The risk of dying from COVID - 19 is low: study

Oct 15 Reuters: The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID - 19. They include research that has yet to be validated and warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have been determined by peer review.

Widely used statin drugs for lowering cholesterol could be linked to a slightly lower risk of dying from COVID - 19, new data suggest. Researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden reviewed the medical records of nearly 1 million residents of Stockholm over the age of 45 between March and November 2020, about 18% of whom had been prescribed a statin, such as Pfizer Inc's Lipitoratorvastatin and Merck Co's Zocor simvastatin The people prescribed statins had more risk factors for poor COVID outcomes: they were older, more often male, had more medical conditions, lower education levels and less disposable income. After all this taken into account, statin users were still 12% less likely to have died of COVID - 19 during the study period, according to a report in PLOS Medicine https: bit.ly 3 aGoNE 1 on Thursday: The researchers did not compare results in people who actually got infected with the virus, however. But they only had prescription records - not on whether patients took the medication as prescribed. A formal clinical trial is required to confirm the results. Still, they conclude, their data suggest that statin treatment may have a modest preventive therapeutic effect on COVID - 19 mortality. Boosting with different vaccine is better, that may be safer.

People who received Johnson Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine as a first shot had a better immune response when boosted by vaccines from either Pfizer Inc BioNTech SE or Moderna Inc, according to a study run by the National Institutes of Health. The trial, which included more than 450 adults who received initial shots from Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or J&J, also showed that mixing and matching booster shots with different vaccine technology is safe for adults, the researchers posted in a paper on medRxiv on Wednesday https: bit.ly 2 YKYwBN ahead of peer review. Moderna's and Pfizer's vaccines are based on messenger RNA mRNA while J&J's vaccine uses viral vector technology. The trial looked at a total of nine combinations of initial shots and boosters. Using different types of shots as boosters generally led to higher antibody response than using the same type, the researchers reported. Mixing booster doses could offer immunological advantages to maximize the breadth and longevity of protection achieved with currently available vaccines, they said.

Old age alone does not predict COVID-19 mortality risk.

Younger patients are known to be at higher risk for poor outcomes after coronavirus infection, but among those hospitalized with COVID -19, new characteristics help predict who is likely to do poorly, new data suggest. In a review of data on 4,783 people aged 65 and older who were treated for COVID - 19 early in the pandemic, researchers at Northwell Health hospitals in New York found that age itself did not independently predict whether a patient was more likely to die. Instead, they reported in BMC Geriatrics https: bit.ly 3 AIFkSv on Thursday, more important predictors of death for elder patients were factors such as how independent they were before the infection, how sick they were when they arrived at the hospital and their pre-existing medical conditions such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, lung disease and dementia. The researchers noted that some guidelines in facilities forced to utilize advanced age as a reason to deny care or facing resource shortages, for the reason of rationing, use advanced age. Our findings support the American Geriatrics Society position statement indicating that age should never be used to make decisions regarding resource allocation under conditions of resource scarcity, the researchers said. Although age is still an important factor in the overall risk of COVID-19 mortality. a comprehensive approach that accounts for the above factors is essential in preventing ageism.