Big Data Analytics in Pandemic

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "COVID-19 Vaccines and Vaccination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 March 2022) | Viewed by 131338

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics ETSEA, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Interests: computational model

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We live in an era in which an infinity of data is being generated daily. Data that holds very valuable information in countless fields, especially in the health sector. The volume of information in some cases is of such a dimension that it is apparently intractable and chaotic. Establishing analysis methodologies is very important to extract the information and make the data collection effort profitable.

On many occasions the information that emerges from the study of these databases is surprising.

To achieve a more extensive understanding of recent scientific knowledge and current trends in the field of immunology, this special issue focuses on the advancements and techniques used for Big Data Analytics in Immunology. Based on your extensive knowledge and experience, we invite you to contribute an original report, original observation or review, in order to advance in the knowledge of data management and analysis in Immunology.

Dr. Maria Angels Colomer
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 821 KiB  
Article
Association of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis with mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines: A Disproportionality Analysis of the World Health Organization Pharmacovigilance Database
by Jin Park, Moo-Seok Park, Hyung Jun Kim and Tae-Jin Song
Vaccines 2022, 10(5), 799; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10050799 - 18 May 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 110844
Abstract
Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), a rare thrombotic event that can cause serious neurologic deficits, has been reported after some ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccinations against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there are few reports of associations between COVID-19 mRNA vaccination and CVT. We retrospectively analyzed [...] Read more.
Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), a rare thrombotic event that can cause serious neurologic deficits, has been reported after some ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccinations against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, there are few reports of associations between COVID-19 mRNA vaccination and CVT. We retrospectively analyzed CVT occurrence, time of onset after vaccination, outcomes (recovered/not recovered), and death after COVID-19 vaccination from adverse drug reactions (ADR) reports in VigiBase. A disproportionality analysis was performed regarding COVID-19 mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) and the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. We identified 756 (0.07%) CVT cases (620 (0.05%) after BNT162b2 and 136 (0.01%) after mRNA-1273) of 1,154,023 mRNA vaccine-related ADRs. Significant positive safety signals were noted for COVID-19 mRNA vaccines (95% lower end of information component = 1.56; reporting odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) = 3.27). The median days to CVT onset differed significantly between the BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccines (12 (interquartile range, 3–22) and 11 (interquartile range, 7–16), respectively; p = 0.02). Fewer CVT patients died after receiving mRNA vaccines than after receiving the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (odds ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.22–0.45; p < 0.001). We noted a potential safety signal for CVT occurrence after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination. Therefore, awareness about the risk of CVT, even after COVID-19 mRNA vaccination, is necessary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Big Data Analytics in Pandemic)
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9 pages, 1510 KiB  
Article
Onset of Oral Lichenoid Lesions and Oral Lichen Planus Following COVID-19 Vaccination: A Retrospective Analysis of about 300,000 Vaccinated Patients
by Moritz Hertel, Andrea-Maria Schmidt-Westhausen, Stephanie Wendy, Max Heiland, Susanne Nahles, Robert Preissner and Saskia Preissner
Vaccines 2022, 10(3), 480; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10030480 - 20 Mar 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6296
Abstract
Introduction: Onset of oral lichenoid lesions (OLL) or oral lichen planus (OLP) can be rare adverse reactions to vaccines. Recently, the first solitary cases were reported after COVID-19 vaccination. The aim of the present study was to assess if an increased frequency of [...] Read more.
Introduction: Onset of oral lichenoid lesions (OLL) or oral lichen planus (OLP) can be rare adverse reactions to vaccines. Recently, the first solitary cases were reported after COVID-19 vaccination. The aim of the present study was to assess if an increased frequency of OLL/OLP can be found after COVID-19 vaccination within a large real-world cohort. It was assumed that the incidence of OLL/OLP was significantly higher in subjects who received COVID-19 vaccine (cohort I) compared to individuals who were not vaccinated (cohort II). Patients and Methods: Initial cohorts of 274,481 vaccinated and 9,429,892 not vaccinated patients were retrieved from the TriNetX database (TriNetX, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA), and matched for age, gender and the frequency of use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, beta blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. Results: After matching each cohort, we accounted for 217,863 patients. Among cohort I, 146 individuals had developed OLL/OLP within 6 days after COVID-19 vaccination (88 and 58 subjects had received mRNA- and adenovirus vector-based vaccines), whereas in cohort II, 59 patients were newly diagnosed with OLL/OLP within 6 days after having visited the clinic for any other reason. The risk of developing OLL/OLP was calculated as 0.067% vs. 0.027%, for cohorts I and II, whereby the risk difference was highly significant (p < 0.001; log-rank test). RR and OR were 2.475 (95% CI = 1.829; 3.348) and 2.476 (95% CI = 1.830; 3.350), respectively. Discussion: The hypothesis was confirmed. Accordingly, the obtained results suggest that the onset of OLL/OLP is a rare adverse drug reaction to COVID-19 vaccines, especially to mRNA vaccines. Thus far, it remains unknown if specific components of the formulations cause a type IV hypersensitive reaction corresponding to OLL, or if the immune response post vaccination triggers a T cell-driven autoimmune reaction directed against the basal layer of keratinocytes of the oral mucosa in terms of OLP. Although OLL and OLP are both classified as premalignant lesions, spontaneous remission may be expected over time, at least in the case of OLL. Therefore, the presented findings should not place any limitation toward the use of COVID-19-vaccines in broad levels of the population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Big Data Analytics in Pandemic)
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10 pages, 1064 KiB  
Article
A Comparative Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccines Based on over 580,000 Cases from the Vaccination Adverse Event Reporting System
by Kathleen Gallo, Andrean Goede, Cameron Mura, Renata Abel, Barbara Moahamed, Saskia Preissner, Susanne Nahles, Max Heiland, Philip E. Bourne, Robert Preissner and Michael Mallach
Vaccines 2022, 10(3), 408; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10030408 - 8 Mar 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5860
Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is being battled via the largest vaccination campaign in history, with more than eight billion doses administered thus far. Therefore, discussions about potentially adverse reactions, and broader safety concerns, are critical. The U.S. Vaccination Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) [...] Read more.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is being battled via the largest vaccination campaign in history, with more than eight billion doses administered thus far. Therefore, discussions about potentially adverse reactions, and broader safety concerns, are critical. The U.S. Vaccination Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has recorded vaccination side effects for over 30 years. About 580,000 events have been filed for COVID-19 thus far, primarily for the Johnson & Johnson (New Jersey, USA), Pfizer/BioNTech (Mainz, Germany), and Moderna (Cambridge, USA) vaccines. Methods: Using available databases, we evaluated these three vaccines in terms of the occurrence of four generally-noticed adverse reactions—namely, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, Guillain–Barré syndrome (a severe paralytic neuropathy), myocarditis, and pericarditis. Our statistical analysis also included a calculation of odds ratios (ORs) based on total vaccination numbers, accounting for incidence rates in the general population. Results: ORs for a number of adverse events and patient groups were (largely) increased, most notably for the occurrence of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis after vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The overall population OR of 10 increases to 12.5 when limited to women, and further yet (to 14.4) among women below age 50 yrs. In addition, elevated risks were found (i) for Guillain–Barré syndrome (OR of 11.6) and (ii) for myocarditis/pericarditis (ORs of 5.3/4.1, respectively) among young men (<25 yrs) vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Conclusions: Any conclusions from such a retrospective, real-world data analysis must be drawn cautiously, and should be confirmed by prospective double-blinded clinical trials. In addition, we emphasize that the adverse events reported here are not specific side effects of COVID vaccines, and the significant, well-established benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the potential complications surveyed here. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Big Data Analytics in Pandemic)
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9 pages, 898 KiB  
Article
A Cost–Benefit Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccination in Catalonia
by Francesc López, Martí Català, Clara Prats, Oriol Estrada, Irene Oliva, Núria Prat, Mar Isnard, Roser Vallès, Marc Vilar, Bonaventura Clotet, Josep Maria Argimon, Anna Aran and Jordi Ara
Vaccines 2022, 10(1), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10010059 - 31 Dec 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7484
Abstract
(1) Background: In epidemiological terms, it has been possible to calculate the savings in health resources and the reduction in the health effects of COVID vaccines. Conducting an economic evaluation, some studies have estimated its cost-effectiveness; the vaccination shows highly favorable results, cost-saving [...] Read more.
(1) Background: In epidemiological terms, it has been possible to calculate the savings in health resources and the reduction in the health effects of COVID vaccines. Conducting an economic evaluation, some studies have estimated its cost-effectiveness; the vaccination shows highly favorable results, cost-saving in some cases. (2) Methods: Cost–benefit analysis of the vaccination campaign in the North Metropolitan Health Region (Catalonia). An epidemiological model based on observational data and before and after comparison is used. The information on the doses used and the assigned resources (conventional hospital beds, ICU, number of tests) was extracted from administrative data from the largest primary care provider in the region (Catalan Institute of Health). A distinction was made between the social perspective and the health system. (3) Results: the costs of vaccination are estimated at 137 million euros (€48.05/dose administered). This figure is significantly lower than the positive impacts of the vaccination campaign, which are estimated at 470 million euros (€164/dose administered). Of these, 18% corresponds to the reduction in ICU discharges, 16% to the reduction in conventional hospital discharges, 5% to the reduction in PCR tests and 1% to the reduction in RAT tests. The monetization of deaths and cases that avoid sequelae account for 53% and 5% of total savings, respectively. The benefit/cost ratio is estimated at 3.4 from a social perspective and 1.4 from a health system perspective. The social benefits of vaccination are estimated at €116.67 per vaccine dose (€19.93 from the perspective of the health system). (4) Conclusions: The mass vaccination campaign against COVID is cost-saving. From a social perspective, most of these savings come from the monetization of the reduction in mortality and cases with sequelae, although the intervention is equally widely cost-effective from the health system perspective thanks to the reduction in the use of resources. It is concluded that, from an economic perspective, the vaccination campaign has high social returns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Big Data Analytics in Pandemic)
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