Article Summary
February 16, 2021
Trends in US Pediatric Hospital Admissions in 2020 Compared With the Decade Before the COVID-19 Pandemic.
US pediatric hospital admissions in the US were lower in 2020 compared to the past 10 years, according to a cross-sectional study of over 5 million US pediatric hospital admissions at 49 hospitals in the Pediatric Health Information Systems database. There was a decrease in the number of admissions beginning in March 2020 compared with…
Screening of SARS-CoV-2 among Homeless People, Asylum-Seekers and Other People Living in Precarious Conditions in Marseille, France, March–April 2020
In a cross-sectional survey of homeless shelters in France from March to April 2020 (n=698), 49 people (7%) overall tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Although positivity correlated with symptoms, over half of positive patients reported being asymptomatic. Young age (18-34 years, OR=3.8) and being housed in one specific shelter (OR=9.1) were associated with higher SARS-CoV-2 positivity….
What Makes COVID-19 Dashboards Actionable? Descriptive Assessment and Expert Appraisal of 158 Public, Web-Based COVID-19 Dashboards (Preprint)
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An assessment of 158 COVID-19 data dashboards from 53 countries by an international panel of experts (n=17) found that only 20 dashboards (13%) were highly actionable. Key characteristics of actionable dashboards according to the expert panel include knowing the intended audience and information needs, reporting data sources and methods clearly, and linking…
Lack of Changes in Preterm Delivery and Stillbirths during COVID-19 Lockdown in a European Region
The proportion of preterm deliveries (< 37 weeks) and stillbirths was similar in the Castilla-y-Leon region in Spain during the COVID-19 lockdown and de-escalation periods (March 15 to June 21, 2020) compared to previous time periods. The proportion of preterm deliveries during the lockdown was 6.5%, compared to 6.6% during the whole pre-lockdown period (January…
The Usefulness Of SARS-CoV-2 Test-Positive Proportion As A Surveillance Tool
The test-positive proportion (TPP), the proportion of tested individuals who have tested positive, may be informative in predicting trends in COVID-19 incidence. The TPP strongly correlated with incidence in simulation results, as long as testing resources were sufficient to cover symptomatic and asymptomatic testing up to 35 days. However, the correlation between TPP and incidence…
Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 Specific B- and T-Cell Responses in Convalescent COVID-19 Patients 6-8 Months after the Infection
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected in 85% of 119 samples collected from 88 COVID-19 convalescent donors within 4 weeks post symptom onset. IgM/IgA levels declined after 1 month, while IgG levels remained relatively stable and were detected in 80% of samples up to 6-8 months irrespective of disease severity. SARS-CoV-2-specific memory B- and T-cell responses developed…
Sensitivity of Infectious SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 Variants to Neutralizing Antibodies
[Pre-print, not peer reviewed] The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant (first described in the UK) was experimentally shown to have similar sensitivity to the neutralizing activity of convalescent sera (n=83) collected up to 9 months post symptom onset compared to the wild-type virus. In contrast, neutralizing titers had a mean 6-fold reduction against the B.1.351 variant (first…
Longitudinal Analysis of Antibody Response Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy: From the First Trimester to Delivery
In a cohort of 17 SARS-CoV-2 PCR-positive pregnant women followed from the end of the first trimester to delivery, IgG non-neutralizing antibodies (nNAbs) were detected in 71% (12 of 17), while neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) were detected in 53% of individuals (9 of the 12 who seroconverted with IgG nNAbs). Levels of NAbs remained stable throughout…
Discrete SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Titers Track with Functional Humoral Stability
There may be a distinct threshold of immune activity, defined by the level of antibodies, in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection that is required to elicit a vigorous humoral and cellular response necessary to prevent subsequent re-infection. These conclusions were based on a community-based surveillance study of 120 SARS-CoV-2 convalescent patients, which found that sustained functional…
Reports of Anaphylaxis After Receipt of MRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in the US—December 14, 2020-January 18, 2021
The CDC identified 66 reports of anaphylaxis from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) during December 14, 2020 to January 18, 2021 (47 cases out of nearly 10 million Pfizer vaccine doses and 19 cases out of nearly 7.6 million Moderna vaccine doses). All cases were treated in healthcare settings, and no deaths from…
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