Article Summary
December 7, 2020
While Studies on Covid‐19 Vaccine Is Ongoing; the Public’s Thoughts and Attitudes to the Future Covid‐19 Vaccine
Survey results from 759 adults in Turkey indicated that 49.7% of respondents said they would get a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and 38.4% said they would have their children vaccinated. Respondents cited the importance of protecting themselves, their children, and the people around them as the most common reasons they would get a vaccine. Common concerns about…
Household Factors and the Risk of Severe COVID-like Illness Early in the US Pandemic
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study of SARS-CoV-2 household transmission found that household crowding and having children in the home were both independent risk factors for being hospitalized with COVID-19 early in the pandemic in the US. COVID-19 hospitalization for households with children (versus without) was higher among study participants living in multi-unit (aOR=10.5) vs single…
A Meta-Analysis on the Role of Children in SARS-CoV-2 in Household Transmission Clusters
A meta-analysis of the role of children in SARS-CoV-2 household transmission identified 213 transmission clusters from 12 countries, and found that only 8 clusters (3.8%) had a pediatric index case. Asymptomatic index cases were associated with a lower secondary attack rate in contacts than symptomatic index cases (RR 0.17). The secondary attack rate was also…
SARS-CoV-2 RNA Detected in Blood Products from Patients with COVID-19 Is Not Associated with Infectious Virus
A systematic review of 28 studies intended to inform safety protocols for handling blood products from people with COVID-19 found there were low levels of detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a minority of serum samples (pooled estimate 10%) collected during acute infection. In an associated laboratory analysis, the authors also performed RT-PCR in serum samples from a…
Effect of Early Application of Social Distancing Interventions on COVID-19 Mortality over the First Pandemic Wave: An Analysis of Longitudinal Data from 37 Countries
A longitudinal ecological study found that cumulative mortality during the first wave of the pandemic was lower across 37 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries when bans on mass gatherings and school closures were implemented early in SARS-CoV-2 epicenters. A one-day delay in implementation of a mass gatherings ban was on average associated…
December 4, 2020
Overdose-Related Cardiac Arrests Observed by Emergency Medical Services During the US COVID-19 Epidemic
A retrospective observational analysis using the National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Information System showed that through August 1, 2020, overdose-related cardiac arrests in 2020 totaled 49.5 per 100,000 EMS activation (48.5% above baseline). Peak rates in May were more than double baseline levels from 2018 and 2019. Overdose-related EMS activation values were similar before and…
The Effect of Area Deprivation on COVID-19 Risk in Louisiana
Individuals residing in the most deprived neighborhoods in Louisiana had almost 40% higher risk of COVID-19 compared to those in least deprived neighborhoods. Neighborhood deprivation was assessed using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), and publicly available data were used to estimate COVID-19 cumulative case counts. The authors propose that factors that may have contributed to…
Negative Age Stereotypes Associated with Older Persons’ Rejection of COVID‐19 Hospitalization
Negative stereotypes about older age significantly predicted a rejection of hospitalization among older individuals who were sick with COVID-19, but not among younger people holding negative age stereotypes in a survey of individuals (n = 1590) from April to May 2020. The authors highlight the need for future research examining the extent to which the…
Detecting COVID-19 Infection Hotspots in England Using Large-Scale Self-Reported Data from a Mobile Application: A Prospective, Observational Study
A study modeling longitudinal, self-reported data from users of the COVID Symptom Study app in England between March and September 2020 estimated that on Sept 28 there was a daily incidence of 15,841 cases of COVID-19 nationally, a prevalence of 0.53%, and an effective reproduction number, R(t), of 1.17. Users were invited to submit swabs…
Positive Impact of Facility-Based Isolation of Mild COVID-19 Cases on Effectively Curbing the Pandemic: A Mathematical Modelling Study
A compartmental model simulating SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics projected that a facility-based isolation strategy with moderate capacity (5 beds per 10,000 total population) could avert 4.2 million new infections and 16,000 deaths in two months compared with home-based isolation, equivalent to relative reductions of 57% of new infections and 37% of deaths. Doubling bed capacity resulted in…
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