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Fulltext Side Effects and Perceptions Following COVID-19 Vaccination in Jordan: A Randomized, Cross-Sectional Study Implementing Machine Learning for Predicting Severity of Side Effects

Hatmal MM, Al-Hatamleh MAI, Olaimat AN, Hatmal M, Alhaj-Qasem DM, Olaimat TM, et al.

Vaccines (Basel), 2021 May 26;9(6).
PMID: 34073382 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9060556

BACKGROUND: Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic, there was no doubt that vaccination is the ideal protocol to tackle it. Within a year, a few COVID-19 vaccines have been developed and authorized. This unparalleled initiative in developing vaccines created many uncertainties looming around the efficacy and safety of these vaccines. This study aimed to assess the side effects and perceptions following COVID-19 vaccination in Jordan.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted by distributing an online survey targeted toward Jordan inhabitants who received any COVID-19 vaccines. Data were statistically analyzed and certain machine learning (ML) tools, including multilayer perceptron (MLP), eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), random forest (RF), and K-star were used to predict the severity of side effects.
RESULTS: A total of 2213 participants were involved in the study after receiving Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and other vaccines (38.2%, 31%, 27.3%, and 3.5%, respectively). Generally, most of the post-vaccination side effects were common and non-life-threatening (e.g., fatigue, chills, dizziness, fever, headache, joint pain, and myalgia). Only 10% of participants suffered from severe side effects; while 39% and 21% of participants had moderate and mild side effects, respectively. Despite the substantial variations between these vaccines in the presence and severity of side effects, the statistical analysis indicated that these vaccines might provide the same protection against COVID-19 infection. Finally, around 52.9% of participants suffered before vaccination from vaccine hesitancy and anxiety; while after vaccination, 95.5% of participants have advised others to get vaccinated, 80% felt more reassured, and 67% believed that COVID-19 vaccines are safe in the long term. Furthermore, based on the type of vaccine, demographic data, and side effects, the RF, XGBoost, and MLP gave both high accuracies (0.80, 0.79, and 0.70, respectively) and Cohen's kappa values (0.71, 0.70, and 0.56, respectively).
CONCLUSIONS: The present study confirmed that the authorized COVID-19 vaccines are safe and getting vaccinated makes people more reassured. Most of the post-vaccination side effects are mild to moderate, which are signs that body's immune system is building protection. ML can also be used to predict the severity of side effects based on the input data; predicted severe cases may require more medical attention or even hospitalization.
Fulltext Comprehensive literature review of monkeypox

Hatmal MM, Al-Hatamleh MAI, Olaimat AN, Ahmad S, Hasan H, Ahmad Suhaimi NA, et al.

Emerg Microbes Infect, 2022 Dec;11(1):2600-2631.
PMID: 36263798 DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2022.2132882

The current outbreak of monkeypox (MPX) infection has emerged as a global matter of concern in the last few months. MPX is a zoonosis caused by the MPX virus (MPXV), which is one of the Orthopoxvirus species. Thus, it is similar to smallpox caused by the variola virus, and smallpox vaccines and drugs have been shown to be protective against MPX. Although MPX is not a new disease and is rarely fatal, the current multi-country MPX outbreak is unusual because it is occurring in countries that are not endemic for MPXV. In this work, we reviewed the extensive literature available on MPXV to summarize the available data on the major biological, clinical and epidemiological aspects of the virus and the important scientific findings. This review may be helpful in raising awareness of MPXV transmission, symptoms and signs, prevention and protective measures. It may also be of interest as a basis for performance of studies to further understand MPXV, with the goal of combating the current outbreak and boosting healthcare services and hygiene practices.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02977715..Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03745131..Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00728689..Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02080767..
Experiences and perceptions of COVID-19 infection and vaccination among Palestinian refugees in Jerash camp and Jordanian citizens: a comparative cross-sectional study by face-to-face interviews

Al-Hatamleh MAI, Hatmal MM, Mustafa SHF, Alzu'bi M, AlSou'b AF, Abughanam SNS, et al.

Infect Dis Poverty, 2022 Dec 13;11(1):123.
PMID: 36510264 DOI: 10.1186/s40249-022-01047-y

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 vaccination, the access to vaccines has been unequal among countries and individuals, for example low-income countries displayed significant low levels of vaccination. Furthermore, most refugees are living in developing low-income countries which struggling to access the essential health-care services including vaccination. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the experiences and perceptions of COVID-19 infection and vaccination among Palestine refugees in Jerash camp compared to resident Jordanian citizens.
METHODS: A face-to-face interview-based comparative cross-sectional study was carried out among Palestine refugees in Jerash camp located in northern Jordan and Jordanian citizens from different cities in Jordan from October, 2021 to March, 2022. A Chi-square test was used to determine the differences in the experiences and perceptions of COVID-19 infection and vaccination between Palestinian refugees and resident Jordanian citizens. Logistic regression analysis was performed to predict factors associated with the beliefs, barriers and hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines.
RESULTS: The total number of participants was 992, with 501 (50.5%) Palestinian refugees and 491 (49.5%) Jordanian citizens. Most participants (64.1%) who have never been tested for COVID-19 were from the refugees (P
Fulltext Immunomodulatory Properties of Human Breast Milk: MicroRNA Contents and Potential Epigenetic Effects

Hatmal MM, Al-Hatamleh MAI, Olaimat AN, Alshaer W, Hasan H, Albakri KA, et al.

Biomedicines, 2022 May 24;10(6).
PMID: 35740242 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10061219

Infants who are exclusively breastfed in the first six months of age receive adequate nutrients, achieving optimal immune protection and growth. In addition to the known nutritional components of human breast milk (HBM), i.e., water, carbohydrates, fats and proteins, it is also a rich source of microRNAs, which impact epigenetic mechanisms. This comprehensive work presents an up-to-date overview of the immunomodulatory constituents of HBM, highlighting its content of circulating microRNAs. The epigenetic effects of HBM are discussed, especially those regulated by miRNAs. HBM contains more than 1400 microRNAs. The majority of these microRNAs originate from the lactating gland and are based on the remodeling of cells in the gland during breastfeeding. These miRNAs can affect epigenetic patterns by several mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications and RNA regulation, which could ultimately result in alterations in gene expressions. Therefore, the unique microRNA profile of HBM, including exosomal microRNAs, is implicated in the regulation of the genes responsible for a variety of immunological and physiological functions, such as FTO, INS, IGF1, NRF2, GLUT1 and FOXP3 genes. Hence, studying the HBM miRNA composition is important for improving the nutritional approaches for pregnancy and infant's early life and preventing diseases that could occur in the future. Interestingly, the composition of miRNAs in HBM is affected by multiple factors, including diet, environmental and genetic factors.