Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Uganda in the Era of COVID-19 Vaccination.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants has heightened concerns about vaccine efficacy, posing challenges in controlling the spread of COVID-19. As part of the COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness and Variants (COVVAR) study in Uganda, this study aimed to genotype and characterize SARS-CoV-2 variants in patients with COVID-19-like symptoms who tested positive on a real-time PCR. Amplicon deep sequencing was performed on 163 oropharyngeal/nasopharyngeal swabs collected from symptomatic patients.

COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2-confirmed hospitalisation in the eastern part of the WHO European Region (2022-2023): a test-negative case-control study from the EuroSAVE network.

Background: Understanding COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) in preventing severe disease is critical to inform vaccine policy. We used the test-negative design to estimate VE against SARS-CoV-2-confirmed hospitalisation in adults ≥18 years in the eastern WHO European Region.

Methods: We included patients hospitalised for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) at sentinel surveillance sites in Albania, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, Serbia, and in Kosovo.

Water and chloride as allosteric inhibitors in WNK kinase osmosensing.

Osmotic stress and chloride regulate the autophosphorylation and activity of the WNK1 and WNK3 kinase domains. The kinase domain of unphosphorylated WNK1 (uWNK1) is an asymmetric dimer possessing water molecules conserved in multiple uWNK1 crystal structures. Conserved waters are present in two networks, referred to here as conserved water networks 1 and 2 (CWN1 and CWN2).

Monovalent XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisations and deaths during the Omicron BA.2.86/JN.1 period among older adults in seven European countries: A VEBIS-EHR network study.

Background: We aimed to estimate XBB.1.5 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths during BA.

Optimising remote health workforce retention: protocol for a program of research.

Background: Nowhere is optimising healthcare staff retention more important than in primary health care (PHC) settings in remote Australia, where there are unacceptably high rates of staff burnout and turnover. Ensuing consequences for the remote health services and the community are acute - staffing shortfalls in clinics; organisational instability; excessive costs associated with frequent staff recruitment and orientation; diminished access to PHC for patients in need; and lack of continuity of patient care; all of which further entrench poor health outcomes for the community. Optimising remote healthcare staff retention is critical in order to provide high quality and continued PHC.