People vaccinated against flu may have enjoyed some protection against the worst effects of COVID-19, a major European conference has heard.
A major global study found that flu vaccination reduced the risk of stroke, sepsis and deep vein thrombosis in patients.
The finding was one of a series of novel findings about the pandemic reported to the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases over the weekend.
Researchers in Miami, USA, set out to test several reports of benefits from flu vaccination.
They studied nearly 75,000 patients from around the world, from countries, including the UK, USA, Germany and Italy.
They found that unvaccinated patients were 20% more likely than others to be admitted to intensive care.
Researcher Dr Devinder Singh, from the University of Miami, said: "This finding is particularly significant because the pandemic is straining resources in many parts of the world. Therefore, our research – if validated by prospective randomised clinical trials – has the potential to reduce the worldwide burden of disease."
Double variant infection
Patients can be simultaneously infected with at least two variants of COVID-19, according to a case study reported to a European conference.
Belgian doctors reported a woman of 90 found to be infected with both the Alpha and Beta variant of the virus.
The woman was admitted to hospital in Aalst, Belgium, after suffering falls but without COVID symptoms. However, she tested positive for the virus and died from it five days later.
Researcher Dr Anne Vankeerberghen, from the OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium, said: "Whether the co-infection of the two variants of concern played a role in the fast deterioration of the patient is difficult to say.
"Up to now, there have been no other published cases. However, the global occurrence of this phenomenon is probably underestimated due to limited testing for variants of concern and the lack of a simple way to identify co-infections with whole genome sequencing."
HIV may explain Beta variant
Widespread prevalence of HIV in South Africa may be enabling mutations of COVID-19, researchers have warned.
Researchers say that the local Beta variant of the virus creates more severe disease in HIV patients.
They propose strong antiretroviral therapy in infected patients to control HIV and restore the immune system. The concern comes from the case study of a patient who stayed positive for COVID infection for 216 days in spite of only having mild symptoms.
Doctors found multiple mutations developing in this patient.
Researcher Dr Alex Sigal, from the Africa Health Research Institute, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, said: "Evolved mutations lead to escape from neutralisation, which means antibodies made as a result of previous natural infection or vaccination would work less well to protect you from a new infection.”
Don’t use azithromycin, conference told
The antibiotic azithromycin is an ineffective treatment for COVID-19 and fails to prevent patients with mild illness needing hospital treatment or dying, British researchers reported.
Dr Timothy Hinks, of Oxford University, UK, told the conference the drug should no longer be used as a treatment.
The findings come from a trial that used high doses for up to 14 days and included nearly 300 patients up to January of this year. The findings are also published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
The researchers write: “This finding, taken together with clear negative results from other studies across the disease course from early, low risk patients to severe hospitalised disease, provides strong confirmation that azithromycin is not effective in treating COVID-19. It is essential that clinicians worldwide stop using this medication as a treatment for COVID-19.
“We now know it is not effective against COVID-19 and we need urgently to protect against the very real threat of driving drug resistance to this precious class of antibiotics.”
• The Delta variant of COVID-19 is less sensitive to antibodies than other variants, according to French scientists.
Researchers at the Institut Pasteur, France, found the virus was less responsive both to monoclonal antibody treatments and to convalescent plasma than the Alpha and Beta variants.
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