For COVID-19, what are the priorities of normalized prevention and control strategies?

Have Previous COVID-19 Vaccinations Shaped the Potential Enhancing Infection of Variant Strains?

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the infection status of Omicron in the population and the association between COVID-19 vaccination and infection with Omicron.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study to openly recruit participants for a survey of SARS-CoV-2 infection by convenience sampling from 1 January to 15 January 2023 after a COVID-19 pandemic swept across China. Additionally, the binary logistic regression model was adopted to evaluate the association between COVID-19 vaccination and the infection outcomes or symptom severity, respectively. Meanwhile, the relations between the vaccination and duration of the symptoms were estimated via ordinal logistic analysis.

RESULTS

Of the 2007 participants, the prevalence of infection with Omicron was 82.9%. Compared with unvaccinated individuals, inactivated COVID-19 vaccination could increase the risk of Omicron infection (OR = 1.942, 95% CI: 1.093-3.448), and the receipt of at least one dose of non-inactivated COVID-19 vaccines was a protective factor against infection (OR = 0.428, 95% CI: 0.226-0.812). By contrast, no relations were observed in COVID-19 vaccination with the symptoms of infection and duration of symptoms (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

This cross-sectional study concluded that inactivated COVID-19 vaccination might increase the risk of Omicron infection, which should be a concern during COVID-19 vaccination and the treatment of variant infections in the future, and the receipt of at least one dose of non-inactivated COVID-19 vaccine was a protective factor against infection.

Global respiratory health priorities at the beginning of the 21st century

Respiratory health has become a prevailing priority amid the diverse global health challenges that the 21st century brings, due to its substantial impact on individuals and communities on a global scale. Due to rapid advances in medicine, emerging knowledge gaps appear along with new challenges and ethical considerations. While breakthroughs in medical science can bring about encouraging possibilities for better treatments and interventions, they also lead to unanswered questions and areas where further research is warranted. A PubMed search on the topic "global respiratory health priorities" between the years 2000 and 2023 was conducted, which returned 236 articles. Of these, 55 were relevant and selected for inclusion in this article. The selection process took into account literature reviews, opinions from expert groups and careful analysis of existing gaps and challenges within the field; our selection encompasses specific infectious and noninfectious respiratory conditions in both adults and children. The global respiratory health priorities identified were selected on the basis that they have been recognised as critical areas of investigation and potential advancement and they span across clinical, translational, epidemiological and population health domains. Implementing these priorities will require a commitment to fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among experts in different fields with the ultimate aim to improve respiratory health outcomes for individuals and communities alike.

Reflections on the dynamic zero-COVID policy in China

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed a serious threat to global healthcare and economy. In order to curb its spread, China adopted the dynamic zero-COVID policy, aiming to diagnose and isolate cases and close contacts as soon as possible. However, there is a controversy about the impact of isolation measures on social order, including the economy, personal employment and public mental health. Therefore, this review discusses and analyzes in detail the advantages and challenges of implementing dynamic zero-COVID policy. Although this public health policy might cause a shock to the economy in the short term, China still achieved a continued healthy economic performance with stable unemployment and strong export growth. Moreover, the rates of infection and mortality in China were lower than those in the United States and the European Union. However, due to the high transmissibility and low pathogenicity of the Omicron variant and prolonged lockdown-induced psychological damage, people questioned the effectiveness and necessity of this policy. Now that China has adjusted its policy in a timely manner, but many problems still remain unsolved. Some practical suggestions in terms of mental health, vaccine development, drugs supply, and economic recovery are put forward at the end of our paper to minimize negative impacts and provide a reference for future efforts.

Evaluation of a novel lyophilized-pellet-based 2019-nCoV nucleic acid detection kit for the diagnosis of COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has swept the world and poses a serious threat to human health. In the post-pandemic-era, we must remain vigilant against the co-infection of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. More accurate and convenient detection methods are required for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 due to its prolonged existence. In this study, the application value of a novel lyophilized-pellet-based 2019-nCoV nucleic acid diagnostic kit (PCoV-Kit) was evaluated by comparing it with a conventional liquid diagnostic kit (LCoV-Kit). We assessed the sensitivity, precision, accuracy, specificity, and amplification efficiency of PCoV-Kit and LCoV-Kit using diluted SARS-CoV-2 RNA reference materials. The results showed that both kits had high sensitivity, precision, accuracy, and specificity. A total of 2,033 oropharyngeal swab specimens collected during mass screening in Fuzhou in December 2022 were applied for the consistency analysis of the two reagents. In the detection of clinical oropharyngeal swab specimens, although the positive rate of PCoV-Kit (19.28%) was slightly lower than that of LCoV-Kit (20.86%), statistical analysis demonstrated a high degree of consistency between the test results obtained using both kit (χ2 = 1.57, P>0.05; Kappa coefficient = 0.90, 95%CI: 0.88-0.93). In conclusion, the use of lyophilized PCoV-Kit provides a non-inferior assay for the diagnosis of COVID-19.