Hey Health Deskers,
This week we’re diving into different medications and their interactions (or lack thereof) with COVID-19 vaccines. It turns out most drugs won’t decrease the efficacy of the shots and, fortunately, they’re also increasingly being linked to reduced death. The latest studies found vaccination to be 90% effective in preventing death. Our audience of journalists and fact-checkers also had us unpacking questions about blood donations and vitiligo, which is an autoimmune disease. First, a look ahead …
Omicron origin likely not in Africa
Thanks to South Africa's disease surveillance teams—some of the strongest internationally—the world was quickly notified about the emergence of the newly designated variant of concern, Omicron. The variant appeared to be in circulation in Europe a week before it was first detected and reported in South Africa, validating the frustrations of many Southern African scientists who should be lauded for their detection, monitoring, and reporting systems. Instead much of the African continent is now facing travel bans, despite the fact that many of the nations impacted do not have a confirmed Omicron case themselves, and the variant is already circulating in dozens of countries world wide. We still don't know if the variant evolved from human or animal origins but we look forward to more information being uncovered in the next few weeks and are hopeful most new infections are mild or asymptomatic.
World leaders commit to pandemic response agreement
World Health Organization (WHO) member states met in an attempt to establish a new global pact on pandemic preparedness. Stemming from an inadequate and unbalanced international response to SARS-CoV-2, the special session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) met from November 29 to December 1 to create a "new instrument" through an accord. It aims to implement actions like strengthening the WHO's International Health Regulations and giving the organization the ability to declare a pandemic, instead of Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which does not properly convey a sense of urgency. Though the WHA strayed from signing any legal documents, the process of developing an official agreement is expected to take one to three years. We hope this potential framework can strengthen international cooperation and response to the likely emerging pandemic threats we now face as a three-fold higher rate.
Nurses demand more protection
A global nursing and midwifery crisis is bringing renewed attention to the needs of this vital population. The world is expected to have a gap of six million nurses by 2030 with 90% of the need occurring in low- and middle-income countries. As nurses deliver 80% of "hands-on" healthcare around the world, their safety and security on the front line of global health systems is imperative. This is why nursing groups from 28 countries have filed a complaint to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. A letter on behalf of the group noted that the World Trade Organization has constituted "a continuing breach of their obligations to guarantee the right to physical and mental health of everyone.” The signatories want countries to be able to produce COVID-19 products like vaccines without the consent of or payment to the patent holders. High-income countries and pharmaceutical companies oppose this idea in the midst of a pandemic that has killed over 100,000 healthcare workers, most of whom were—and continue to be—unvaccinated. We are hopeful that vaccine equity can be achieved for the most vulnerable, especially nurses, through increased access to this pivotal tool in the fight against COVID-19.
Now: you asked, we answered. Here are the latest topics our scientists are unpacking for you:
Do COVID-19 vaccines reduce death?
Recent research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and conducted in Scotland examined the protective effect of vaccination against COVID-19 found that vaccination was 90% effective in preventing death. This study is the first of its kind to be conducted across the entire country to examine how effective the vaccines are in preventing death from COVID-19. The majority of cases studied were infected with the Delta variant. Researchers reported that vaccination with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 91%, and 90% effective in preventing deaths, respectively, among people who have received two doses of each vaccine.
“Additional research suggests that vaccination is responsible for saving 140,000 lives in the United States through May 2021. During that time, there were 570,000 deaths of COVID-19 and the researchers estimated that the number would have reached 709,000 deaths if not for vaccination. The same study suggested that New York state had the greatest reduction in COVID-19 deaths, with 12 fewer deaths for every 1000 cases compared to the projected numbers without vaccination.”
How often can a person donate blood?
Globally, blood shortages are very common in almost every country. Natural disasters, blood loss due to labor, accidents, and other blood-intensive medical procedures increase blood needs dramatically. This is why the World Health Organization requests healthy people to donate blood to their local health groups at appropriate intervals.
“National rules dictate how often a person can donate blood. In the United States, for instance, donors must wait at least 56 days - 8 weeks or 2 months - between donations of whole blood. But the time period between donations varies by country…Donation times for other blood products is unique to each country as well. The majority of blood donations are for whole blood which contains red cells, white cells, and platelets all suspended in plasma. Donations can be made just for red blood cells (frequently used in transfusions during surgeries), platelets (that help form blood clots), or plasma which all have different rules for donation frequency.”
What do we know about mixing COVID-19 vaccines with medications?
COVID-19 vaccines are not impacted by the large majority of prescription and over-the-counter medications people may take. However, immunosuppressive medications and other medications that affect the immune system—including chemotherapy and steroids like prednisone—may decrease the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. The vast majority of prescription medications do not affect the immune system.
“In general, people over 60 who take medication for conditions like diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and heart issues will not have a weaker response to the vaccines because of those medications. These medications include commonly prescribed drugs like blood thinners that work on the body's ability to clot, drugs that help with glucose metabolism to help control diabetes, and statins to help with high cholesterol. These types of medications do not target or impact the immune system in the way immunosuppressive drugs do.”
What is vitiligo and is it deadly?
Vitiligo affects about 2% of the global population and is more common in certain geographic regions like in Gujarat in Western India. It is more noticeable on darker skin. In 2016, researchers examined the available studies on vitiligo and found that vitiligo was present at a high rate in Africa among women. Prevalence estimates of vitiligo in Africa range from .4% to 2.5%. The study also found high prevalence rates of vitiligo in Europe and Oceania. Another study from 2020 looked at a group of 1,487 individuals with vitiligo and found that 46.6 percent of them originally had white skin. Anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or sex can develop vitiligo.
“Although vitiligo often only affects the color of the skin without altering the texture or sensation, it is generally considered an autoimmune disorder. This is because autoimmune disorders occur when the immune system attacks the body's own tissues and organs, and in people with vitiligo, the immune system appears to attack the pigment cells in the skin. Vitiligo can also make a person more likely to get other autoimmune conditions. About 25% of people have vitiligo experience other auto-immune conditions.”
That’s all for this time folks, have a good week and we’ll be back soon with more science to share!