An AstraZeneca press release about the positive interim results from a new phase III trial (NCT04516746) met with controversy when the U.S. Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) issued a press release of its own that challenged the findings. Read More

Several European countries have suspended distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of thrombocytopenia and thrombotic complications. To date, there have been 15 cases of deep-vein thrombosis and 22 cases of pulmonary embolism reported with the vaccine in the EU and UK (www.astrazeneca.com/media-centre/press-releases/2021/update-on-the-safety-of-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca.html). Read More

In a prospective 6-month follow-up of hospitalized COVID-19 patients (N=146, mean age 64 years), 9.6% and 7.8% reported moderate/severe persistent symptoms at 2 and 6 months, respectively (García-Abellán et al. medRxiv preprint, 8 March). Risk factors for persistent symptoms at 6 months were female sex, and a less robust humoral response during the acute phase, as shown by lower peak IgG antibody plasma levels against the CoV-2 surface S1 domain of the spike protein. Long COVID symptoms included persistent fatigue, headache, dyspnea and anosmia. A separate study of patients’ self-reported symptoms found that 13.3% had symptom duration >28 days, 4.5% for >8 weeks and 2.3% for >12 weeks (Sudre et al. medRxiv preprint, 19 December 2020). Read More