Response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccines in Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis

Introduction. Patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) present an impaired humoral response against SARS-CoV-2, at least after the initial vaccination and booster dose. Until now, the effect of a fourth dose has not been established. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the long-term dynamics of the humoral response of PD patients to multiple doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, focusing on the effect of the fourth dose. Methods. This is an analysis of the prospective and multicentric SENCOVAC study. We included patients on PD without additional immunosuppression that had received at least 3 SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine doses. We evaluated anti-spike antibody titers after the initial vaccination, third and fourth doses, using prespecified fixed assessments (i.e., baseline, 28 days, 3, 6, and 12 months after completing the initial vaccine schedule). Breakthrough infections were also collected. Results. We included 164 patients on PD (69% males, 62 ± 13 years old). In patients who had received only two doses, the rates of positive humoral response progressively decreased from 96% at 28 days to 80% at 6 months, as did with anti-spike antibody titers. At 6 months, 102 (62%) patients had received the third vaccine dose. Patients with the third dose had higher rates of positive humoral response (p = 0.01) and higher anti-spike antibody titers (p < 0.001) at 6 months than those with only 2 doses. At 12 months, the whole cohort had received 3 vaccine doses, and 44 (27%) patients had an additional fourth dose. The fourth dose was not associated to higher rates of positive humoral response (100 vs. 97%, p = 0.466) or to statistically significant differences in anti-spike antibody titers as compared to three doses (p = 0.371) at 12 months. Prior antibody titers were the only predictor for subsequent higher anti-spike antibody titer (B 0.53 [95%CI 0.27−0.78], p < 0.001). The 2 (1.2%) patients that developed COVID-19 during follow-up had mild disease. Conclusions. PD presents an acceptable humoral response with three doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines that improve the progressive loss of anti-spike antibody titers following two vaccine doses.

Increased anxiety from fear of Omicron in China as compared to North America and Western Europe: A cross-sectional Kendall's tau-b analysis using the generalized anxiety disorder 7-item questionnaire

BACKGROUND

Policies dealing with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic vary across the globe, the different governmental responses then affect the public perception of COVID-19. Many unofficial Chinese media outlets frequently spread misinformation about COVID-19 and exaggerated reports of rare sequelae of Omicron for monetization and attention seeking, leading to panics in the Chinese public. In comparison the attitudes toward Omicron in other countries around the world, especially in North America and Western Europe have shifted to a more relaxed stance.

OBJECTIVE

This article primarily aims to investigate the association between Chinese people's attitudes toward the potential after-effects of Omicron and their anxiety status, as compared to these of people living in North America or Western Europe.

METHODS

We conducted a questionnaire survey via the Credamo and collected valid data from 500 Chinese (not living in Shanghai), another 500 Chinese (living in Shanghai) and 500 people living in North America or Western Europe in June 2022. Kendall's coefficient of rank correlation tau-sub-b was used to examine this association.

RESULTS

The results suggested that subjective attitudes of Chinese participants toward the sequelae of Omicron were positively and significantly associated with their anxiety status [i.e., the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scores] in Shanghai (China) (Tb = 0.44, p < 0.01) and other parts of China outside Shanghai (Tb = 0.37, p < 0.01). However, no such significant correlation was found in North America & Western Europe (Tb = -0.01, p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our findings showed that Chinese participants who were more worried about the after-effects of Omicron had higher levels of anxiety. Although it is true that Long COVID-19 should be a concern, exaggerated media reporting can impact negatively on an individual's mental wellbeing. Only through the dissemination of robust scientific studies, the misinformation and the fears that follow it can be put to rest.