Article Summary
December 30, 2020
Immune Deficiency Is a Risk Factor for Severe COVID‐19 in People Living with HIV
Among 175 people living with HIV in the UK, US, and Spain, a current CD4 T-cell count of <350 cells/µL was independently associated with a 2.85-fold risk for developing severe COVID-19. A lower nadir CD4 T-cell count of <200 cells/µL was associated with mortality. No significant differences in risk of severe or critical COVID-19 were…
National Trends in the US Public’s Likelihood of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine—April 1 to December 8, 2020
A nationally representative longitudinal survey (n=8,167) found that self-reported likelihood of getting a COVID-19 vaccine declined from 74% in early April to 56% in early December. Declines were observed in likelihood of vaccine uptake for both women and men and in all age, racial/ethnic, and education subgroups. As of December, the self-reported likelihood of vaccine…
Prior SARS-CoV-2 Infection Is Associated with Protection against Symptomatic Reinfection
In a retrospective cohort study of healthcare workers (HCW) (n=17,126) in the UK, HCW without confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (negative PCR and serology) during the first wave experienced higher rates of symptomatic testing and PCR test positivity rates in the second wave 6 months later than HCW with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection during the first wave. Only…
Field Performance and Public Health Response Using the BinaxNOW Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Detection Assay during Community-Based Testing
Among 3,302 persons tested for SARS-CoV-2 by BinaxNOW Rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection assay in a community setting with 7.2% prevalence, rapid assay sensitivity was 100%, 98.5%, and 89% using RT-PCR Ct thresholds of 30, 35 and none, respectively. The assay maintained high sensitivity performance across ages and those with and without symptoms. Assay specificity was…
Can Face Masks Offer Protection from Airborne Sneeze and Cough Droplets in Close-up, Face-to-Face Human Interactions?—A Quantitative Study
With the exception of N95 masks, face coverings would not offer complete protection for a susceptible person exposed to coughing or sneezing of an infected person within 6 feet according to droplet flow visualization experiments. While no potentially virus-carrying particles were observed to leak through N95 masks when worn as protection, enough particles were found…
December 28, 2020
Estimated transmissibility and severity of novel SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in England
[pre-print; not peer-reviewed] A mathematical modeling study for 3 regions in England estimated that the novel SARS-Co-V2 variant, VOC 202012/01, is 56% (range 50-74%) more transmissible than earlier strains. The analysis incorporated testing data and cell phone data to estimate population movements in order to assess for the contribution of behavioral change as an alternate…
How the COVID-19 pandemic affects transgender health care in upper-middle-income and high-income countries – A worldwide, cross-sectional survey
[pre-print; not peer-reviewed] In a cross-sectional survey administered to 5,267 transgender people in 63 higher-middle income and high-income countries, over 50% of the participants had risk factors for severe COVID-19 infection and were at a high risk of avoiding testing or treatment for a COVID-19 infection due to the fear of mistreatment or discrimination. Nearly…
Financial Hardship and Social Assistance as Determinants of Mental Health and Food and Housing Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
[pre-print; not peer-reviewed] In a nationally-representative survey of working-age adults in the US, 54% reported household income loss since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experiencing somewhat of a financial hardship (vs no hardship) was associated with a greater likelihood of depressive (OR=2.9) or anxiety symptoms (OR=3.1) and greater likelihood of food insufficiency (OR=15.6). Experiencing…
Characterizing Long COVID in an International Cohort: 7 Months of Symptoms and Their Impact
[pre-print; not peer-reviewed] In an international web-based survey of people with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 with illness lasting >28 days (n=3,762) identified 205 symptoms across 10 organ systems. In those who recovered in less than 90 days, the average number of symptoms peaked at week 2, as compared to a peak in month 2 among…
Risks of and Risk Factors for COVID-19 Disease in People with Diabetes: A Cohort Study of the Total Population of Scotland
A study of data from the total population of Scotland (n=5.5 million) found that people with diabetes had a substantially higher risk of dying from COVID-19 or requiring intensive care than the general population. After adjustment for age and sex, people living with Type 2 diabetes had 1.4 times the odds of dying or requiring…
Previous page Next page