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December 14, 2020
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, December 2020
On Dec 12, 2020, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issued an interim recommendation for use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in persons in the US aged ≥16 years to prevent COVID-19. Vaccination consists of 2 doses administered intramuscularly 3 weeks apart. The recommendation was primarily informed by findings from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II/III…
Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance across Time and Countries
Preprint, not peer-reviewed] A cross-sectional study using 25 national samples from 12 countries (total N = 25,334) identified male gender, trust in medical and scientific experts, and worry about the virus as consistent psychological correlates of reported vaccine acceptance. Kerr et al. (Dec 11, 2020). Predictors of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance across Time and Countries. Pre-print…
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the UK: The Oxford Coronavirus Explanations, Attitudes, and Narratives Survey (OCEANS) II
An online survey conducted in fall 2020 among 5,114 adults in the UK reported 72% were willing to be vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, 17% were very unsure, and 12% were strongly hesitant. Higher levels of vaccine hesitancy were associated with lower adherence to social distancing guidelines and a lower likelihood of taking a diagnostic…
Baricitinib plus Remdesivir for Hospitalized Adults with Covid-19
Receiving baricitinib, a kinase inhibitor that blocks a cytokine signaling pathway, in addition to remdesivir, was associated with shorter recovery time (median 7 vs. 8 days, RR=1.2) and higher odds of improvement at day 15 (OR=1.3) in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving 1,033 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The estimate for the risk of death through…
Azithromycin in Hospitalised Patients with COVID-19 (RECOVERY) a Randomised Controlled Open-Label Platform Trial
[Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Receiving azithromycin in addition to usual care was not associated with 28-day mortality (19% vs. 19%) or the duration of hospitalization (12 days vs. 13 days) in a randomized, controlled trial among 7,764 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the UK. Results were consistent across subgroups of age, sex, ethnicity, level of respiratory…
Environmental Monitoring Shows SARS-CoV-2 Contamination of Surfaces in Food Plants
[Preprint, not peer-reviewed] In a study collecting 22,643 surface samples from 116 food processing facilities in the US from Mar 17 to Sep 3, 2020, 1.2% of the total samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR. 62 (53%) facilities had at least one sample positive for SARS-CoV-2. Among the positive samples, 33% were found on…
Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
A meta-analysis of 54 studies including 77,758 participants estimated an overall household secondary transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 of 17% (95% CI 14%-19%). The rate was higher from symptomatic index cases than from asymptomatic index cases (18% vs. 1%), to adult contacts than to child contacts (28% vs. 17%), to spouses than to other family contacts…
On the Concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in Outdoor Air and the Interaction with Pre-Existing Atmospheric Particles
An environmental modeling study of respiratory emissions reported a very low probability of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (< 1 RNA copy/m3) through respiratory aerosol in outdoor public areas using the environmental characteristics of the cities Milan and Bergamo in northern Italy. Belosi et al. (Dec 8, 2020). On the Concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in Outdoor Air…
December 13, 2020
A Surge in Pediatric Coronavirus Disease 2019 Cases: The Experience of Texas Children’s Hospital from March to June 2020
A retrospective study of all children presenting to the Texas Children’s Hospital system who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 (16,554 unique patients), found that 1,215 (7%) patients tested positive, among whom 66% were Hispanic (representing 42% of the total number tested). Most children with detection of SARS-CoV-2 had uncomplicated illness courses, but 8% of children were…
December 11, 2020
Effect of internationally imported cases on internal spread of COVID-19: a mathematical modelling study
A modeling study assessing the global impact of travel restrictions due to COVID-19 finds the restrictions are effective primarily in countries with low numbers of cases or that have strong travel links with countries experiencing high rates of infection. The authors suggest that strict untargeted travel restrictions are probably unjustified in many countries, other than…
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