More about the finding

Patients who were already on treatment at the time of the survey comprised 2.4 mg dose of the drug semaglutide, which is an ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy drugs by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, could still contract Covid but would be 33 percent less likely to die from the sickness, the studies said, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on Friday.

The papers also show that semaglutide may have cardiovascular benefits not previously known to include lowering the risks of serious heart incidences such as heart attacks and strokes, CNBC reported.

Speaking to JACC, the co-author of the paper, Benjamin Scirica, said that the patients who received semaglutide in his study had a 29 percent reduced risk of death from other causes apart from cardiovascular events, and weight did not seem to have influenced the outcome.

More about the study

The major trial, which began before the outbreak of the pandemic and continued through it, enrolled over 17,600 patients who were overweight or obese and those with cardiovascular disease but not diabetes.

Other research by JACC on Friday also revealed that semaglutide eased heart failure-related symptoms and inflammation, among other functions, and even lowered the mortality rate among patients with chronic kidney disease.

The discovery will be a major boost to Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, which has seen the value of semaglutide-based drugs skyrocket.

It has climbed the ladder to become Europe’s most valuable company as it faces stiff competition in the global market for weight loss products from players such as Eli Lilly of the US and several other competitors.

Moreover, the discovery of new benefits from semaglutide could open up the drug for future uses.

What more have the experts stated?

According to the Yale University School of Medicine Professor and JACC editor Harlan Krumholz, “I begin to think about the weight loss almost as a side effect; I mean these [drugs] are really promoting health,” CNBC reported.

“I was thinking mostly about cardiometabolic health… but there may be many mechanisms by which [semaglutide] is making us healthier, and in some ways, this is suggesting it’s helping us to resist the adverse consequences of the pandemic,” he added.

The post Key Weight Loss Drugs Linked to Lower COVID-19 Risk, Revealed Study appeared first on Fitness Blue Prints.

More about the case

Although health experts cite some side effects of mRNA vaccines, the most popular one is Myocarditis, the disease in which inflammation of the middle layer of the heart is caused by an immune response to a few viruses, certain medications, and some autoimmune diseases.

Although for researchers, the process for vaccine-induced Myocarditis is not yet known, it could have been due to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein or the immune response following the vaccination, as Yahoo reported.

Know more about Myocarditis

According to experts, Myocarditis received attention lately when a pre-print study from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute was withdrawn when a calculation error caused a ruckus and led to an increase in the rate of contracting the condition as a side effect of COVID-19 vaccination.

The erroneous report said that one in one thousand risks of Myocarditis as a side effect, thereby causing everyone to talk about distrust for Covid vaccines.

Although Myocarditis cases were seen in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) after administration of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccination, the rates stood far lower than the study concluded.

Moreover, as per an Israeli MRI study on Covid vaccine, most of the side effects on the heart were mild, accompanied by favorable outcomes, and no long-term effects were expected, as Yahoo reported.

Vaccines and Myocarditis link

As reports suggest, both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines have been linked with Myocarditis; however, the rates are much higher for Moderna’s vaccine than for Pfizer’s vaccine.

Moreover, more than ten cases of the condition for every hundred thousand are observed for Moderna doses among males ages 12 to 29 years.

However, it must be considered the fact that Moderna’s vaccine has shown fewer causing factors for severe disease after inoculation than Pfizer’s vaccine, which resulted in a lesser number of hospital admissions and death, therefore outweighing the risk of Myocarditis.

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Several of these FLiRT iterations, notably the JN.1 strain, which previously dominated, are witnessing a decline. JN.1 had held sway as the predominant strain across the nation through much of the winter months.

Presently, KP.2 emerges as the most conspicuous variant. Descendants of the JN.1 lineage, alongside KP.1.1, these strains have earned the moniker FLiRT due to their mutational peculiarities, according to the reports by US News. 

Here’s a comprehensive overview:

What is Their Prevalence?

During the fortnight concluding on May 11, KP.2 accounted for over 28% of fresh infections, as per estimates provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, KP.1.1 contributed to more than 7% of new cases.

Notably, KP.2 is witnessing a surge globally. According to the World Health Organization, this variant now constitutes nearly 10% of infections worldwide, marking an escalation from over 6% recorded approximately a month earlier.

Maria Van Kerkhove from the WHO recently remarked on the significance of KP.2, stating, “It’s one we’re keeping a close eye on.”

“The initial sequences were reported in January of this year, indicating a prolonged circulation period. We anticipate fluctuations in these percentages,” Van Kerkhove mentioned during a press briefing this month.

Impact on COVID-19 Metrics, Hospitalizations, and Fatalities:

Recent data reflects a notable downturn in COVID-19 hospitalizations, reaching their lowest levels since the onset of the pandemic.

At the national level, wastewater viral activity, a key indicator of both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, is presently categorized as “minimal” by the CDC, as per US News. 

As of now, KP.2 has not precipitated a surge in COVID-19 metrics.

“Despite being the predominant variant in the US, KP.2 has not led to an uptick in COVID-19 infections or more severe outcomes compared to other variants,” as stated by the CDC.

The seasonal trajectory of COVID-19 remains uncertain, leaving open the possibility of a summer resurgence. Moreover, the reliability of COVID-19 data is dwindling, given that certain metrics are no longer mandated for reporting to federal authorities.

This predicament is not unique to the United States.

“With diminishing rates of testing and genome sequencing on a global scale, accurately gauging the severity impact of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants is becoming increasingly arduous,” the WHO noted in its report.

Nevertheless, the organization emphasized that there have been “no reported laboratory or epidemiological indications” suggesting heightened disease severity associated with the variants.

Efficacy of Vaccines Against FLiRT Variants:

While current COVID-19 vaccines target XBB.1.5, which is no longer prevalent in the US, they are expected to offer enhanced protection against circulating strains.

The FLiRT variants are likely to factor into deliberations when federal advisors convene in June to discuss the next steps for COVID-19 vaccine updates. Originally scheduled for this month, the meeting was postponed to allow for the gathering of additional surveillance data and pertinent information, as highlighted by US News. 

“The FDA does not anticipate any delays impacting the availability of COVID-19 vaccines for the Fall,” reassured the agency in its announcement.

Despite expectations, the uptake of the latest COVID-19 vaccine fell short of projections, with less than 23% of adults receiving the jab, according to CDC statistics. This figure is markedly lower than the vaccination rate for the flu shot, which stood at 48% for adults.

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Elicited by antibodies targeting the enzyme MDA5 (melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5), the malady is linked with progressive interstitial lung disease characterized by lung tissue scarring. Between 2020 and 2022, medical practitioners in Yorkshire noted an unprecedented surge of 60 instances of MDA5 autoimmunity, leading to eight fatalities, according to iflscience.com.

Scrutinizing this upsurge in a fresh investigation, scholars highlight that the abrupt surge in cases aligns with the significant waves of COVID-19 infections during the peak pandemic years. This observation is noteworthy as MDA5 serves as an RNA receptor crucial in identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“In our locale (Yorkshire), we observe a surge in the frequency of anti-MDA5 positivity testing during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a noteworthy development considering the rarity of this condition in the UK,” stated the researchers. This occurrence, they posit, likely signifies “a distinctive manifestation of MDA5+ ailment in the COVID-19 era,” dubbed “MDA5-autoimmunity and Interstitial Pneumonitis Contemporaneous with COVID-19” (MIP-C), as reported by iflscience.com.

To decipher the underlying mechanisms of this newly recognized symptomatology, investigators employed data analysis tools aimed at identifying shared traits among medical cohorts. Through this approach, they unearthed a correlation between patients with MDA5 autoimmunity and elevated levels of an inflammatory cytokine named interleukin-15 (IL-15).

Discussing this revelation, study co-author Pradipta Ghosh elucidated that IL-15 “has the potential to drive cells to a state of depletion, leading to an immunological profile frequently associated with progressive interstitial lung disease or pulmonary fibrosis.”

In total, only eight out of the 60 patients had previously tested positive for COVID-19, implying that numerous cases may have stemmed from asymptomatic infections that went undetected. This suggested that even mild infections devoid of initial symptoms might suffice to trigger MDA5 autoimmunity, as per iflscience.com.

“As the peak of MDA5 positivity testing followed the apex of COVID-19 cases in 2021, coinciding with the zenith of vaccination, these findings propose an immune response or autoimmunity against MDA5 following exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and/or vaccination,” concluded the researchers.

According to Ghosh, this phenomenon is unlikely to be confined to Yorkshire, with reports of MIP-C emerging from various corners of the globe.

The study has been documented in the journal biomedicine.

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