Background: Patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at an increased risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome and mortality. This is due to the increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines that amplify downstream pathways that are controlled by immune regulators. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between cytokine genetic variants, cytokine serum levels/profiles, and disease severity in critically and noncritically ill COVID-19 patients. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 646 participants who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 from six collection sites across the United Arab Emirates. Medical files were accessed to retrieve clinical data. Blood samples were collected from all participants. Patients were divided into two clinical groups, noncritical (n = 453) and critical (n = 193), according to World Health Organization classification guidelines for COVID-19 patients. Cytokine analyses were conducted on serum of a subset of the cohort, specifically on 426 participants (noncritical, 264; critical, 162). Candidate gene analyses of 33 cytokine-related genes (2,836 variants) were extracted from a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants with pleiotropic effects on a specific cytokine and the severity of COVID-19 disease. Results: Age, body mass index (BMI), and pre-existing medical conditions were found to be significant risk factors that contribute to COVID-19 disease severity. After correcting for age, sex, and BMI, IP-10 (P < 0.001), IFN (P = 0.001), IL-6 (P < 0.001), and CXCL-16 (P < 0.001) serum levels were significantly higher among critical COVID-19 cases, when compared with noncritically ill patients. To investigate if the genetic variants involved in the serum cytokine levels are associated with COVID-19 severity, we studied several genes. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in IL6 (rs1554606; odd ratio (OR)G = 0.67 [0.66, 0.68]; P = 0.017), IFNG (rs2069718; ORG = 0.63 [0.62, 0.64]; P = 0.001), MIP (rs799187; ORA = 1.69 [1.66, 1.72]; P = 0.034), and CXCL16 (rs8071286; ORA = 1.42 [1.41, 1.44]; P = 0.018) were found to be associated with critically ill patients. Polymorphisms in the CXCL10, CCL2, IL1, CCL7, and TNF genes were not associated with the COVID-19 critical phenotype. The genotypes of IL-6 (gene, IL6 [7p15.3]) and CXCL-16 (gene, CXCL16 [17p13.2]) were significantly associated with the serum levels of the respective cytokine in critical cases of COVID-19. Conclusion: Data obtained from measuring cytokine levels and genetic variant analyses suggest that IL-6 and CXCL-16 could potentially be used as potential biomarkers for monitoring disease progression of COVID-19 patients. The findings in this study suggest that specific cytokine gene variants correlate with serum levels of the specific cytokine. These genetic variants could be of assistance in the early identification of high-risk patients on admission to the clinic to improve the management of COVID-19 patients and other infectious dise...

This phase 3 observer-blind, randomized, controlled study was conducted in adults ≥18 years of age to assess the safety and immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373 as a heterologous booster compared to BBIBP-CorV when utilized as a homologous booster. Approximately 1,000 participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive a single dose of NVX-CoV2373 or BBIBP-CorV after prior vaccination with 2 or 3 doses of BBIBP-CorV. Solicited adverse events (AEs) were collected for 7 days after vaccination. Unsolicited AEs were collected for 28 days following the booster dose and serious adverse and adverse events of special interest (AESI) were collected throughout the study. For this interim analysis, anti-spike IgG and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were measured at baseline, day 14, and day 28. The study achieved its primary non-inferiority endpoint and also demonstrated statistically higher neutralization responses of approximately 6-fold when NVX-CoV2373 was utilized as a heterologous booster compared with BBIBP-CorV as a homologous booster. Both vaccines had an acceptably low reactogenicity profile and no new safety concerns were found. Heterologous boosting with NVXCoV2373 was a highly immunogenic and safe vaccine regimen in those previously vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 vaccines in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the trend of COVID-19-related hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and case fatality rate (CFR), this retrospective chart review was conducted. background: Real-world evidence from the Middle East about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination is still lacking. Methods: We included patients admitted to two tertiary hospitals from October 2020 to July 2022. Patients were categorized into non-vaccinated, partially-vaccinated, and fully-vaccinated groups. objective: To investigate the impact of COVID-19 vaccines in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the trend of COVID-19-related hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and case fatality rate (CFR), this retrospective chart review was conducted. Results: A total of 2277 cases were included, with 27.49% being non-vaccinated. The monthly trend of admitted patients dropped from 1264 (56.50%) cases in the first half of 2021 to 194 (8.67%) cases in the first half of 2022, with a reduction rate of 84.65%. The trend of ICU admission followed the overall hospital admission rate, with an overall CFR of 0.88%, 95% CI (0.54% to 1.35%), and a virulence rate of 1.76%, 95% CI (1.26% to 2.38%). The incidence of ICU admission in the unvaccinated group was 4.79%, compared to 0% and 0.97% in the partially-vaccinated and fully-vaccinated groups, respectively (p <0.001). The CFR was significantly (p <0.001) higher in the unvaccinated group 2.88%, 95% CI (1.71 to 4.51) than in the partially-vaccinated 0%, 95% CI (0% to 0.59%) and fully-vaccinated groups 0.19%, 95% CI (0.02% to 0.70%). Conclusion: Among the study population, COVID-19 vaccines showed promising efficacy in reducing the trend of COVID-19-related hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality. Full vaccination might reduce the burden of COVID-19 on healthcare. result: A total of 2277 cases were included, with 27.49 other: None