Duane L Smoot

Highlights • Genomic profiling reveals 26 intestinal metaplasia (IM) driver genes including SOX9 • IM lineage heterogeneity harbors a stem-cell subpopulation linked to malignancy • IM molecular subtypes are associated with inflammation and microbial communities • Genomic-clinical models improve identification of IMs at risk of GC progression Summary Intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a pre-malignant condition of the gastric mucosa associated with increased gastric cancer (GC) risk.

Abstract : The COVID-19 Omicron variant and its subvariants are now the dominant variants circulating in the US. Therefore, the original COVID-19 vaccine cannot offer full protection. Instead, vaccines that target the spike proteins of the Omicron variants are warranted. Hence, the FDA recommended the development of a bivalent booster. Unfortunately, despite the safety and immunogenicity of the Omicron bivalent boosters from Pfizer and Moderna, uptake in the US has been poor.

1. Introduction Pregnancy has been shown to be a risk factor for severe COVID-19 and its associated mortality [1,2,3,4]. The rate of hospital admission to intensive care for pregnant women with COVID-19 is three times greater than that for non-pregnant women; the former also experience a 25% greater risk of death [5]. However, pregnant women are routinely excluded from vaccine trials mainly due to liability and safety concerns for the mother and baby.