October 28, 2022

The California Biotechnology Foundation is committed to keeping you up to date about COVID-19 testing, treatment and prevention advancements. The following resources track what progress has been made as of October 28, 2022. Notable advancements include:

• Research published by JAMA Network Open suggests that people who reported experiencing side effects of COVID-19 vaccines tended to have a greater antibody response following vaccination.
• The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously to include COVID-19 vaccine on the list of routine immunizations for adults and children 6 months and older.
• Symptoms for COVID-19 may depend on your vaccination status according to researchers at Harvard.

Recent News

• Inotrem looks to regulatory agencies after COVID-19 treatment hits phase 2 goals
  Fierce Biotech – October 25, 2022
  Though many COVID-19 treatments are in development, few have yet to cross the approval threshold in the U.S. or Europe. French biotech Inotrem hopes to change that, posting phase 2 data tht show its only clinical-stage compound could help critically ill COVID-19 patients. The data, released today at the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine’s annual congress in Paris, comes from Inotrem’s trial dubbed ESSENTIAL. The phase 2 study evaluated Inotrem’s nangibotide, a peptide designed to inhibit TREM-1—which are receptors on certain white blood cells—among ventilated COVID-19 patients in the ICU.
• Got COVID-19? Your symptoms may depend on your vaccination status
  The Los Angeles Times – October 25, 2022
  Researchers are finding that the symptoms COVID-19 causes have begun to look more and more like those of the flu, colds and even allergies. Among the vaccinated, that trend has become particularly pronounced. But even when the unvaccinated are infected, they’re often reporting a clutch of generalized symptoms that could pass for one of several other common infections, all of which are currently on the rise in the United States. For example: Sneezing is now a very common symptom of COVID-19, reported with increasing frequency by people who’ve been vaccinated. That appears to be part of a shift in COVID-19 symptoms ushered in by the Omicron variant.
• Got questions about the timing of flu and COVID-19 vaccines? Here’s what experts say
  Stat News – October 25, 2022
  With the third COVID-19 winter approaching, and public health precautions like masking and social distancing all but abandoned, the next few months could see the American health care system pushed to capacity by multiple surges in respiratory disease. That’s why experts are advising that the best thing people can do to protect themselves and prevent their local hospitals from overflowing is to get immunized against the circulating viruses. Pfizer’s experimental RSV vaccine is still in testing, but COVID-19 and flu shots are now available to almost everyone. Experts agree that the best time to get vaccinated is now, before these viral ripples build into waves. But there are other, more subtle questions of timing that scientists are still investigating, including whether time of day or combining vaccines matters.
• COVID-19 vaccine study links side effects with greater antibody response
  CNN – October 24, 2022
  People who reported experiencing side effects to the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines such as fever, chills or muscle pain tended to have a greater antibody response following vaccination, according to new research. Having such symptoms after vaccination is associated with greater antibody responses compared with having only pain or rash at the injection site or no symptoms at all, suggests the paper published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
• Regular exercise may improve the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines
  The Washington Post – October 24, 2022
  Regular exercise could amplify the benefits of your next COVID-19 vaccination or booster, even if you schedule your shot weeks or months from now, according to a new study of the effects of regular physical activity and vaccines. The study, which involved almost 200,000 men and women in South Africa, found COVID-19 vaccination effectively prevented severe illness in most of them. But it worked best in people who exercised regularly. They wound up about 25 percent less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 than sedentary people, although everyone received the same vaccine.
• You Can Give Blood after Getting Flu Shot and COVID-19 Vaccine
  American Red Cross – October 24, 2022
  With respiratory illnesses already spreading as temperatures cool, the American Red Cross is sharing this important reminder — it’s okay to give blood after getting a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccine or booster. Receiving a flu shot or a COVID-19 vaccine or booster is a great way to protect your own health. It causes no wait period and does not affect blood donation eligibility, as long as you are healthy, feeling well and symptom free at the time of donation. While the need for blood and platelet donations is constant, a severe cold and flu season can result in fewer donations if many become sick and need to postpone a blood donation until they are well.
• New vaccine roadmap eyes future threats of COVID-19
  University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy – October 24, 2022
  The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy published a draft version of a COVID-19 Vaccines Research & Development Roadmap, highlighting strategies to develop vaccines that are effective against new COVID-19 variants, as well as coronaviruses that have not yet emerged in people. The roadmap acts as a bridge between the crisis phase of the pandemic and planning for a future in which coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19, continue to cause significant morbidity and mortality around the globe.
• Key CDC Panel Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine Added to Regular Childhood Immunization Plan
  Healthline – October 21, 2022
  The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted unanimously to include COVID-19 vaccine on the list of routine immunizations for adults and children 6 months and older. “It’s important to note that there are no changes in COVID-19 vaccine policy, and today’s action simply helps streamline clinical guidance for healthcare providers by including all currently licensed, authorized and routinely recommended vaccines in one document,” the ACIP, which is an advisory committee for the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. Despite the ACIP’s recommendation, the CDC still has the authority to decide whether or not to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the agency’s list of recommended vaccines.

Rely on California Biotechnology Foundation to monitor breaking news and provide updates on the latest advancements in COVID-19 diagnostics, vaccines and treatments.

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If you have any questions about informational briefings contact California Biotechnology Foundation Executive Director Patty Cooper at (916)764-2434 or [email protected].