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UNF study finds dual COVID and flu vaccination reduces infection rates
Peer-Reviewed Publication Jacksonville, Fla. – University of North Florida Brooks College of Health faculty recently published a study showing dual COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccinations are associated with reduced infection rates and can be an effective strategy to reduce the contagious respiratory disease burden during the winter.
The study found individuals with dual vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine only were significantly less likely to report COVID-19 infection when compared with those unvaccinated. There was no significant difference in self-reported COVID-19 symptom severity by vaccination status.
Dr. Zhigang Xie, public health assistant professor, and Dr. Hanadi Hamadi, health administration associate professor, partnered with two University of Florida researchers for the study. Using data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey, the team conducted descriptive analysis and multivariate logistic regressions to examine the association between dual vaccination status and self-reported COVID-19 infection and severity among 21,387 (weighted 185,251,310) U.S. adults. Of those in the survey, about 22% did not receive either the flu or COVID-19 vaccine, 6.0% received the flu vaccine only, 29.1% received the COVID-19 vaccine only, and 42.5% received both vaccines.
Read the full study in the latest issue of Vaccine journal.
About University of North Florida
The University of North Florida is a nationally ranked university located on a beautiful 1,381-acre campus in Jacksonville surrounded by nature. Serving 17,000 students, UNF features six colleges of distinction with innovative programs in high-demand fields. UNF students receive individualized attention from faculty and gain valuable real-world experience engaging with community partners. A top public university, UNF prepares students to make a difference in Florida and around the globe. Learn more at www.unf.edu.
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Jacksonville, Fla. – University of North Florida Brooks College of Health faculty recently published a study showing dual COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccinations are associated with reduced infection rates and can be an effective strategy to reduce the contagious respiratory disease burden during the winter.
The study found individuals with dual vaccination and COVID-19 vaccine only were significantly less likely to report COVID-19 infection when compared with those unvaccinated. There was no significant difference in self-reported COVID-19 symptom severity by vaccination status.
Dr. Zhigang Xie, public health assistant professor, and Dr. Hanadi Hamadi, health administration associate professor, partnered with two University of Florida researchers for the study. Using data from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey, the team conducted descriptive analysis and multivariate logistic regressions to examine the association between dual vaccination status and self-reported COVID-19 infection and severity among 21,387 (weighted 185,251,310) U.S. adults. Of those in the survey, about 22% did not receive either the flu or COVID-19 vaccine, 6.0% received the flu vaccine only, 29.1% received the COVID-19 vaccine only, and 42.5% received both vaccines.
Read the full study in the latest issue of Vaccine journal.
About University of North Florida
The University of North Florida is a nationally ranked university located on a beautiful 1,381-acre campus in Jacksonville surrounded by nature. Serving 17,000 students, UNF features six colleges of distinction with innovative programs in high-demand fields. UNF students receive individualized attention from faculty and gain valuable real-world experience engaging with community partners. A top public university, UNF prepares students to make a difference in Florida and around the globe. Learn more at www.unf.edu.
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JOURNAL
Vaccine
Vaccine
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Content analysis
Content analysis
ARTICLE TITLE
Association of dual COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccination with COVID-19 infection and disease severity
Scientists find more evidence
that breast milk of those vaccinated
against COVID-19 may protect infants
The findings are another piece of evidence suggesting that the breast milk of those vaccinated against COVID-19 may help protect babies from the illness
Peer-Reviewed PublicationA new study from the University of Florida provides more evidence that the breast milk of people vaccinated against COVID-19 provides protection to infants too young to receive the vaccine.
This latest study follows up on findings published in 2021 showing that the breast milk of vaccinated people contained antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The new study, published in the Journal of Perinatology, analyzed the stool of infants that consumed this breast milk and found SARS-CoV-2 antibodies there as well.
“Our first study showed there were SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the breast milk, but we couldn’t say if those antibodies were getting through the babies’ gastrointestinal tract and possibly providing protection there,” said Joseph Larkin III, senior author of the study and an associate professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science.
Using a technique called a neutralization assay, the researchers showed that the antibodies found in the infants’ stool offered protection against the virus. The assay begins by isolating antibodies from the stool and adding them to a special line of cells that have the kind of receptors the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to enter the cell. The researchers then introduce a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, which acts like the virus that causes COVID-19 but is safer to use in the lab. The pseudovirus is fluorescent, so when it binds to a cell, the cell lights up.
“We saw that when the antibodies were present, there were fewer fluorescent cells compared to our controls where no antibodies were present,” said Lauren Stafford, one of the study’s first authors and a UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences doctoral student in Larkin’s lab.
“The antibodies run interference and don’t let the virus get to the cells,” Larkin added.
While the virus that causes COVID-19 is often thought of as mainly affecting the lungs, it can also invade the gut, which is why finding antibodies there is significant, the researchers said.
“The antibodies ingested through breast milk may provide a protective coating in the infants’ mouths and gastrointestinal tract,” said Dr. Vivian Valcarce Luaces, the study’s other first author and a postdoctoral fellowship trainee in neonatology .
The study also measured and tested antibodies found in the mothers’ blood plasma and breast milk soon after vaccination and then again about six months later. The researchers found that the antibodies in the plasma and milk of vaccinated people were better able to neutralize the virus, though they also observed that antibody levels decreased at the six-month mark, which other vaccine studies have found as well.
Dr. Josef Neu, one of the study’s co-authors and a professor in the UF College of Medicine department of pediatrics, division of neonatology, said the first and second studies together give a more complete picture of how vaccinating against COVID-19 during pregnancy and breastfeeding may be protective for parent and child.
“In our research, we’re following the journey of the antibodies, from the time they are produced in mom after vaccination and now through the baby’s digestive system. The next question is whether those babies are less likely to get COVID-19,” Dr. Neu said.
The researchers say larger studies are needed to answer that question, as this latest study included 37 mothers and 25 infants, a relatively small number of participants.
However, this study adds to a growing body of research revealing how vaccination against COVID-19 during pregnancy and breastfeeding may protect newborns, the researchers say. Currently children under sixth months of age cannot receive the vaccine, so breast milk may be the only avenue for providing immunity.
The study was funded by grants from the Children’s Miracle Network and The Gerber Foundation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccination for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant or who may become pregnant in the future. According to the CDC, as of late November 2022, just over 70% of pregnant people in the United States had completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, though only 14% had received the bivalent booster.
Association of dual COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccination with COVID-19 infection and disease severity
Scientists find more evidence
that breast milk of those vaccinated
against COVID-19 may protect infants
The findings are another piece of evidence suggesting that the breast milk of those vaccinated against COVID-19 may help protect babies from the illness
Peer-Reviewed PublicationA new study from the University of Florida provides more evidence that the breast milk of people vaccinated against COVID-19 provides protection to infants too young to receive the vaccine.
This latest study follows up on findings published in 2021 showing that the breast milk of vaccinated people contained antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The new study, published in the Journal of Perinatology, analyzed the stool of infants that consumed this breast milk and found SARS-CoV-2 antibodies there as well.
“Our first study showed there were SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the breast milk, but we couldn’t say if those antibodies were getting through the babies’ gastrointestinal tract and possibly providing protection there,” said Joseph Larkin III, senior author of the study and an associate professor in the UF/IFAS department of microbiology and cell science.
Using a technique called a neutralization assay, the researchers showed that the antibodies found in the infants’ stool offered protection against the virus. The assay begins by isolating antibodies from the stool and adding them to a special line of cells that have the kind of receptors the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to enter the cell. The researchers then introduce a SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus, which acts like the virus that causes COVID-19 but is safer to use in the lab. The pseudovirus is fluorescent, so when it binds to a cell, the cell lights up.
“We saw that when the antibodies were present, there were fewer fluorescent cells compared to our controls where no antibodies were present,” said Lauren Stafford, one of the study’s first authors and a UF/IFAS College of Agricultural and Life Sciences doctoral student in Larkin’s lab.
“The antibodies run interference and don’t let the virus get to the cells,” Larkin added.
While the virus that causes COVID-19 is often thought of as mainly affecting the lungs, it can also invade the gut, which is why finding antibodies there is significant, the researchers said.
“The antibodies ingested through breast milk may provide a protective coating in the infants’ mouths and gastrointestinal tract,” said Dr. Vivian Valcarce Luaces, the study’s other first author and a postdoctoral fellowship trainee in neonatology .
The study also measured and tested antibodies found in the mothers’ blood plasma and breast milk soon after vaccination and then again about six months later. The researchers found that the antibodies in the plasma and milk of vaccinated people were better able to neutralize the virus, though they also observed that antibody levels decreased at the six-month mark, which other vaccine studies have found as well.
Dr. Josef Neu, one of the study’s co-authors and a professor in the UF College of Medicine department of pediatrics, division of neonatology, said the first and second studies together give a more complete picture of how vaccinating against COVID-19 during pregnancy and breastfeeding may be protective for parent and child.
“In our research, we’re following the journey of the antibodies, from the time they are produced in mom after vaccination and now through the baby’s digestive system. The next question is whether those babies are less likely to get COVID-19,” Dr. Neu said.
The researchers say larger studies are needed to answer that question, as this latest study included 37 mothers and 25 infants, a relatively small number of participants.
However, this study adds to a growing body of research revealing how vaccination against COVID-19 during pregnancy and breastfeeding may protect newborns, the researchers say. Currently children under sixth months of age cannot receive the vaccine, so breast milk may be the only avenue for providing immunity.
The study was funded by grants from the Children’s Miracle Network and The Gerber Foundation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccination for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant or who may become pregnant in the future. According to the CDC, as of late November 2022, just over 70% of pregnant people in the United States had completed the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, though only 14% had received the bivalent booster.
JOURNAL
Journal of Perinatology
Journal of Perinatology
DOI
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Observational study
Observational study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
People
People
ARTICLE TITLE
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG in human milk and breastfeeding infant stool 6 months after maternal COVID-19 vaccination
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 IgA and IgG in human milk and breastfeeding infant stool 6 months after maternal COVID-19 vaccination
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