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The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic has affected all aspects of social life and brought massive changes to the healthcare sector. The aim of this study was to identify the factors affecting the mortality of COVID-19 patients at a temporary hospital in Warsaw (Poland). The present study was conducted based on a retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients hospitalised at the temporary hospital located at the National Stadium in Warsaw between 1 March 2020 and 30 April 2021. The study included all cases of patients who were brought directly or transferred to the National Hospital from other hospitals for further treatment. With regard to comorbidities, the analysis found that five comorbidities—namely, diabetes (OR = 1.750, 95% CI: 1.009–2.444, p < 0.05), stroke history (OR = 2.408, 95% CI: 1.208–4.801, p < 0.05), renal failure (OR = 2.141, 95% CI: 1.052–4.356, p < 0.05), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (OR = 2.044, 95% CI: 1.133–3.690, p < 0.05) and heart failure (OR = 1.930, 95% CI: 1.154–3.227, p < 0.05)—had a significant impact on the survival of COVID-19 patients. The analysis identified 14 factors that had a significant impact on the prognosis and mortality of the COVID-19 patients studied.

COVID-19 infections pose a serious global health concern so it is crucial to identify the biomarkers for the susceptibility to and resistance against this disease that could help in a rapid risk assessment and reliable decisions being made on patients’ treatment and their potential hospitalisation. Several studies investigated the factors associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes that can be either environmental, population based, or genetic. It was demonstrated that the genetics of the host plays an important role in the various immune responses and, therefore, there are different clinical presentations of COVID-19 infection. In this study, we aimed to use variant descriptive statistics from GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Study) and variant genomic annotations to identify metabolic pathways that are associated with a severe COVID-19 infection as well as pathways related to resistance to COVID-19. For this purpose, we applied a custom-designed mixed linear model implemented into custom-written software. Our analysis of more than 12.5 million SNPs did not indicate any pathway that was significant for a severe COVID-19 infection. However, the Allograft rejection pathway (hsa05330) was significant (p = 0.01087) for resistance to the infection. The majority of the 27 SNP marking genes constituting the Allograft rejection pathway were located on chromosome 6 (19 SNPs) and the remainder were mapped to chromosomes 2, 3, 10, 12, 20, and X. This pathway comprises several immune system components crucial for the self versus non-self recognition, but also the components of antiviral immunity. Our study demonstrated that not only single variants are important for resistance to COVID-19, but also the cumulative impact of several SNPs within the same pathway matters.

Introduction. Studies to date indicate the relatively high effectiveness of vaccinations in preventing severe COVID-19 symptoms. However, in Poland, 40% of the population remains unvaccinated. Objective. The objective of this study was to describe the natural history of COVID-19 in unvaccinated hospital patients in Warsaw, Poland. Material and methods. This study evaluated data from 50 adult patients from the National Hospital in Warsaw, Poland, in the period 26 November 2021 to 11 March 2022. None of these patients had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Results. Analysis showed that the average hospitalisation time for these unvaccinated COVID-19 patients was 13 days. Clinical deterioration was observed in 70% of these patients, 40% required the intensive care unit, and 34% subsequently died prior to the end of the study. Conclusions. There was a significant deterioration and high mortality rate in the unvaccinated patients. For this reason, it seems prudent to take measures to increase the vaccination coverage level of the population against COVID-19.

Background:Current vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) and vaccine booster programs aim to reduce hospitalizations due to severe COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). It is now accepted that vaccination does not completely prevent infection and that breakthrough COVID-19 does occur. This study included 53 vaccinated patients who were hospitalized at a single center in Poland with breakthrough COVID-19 and aimed to evaluate the factors associated with their clinical course. Material/Methods: This study covered the period 26 November 2021 to 11 March 2022. All patients had been vaccinated against COVID-19 with one of the following 4 vaccines: the mRNA-1273 (Moderna) mRNA vaccine (Spikevax); the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccine (nucleoside-modified) (Comirnaty); the Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen/ J0ohnson & Johnson) recombinant vaccine (Jcovden); and the AZD1222 (ChAdOx1) (Oxford/AstraZeneca) recombinant vaccine (Vaxzevria). Results:The course of COVID-19 in vaccinated patients was relatively similar. The patients vaccinated more than 24 weeks earlier rarely needed a stay in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (P=0.021), and the occurrence of deaths was significantly lower in this group (P=0.046). Women remained in hospital considerably longer than men (P=0.011). Age and comorbidities did not affect the course of this infection. Conclusions:Despite the many advantages of the COVID-19 vaccination, our observations indicate a potential risk of infection after vaccination. The assessment of the course of COVID-19 in vaccinated patients gives the possibility to compare different vaccines and indicate factors that can reduce immunity.