Category: Corona Virus Vaccine

On Thursday, a new Covid-19 vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and Americans should be able to access the new shots in the next few days.

The vaccines come amid one of the worst Covid waves of the last two years. And while dangerous outcomes like hospitalization and death are nowhere near what they were at the height of the pandemic, both are still a risk, especially for older people and those with other risk factors like asthma or obesity.

This updated version of the vaccine does not target the now-dominant KP.3.1.1 strain, and instead focuses on that variants immediate predecessors, including a strain known as KP.2. That strain was more prevalent when work began on the new formulation; long development times make it difficult for drug makers to pivot to target each new variant.

Evolution doesnt stop and let us catch up, Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Vox. Evolution is always moving, and theres some unpredictability of where the virus may go.

Still, scientists believe the new drug will provide the public with at least some increased measure of protection against severe sickness, including against the latest variants. And it could offer some protection against infection since it targets the close relatives of the current dominant variant.

As of now, two new vaccines have been approved: one from Pfizer/BioNTech and one from Moderna. An update from Novavax is still awaiting approval.

Doses should be available within the week at doctors offices, as well as CVS and Walgreens pharmacies throughout the country; Walgreens will start offering appointments on September 6. However, the government is no longer buying and distributing the vaccine, so its no longer available for free. Insurance carriers should cover most, if not all, of the cost of vaccination, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has an overview of what costs those paying out of pocket might expect.

The CDC recommends that everyone age 6 months and up get one dose of the new vaccine, regardless of their previous vaccination status, and has stressed the importance of high-risk individuals keeping up with the latest vaccines. Other countries like Canada and the UK recommend that only those with high risk of hospitalization, serious illness, or death from the virus get inoculated.

Adalja said high-risk individuals should heed the CDCs advice: Ive always been someone who wanted to make sure that the high-risk population really understood that these vaccines were going to disproportionately benefit them, he told Vox.

The more high-risk factors you have like advanced age, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, having a compromised immune system, pregnancy, asthma, and having never been vaccinated or had Covid the more important it is to get two doses. All of those types of people, they clearly should be the ones that are running to get this vaccine, Adalja said.

Though high-risk people should have first priority for the updated vaccines, that doesnt mean that healthy people with none of those risk factors wont benefit from getting vaccinated; if you want to avoid infection, this version is likely going to be better at preventing transmission than previous versions have been. However, even with the updated vaccine, its a good idea to take other precautions, like masking in public places.

Covid-19 is now endemic part of our everyday lives like the flu and cold viruses are. And it will keep evolving to evade the bodys defenses, necessitating new vaccine formulations. That means more new vaccine formulations are on the way, and that once they are approved, vaccination will still be the best way to protect yourself from the worst possible outcomes.

Update, August 23, 4 pm ET: This piece, originally published earlier on August 23, has been updated to clarify the CDCs current recommendations about who should receive new vaccines.

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What you need to know about the new Covid-19 vaccine - Vox.com

FILE - Pre-loaded syringes of the COVID-19 vaccine are ready for use in New Orleans on Jan. 25, 2022.

Ted Jackson / AP

U.S. regulators approved updated COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, shots designed to more closely target recent virus strains and hopefully whatever variants cause trouble this winter, too.

With the Food and Drug Administrations clearance, Pfizer and Moderna are set to begin shipping millions of doses. A third U.S. manufacturer, Novavax, expects its modified vaccine version to be available a little later.

We strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants, said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks.

The Oregon Health Authority expects doses of the new boosters will begin arriving in the state within one to three weeks. But unlike during the height of the pandemic, the agency is no longer responsible for distributing the doses throughout Oregon.

The FDA decision came a bit earlier than last years rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines, as a summer wave of the virus continues in most of the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already has recommended this falls shot for everyone age 6 months and older. Vaccinations could be available within days.

While most Americans have some degree of immunity from prior infections or vaccinations or both, that protection wanes. Last falls shots targeted a different part of the coronavirus family tree, a strain thats no longer circulating and CDC data shows only about 22.5% of adults and 14% of children received it.

Health officials in Oregon said a rise in cases of the virus over the last three months appears to be plateauing. But testing across the state has also gone down significantly, compared to previous years.

Related: Oregon health officials suggest precautions as COVID-19 infections remain high

Skipping the new shot is a hazardous way to go, because even if your last infection was mild, your next might be worse or leave you with long COVID symptoms, said Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr. of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

This falls vaccine recipe is tailored to a newer branch of omicron descendants. The Pfizer and Moderna shots target a subtype called KP.2 that was common earlier this year. While additional offshoots, particularly KP.3.1.1, now are spreading, theyre closely enough related that the vaccines promise cross-protection. A Pfizer spokesman said the company submitted data to FDA showing its updated vaccine generates a substantially improved response against multiple virus subtypes compared to last falls vaccine.

The big question: How soon to get vaccinated? This summers wave of COVID-19 isnt over but the inevitable winter surges tend to be worse. And while COVID-19 vaccines do a good job preventing severe disease, hospitalization and death, protection against mild infection lasts only a few months.

People who are at high risk from the virus shouldnt wait but instead schedule vaccinations once shots are available in their area, Hopkins advised.

That includes older adults, people with weak immune systems or other serious medical problems, nursing home residents and pregnant women.

Healthy younger adults and children can get vaccinated anytime. I dont think theres a real reason to wait, Hopkins said although its OK to seek the shots in the fall, when plenty of doses will have arrived at pharmacies and doctors offices.

The exception: The CDC says anyone who recently had COVID-19 can wait three months after they recover before getting vaccinated, until immunity from that infection begins to wane.

Hopkins, who sees patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, calls it vital for more youngsters to get vaccinated this year especially with schools starting as coronavirus levels are high around the country.

COVID does not kill many children, thank goodness, but it kills far more children than influenza does, Hopkins said, adding that teachers, too, should quickly get up to date with the vaccine.

Health authorities say its fine to get a COVID-19 and flu vaccination at the same time, a convenience so people dont have to make two trips. But while many drugstores already are advertising flu shots, the prime time for that vaccination tends to be late September through October, just before flu typically starts its cold weather climb.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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FDA approves updated COVID-19 vaccines, shots should be available in Oregon in 1-3 weeks - Oregon Public Broadcasting

On the heels of a summer wave of COVID-19 cases, Americans will be able to get free virus test kits mailed to their homes, starting in late September.

U.S. households will be able to order up to four COVID-19 nasal swab tests when the federal program reopens, according to the website, COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Health and Human Services agency that oversees the testing has not announced an exact date for ordering to begin.

The tests will detect current virus strains and can be ordered ahead of the holiday season when family and friends gather for celebrations, an HHS spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year.

The announcement also comes as the government is once again urging people to get an updated COVID-19 booster, ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season. Earlier this week, U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, hopefully, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but data shows under a quarter of U.S. adults took last falls COVID-19 shot.

The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. Its unclear how many tests the feds have on hand.

Tens of billions of tax-payer dollars have been used to develop COVID-19 tests, vaccines and treatments. Although deaths and serious infections have dropped dramatically since COVID-19 started its U.S. spread in 2020, hospitalizations have started to slightly creep up in recent weeks. In total, more than 1 million Americans have died from the virus.

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More free COVID-19 tests soon available by mail, government announces - Fortune

The University of Kentucky Public Relations and Strategic Communications Office provides a weekly health column available for use and reprint by news media. This weeks column isby Takaaki Kobayashi, M.D., senior medical director for UK HealthCareInfection Prevention and Control.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2024) Recent headlines swirling about an uptick in local COVID-19 cases might bring back bad memories.

According to a careful monitoring of hospital admissions, COVID-19 activity has picked up in recent weeks in Kentucky. Theres no need to panic, but it may be time for a quick refresher.

Our understanding of COVID-19, the preventative measures we can take against it and the effective treatment options available to those who get the disease have only increased with time.

Newest vaccine imminent

Like other viruses, the virus behind COVID has continued to evolve and the dominant strains infecting many Americans today are of Omicron lineage. The newest vaccine, developed to specially target the new dominant variants, should start to roll out in late August and September.

Its recommended that everyone six months of age or older get the shot. Protection against COVID-19 from previous vaccines or previous bouts with COVID-19 decrease over time.

Gettingthe vaccinedoesnt guarantee you wont become ill. However, the chances of being hospitalized or dying from the disease decreases significantly.

Consider also getting your flu shot at the same time as your COVID-19 vaccine. Flu season is right around the corner. Older adults and pregnant people might also consider getting a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.

Other recommendations

A COVID summer surge was expected, but the severity is still to be determined. With school starting, its important that parents and students remember proper hand-washing techniques and to stay home if youre feeling sick. Additionally, wearing a mask can help lower the risk of virus transmission by reducing the spread of the virus from infected individuals and protecting wearers from inhaling infectious particles from others.

Those precautions will help protect against COVID-19 plus other respiratory viruses that tend to kick around crowded environments like classrooms.

As of March, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention recommendsthat those suffering from respiratory virus symptoms cough, runny nose, sore throat, headache, etc. stay home and away from others. You can resume normal activities once symptoms have improved, and youre fever free for at least 24 hours.

Its important to note that you may still spread the virus that made you sick, even if youre feeling better. Over the next fivedays, take extra precautions such as improving air circulation, practicing good hygiene, wearing masks, and keeping a safe distance from others.

Other common questions about COVID

Is Paxlovid still effective against the newer strains of COVID?

Paxlovid remains effective against the new COVID variants. It is only recommended for people at high risk for severe illness and only within 5 days of symptom onset.

How severe is illness with the new variant?

The current variants are more contagious than earlier strains, but they dont seem to cause more severe illness.

If I already had COVID-19 and recovered, do I still need to get a COVID-19 vaccine?

Yes. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine after you recover provides added protection.

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Keep yourself healthy as COVID activity picks up in Kentucky - UKNow

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COVID-19 vaccines are updated and ready for fall, FDA says - USA TODAY

COVID hasnt taken the summer off, and with the usual winter surge looming, the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved new vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

A third shot, from Novavax, has yet to be approved, but health officials are suggesting people get this shot (which is no longer called a booster) as the number of people testing positive continues to rise and hospitalizations are increasing as well.

Heres all you need to know about this years COVID vaccine.

The new shots will likely be available in the coming days, officials say. Thats earlier than last year, when they didnt hit pharmacies and doctors offices until September.

As with each years flu shot, thats unclear at this point. The new shots target the KP.2 strain, a mutation of the variant that spread widely last winter. KP.2 is fading, though, as other related strains gain momentum. The KP.3.1.1 strain currently accounts for 36% of new COVID cases, while KP.3 accounts for 17%.

Experts, though, say getting the shot will protect against severe illness, even if you do contract the virus.

Last year, only 22.5% of Americans got the updated COVID vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is hoping for higher numbers this year, urging everyone six months and older to get the shot, but are making a more urgent appeal to people over 65 or with health conditions, such as a weakened immune system or obesity.

A lot of that depends on your situation. If youre at high risk or elderly, the CDC suggests getting the shot as soon as possible. If youve been caught up in the summer COVID wave, you can consider delaying getting the shot for up to three months, as you likely have some natural immunity.

For people who are young and healthy, there are two ways of looking at the timing. The new vaccines are matched to the current wave, meaning youll likely see a bigger benefit for whats out there right now. Waiting until later in the fall, in the September or October time frame, could give you the most protection through the winter months, though.

Yes. Its safe to get both shots at the same time, health officials say.

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When will the new COVID shots be availableand when should you get one? - Fortune

The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday it has greenlighted updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for the 2024 fall season. The decision clears the way for distribution to begin for the latest version of the shots earlier this year than last year.

Moderna and Pfizer's shots were revised this year to target the KP.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, as part of a now-annual process undertaken by the FDA and health authorities around the world to update the vaccines to protect against newer strains of the virus.

"Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants," said Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

Similar to previous seasons, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending that all Americans ages 6 months and older get a shot of the "updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine" to protect against another expected surge of the virus this fall and winter.

In a presentation to the American Medical Association earlier this month, CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen recommended starting to administer COVID-19 shots this year as soon they are available.

"Then the administration should continue through September, October, November, those are the months you really want to be paying attention to," she said.

Both Moderna and Pfizer say they expect the first shots from their vaccines to become available in the coming days around the country. Another updated vaccine from Novavax is also expected to get the FDA's authorization this year.

"FDA has committed to moving swiftly on regulatory authorization. We expect to have authorization in time for peak vaccination season," Novavax said in a statement.

Since this past winter, health authorities have been working to accelerate this year's rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

Last year's late-September rollout of the shots led to a number of fumbles that likely depressed vaccination rates, CDC officials said in February, like confusing messaging and struggles for patients to access the shots.

Instead, COVID-19 vaccines this year will become available around the same time that deliveries of flu shots are arriving in clinics. That is the result of an earlier CDC vote to recommend the shots over the summer and an earlier FDA selection of the strain to be targeted by the shots, moving it closer to the annual process to update the seasonal flu vaccine.

For most people, the CDC recommends getting a flu shot in September or October each year, which can be given at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccines.

"If you have someone in front of you, and the option is, this is my chance to give them vaccines, co-administration is a best practice. So we encourage it," the CDC's Dr. Demetre Daskalakis said at the AMA event.

Health officials have long acknowledged that the rollout of this year's new COVID-19 vaccines would likely arrive too late for many Americans infected by this summer's wave of the virus.

"It's very difficult to try to time COVID vaccine before an oncoming surge. And so I think what we're left with is trying to time it with the respiratory virus season, and think about uptake at the same time as folks are getting their flu vaccines," the CDC's Dr. Ruth Link-Gelles told a panel of the FDA's advisers in June.

The new shots from Moderna and Pfizer target the KP.2 variant, which is a descendant of the JN.1 strain that drove part of last winter's surge of infections.

This decision to target KP.2 is different from what the World Health Organization and some other countries had recommended, calling for shots aimed at the JN.1 variant.

Pfizer and Moderna presented early data on shots targeted at KP.2 as well as JN.1 to a panel of the FDA's outside vaccine advisers in June, as the companies prepared to ramp up production.

While the FDA's advisers called for the agency to target JN.1, the agency cited the "recent rise in" cases to reject the committee's advice and aim the shots at KP.2 instead in order to "more closely match" the latest strains.

But KP.2 has been declining as a share of infections for months. Another strain called KP.3.1.1 has rapidly grown amid this summer's wave. More than a third of cases are now from KP.3.1.1, the CDC estimates.

While the difference between the strains might have some impact on how effective the shots are this fall and winter, scientists have said the gap between these different variants is still relatively small compared to previous jumps in the virus.

"All of these viruses that are circulating currently, even though they have very different names are very, very similar to each other. So it is just a nomenclature issue, why you have these different sounding names," the CDC's Natalie Thornburg said Monday, in a call with testing labs.

Alexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS News based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers the Biden administration's public health agencies, including the federal response to infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19.

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FDA OK's new COVID vaccine shots for fall 2024 from Pfizer and Moderna - CBS News

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the latest slate of annual Covid vaccines, clearing the way for Americans 6 months and older to receive updated shots in the midst of a prolonged summer surge of the virus.

Pfizer and Moderna, the vaccine makers, are expected to begin shipping vaccines to pharmacies and doctors offices within days. The shots are tailored to a version of the virus that took off this spring before giving way to closely related variants, all of which appear to spread faster.

For the frailest Americans, who have been dying of Covid in growing numbers this summer, the shots could offer a reprieve from a virus that disproportionately endangers those whose vaccinations are out of date.

But the approval is occurring months after wily new variants began driving up infections, a matter of consternation for some scientists who have urged faster turnarounds for updated shots.

In recent weeks, people have been hospitalized with Covid at a rate nearly twice as high as during the same time last summer. By late July, Covid was killing roughly 600 Americans each week, a substantial drop from this winter but double the number from this spring.

The availability of boosters has not translated into actual vaccinations. By spring, only one in five adults had received last years updated Covid vaccine. Even older Americans, who are at far greater risk of being severely sickened, largely spurned the shots, with only 40 percent of people 75 and older taking last years vaccine.

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New Covid Shots Were Approved. But Who Will Get Them? - The New York Times

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Courtesy: Pfizer

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, putting the new shots on track to reach most Americans in the coming days amid a summer surge of the virus.

The jabs target a strain called KP.2, a descendant of the highly contagious omicron subvariant JN.1 that began circulating widely in the U.S. earlier this year. KP.2 was the dominant Covid strain in May, but now only accounts for roughly 3% of all U.S. cases as of Saturday, according to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

Still, Pfizer and Moderna have said their KP.2 vaccines can produce stronger immune responses against other circulating subvariants of JN.1, such as KP.3 and LB.1, than last year's round of shots targeting the omicron strain XBB.1.5 can.

"Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants," Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

In June, the CDC recommended that everyone over 6 months old receive an updated Covid vaccine and flu jab this year. The new shots from Pfizer and Moderna are specifically approved for people ages 12 and older and are authorized under emergency use for children 6 months through 11 years old.

Pfizer will begin shipping its new shot immediately and expects it to be available in pharmacies, hospitals and clinics across the U.S. "beginning in the coming days," the company said in a statement.Moderna also expectsitsshotto be available in a similar time frame, according to a statement.

"Staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccine remains one of the best ways for people to be protected and prevent severe illness," Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in a statement. "We appreciate the U.S. FDA's timely review and encourage individuals to speak to their healthcare providers about receiving their updated COVID-19 vaccine alongside their flu shot this fall."

Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine mRNA 2024-2025 formula.

Courtesy: Moderna

The FDA's approval comes a few weeks ahead of last year's round of shots, which the agency cleared on Sept. 11.

The earlier arrival of updated vaccines could offer some reassurance to Americans as the nation sees a relatively large spike in the virus this summer. A "high" or "very high" level of Covid is being detected in wastewater in almost every state, according to CDC data. Wastewater monitoring provides a glimpse of how widespread the virus is in the U.S. as other forms of testing have fallen off.

Other measures of the virus are rising but remain far below where they were at the peak of the pandemic. Covid test positivity rates rose to 18.3% for the week ended Aug. 10, from 17.9% the week before, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, the CDC said about four people are being hospitalized for Covid for every 100,000 people in a given area. That's up from about one Covid hospitalization for every 100,000 people in May, which was the lowest level since the pandemic began.

The summer Covid wave may decline by the time the shots reach patients' arms and kick in an immune response against the virus, which typically takes two weeks after vaccination.

Still, federal health officials have long told Americans to expect annual updates to Covid shots as the virus churns out new strains that can dodge the immunity people have from previous vaccinations or infections protection that wanes over time. It's similar to how the U.S. rolls out new flu vaccines every year.

It's unclear how many Americans will actually roll up their sleeves to get another shot in the coming months.

Only around 22.5% of U.S. adults received the latest round of shots that came out last fall, according to CDC data through early May.

Many Americans who got previous rounds of Covid shots cited a lack of worry about the virus as a reason they didn't get the latest booster, according to a November survey from health policy research organization KFF. Others said they had been too busy to get their shot, the survey said.

In June, the FDA asked vaccine makers to manufacture shots against JN.1 before telling them to target KP.2 instead "if feasible."

That shift appeared to put Novavax, which filed for authorization of a new JN.1 shot that same month, at a disadvantage. The FDA has not cleared the biotech company's jab.

In a statement, Novavax said it is working "productively" with the FDA as the agency completes its review. Novavax expects its shot to receive authorization in time for peak vaccination season in the U.S.

The company noted that its shot provides protection against descendants of JN.1, including KP.2.3, KP.3, KP.3.1.1 and LB.1.

Novavax manufactures protein-based vaccines, which cannot be quickly updated to target another strain of the virus. Protein-based technology is a decades-old method used in routine vaccinations against hepatitis B and shingles.

Meanwhile, Pfizer's and Moderna's shots use messenger RNA technology, which teaches cells how to make proteins that trigger an immune response against Covid. The mRNA vaccines are much easier to develop and update than protein shots.

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FDA approves updated Pfizer, Moderna Covid vaccines as virus surges; shots to be available within days - CNBC

Fiona Moore / Flickr cc

Closely following theMediterranean Diet may help protect against COVID-19, but its benefits against symptoms or severity are unclear, Indonesian researchers report in PLOS One.

Thesystematic review, conducted in August 2023, identified six observational studies from five countries published from 2020 to 2023 that were based on food-frequency questionnaires. They had a total sample size of 55,489 patients.

The Mediterranean Diet, which mainly consists of plant-derived foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and olive oil, is a rich source of antioxidants and is tied to a lower risk of infection and faster viral clearance, the authors said.

"Mediterranean Diet has been reported to possess immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties," they wrote. "These properties are closely associated with the immunopathogenesis of COVID-19."

Four of the six studies identified a statistically significant correlation between closer adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and lower COVID-19 infection risk, while one study found a nonsignificant link.

One study reported a significant tie between better adherence to the diet and reduced COVID-19 symptoms, but three showed a nonsignificant association. While one study found that highly adherent participants were less likely to develop severe COVID-19, two others were inconclusive.

Overall, the analyses suggest higher Mediterranean diet adherence significantly reduced odds of COVID-19, with non-significant results against COVID-19 symptoms and severity.

One study concluded that dietary adherence significantly reduced the likelihood of all reported COVID-19 symptoms, with odds ratios (ORs) varying from 0.06 to 0.34 for each symptom. But three found a nonsignificant association (ORs, 0.84 to 0.992), and one analysis concluded that the link was nonsignificant.

One report found that participants with top-tertile dietary adherence were less likely to develop severe COVID-19 (OR, 0.23) than those in the bottom tertile. Two studies reported a nonsignificant link (ORs, 0.22 to 0.89).

Of two studies that analyzed the effects of individual dietary components against disease severity, one found no significant link, while another reported that consumption of more vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, and fish were protective.

"Overall, the analyses suggest higher Mediterranean diet adherence significantly reduced odds of COVID-19, with non-significant results against COVID-19 symptoms and severity," the researchers wrote.

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FDA green-lights season's updated mRNA COVID vaccines - University of Minnesota Twin Cities