Article Summary
October 22, 2020
The Use of Intravenous Immunoglobulin Gamma for the Treatment of Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Double-Blind Clinical Trial
Results from a randomized placebo-controlled trial in Iran (n=59) suggest that administration of intravenous immunoglobin (IVIG) could reduce in-hospital mortality rates due to severe COVID-19. Mortality was 20% in the IVIG group (6 of 30) vs 48.3% (14 of 29) in the placebo group. Multivariate analysis showed that IVIG was associated with a reduced in-hospital…
COVID-19 in a Correctional Facility Employee Following Multiple Brief Exposures to Persons with COVID-19 — Vermont, July–August 2020
A correctional facility officer in Vermont contracted SARS-CoV-2 after multiple brief encounters with 6 SARS-CoV-2 positive incarcerated or detained persons (IDPs) for a cumulative duration of 17 minutes. However, he did not meet the operational definition of a “close contact” in contact tracing investigations, which is being within 6 feet of infectious persons for 15…
Mitigating a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Major League Baseball Players — United States, 2020
An outbreak investigation of players and employees from three Major League Baseball teams did not find any secondary transmission from cases on the index team during field play over 11 hours and 8 minutes with 2 opposing teams. The outbreak had a 14.4% total attack rate (21 of 146 total exposed) from the index patient…
An Estimation of Airborne SARS-CoV-2 Infection Transmission Risk in New York City Nail Salons
An airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission infection risk model for 12 New York City nail salons found the average transmission risk when not wearing face masks was 25% vs 7% when masks were worn. Utilizing previous estimates of outdoor airflow rates, increased outdoor airflow rates in the model strongly correlated with decreased risk, suggesting that businesses should…
Evolution and Effects of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Care Homes: A Population Analysis in 189 Care Homes in One Geographical Region of the UK
A population analysis of 189 care homes in Scotland between March and August found 69 (37%) had a confirmed COVID-19 outbreak, of which almost all (96%) were care homes for older people. The size of care homes for older people was strongly associated with an outbreak (OR per 20-bed increase 3.35, 95% CI 1·99–5.63). 907…
Pasteurization Inactivates SARS-CoV-2 Spiked Breast Milk
Pasteurization was shown to successfully inactivate SARS-CoV-2 in human breast milk. Conzelmann et al. spiked five different virus isolates from Germany, France, and the Netherlands into five individual milk samples. Incubating the milk samples at room temperature for 30 minutes resulted in a 40.9-92.8% drop in viral titers, and after pasteurization no further residual infectivity…
October 21, 2020
Initial Economic Damage from the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States Is More Widespread across Ages and Geographies than Initial Mortality Impacts
The excess all-cause mortality and employment displacement resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in the US was distributed unevenly, with very high concentrations in a small number of states. In April 2020, the national excess all-cause mortality was 2.4 per 10,000 individuals and employment displacement was 9.9 per 100 individuals. The authors identified the excess mortality…
Variation in Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality by Age in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Study
Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality rates are particularly strong among younger people. A cross-sectional study reported that as of July 22, 2020, the age-standardized COVID-19 mortality ratios (compared to non-Hispanic white) were 3.6 for people who are non-Hispanic Black, 2.2 for those who are non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native, 2.2 for Hispanic people and…
Cognitive Deficits in People Who Have Recovered from COVID-19 Relative to Controls An N=84285 Online Study
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Analysis of cognitive test data from a large survey in Great Britain (n=84,285) found that people who recovered from COVID-19 exhibited significant cognitive deficits, with increasing degrees of underperformance found among those with greater symptom severity and level of medical assistance received for COVID-19 respiratory symptoms. The cognitive deficit was evaluated through…
Suicide Deaths during the Stay-at-Home Advisory in Massachusetts
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] The mortality rate due to suicide in Massachusetts during the stay-at-home period (March through May, 2020) did not increase compared to a corresponding period in 2019 (0.67 vs. 0.81 per 100,000 person-month). These results are based on an observational cohort study using the Massachusetts Department of Health Registry of Vital Records and…
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