A Case Study of BC’s Lockdown. And More Science Journal News

Compiled by veteran medical journalist Brian Owens, this roundup of some of the newest science on the COVID-19 pandemic, straight from the scientific journals, is presented by Hakai Magazine in partnership with The Tyee.

How to balance the economic and health costs of lockdown

A strong initial shutdown that reduces the epidemic reproduction number to below 1, followed by less strict controls as vaccinations programs take effect, is the best way to minimize both deaths and economic damage during a pandemic, according to a study that used British Columbia as a case study. The researchers also found that an oscillating policy of strict and mild shutdowns is less effective than a policy which maintains a moderate shutdown level.

Royal Society Open Science, Sept. 7, 2021

Reduced physical activity continues after lockdown

Almost one-third of people reduced their levels of physical activity during — and after — the first lockdown in England between March and August of 2020. During the study of more than 35,000 people, the researchers saw a steady increase in the percentage of people who reported doing no physical activity during the previous workday. They found that 29 per cent of people reported decreased activity or increased inactivity, while just nine per cent reported increased activity. Others showed little change in their activity levels. The researchers say that greater public health efforts may be needed to promote physical activity for the general population after the pandemic.

Scientific Reports, Sept. 2, 2021

Sea air can reduce COVID-19

Breathing salty, humid air suppresses the generation of respiratory droplets and can potentially reduce the incidence and symptoms of COVID-19. A lab experiment found that people who breathed in salty, humid air produced half as many respiratory droplets, while a comparison of COVID-19 rates in the U.S. found that counties along the Pacific and Gulf coasts had 25 to 30 per cent lower rates of infection and death from COVID-19 than inland counties.

Molecular Frontiers Journal, Aug. 31, 2021

In-school transmission is rare for students with intellectual disabilities

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are at higher risk of infection and severe illness from COVID-19 and are often unable to wear masks or properly keep physical distance. But a study of special education schools in Missouri found that frequent rapid testing was able to keep transmission rates low in the schools. Weekly saliva testing detected fewer than two cases of school-based transmission during a six-month period in six dedicated special education schools from November 2020 through May 2021.

Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Sept. 1, 2021

Teachers not at increased risk of hospitalization

Neither teachers nor their household members were at increased risk of severe illness or hospitalization with COVID-19 at any time during the 2020-21 academic year compared with similar working age adults, including during periods when schools were fully open, according to a study in Scotland. During the study period, the overall risk of hospital admission with COVID-19 remained less than one per cent for teachers, health-care workers and adults of working age in the general population, indicating that schools are not a high-risk environment compared with other workplaces.

British Medical Journal, Sept. 2, 2021

Higher antibody levels from Moderna vaccine

A study comparing the two mRNA vaccines has found that the Moderna one produces slightly more antibodies than the Pfizer-BioNTech one. Most of the difference was the result of the immune response in older people. Those over the age of 50 who received the Pfizer vaccine produced fewer antibodies than those under 50, while that difference was not seen in those who received the Moderna vaccine — possibly because the Moderna version uses a higher dose of mRNA than Pfizer. But the researchers caution against drawing conclusions about the vaccines’ effectiveness based on these results alone — both vaccines are highly effective in all age groups, they say.

JAMA Network Open, Sept. 2, 2021

Vaccines are effective in pregnant women

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is just as effective at preventing infection, severe illness and hospitalization in pregnant women as in the general population. In a study of more than 10,000 vaccinated pregnant women and 10,000 unvaccinated controls, only one case of severe illness was observed in the unvaccinated group and no deaths were observed in either group. The study did not, however, look at whether the vaccine also provided protection to the baby.

Nature Medicine, Sept. 7, 2021

Exposure to common cold coronaviruses enhances immune response to SARS-CoV-2

People who have previously been exposed to coronaviruses that cause the common cold have immune cells known as helper T cells that are able to recognize SARS-CoV-2 and enhance the immune response to the virus both during natural infection and after vaccination. But this cross-reactive immunity decreases with age, which may help to explain why older people are more susceptible to severe disease and why their vaccine-induced immunity is often weaker than that of young people.

Science, Aug. 31, 2021

Delta much less sensitive to both natural and vaccine-induced antibodies

The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is six times less sensitive to antibodies from natural infection and eight times less sensitive to those from vaccination, according to laboratory experiments. In laboratory models of the human airway, the Delta variant was more efficient at replicating than the Alpha variant and could replicate and enter cells at a higher rate than that of the Kappa variant. The researchers say these differences may explain why Delta has quickly become the dominant form of the virus around the world.

Nature, Sept. 6, 2021

Online interaction prevents loneliness in teens during lockdown

Teenagers in Peru who found support online — such as chatting with friends and relatives via WhatsApp or joining multiplayer online video games — reported less loneliness during that country’s strict lockdown. The study shows that how young people interact online is more important than how much time they spend on screens: promoting positive online interactions is better for their mental health than reducing screen time overall.

Journal of Research on Adolescence, Aug. 26, 2021