October 8, 2020
Effect of School Closures on Mortality from Coronavirus Disease 2019: Old and New Predictions
Simulations of SARS-CoV-2 spread in the UK using the CovidSim code, with data available in March 2020, show that prompt interventions like school closures and isolation of younger people would reduce peak demand for ICU beds, but result in a greater number of deaths in second and subsequent waves of infections. The authors note this…
Physical Distancing Measures and Walking Activity in Middle-Aged and Older Residents in Changsha, China During the COVID-19 Epidemic Period: Longitudinal Observational Study (Preprint)
Among adults in a prospective cohort study in Changsha, China, the mean daily steps taken dropped and the prevalence of low daily steps increased from 3% to 18.5% in the 30 days following the first local COVID-19 diagnosis. These changes were especially pronounced for women and older adults. The authors suggest that while these data…
Increased Risk of COVID ‐19 Infection and Mortality in People with Mental Disorders: Analysis from Electronic Health Records in the United States
An analysis of a nation-wide electronic health record database in the US with patient data up to July 2020 shows that patients with a recent diagnosis of a mental health disorder had a significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with COVID-19. The effect was strongest among those diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia. Among those diagnosed…
Women’s Perceptions of COVID-19 and Their Healthcare Experiences: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis of a National Survey of Pregnant Women in the United Kingdom
In an online survey of 1451 women who were pregnant or delivered during the pandemic in the UK, perceived barriers to seeking healthcare included “not wanting to bother anyone”, “lack of wider support from allied healthcare workers” and the influence of the media. Other concerns that arose from thematic analysis of open-ended responses included acceptability…
Extended Use or Re-Use of Single-Use Surgical Masks and Filtering Facepiece Respirators during COVID-19: A Rapid Systematic Review
A rapid systematic review found limited evidence of protective efficacy when surgical masks and N95 respirators are either reused or had extended use in frontline healthcare settings. Despite limited evidence, the review highlighted vaporized hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet irradiation as the most promising reprocessing methods. The level of detail and consistency varied across the 6…
Risk of COVID-19 from Hospital Admission during the Pandemic
Nalleballe et al. report on 101,533 patients hospitalized for a non-COVID-19 related illness included in a global clinical research database representing 45 health care organizations. Only 44 (0.043%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 within 14 days of discharge between January and June 2020. These results suggest that risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 during a hospital admission is…
Extremely Potent Human Monoclonal Antibodies from Convalescent Covid-19 Patients
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] Single cell sorting of 4277 SARS-CoV-2 spike protein specific memory B cells from 14 COVID-19 survivors identified 220 neutralizing antibodies that expressed as IgG. Among these, 3 monoclonal antibodies were potent enough to neutralize the wild type and DG14G mutant viruses in vitro at a concentration of <10 ng/mL, indicating they…
Remdesivir for the Treatment of Covid-19 – Final Report
Infusion of the antiviral drug remdesivir led to faster recovery time (median 10 vs. 15 days) and a non-significantly lower risk of death at 29 days (HR=0.73, 95% CI 0.52-1.03) in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial among patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Serious adverse events were reported in 131 of 532 (24.6%) patients in the remdesivir group…
Analysis of Genomic Characteristics and Transmission Routes of Patients With Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in Southern California During the Early Stage of the US COVID-19 Pandemic
In a case series of 192 patients from Los Angeles, a genomic analysis found that 82% of SARS-CoV-2 isolates were most similar to isolates from Europe, while 15% were most similar to isolates from Asia. Genetic characterization of isolates identified community transmission in 13 patients, including 10 related to skilled nursing facilities, while person-to-person transmission…
Stringent Containment Measures without Complete City Lockdown to Achieve Low Incidence and Mortality across Two Waves of COVID-19 in Hong Kong
Prompt and stringent containment measures in Hong Kong led to some of the lowest SARS-CoV-2 incidences and mortalities in the world (135.5 and 0.5/1,000,000 population, respectively) by April 2020. Aggressive border control measures reduced Rt from 1.35 to 0.57 and 0.92 to 0.18 in the first and second waves, respectively. Implementation of COVID-19 tests for…
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