Article Summary
June 4, 2021
Variant-of-Concern-Attributable Health and Health System-Related Outcomes a Population-Level Propensity-Score Matched Cohort Study
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A population-based propensity-score matched cohort study of all incident laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario, Canada found that SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern are associated with a higher odds of hospitalization (OR=2.3), ICU admission (OR=3.3), and mortality among persons hospitalized (OR=1.6) and not hospitalized (OR=1.8) for COVID-19 relative to earlier wild-type strains. The findings…
Identifying the Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Service Access for People Who Use Drugs (PWUD): A National Qualitative Study
A qualitative study of 196 Canadian adults who use psychoactive substances or were enrolled in opioid agonist treatment found that most participants experienced disruptions in service access and treatment disruptions during 2020. Disrupted services included harm reduction services, withdrawal treatment, medical treatment, mental health care, shelters/housing, and food banks. The reduced access to services resulted…
Inhaled Corticosteroids Do Not Adversely Impact Outcomes in COVID-19 Positive Patients with COPD: An Analysis of Cleveland Clinic’s COVID-19 Registry
A large retrospective cohort study of persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (N=27,810) found that inhaled corticosteroid therapy did not increase COVID-19 related healthcare utilization or mortality. There were no statistically significant differences observed in hospitalization, ICU admission, endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, or mortality among persons with a positive SARS-COV-2 test after adjusting for…
Immunological Dysfunction Persists for 8 Months Following Initial Mild-Moderate SARS-CoV-2 Infection
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A prospective cohort study found that persons with persistent symptoms following COVID-19 infection had an elevated diffuse inflammatory cytokine profile at 8 months post SARS-CoV-2 infection, which was not observed in age/gender matched asymptomatic COVID-19 survivors, healthy controls, or persons who survived other human coronaviruses. Additionally, persons with persisting symptoms had a…
Hospitalization of Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1, 2020–April 24, 2021
A review of COVID-19 associated hospitalizations among adolescents aged 12-17 years (N=204) found that the rate of hospitalization peaked at 2.1 per 100,000 in early January 2021, declined to 0.6 in mid-March, and rose to 1.3 in April. Among hospitalized adolescents, nearly 1 in 3 required ICU admission, 5% required invasive mechanical ventilation, and no…
Prevention and Attenuation of COVID-19 by BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 Vaccines
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A prospective cohort study (N=3,975) of healthcare personnel and other frontline workers estimated the real-world effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines and found that the adjusted effectiveness of full vaccination was 92% (95% CI 76-97%) and effectiveness of partial vaccination was 81% (95% CI 64-90%). Additionally, among partially or fully vaccinated…
Humoral and Cellular Immune Response against SARS-CoV-2 Variants Following Heterologous and Homologous ChAdOx1 NCoV-19BNT162b2 Vaccination
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study of persons who received one dose of the AstraZeneca SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (N=129) found that a heterologous boost with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine induced significantly higher frequencies of spike-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cells and neutralizing antibodies compared to receipt of a second dose of AstraZeneca. These neutralizing antibodies were highly effective against…
A Comparison of Four Commercially Available RNA Extraction Kits for Wastewater Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in a College Population
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A comparison of four commercially available RNA extraction kits found that the Zymo Quick-RNA Viral kit yielded the most consistent, timely, and accurate results for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater from a college campus. Although wastewater-based surveillance has been performed as an early detection system for enteric viruses, most of these viruses…
Implementing Mandatory Testing and a Public Health Commitment to Control COVID-19 on a College Campus
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A report from George Washington University, a large urban university in Washington, DC, highlighted the institution’s successes in mitigating the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among students and staff. Mitigation measures included development of a dedicated rapid and high-throughput COVID-19 laboratory, weekly and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 testing, and daily risk screening and symptom monitoring. During…
Nasal Delivery of an IgM Offers Broad Protection from SARS-CoV-2 Variants
A novel, engineered immunoglobulin M (IgM) intranasally delivered neutralizing antibody demonstrated superior neutralizing activity against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants in mice, including B.1.1.7 (Delta), P.1 (Gamma), and B.1.351 (Beta). The IgM antibody therapy was >230-fold more potent in reducing SARS-CoV-2 lung viral load than IgG neutralizing antibodies currently in use, to which variants of concern are…
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