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February 10, 2021
Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Spike 69/70 Deletion, E484K and N501Y Variants by BNT162b2 Vaccine-Elicited Sera
Human sera from 20 participants who received both doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine showed equivalent neutralization titers (with differences of four-fold or less) between wild type and variants strains of SARS-CoV-2 viruses that were engineered to contain spike proteins from recently emerged variants. The combinations of mutations included N501Y (present in variants emerging from the…
SARS-CoV-2 Infection Is Effectively Treated and Prevented by EIDD-2801
Mice implanted with human lung tissue may serve as an effective animal model to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection and to test potential treatments and preventive agents. A study of human lung-only mice (LoM) showed that this platform can be used to study SARS-CoV-2 infection in vivo in ways that allows direct comparison of outcomes between mice…
Major Update: Remdesivir for Adults With COVID-19
Updates from a living systematic review and meta-analysis of remdesivir for adults with COVID-19 indicated that remdesivir likely results in little to no mortality difference (RR=0.93, n=4 randomized trials), but potentially improves the percentage recovered and may result in a small reduction in the proportion receiving ventilation (RR=0.71, n=3 randomized trials). Compared to a 10-day…
Disparities in SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Massachusetts During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A cohort study of SARS-CoV-2 testing intensity (defined as number of weekly tests per 100,000 people) and epidemic intensity (defined as weekly test positivity) in Massachusetts from May 27 to October 14, 2020 showed that testing resources were disproportionately allocated to more affluent communities. In a multivariable model, the relative testing gap increased by 9%…
SARS-CoV-2 Setting-Specific Transmission Rates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that the highest SARS-CoV-2 transmission rates were within households, with a pooled secondary attack rate (SAR) of 21%. SARs were significantly higher when the duration of household exposure was longer than 5 days. SARs for contacts with family and friends were higher than those for low-risk casual contacts (6%…
Maximizing Fit for Cloth and Medical Procedure Masks to Improve Performance and Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Transmission and Exposure, 2021
The CDC found that fitting a cloth mask over a medical procedure mask (double masking), and knotting the ear loops of a medical procedure mask, then tucking in and flattening the extra material near the face substantially improves the efficacy of masks. In simulated coughing experiments, the unknotted medical procedure mask blocked 42% of the…
February 9, 2021
Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Testing and Outcomes
Race was the strongest predictor of having a positive SARS-CoV-2 test in a retrospective cohort of 91,212 adults undergoing testing for SARS-CoV-2. In a multivariate model that incorporated age, sex, neighborhood deprivation index and race, race had the biggest contribution (80%) to the likelihood of infection. While adjusted testing rates among non-white persons were marginally…
Health Outcomes and Economic Burden of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in the United States
The overall median charges for hospitalization due to COVID-19 in the United States was $43,986 per hospitalization, while the overall median cost incurred by hospitals was $12,046. The analysis utilized the COVID-19 data from the Premiere Healthcare Database to identify 170,000 hospitalizations from April to October 2020, representing approximately 20% of all hospitalizations in the…
Clinical and Economic Impact of Widespread Rapid Testing to Decrease SARS-CoV-2 Transmission
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A transmission model calibrated to the US population suggests that implementing weekly home-based SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing could avert 4 million infections and 19,000 deaths over 60 days while being cost-effective. While a scenario with testing could cost up to $21.5 billion, lower inpatient costs and fewer workdays lost could offset the costs…
Modelling the Impact of Reopening Schools in Early 2021 in the Presence of the New SARS-CoV-2 Variant and with Roll-out of Vaccination against COVID-19
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An existing transmission model calibrated to the UK (Covasim) calculated that a full national lockdown until April 2021, including school closures, could lower the effective reproduction number R below 1 by March 2021 when combined with a vaccination campaign capable of 200,000 daily doses targeted to elderly people. The model incorporated the…
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