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January 28, 2021
Performance Characteristics of BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Card for Screening Asymptomatic Individuals in a University Setting
The BinaxNow Antigen Card showed low analytical sensitivity (53%) for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infection in a population of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals when compared to RT-PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2. Okoye et al. (Jan 27, 2021). Performance Characteristics of BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Card for Screening Asymptomatic Individuals in a University Setting. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1128/JCM.03282-20
Impact of Race and Socioeconomic Status on Outcomes in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19
A retrospective study of adults hospitalized for COVID-19 in Michigan (n=2038) found that patients from neighborhoods with median income in the lowest vs. highest quartile were more likely to require invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (25% vs 16%) and ICU admission (35% vs 20%). The median income of neighborhoods of Black patients was lower than neighborhoods…
Understanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Transgender and Gender Nonbinary Individuals Engaged in a Longitudinal Cohort StudyUnderstanding the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Transgender and Gender Nonbinary Individuals Engaged in a Longitudinal Cohort Study
Transgender and gender nonbinary (TGNB) individuals (n=208) from an established longitudinal cohort experienced increased psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as expressed by significantly higher raw scores during than pandemic than pre-pandemic on the Global Severity Index (GSI) . Additionally, a significantly higher percentage of respondents met criteria for clinically significant depressive (41% vs…
Disease Severity, Pregnancy Outcomes and Maternal Deaths among Pregnant Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Washington State
Among a cohort of 240 pregnant patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in Washington State, the COVID-19 hospitalization and case fatality rates were 3.5-fold and 13.6-fold higher, respectively, compared to rates among similarly-aged females and males with SARS-CoV-2 infections in Washington State. One in 11 developed severe or critical disease, 1 in 10 were hospitalized for COVID-19….
Respiratory and Psychophysical Sequelae Among Patients With COVID-19 Four Months After Hospital Discharge
Respiratory, physical, and psychological sequelae were common 3-4 months after hospital discharge in an Italian cohort of COVID-19 survivors (n=238, median age = 61 [IQR 50-71]). 113 of 219 patients (52%) had a significant reduction in lung function measured by diffusing lung capacity for carbon monoxide (80% of expected value), and 128 (54%) patients had…
Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Demonstrates 89.3% Efficacy in UK Phase 3 Trial
[Press release, not peer-reviewed] Preliminary results for phase 2/3 trials for the recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine NVX-CoV2373 made by Novavax showed up to 89.3% efficacy in the UK cohort (n= >15,000), where 56 participants in the placebo group developed COVID-19 vs 6 in the vaccine group. Of note, the B.1.1.7 variant was observed in 32…
Neutralization of Spike 6970 Deletion E484K and N501Y SARS-CoV-2 by BNT162b2 Vaccine-Elicited Sera
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Sera from recipients who completed the 2-dose regimen of the Pfizer vaccine BNT162b2 (n=20) had similar neutralizing geometric mean titers (GMTs) against SARS-CoV-2 viruses engineered to contain key spike protein mutations from variants emerging from the UK (B.1.1.7) and South Africa (B.1.351) compared to GMTs against the wild-type virus. Compared to the…
U.S. Public Views about COVID-19 “Immunity Passports
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A nationally representative online survey of 1,315 US adults conducted in June 2020 found that 45% of respondents supported some form of immunity privileges. Among the forms, private certificates were favored over government-issued immunity passports (48% vs 43%). Respondents were more likely to justify immunity privileges for high-risk jobs or to attend…
Efficacy of Colchicine in Non-Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] In a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial (n=4,159), the anti-inflammatory medication colchicine reduced the rate of COVID-19-associated hospitalization or death among high-risk participants with COVID-19 who were not yet hospitalized. Participants who received colchicine for 30 days experienced 25% lower odds of hospitalization (95% CI 0.57-0.99), but not statistically significant lower odds for…
Performance of Saliva, Oropharyngeal Swabs, and Nasal Swabs for SARS-CoV-2 Molecular Detection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining alternative sample types for testing (n=46) found that nasal swab (NS), saliva samples, and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs consistently captured lower percent positives than nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs, though performance of OP and NS combined was similar to NP. The percent agreement between most alternative sample types and NP…
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