Publications by authors named "T Kilpi"
Background: We assessed the relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV-HD) versus standard-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV-SD) in preventing respiratory or cardiovascular hospitalizations in older adults.
Methods: FinFluHD was a phase 3b/4 modified double-blind, randomized pragmatic trial. Enrolment of 121,000 adults ≥65 years was planned over three influenza seasons (October to December 2019-2021).
Article Synopsis
- Safe vaccination is crucial for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, with two adenoviral vector vaccines (AstraZeneca and Johnson&Johnson) showing effectiveness but being linked to rare cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) and low platelet counts.
- A nationwide study in Finland analyzed CVST incidents before and after COVID-19 vaccinations, involving 5.5 million individuals, to assess the risks associated with these vaccines.
- The study found a very low baseline incidence of CVST with thrombocytopenia compared to a slight increase after the AstraZeneca vaccine, highlighting the importance of understanding background incidence in evaluating vaccine safety.
Article Synopsis
- Population isolates like Finland provide a unique advantage for genetic research by having concentrated deleterious alleles in low-frequency variants due to historical bottlenecks.
- The FinnGen study aims to analyze data from 500,000 Finnish individuals, focusing on their genomes and health records, particularly as many participants are older and have disease-related data.
- From the analysis of 224,737 participants and additional biobank data, researchers discovered 30 new associations and a total of 2,733 significant genetic links across various diseases, highlighting the importance of low-frequency variants in understanding common diseases.
Article Synopsis
- The study focused on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing severe illness among the elderly, particularly in the context of waning immunity and the Omicron variant.
- Data was collected from over 896,000 residents aged 70 and older in Finland, and the results showed that the Comirnaty vaccine (BioNTech/Pfizer) had a very high effectiveness rate against hospitalization and ICU admission.
- Following a third booster dose, vaccine effectiveness was significantly restored, maintaining a high level of protection even after the Omicron variant emerged.