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January 28, 2021
Quantifying the Transmission Advantage Associated with N501Y Substitution of SARS-CoV-2 in the United Kingdom: An Early Data-Driven Analysis
Using publicly available SARS-CoV-2 sequencing data and COVID-19 surveillance data collected from August to December 2020 in the UK, Zhao et al. reconstructed the variant-specific instantaneous reproduction number, Rt, and estimated that the variant containing the N501Y mutation is 52% more transmissible than the wild-type virus. Zhao et al. (Jan 28, 2021). Quantifying the Transmission…
Resurgence of COVID-19 in Manaus, Brazil, despite High Seroprevalence
Despite a high SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence of 76% among blood donors in Manaus, Brazil by October 2020, the area experienced a sudden rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations from 552 in December 2020 to 3,431 in January 2021. The authors suggest possible explanations for the resurgence in this setting where seroprevalence was higher than common estimates of the…
January 27, 2021
A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Trust of Information and COVID-19 Preventative Practices among People with Disabilities
Survey participants with disabilities who live outside of metropolitan areas had the lowest COVID-19 information trust ratings and reported significantly less trust in most information sources when compared to people with disabilities in either metropolitan or micropolitan counties. Increased compliance with CDC guidelines was associated with being over 65, identifying as female, and higher general…
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Immunization Campaigns and Programs: A Systematic Review
A systematic review of 17 studies examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on existing global vaccination programs found a reduction in vaccination coverage and a decline in the total number of vaccines administered. Polio cases increased by about fourfold in polio endemic countries. Factors contributing to low vaccine coverage included fear of being exposed…
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in First Responders and Public Safety Personnel, New York City, New York, USA, May-July 2020
23% of first responders in New York City tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies during May-July 2020, with seroprevalence highest among correctional staff (39%) and emergency medical technicians (38%) and lowest in laboratory technicians (10%) and medicolegal death investigators (11%). Associations were found between seropositivity and exposure to a SARS-CoV-2 positive household member (aOR=3.5), non-Hispanic Black race…
A Higher BMI Is Not Associated with a Different Immune Response and Disease Course in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients
Among patients with COVID-19 in The Netherlands who required mechanical ventilation in the ICU, higher BMI was not associated with differences in measurements of plasma cytokines or clinical outcomes. Patients (n=67) were classified as obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2) and non-obese (BMI <30 kg/m2). Obese participants had a lower elevation in body temperature (38.1C vs. 38.7C) but no other clinical…
SARS-CoV-2 Serology Levels in Pregnant Women and Their Neonates
A study of the serologic response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women (n = 88) found that asymptomatic pregnant women mounted a lower immune response than symptomatic pregnant women, and that maternal IgG antibodies were positively correlated with levels in neonates. Maternal IgM and IgG levels peaked around 15 and 30 days after onset of…
SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Pregnancy Is Associated with Robust Inflammatory Response at the Maternal-Fetal Interface
[Pre-print, not per-reviewed] A study of SARS-CoV-2 in pregnant women showed that in pregnant women with COVID-19, ACE2 is widely expressed in the placenta at term compared to low levels of expression in noninfected mothers. Despite the in vitro susceptibility of cytotrophoblasts (a type of placental cell) to SARS-CoV-2 infection, viral RNA was detected in…
Association of Psychiatric Disorders With Mortality Among Patients With COVID-19
Diagnosis of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder was significantly associated with increased risk of 45-day mortality among adults who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, after adjusting for demographic and medical risk factors (OR=2.7). The retrospective cohort study enrolled 7,348 individuals at a large medical system in New York, 75 (1%) of whom had a history of a…
SARS-CoV-2 Recruits a Haem Metabolite to Evade Antibody Immunity
A molecular study of SARS-CoV-2 found that the virus’s spike protein was able to bind to biliverdin and bilirubin, products of heme metabolism. The authors identified the phenomenon after observing a green pigment in protein precipitate of recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike produced in human cell lines. Binding to biliverdin inhibited the ability of immune sera and…
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