Response to “Letter in response to ‘Students’ age and parental level of education influence COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy’”

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Students’ age and parental level of education influence COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy

Widespread vaccination in pursuit of herd immunity has been recognized as the most promising approach to ending the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19). The vaccination of children and adolescents has been extensively debated and the first COVID-19 vaccine is now approved in European countries for children aged > 12 years of age. Our study investigates vaccination hesitancy in a cohort of German secondary school students. We assessed 903 students between age 9 and 20 in the period between 17 May 2021 and 30 June 2021. 68.3% (n = 617) reported intention to undergo COVID-19 vaccination, while 7% (n = 62) did not want to receive the vaccine and 15% (n = 135) were not yet certain. Age and parental level of education influenced COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Children under the age of 16 as well as students whose parents had lower education levels showed significantly higher vaccine hesitancy. Conclusion: Identifying subsets with higher vaccination hesitancy is important for targeting public information campaigns in support of immunization.What is Known:• The willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination among adults in Europe is about 70%, but data for children and adolescents is lacking.• The lack of immunization in younger cohorts represents a significant barrier to achieving herd immunity, and also leaves children and adolescents vulnerable to acute and long-term morbidity from natural COVID-19 infections.What is New:• Intention-to-vaccinate among children and adolescents is high (~ 70%); conversely, vaccination hesitancy is low.• Age and parental level of education influenced COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among children and adolescents. © 2021, The Author(s)

Mobile SARS‑CoV‑2 screening facilities for rapid deployment and university-based diagnostic laboratory

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has created a public crisis. Many medical and public institutions and businesses went into isolation in response to the pandemic. Because SARS-CoV-2 can spread irrespective of a patient's course of disease, these institutions’ continued operation or reopening based on the assessment and control of virus spread can be supported by targeted population screening. For this purpose, virus testing in the form of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis and antibody detection in blood can be central. Mobile SARS-CoV-2 screening facilities with a built-in biosafety level (BSL)-2 laboratory were set up to allow the testing offer to be brought close to the subject group's workplace. University staff members, their expertise, and already available equipment were used to implement and operate the screening facilities and a certified diagnostic laboratory. This operation also included specimen collection, transport, PCR and antibody analysis, and informing subjects as well as public health departments. Screening facilities were established at different locations such as educational institutions, nursing homes, and companies providing critical supply chains for health care. Less than 4 weeks after the first imposed lockdown in Germany, a first mobile testing station was established featuring a build-in laboratory with two similar stations commencing operation until June 2020. During the 15-month project period, approximately 33,000 PCR tests and close to 7000 antibody detection tests were collected and analyzed. The presented approach describes the required procedures that enabled the screening facilities and laboratories to collect and process several hundred specimens each day under difficult conditions. This report can assist others in establishing similar setups for pandemic scenarios

Phylogenomics of the Reproductive Parasite Wolbachia pipientis wMel: A Streamlined Genome Overrun by Mobile Genetic Elements

The complete sequence of the 1,267,782 bp genome of Wolbachia pipientis wMel, an obligate intracellular bacteria of Drosophila melanogaster, has been determined. Wolbachia, which are found in a variety of invertebrate species, are of great interest due to their diverse interactions with different hosts, which range from many forms of reproductive parasitism to mutualistic symbioses. Analysis of the wMel genome, in particular phylogenomic comparisons with other intracellular bacteria, has revealed many insights into the biology and evolution of wMel and Wolbachia in general. For example, the wMel genome is unique among sequenced obligate intracellular species in both being highly streamlined and containing very high levels of repetitive DNA and mobile DNA elements. This observation, coupled with multiple evolutionary reconstructions, suggests that natural selection is somewhat inefficient in wMel, most likely owing to the occurrence of repeated population bottlenecks. Genome analysis predicts many metabolic differences with the closely related Rickettsia species, including the presence of intact glycolysis and purine synthesis, which may compensate for an inability to obtain ATP directly from its host, as Rickettsia can. Other discoveries include the apparent inability of wMel to synthesize lipopolysaccharide and the presence of the most genes encoding proteins with ankyrin repeat domains of any prokaryotic genome yet sequenced. Despite the ability of wMel to infect the germline of its host, we find no evidence for either recent lateral gene transfer between wMel and D. melanogaster or older transfers between Wolbachia and any host. Evolutionary analysis further supports the hypothesis that mitochondria share a common ancestor with the α-Proteobacteria, but shows little support for the grouping of mitochondria with species in the order Rickettsiales. With the availability of the complete genomes of both species and excellent genetic tools for the host, the wMel–D. melanogaster symbiosis is now an ideal system for studying the biology and evolution of Wolbachia infections

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Influx of African biomass burning aerosol during the Amazonian dry season through layered transatlantic transport of black carbon-rich smoke

Black carbon (BC) aerosols are influencing the Earth’s atmosphere and climate, but their microphysical properties, spatiotemporal distribution and long-range transport are not well constrained. This study analyzes the transatlantic transport of BC-rich African biomass burning (BB) pollution into the Amazon Basin, based on airborne observations of aerosol particles and trace gases in and off the Brazilian coast during the ACRIDICON-CHUVA campaign in September 2014, combining in-situ measurements on the research aircraft HALO with satellite remote-sensing and numerical model results. During flight AC19 over land and ocean at the Brazilian coastline in the northeast of the Amazon Basin, we observed a BC-rich atmospheric layer at ~ 3.5 km altitude with a vertical extension of ~ 0.3 km. Backward trajectory analyses suggest that fires in African grasslands, savannas, and shrublands were the main source of this pollution layer, and that the observed BB smoke had undergone more than 10 days of atmospheric transport and aging. The BC mass concentrations in the layer ranged from 0.5 to 2 μg m−3, and the BC particle number fraction of ~ 40 % was about 8 times higher than observed in a fresh Amazonian BB plume, representing the highest value ever observed in the region. Upon entering the Amazon Basin, the layer started to broaden and to subside, due to convective mixing and entrainment of the BB aerosol into the boundary layer. Satellite observations show that the transatlantic transport of pollution layers is a frequently occurring process, seasonally peaking in August/September. By analyzing the aircraft observations within the broader context of the long-term data from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), we found that the transatlantic transport of African BB smoke layers has a strong impact on the north-central Amazonian aerosol population during the BB-influenced season (July to November). Specifically, the early BB season in this part of the Amazon appears to be dominated by African smoke, whereas the later BB season appears to be dominated by South American fires. This dichotomy is reflected in pronounced changes of aerosol optical properties such as the single scattering albedo (increasing from 0.85 in August to 0.90 in November) and the BC-to-CO enhancement ratio (decreasing from 7.4 to 4.4 ng m−3 ppb−1). Our results suggest that, despite the high amount of BC particles, the African BB aerosol act as efficient cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) with potentially important implications for aerosol-cloud interactions and the hydrological cycle in the Amazon Basin