HEALTH NEWS

Biomodulin T clinical trial in children with septic shock in Cuba
2020-12-10 4:04 AM

A clinical trial with the drug Biomodulin T will be applied, for the first time in Cuba, to children with septic shock, reported sources of Public Health.

Sick child Biomodulin T, one of the 22 drugs against COVID-19 in Cuba, will be used in Villa Clara, the city, in the center of the country, with children under five years admitted in serious health conditions in intensive care rooms.

Yoandra Acevedo, specialist in intensive care and emergency, from the central Cuban province of Villa Clara, said that the treatment will be carried out in the form of an exploratory study aimed at increasing the immunity of infants, which will later be extended to the entire nation .

She indicated Dr. Acevedo that it will be used in children with septic shock because they have a significant immunological deficit, and also present the most serious expression of infection in an advanced stage, which requires intensive care to preserve their lives.

This product, manufactured in 2008 by the Centro Nacional de Biopreparados (BioCen), of the BioCubaFarma Business Group, constitutes a biological immunomodulator, of totally natural origin, composed of specific fractions of the bovine thymus.

Its main action consists in stimulating the production of T-lymphocytes and in strengthening the differentiation of lymphoblastoid cells of the thymus, one of the main glands of the immune system.

The parental (injectable) drug has been used, basically, in the treatment of recurrent respiratory infections in the elderly, for which Villa Clara becomes the site of the experimental trial with children with septic shock.

Yoandra stressed that for the development of the clinical trial they have a research team of specialists in intensive care, from the pediatric ward of the José Luis Miranda hospital, in this city, made up of doctors, nurses, ethnologists, laboratory specialists, pharmacists, among others.

About 2,000 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in Moscow last weekend
2020-12-09 4:01 AM

About 2,000 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 in Moscow last Saturday and Sunday, reported the mayor of the city, Sergei Sobianin.

Russian Covid vaccine "Last weekend, Saturday and Sunday, the vaccination centers were opened in which some 2,000 people were immunized," Sobianin said at a meeting of the board of directors of the government coordination council for the fight against coronavirus.

The deputy mayor of the Russian capital Anastasía Rákova reported last Friday that they opened 70 vaccination centers of the 170 that are planned to be operational in the remainder of the year.

Initially, people from the groups that are defined as priority can be vaccinated against COVID-19, voluntarily and free of charge: employees of the education, health and social services sectors.

Sobianin expressed hope that Moscow will receive more vaccines in the coming weeks and said that priority risk groups in vaccination will be expanded.

 

WHO says promise of COVID vaccines is a phenomenal thing
2020-12-08 4:04 AM

The promise of COVID-19 vaccines is "phenomenal" and "potentially revolutionary," said Hans Kluge, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Europe, at a recent briefing.

Speaking from Copenhagen, he said supplies will likely be very limited in the early stages and countries will have to decide who has priority, although the WHO has noted that there is a "growing consensus" that the first recipients should be older people, medical workers and people with morbidities.

The UK approved Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine, ahead of the rest of the world in the race to start the most crucial mass inoculation program in history.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson touted the green light from the British medical authority as a global victory, though he recognized the logistical challenges of vaccinating an entire country of 67 million people.

Regulators in the United States and the European Union are examining the same Pfizer vaccine test data, but have not yet given approval.

WHO said it had received data from Pfizer and BioNTech on the vaccine and is reviewing it for "possible listing for emergency use," a benchmark for countries to authorize national use.

COVID is going to stay with us, but not in the form of a pandemic
2020-12-07 4:03 AM

In these more than eight months of the pandemic, many things have been learned about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, but there are also many that remain to be known. Why some people pass COVID-19 mildly and others do so with many complications, regardless of previous risk factors, is still a mystery.

COVID-19 (3) The arrival of vaccines will change the landscape, but doctors have already assumed that COVID-19 is here to stay, at least for a while. "The disease is going to stay with us for a while, but fortunately not in the form of a pandemic," says Carlos Lumbreras, head of the Internal Medicine Service at Hospital 12 de Octubre.

Lumbreras is one of the doctors who best knows COVID-19. Not surprisingly, he has participated in several of the protocols of the Ministry of Health for the hospital management of the disease and its updates.

Throughout this time they have learned many things about the coronavirus “that we know are no longer useful. For example, we lack highly effective treatments against COVID, although steroids and remdesivir help us ”.

Regarding the latter, despite the World Health Organization (WHO) advising against it, the internist values ​​the ability to reduce the average stay of patients who have it indicated (hospitalized without the need for mechanical ventilation), which allows free resources for the following income.

"Mortality has not decreased, but being able to reduce the stay of patients in hospital by five days has been an advantage," admits Lumbreras.

In contrast, other drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin or the combination lopinavir / ritonavir have long been out of the arsenal. "What in March and April appeared as standard treatment is no longer even in the protocols," he points out.

 

UN Special Session Emphasizes Equity in COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
2020-12-06 4:01 AM

Equitable access to vaccines, medicines and medical equipment against COVID-19 must be ensured in the global response to the pandemic, participants said at a special session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly held in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vaccines The global response to the crisis caused by the pandemic must be taken on an equitable basis, Munir Akram, president of the Economic and Social Council, said today. ”We must first ensure that the virus vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere, wealthy or poor, male or female, on an equitable basis, "prioritizing medical workers, women, children and others, Akram said. Akram noted that advance purchase of COVID-19 vaccines should not be allowed to undermine the collective commitment to equity in vaccine distribution.

The Non-Aligned Movement emphasized the importance of affordable, equitable and unhindered access for all countries to medicines, vaccines and medical equipment, which must be an integral part of a coordinated and effective global response against COVID-19, Ilham said. Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan and the Non-Aligned Movement. Aliyev expressed the hope that COVID-19 vaccines will be considered a global public good to ensure universal distribution at prices accessible to all. The poorest and most vulnerable have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, so the Non-Aligned Movement fears that the effects of the crisis will reverse development gains from work and will hamper progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, Aliyev said.

About 100 million people fell into extreme poverty, 20 countries face acute food insecurity and shortages, 300 million jobs have been lost and five countries have stopped making their payments, Akram noted. Akram added that all governments should be encouraged to respond to the needs of the people and that governments and international institutions should put people first in deploying resources.

The World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, and the international vaccine alliance, GAVI, launched the global COVAX initiative to give participating countries equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Until November 24, the global COVAX vaccine procurement mechanism had the participation of about 100 countries and economies. China joined in early October. The two-day special session consists primarily of a general debate and interactive dialogues with experts, UN agencies and leading scientists.

 

Ultrasound more effective than swabbing
2020-12-05 4:02 AM

A simple lung ultrasound is able to diagnose pneumonia due to COVID-19 when a patient arrives at a hospital ward, according to a study carried out at the Molinette hospital in Turin (northwestern Italy).

Lung ultrasound The research was conducted between March and April, during the first wave of the pandemic, and recently published in the international scientific journal Annals of Emergency Medicine.

“The guard is the entrance door to a hospital, explained Professor Enrico Lupia, director of Emergency Medicine at Molinette. To admit a patient ignoring his positivity would imply running the risk of increasing infections ”, inside and outside the hospital.

For this reason, rapid and correct identification of patients with the virus is important, and in some cases ultrasound proves to be more effective than swabbing, also for faster application of isolation between close contacts.

The study took into consideration 228 patients with symptoms attributable to the coronavirus, 107 of them diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia after having tested positive in the naso-pharyngeal swab.

The lung ultrasound, performed in conjunction with the medical visit, correctly identified another 21 cases of COVID-19 pneumonia, or almost 20%, among those that had been wrongly classified as negative based on the result of the first swab.

"The study confirms, explained Professor Lupia, the perception of the wide utility of lung ultrasound", commonly used for monitoring pregnancy, or for the study of the abdomen and the heart, although less for lung diseases.

And he then reinforces its use, already advised by the directives of many hospitals. The examination represents, in this way, a valid aid in the fight against the pandemic, even more so if it is carried out, as in the Molinette study, with easy-to-use and handy portable ultrasound machines, directly connected to a smartphone and usable even in the domicile of patients.

“We are very afraid of a third wave, we are worried, said Professor Lupia. Compared to the beginning of November, the pressure on our guard fell, as on the others, although there is still a significant influx of patients due to COVID (and not only) ”.

“The hospital system is still under turmoil and therefore it is necessary to respect the safety regulations that everyone already knows. Especially now that Christmas is approaching, we must not lower our guard. Let's not forget what we've been through ”, he concluded.

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