COVID-19 Crisis in Brazil: Post-Vaccination Seroprevalence and Infection in More and Less Vaccinated Municipalities in a Northeastern State.

BACKGROUND: Given the impact of the pandemic in Brazil, vaccination is essential to prevent illness and death. Thus, this study sought to compare, after vaccination, the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 and the response to vaccination in the least and most vaccinated municipalities of a Brazilian state during the height of the pandemic when the Omicron variant was dominant. METHODS: We tested for the SARS-CoV-2 antigen and confirmed infection using an RT-qPCR and measured IgM and IgG antibodies in fully vaccinated participants from municipalities with higher and lower vaccination rates. RESULTS: We showed that participants from the least vaccinated municipalities were more likely to have detectable IgM antibodies and a positive antigen/RT-qPCR result for SARS-CoV-2 than participants from the most vaccinated municipalities. There were no differences between the vaccines used (BNT162b2, Ad26.COV2.S, AZD1222, and CoronaVac) and antibody production. CONCLUSIONS: Our study evaluated municipal vaccination coverage and its effects on mortality, infections, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies during a critical phase of the pandemic. The results suggest that higher vaccination coverage reduces acute cases and confers higher memory antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2. Even with a full vaccination schedule, individuals living in places with low vaccination rates are more susceptible to infection.

COVID-19 Vaccination and Serological Profile of a Brazilian University Population.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 led to the suspension academic activities worldwide, affecting millions of students and staff. METHODS: In this study, we evaluated the presence of IgM and IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in an academic population during the return to classes after a one-year suspension. The study took place over five months at a Brazilian university and included 942 participants. RESULTS: We found that most participants had reactive IgG and non-reactive IgM. All received at least one dose, and 940 received two or more doses, of different COVID-19 vaccines. We obtained a higher average of memory antibodies (IgG) in participants who received the CoronaVac/ChAdOx1 combination. IgG was consistently distributed for each vaccine group, but individuals who completed the vaccination schedule had higher levels. There were no differences between antibodies and gender, presence of symptoms, and previous COVID-19 infection, but older participants (>53 years) and contacts of infected individuals had higher IgM levels. CONCLUSION: This study makes significant contributions to the assessment of antibodies in the academic environment, allowing us to infer that most participants had memory immunity and low indications of recent infection when returning to face-to-face classes, as well as demonstrating the need to monitor immunity and update vaccinations.

Oral mucosa lesions in confirmed and non-vaccinated cases for COVID-19: A systematic review.

This systematic review purposed to investigate reports of oral lesions in confirmed COVID-19 patients summarizing clinical characteristics, histological findings, treatment and correlation of oral lesions and COVID-19 severity. Electronic search was conducted on November 2021 using seven databases to identify case reports/series describing lesions in oral mucosa in COVID-19 confirmed cases. A total of 5,179 studies were found, being 39 eligible from 19 countries, totalling 116 cases. It was observed only COVID-19 non-vaccinated cases and no sex or age predilection. The oral lesions presentation was mostly single location (69.8%), commonly in the tongue, lips, and palate, being ulcer the main clinical presentation. According to severity index for COVID-19, the reports were more frequent in patients with mild and moderate symptoms, being 75.8% in acute phase. The oral lesion appearance in post-acute COVID-19 were described after 14 to two months after patient recovery. Histologically, keratinocytes with perinuclear vacuolization, thrombosis and mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate were also described with the presence of the virus in keratinocytes, endothelial cells, and minor salivary glands. In conclusion, health care professionals should consider COVID-19 association when patient present ulcerated oral lesions and mild to moderate symptoms for COVID-19 or had acute-COVID-19.

A Calcifying Odontogenic Cyst Associated with Compound Odontoma Mimicking a Tooth Germ.

Calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC) is a rare cyst that affects mainly the anterior region of the jaws. Generally, it appears as a unilocular radiolucent lesion containing peripheral foci of calcification, but with radiographic variations depending on the type of presentation. Here, we report an atypical case of COC associated with odontoma, initially diagnosed as a tooth germ, in the posterior region of the mandible of a 10-year-old male patient. Interestingly, the radiographic aspect appeared as a unilocular radiolucent lesion without peripheral foci of calcification in the edentulous region, having its size increased after traction of the impacted tooth adjacent to that area. Thus, the case presented in this study is aimed at calling dentists' attention to its developmental changes and related pathologies.