My Revolution of PARTs

WASHINGTON: The current drugs to treat Covid-19 remain very effective against the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a laboratory study. However, available antibody therapies -- typically given intravenously in hospitals -- are substantially less effective against Omicron compared to earlier variants of the virus, the researchers said. The lab tests also showed that some antibodies have entirely lost their ability to neutralise Omicron at realistic dosages, they said. "The bottom line is we have countermeasures to treat Omicron. That's good news," said study lead author Yoshihiro Kawaoka, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the US. "However, this is all in laboratory studies. Whether this translates into humans, we don't know yet," Kawaoka said. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, corroborate other studies that show most available antibody treatments are less effective against Omicron. T...

LOS ANGELES: Two doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine are highly effective against SARS-CoV-2 variants, but protection against Delta infection decreases over time, according to a study conducted in the US. At the time of the study, the omicron variant had not yet been detected in the Southern California region, the researchers said. The research, published in The British Medical Journal on Wednesday, showed the vaccine was effective against Covid-19 hospitalisation associated with the Delta variant. However, vaccine effectiveness against the variant moderately declined with increasing time after vaccination. "This study confirmed effectiveness against all variants during the study period, although we did find a drop in effectiveness over time against Delta infection, from 94 per cent effectiveness in the first 2 months after vaccination to 80 per cent effectiveness after 6 months," said Katia Bruxvoort, from Kaiser Permanente, US. "Protection against hospitalisation due...

ARLINGTON: A new study has provided guidance for increasing the effectiveness of face masks to reduce the spread of respiratory infectious pathogens including SARS-CoV-2. The research has been published in the 'American Journal of Infection Control'. Face masks are used to reduce the spread of infectious viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 that are transmitted by respiratory aerosols and droplets produced during activities such as talking, breathing and coughing. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended a mask that is multi-layered, covers the nose and mouth and forms a tight seal against the face. "The performance of face masks as devices that control infection spread depends upon both the ability of the mask material to filter aerosols and on how well the mask fits the wearer," said Francoise M. Blachere, MSc., Research Biologist, of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and the paper's lead author. Blachere and...