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COVID-19 is not the inaugural coronavirus that is responsible for generating disease among humans. SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, and related strains could produce mass outbreaks or future pandemics. Unfortunately, the existing approved vaccines that offer protection against SARS-CoV-2, do not necessarily provide defense against these strains.

A group of scientific researchers are on a mission to develop one vaccine that would cover a variety of viruses and have the capability to cause a pandemic. For starters, “they synthesized mRNAs that encoded ‘chimeric’ spike proteins made of spike particles from high risk human and bat coronaviruses; next, they packaged various combinations of these mRNAs into lipid nanoparticle droplets and injected them into aged mice.”

These researchers discovered that their vaccines used in mice, delivered protection from many coronavirus strains, such as the Beta variant. They accomplished this by prompting powerful, counterbalancing antibody responses.

All-inclusive vaccines against existing and incipient coronaviruses could be feasible by way of vaccine production technologies. Additional investigation is required to improve design efficiency, and to test their efficacy through clinical studies in non-human primates.

Preparing for a Future Pandemic

Eric Lander is the newly appointed White House science adviser. Lander is front and center as it relates to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and was recently interviewed by The Associated Press after being sworn into office. He made it clear that he would like a vaccine prepared to attack any upcoming pandemic in approximately 100 days once identifying a probable viral eruption.

In Lander’s interview, he articulated hope for a future in America that is armed and ready for any subsequent pandemics. According to the adviser, he says the United States will be prepared with “plug-and-play” vaccines. Scientists are cultivating “all purpose” technologies that are ready-to-go well before a pandemic strikes.

Here’s how it works. As opposed to using the actual germ to construct a vaccine, scientists use messenger RNA and then they incorporate the genetic code for that germ. This protocol is what transpired with both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, and could explain why they were created relatively quickly.

In addition to fighting diseases through medicine and healing sick patients, Lander ex-plained that this strategy also has the ability to positively impact climate change as well as examine space.

“This is a moment in so many ways, not just health, that we can rethink fundamental as-sumptions about what’s possible and that’s true of climate and energy and many areas,” Lander said.

His training background is a mathematician and geneticist. Lander was involved in a human genome mapping project and has directed the Broad Institute at MIT as well as Harvard. The new White House science adviser explained that he isn’t necessarily concentrating on the current pandemic, but rather the insights gathered from this outbreak in order to get ready for the next one.

“It was amazing at one level that we were able to produce highly effective vaccines in less than a year, but from another point of view you’d say, ‘Boy, a year’s a long time,’” even though in the past it would take three years or four years, Lander explained. “To really make a difference we want to get this done in 100 days. And so a lot of us have been talking about a 100-day target from the recognition from a virus with pandemic potential.”

Please visit our Auxo Medical blog current and past articles for all relevant and timely COVID-19 information.

Viruses continuously alter through mutations. Additionally, we anticipate that new variants of a virus will inevitably take place. Oftentimes, new variants will materialize, and then vanish. And in other circumstances, new variants will persevere.

Numerous variants of the COVID-19 virus have been recorded in the United States, as well as around the world during this pandemic.

Because viruses are perpetually transforming, they are simultaneously becoming more complex. Scientists deliberately research viruses in an effort to learn how virus mutations can impact the spread, and exactly how the virus transmits from person to person.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared a metaphor to help explain the process. “If you think about a virus like a tree growing and branching out; each branch on the tree is slightly different than the others. By comparing the branches, scientists can label them according to the differences. These small differences, or variants, have been studied and identified since the beginning of the pandemic.”

COVID-19 Variants across the United States

The CDC is monitoring a multitude of variants. At the time of this publication, there are four noteworthy variants across the country.

• Alpha – B.1.1.7: The Alpha variant was first detected in the United Kingdom.
• Beta – B.1.351: The Beta variant was initially discovered in South Africa.
• Gamma – P.1: The Gamma variant was first identified during a routine screening at a Japan airport among travelers from Brazil.
• Delta – B.1.617.2: The Delta variant was first identified in India. It is the most contagious mutation to date. Those who are not vaccinated may precipitate significant illness vs. other variants, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health. These four variants appear to disseminate more effortlessly and rapidly than other variants. An uptick in the amount of COVID-19 cases would overextend healthcare resources, lead to more inpatient hospitalizations, and possibly more deaths.” The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate COVID-19,” Fauci said during a recent White House briefing. He commented that the ratio of infections originating by the Delta variant is doubling every two weeks.

Vaccinations and Variants

To date, studies note that the prevailing authorized vaccines do protect against the four primary variants. Of course scientists will closely study these variants and future ones to come.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky advised that as the Delta variant spreads, the eminent probability of even more threatening mutations could develop.

“And that’s why it’s more important than ever to get vaccinated now to stop the chain of infection, the chain of mutations that could lead to a more dangerous variant,” Walensky said.

Protection from COVID-19

• Get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible and when available
• Cover your nose and mouth with a mask to protect others as well as yourselffrom the virus
• Practice social distancing by staying 6 feet apart from people who do not live withyou
• Steer clear of poorly ventilated indoor areas and large crowds
• Frequently use soap and water to wash your hands, as well as hand sanitizersIn our upcoming Auxo Medical article, we will take a look at a novel mRNA vaccine study in mice that could offer protection against a variety of COVID-19 mutations in a single formulation.

What does ‘healthcare disparities’ mean? 

There are many definitions of healthcare disparities. The Institute of Medicine peeled back the significance of health care disparities in a report: “Unequal Treatment: Con-fronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare.” According to this report, the most recognized definition of healthcare disparities is, “Differences in the quality of health care that are not due to access-related factors or clinical needs, preferences or appropriateness of intervention.” 

There are populations who have systematically experienced barriers in their own healthcare due to their racial background, religious affiliations, gender / gender identity, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation — and that is just naming a few. 

Another definition of health disparities comes from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): “Preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health that are experienced by socially disadvantaged populations.” 

Other terms that are often used interchangeably with healthcare disparities is ‘inequality’ and ‘inequity.’ 

Institutional racism is explained by the CDC as “…structures, policies, practices, and norms—that assigns value and determines opportunity—on the way people look or the color of their skin. This results in conditions that unfairly advantage some and disad-vantage others throughout society.” 

How has the coronavirus pandemic had an impact on healthcare disparities among people of color? 

Statistics indicate that there have been disproportionate rates of sickness and death from COVID-19 among the American Indian & Alaska Native (AIAN), Black, and Hispanic populations. 

Data has also found that AIAN, Black, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic people suffered premature deaths across the United States in 2020, as much as three times per 100,000, vs. White or Asian people. 

People of color experience higher rates of disease and death due to a number of rea-sons. This includes underlying health conditions, elevated barriers to testing and treat-ment because of current disparities in healthcare access, as well as higher exposure opportunities from living/working or transportation circumstances. 

Health management professor at U-M School of Public Health, Melissa Creary, Ph.D., explained her thoughts on the fact that Black Americans face higher rates of hyperten-sion, obesity and diabetes — and how this relates to COVID-19 outcomes: “I think pub-lic health practitioners would say it’s not the fact that they have these diseases that’s causing the higher death rate because people of all races, classes and creed have these diseases, it’s the fact that we see an undeniable burden of disease in the Black population. It’s this disproportionate amount that is worrisome. The underlying issue to why we see so many is actually attributed to structural inequity.” 

Which populations have directly experienced a disproportionate healthcare impact from the virus? 

During the pandemic, people of color, low-income, LGBT and other underserved groups have certainly been challenged with mental wellness and financial instability. A 2021 survey conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found that approximately six in 10 Hispanic adults, and half of Black adults reported that their household lost employment / income because of the pandemic — whereas only four in 10 White adults reported the same hardship. 

There were more Black and Hispanic adults who noted that they lacked confidence in being equipped to afford their rent/mortgage payment/food, vs White adults. 

Black and Hispanic people are reportedly less likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, however, it’s important to look at why that may be. For example, there is a geographical gap among some communities to have access to vaccinations. And although the overall rates of receiving the coronavirus vaccine is rising, Black and Hispanic populations are still quite lower. This discrepancy exemplifies the enduring inequities among under-served groups and people of color, which have generated barriers to healthcare includ-ing higher risk for infection and lower abilities to reach immunity. 

How do we close the gap on healthcare inequities? 

Equity proponents believe that in order to decrease racial and ethnic healthcare dispari-ties, medical professionals have to specifically acknowledge that both race, and racism, play a key role in delivering healthcare. 

For more information on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the healthcare in-dustry, take a look at our Auxo Medical blog archive for relevant and timely articles.

Herd immunity takes place when a substantial percentage of a community achieves protection from a particular disease. This mass immunity reduces the ability of disseminating the disease to and from individuals. Consequently, the entire community (this is where the word ‘herd’ comes into play), is now shielded vs. only those who are actually immune. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, “a percentage of the population must be capable of getting a disease in order for it to spread. This is called a threshold proportion. If the proportion of the population that is immune to the disease is greater than this threshold, the spread of the disease will decline. This is known as the herd immunity threshold.” 

The more transmittable the disease, the larger percentage of the community needs to become immune to the disease in order to put an end to the spread. 

Herd immunity has the ability to protect the community from a disease, which includes those who cannot or will not receive a vaccine, including infants and people who have a compromised immune system. 

How does a community attain Herd immunity? 

Vaccines and infection are the two primary routes to eradicating the COVID-19 virus through Herd immunity. 

1. Original infection  

One pathway to Herd immunity is when a substantial portion of the population recuperates from a disease, and then subsequently creates antibodies that protects from future infection. 

But the truth is that there are some serious challenges when it comes to creating Herd immunity. For starters, reinfection is possible with COVID-19; scientists are not certain how long the antibodies last for, or when someone could possibly get infected again. Secondly, it is estimated that at least 70% of the United States’ population would need to bounce back from the virus. To put some context to these numbers — we’re talking 200 million people. This staggering ratio has the possibility of infections ending up with extraordinary complications, and millions of people dying. 

2. Vaccines 

Another route to achieve Herd immunity is through vaccinations, which have the ability to develop antibody protection against infection. With the exception of short-term side effects, vaccines have the potential to produce immunity without causing serious illness or death. Some examples of Herd immunity via vaccines that have effectively limited contagious diseases include polio, diphtheria, and smallpox. 

There are some hurdles to achieving COVID-19 Herd immunity due to mass vaccination, including those who simply do not want to receive a vaccine. Their reasons may range from skepticism, to religious obligations. Another challenge is the infancy of these vaccines and not fully understanding how long they provide protection from the virus, or if it covers new variants. And finally, yet another potential roadblock includes an inconsistent dissemination of the vaccine; it varies from country to country. 

What is the forecast for the U.S. to achieve Herd immunity? 

As the amount of fully vaccinated people grows, the United States is making headway in the direction of reaching Herd immunity. Additionally, as of this blog publication, over 30 million individuals have been infected with COVID-19 and carry antibodies (although the total duration of protection is unconfirmed). 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 vaccines that have incredible efficacy against against extreme illness or even death. Although it may be impossible to terminate the COVID-19 virus completely, at least people who have been vaccinated are much more likely to live with the virus. 

On the other hand, as mentioned above, some experts believe that achieving a Herd immunity threshold is appearing unlikely due to a variety of reasons, including resistance to getting the vaccine, new variants emerging, and a hold-up of providing vaccinations for all children. 

Due to this reality, it is not certain if or when the U.S. will conquer herd immunity. 

Be sure to catch our upcoming Auxo Medical blog post — we will discuss racial disparities as it relates to COVID-19 outcomes and treatment. 

JAMA Network Open published a study surrounding alcohol consumption as the pandemic was erupting in 2020. Unfortunately, the report found that many people have been turning to alcohol in order to manage constant change and chronic stress.
The research findings indicate that drinking alcohol by adults went up 14% between
2019 and 2020. Notably, females specifically surged in alcohol consumption by a staggering 41% compared to the 2019 baseline numbers.
Knowing this unsettling reality, it’s important to understand the underlying factors, as
well as healthy coping alternatives since the world as we know it is still faced with this
unprecedented virus and countless mutations.

What is Triggering Increased Alcohol Use?

Not surprisingly, it is believed that the uptick in consuming alcohol is driven by uncertainty and fear caused by the novel COVID-19 virus. Before the pandemic wrecked
havoc across the globe, alcohol consumption was already a public health concern. For
those who were already battling mental health challenges, the pandemic only poured
fuel on the fire.

Examples of life circumstances that could lead to elevated alcohol use:
• Out of work
• Working in the frontlines (e.g. healthcare staff, grocery store employees,
etc.)
• Lack of financial security
• Emotional and social support deprivation
• Working remotely from home

• Responsible for homeschooling children
• Losing a loved one from the COVID-19 virus

Pre-pandemic, if someone had a stressful day or event take place, they could have
broken a sweat at the gym, met friends for dinner at their favorite restaurant, or catch a
movie at the neighborhood theater as a means to temporarily ‘check out’ from reality.

Instead, for more than a year, the new reality has included virtually zero social engagements, covering our faces with masks, isolating with little to no physical touch, and
other strict protocols in order to reduce spreading the virus.

Historically, alcohol has been positioned in advertising as a normal and acceptable
means to cope with stress, and to have fun. Alcohol is also easily accessible. Meeting
over Zoom to virtually engage in happy hour cocktails among friends and colleagues
became a marketable way to ‘taste’ what life used to be like during quarantine.

Recommended Guidelines for Alcohol Consumption

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for healthy adults,
light to moderate alcohol consumption is deemed acceptable. On the other hand, indulging in alcohol can cause undesirable health issues, ranging from car accident injuries, elevated blood pressure, and disease of the liver.
The CDC has outlined what they consider over-indulging when it comes to alcohol use:

• Women — Drinking four or more servings during the same instance, or eight alcohol
beverages over the course of a week

• Men — Drinking five or more servings during the same instance, or 15 alcohol beverages over the course of a week

Exploring At-Risk Populations

Those who are at higher risk for extreme alcohol consumption include people who are
faced with:
• Insufficient finances
• Scarce support among social network
• Pre-existing trials including substance abuse and mental health challenges
• Compromised coping skills
• Decreased access to treatment facilities and programs they previously engaged in
prior to COVID-19
Additionally, parents could be at a higher risk for overindulging in alcohol based on
their increased demands caused by the pandemic.

Beneficial Coping Tools for Stress

Handling stress in a healthy way is critical for self-care and overall wellbeing.
Some activities to help facilitate positive coping include:
• Make sleep a priority (6-8 hours a night)

• Daily physical exercise (30 minutes)
• Pursue creative outlets based on the individual’s personal interest (e.g. painting,
cooking, gardening, etc.)
• Drink water and stay hydrated (ideal amount is an ounce of water for each
pound you weigh, daily)
• Nurture your body with healthy, unprocessed foods
• Ask for emotional support from a social worker, counselor or therapist

Seek Help

If applicable, contact a trusted person in your life, or a healthcare provider, to help reduce your alcohol use. As stated above, talk therapy is another outlet to get support,
as well as help teach healthy coping skills for self-care and stress management.
Please visit our Auxo Medical blog every month to stay current on relevant matters in
healthcare

At the end of 2020, biotech companies such as Moderna and Pfizer, obtained emer- gency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. These vaccines are reportedly more than 94% effective in warding off the novel virus, as well as lowering serious side effects.

As of April 2021, more than 230 million doses have been given, and over 96 million people are fully vaccinated in the United States. Until recently, the majority of vaccines were prioritized to frontline workers, and people 65 years of age and older. President Joe Biden moved up the eligibility target for all American adults to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but many states around the country had already opened up criteria that anyone over the age of 16 is eligible to receive the vaccine.

Who is Paying for the Vaccinations?

For more than a year, the swift spread of a novel COVID-19 virus, has made its way around the globe. While there are non-pharmaceutical tools that are pivotal in slowing the spread, such as wearing face masks and practicing social distancing, vaccines appear to be the foundation of long-term defensive interventions in order to get our communities back to some semblance of normalcy again. 

Every year, vaccines are responsible for saving millions of lives, according to the WHO (World Health Organization). In short, vaccines enable the body’s immune system to recognize and battle viruses. Once vaccinated, if certain bacterias infiltrate the body, then the immune system is equipped to kill the germs in an effort to prevent illness. 

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Development 

The dire need for successful vaccines has propelled research developers to acutely focus on COVID-19, which led to an accelerated pipeline of preclinical candidates as well as the vaccine development itself. 

As of April 2021, there have been at least seven COVID-19 vaccines distributed in countries across multiple platforms. Currently, more than 80 additional vaccine candi-dates are in development, and over 180 are in pre-clinical development. 

Due to the astounding global response and the extraordinary quantity and pace of re-search to develop an effective vaccine, a vaccine tracker was created and is hosted by the Vaccine Centre. It is an interactive, user-friendly tool that is accessible online. Launched one year ago in April of 2020, the goal is to collect updated data on all COVID-19 vaccine contenders, from the beginning steps to final execution. 

This transparent tool allows both the public as well as researchers the ability to stay ap-prised of the latest information, and is updated on a weekly basis. The insights include preclinical and clinical candidates. 

Vaccine Key Metrics & Execution 

The vaccine tracker includes important metrics of both trials that are actively underway, as well as those that are in pre-planning phases. Its database features a variety of de-tails such as the size and location of the study, randomization, and the recruitment standing of registered vaccine trials in humans for COVID-19. Once a week, a clinical trial database from the US National Institutes of Health, as well as the WHO landscape pinpoints newly registered and/or updated protocols.

In addition to the preclinical and clinical candidate vaccine tracking, there is also a fea-ture that captures data on storage requirement, forecasts for manufacturing the vaccine, and approval status by the FDA. For each projected vaccine, countries who plan on dis-tributing it along with their statistics are included in the tracker. As the vaccine develop-ment gets underway, the tracker outlines the roll-out stages and execution steps. 

The expeditious progression in developing the COVID-19 vaccine is evidence of the commitment and ingenuity of research experts, as well as the general public’s trustwor-thiness who agreed to participate in clinical studies. There have been nearly 700,000 people from around the world who are actively in, or plan to be a part of these studies. In order for the trials’ assessments to have full efficacy and safety, there must be vitreous information throughout the entire process. 

Consequences of continuing vaccine delivery for the COVID-19 virus will play an im-portant role in providing credibility and belief concerning vaccination now, and in the fu-ture. While proven vaccines will be a staple for protecting the public, people should con-tinue to wear face masks, social distance, and stay away from large crowds 

for the indefinite future. 

Stay tuned for an upcoming Auxo Medical blog post where we’ll discuss the cost of COVID-19 vaccinations.