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Vaccination programs against COVID-19 vary globally with estimates of vaccine effectiveness (VE) affected by vaccine type, schedule, strain, outcome, and recipient characteristics. This study assessed VE of BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 vaccines against PCR positive SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospital admission, and death among adults aged 50 years and older in Wales, UK during the period 7 December 2020 to 18 July 2021, when Alpha, followed by Delta, were the predominant variants. We used individual-level linked routinely collected data within the Secure Anonymized Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank. Data were available for 1,262,689 adults aged 50 years and over; coverage of one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine in this population was 92.6%, with coverage of two doses 90.4%. VE against PCR positive infection at 28-days or more post first dose of any COVID-19 vaccine was 16.0% (95%CI 9.6-22.0), and 42.0% (95%CI 36.5-47.1) seven or more days after a second dose. VE against hospital admission was higher at 72.9% (95%CI 63.6-79.8) 28 days or more post vaccination with one dose of any vaccine type, and 84.9% (95%CI 78.2-89.5) at 7 or more days post two doses. VE for one dose against death was estimated to be 80.9% (95%CI 72.1-86.9). VE against PCR positive infection and hospital admission was higher for BNT162b2 compared to ChAdOx1. In conclusion, vaccine uptake has been high among adults in Wales and VE estimates are encouraging, with two doses providing considerable protection against severe outcomes. Continued roll-out of the vaccination programme within Wales, and globally, is crucial in our fight against COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic inequalities in longitudinal patterning of childhood overweight could cause marked differentials in total burden by adulthood. This study aims to determine timing and strength of the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and children's body mass index (BMI) in the pre- and primary school years, and to examine socioeconomic differences in overweight trajectories across childhood. METHODS: Participants were 4949 children from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. BMI was measured at four biennial waves starting at age 4-5 years in 2004. Developmental trajectories of childhood overweight were identified with latent class analyses. Composite variables of family and neighbourhood SES were used. RESULTS: Socioeconomic differences in mean BMI z-scores already present at age 4-5 more than doubled by age 10-11 years, reflecting decreasing mean BMI among advantaged rather than increasing means among disadvantaged children. Latent class analysis identified children with 'stable normal weight' (68%), and with 'persistent' (15%), 'late-onset' (14%), and 'resolving' overweight (3%). Risks of persistent and late-onset childhood overweight were highest among low SES families (e.g. most disadvantaged quintile: OR(persistent) = 2.51, 95%CI: 1.83-3.43), and only partly explained by birth weight and parental overweight. Relationships with neighbourhood SES were weaker and attenuated fully on adjustment for family SES. No socioeconomic gradient was observed for resolving overweight. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood has become the critical period when socioeconomic inequalities in overweight emerge and strengthen. Although targeting disadvantaged children with early overweight must be a top priority, the presence of childhood overweight even among less-disadvantaged families suggests only whole-society approaches will eliminate overweight-associated morbidity.

BACKGROUND: Aß peptides are often considered as catabolic by-products of the amyloid ß protein precursor (APP), with unknown physiological functions. However, several biological properties have been tentatively attributed to these peptides, including a role in vasomotion. We assess whether plasma Aß peptide levels might be associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure values (SBP and DBP, respectively). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Plasma Aß(1-40) and Aß(1-42) levels were measured using an xMAP-based assay in 1,972 individuals (none of whom were taking antihypertensive drugs) from 3 independent studies: the French population-based 3C and MONA-LISA (Lille) studies (n = 627 and n = 769, respectively) and the Australian, longitudinal AIBL study (n = 576). In the combined sample, the Aß(1-42)/ Aß(1-40) ratio was significantly and inversely associated with SBP (p = 0.03) and a similar trend was observed for DBP (p = 0.06). Using the median age (69) as a cut-off, the Aß(1-42)/Aß(1-40) ratio was strongly associated with both SBP and DBP in elderly individuals (p = 0.002 and p = 0.03, respectively). Consistently, a high Aß(1-42)/ Aß(1-40) ratio was associated with a lower risk of hypertension in both the combined whole sample (odds ratio [OR], 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56-0.90) and (to an even greater extent) in the elderly subjects (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.37-0.75). Lastly, all these associations appeared to be primarily driven by the level of plasma Aß(1-40). CONCLUSION: The plasma Aß(1-42)/Aß(1-40) ratio is inversely associated with SBP, DBP and the risk of hypertension in elderly subjects, suggesting that Aß peptides affect blood pressure in vivo. These results may be particularly relevant in Alzheimer's disease, in which a high Aß(1-42)/Aß(1-40) plasma ratio is reportedly associated with a decreased risk of incident disease.