Sputnik V protection from COVID-19 in people living with HIV under antiretroviral therapy.

Background: HIV-infection is known to aggravate the course of many infectious diseases, including COVID-19. International guidance recommends vaccination of HIV+ individuals against SARS-CoV-2. There is a paucity of data on epidemiological efficacy assessment of COVID-19 vaccines among HIV+. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of Sputnik V vaccine effectiveness in HIV+ patients on antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study to assess the effectiveness of the standard Sputnik V vaccination regimen in 24,423 HIV+ Moscow residents during spring - summer 2021, that included dominance of delta variant, with estimation of hospitalization and severe illness rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. Data were extracted from the Moscow anti-COVID-19 vaccination and COVID-19 incidence Registries. Findings: The data obtained indicate that Sputnik V epidemiological efficiency in the entire cohort of HIV+ on ART was 76·33%; in HIV+ with CD4+ ≥ 350 cells/µl, vaccine efficiency was 79·42%, avoiding hospitalization in 90·12% cases and protecting from the development of moderate or severe disease in 97·06%. For delta variant in this group the efficiency was 65·35%, avoiding the need for hospitalization in 75·77% cases and protecting from the development of moderate or severe disease in 93·05% of patients. There was a trend, although not statistically significant, of declining vaccine efficiency in immune-compromised individuals (CD4+ < 350 cells/µl). Interpretation: The study suggested epidemiological efficiency of immunization with Sputnik V in HIV+ ART-treated patients for the original and delta SARS-CoV-2 variants. Funding: Ministry of Health of Russia and Moscow Healthcare Department.

A Case of Moderately Severe COVID-19 in a Healthcare Worker in Russia: Virus Isolation and Full Genome Sequencing.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is probably the most studied one in history from both clinical and molecular-epidemiological perspectives. Nonetheless, data on the correlation between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viral genotypes and COVID-19 symptoms caused by them are still scarce. In this report, we present a moderately severe COVID-19 case in a healthcare worker in Moscow, Russia, supplemented with the data on its causative agent's phenotype regarding in vitro and full-genome characterization. The 44-year-old male healthcare worker who had frequent professional contacts with COVID-19 patients was hospitalized with a viral pneumonia diagnosis and soon started to exhibit fever, dry paroxysmal cough, loss of smell, and typical ground-glass opacities found in both lungs on chest CT scans. The COVID-19 diagnosis was verified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), immunochromatography, and immunochemiluminescent assays. The patient was treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, paracetamol, and enoxaparin, leading to his recovery after two weeks from the disease onset. The virus was successfully isolated from the nasopharyngeal swab sample taken on the fifth day of the disease onset using the Vero E6 cell line and exhibited a pronounced cytopathic effect (CPE) with a viral titer reaching 106 TCID50/ml in the cell culture medium. The full genome sequence of the viral isolate was obtained and 8 nucleotide and 5 amino acid mutations compared to the Wuhan-Hu-1 reference genome were identified. Viral isolate belonged to GR / 20B / B.1.1 genetic lineage (GISAID, Nextstrain, Pangolin nomenclatures, respectively) - the most prevalent genotype found in Russia to date.