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October 13, 2020
The Impact of Social Distancing on COVID19 Spread: State of Georgia Case Study
Results from an agent-based simulation model parametrized with data on Georgia population interactions and demographics over 7.5 months suggests that shelter-in-place followed by voluntary quarantine substantially reduced COVID-19 infections, resource needs, and severe outcomes. The combination reduced peak infections from approximately 180,000 under no intervention to below 53,000, and delayed the peak from April to…
Inter-Region Transfers for Pandemic Surges
A modeling study evaluating potential hospital bed shortages during COVID-19 surges found that inter-region transfers could alleviate regional bed shortfalls. In the worst-case scenarios in the study, national bed shortfalls ranged from 669 to 58,562 inpatient beds and 3,208 to 31,190 ICU beds. Average transfer distances that would be required to address these shortfalls ranged…
The Impact of Mask-Wearing and Shelter-in-Place on COVID-19 Outbreaks in the United States
Non-medical mask-wearing by 75% of the population in one modeling study reduced infections by 38%, hospitalizations by 44%, and deaths by 47% in the absence of a shelter-in-place strategy. In combination with mask-wearing, sheltering people aged 50 to 64 decreased deaths by more than 82%. The authors noted that in this model, wearing masks with…
Estimated Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Among Adults in Orange County California
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A SARS-CoV-2 surveillance study in Orange County, CA conducted from July to August 2020 reported an adjusted SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence estimate of 11.5%, which is 7-fold greater than the estimate using official County statistics on cases reported. To minimize bias, the authors recruited adults (n=2,979) to answer a survey without knowing they would…
The Household Secondary Attack Rate of SARS-CoV-2: A Rapid Review
A literature review of 22 household transmission studies comprising 20,291 SARS-CoV-2 household contacts from 10 countries found an overall pooled estimate of household secondary attack proportion of 17% (95%CI: 14-21%). Stratifying the studies by testing frequency showed the pooled secondary attack proportion estimates to be 9% with one test, 18% with two tests, and 21%…
Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Vertical Transmission during Pregnancy. Nature Communications
Fenizia et al. report 3 cases of vertical transmission in a cohort of 31 mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection. They also found SARS-CoV-2 RNA in umbilical cord blood from one participant, two at-term placentas, one sample from vaginal mucosa, and one milk specimen. IgM and IgG SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies were also found in one umbilical cord blood…
Outcomes of Neonates Born to Mothers With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection at a Large Medical Center in New York City
Among 101 neonates born to 100 mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection in New York City, only two newborns had positive test results for SARS-CoV-2, and none had clinical evidence of COVID-19. Seventy-six newborns shared hospital rooms with their mothers. Reasons for not sharing rooms included maternal or newborn need for ICU-level care. Ninety-one mothers breastfed. Newborns…
SARS-CoV-2 Cluster in Nursery, Poland. Emerging Infectious Diseases
A SARS-CoV-2 outbreak was identified in a nursery in Poland in late May. The index case was a nursery worker who reported family contact with a symptomatic SARS-CoV-2-infected person, resulting in a cluster of 29 cases and positivity among 27% of contacts (compared to national estimates of 1%). Twelve of those infected were children’s family…
enomic Evidence for Reinfection with SARS-CoV-2: A Case Study. The Lancet Infectious Diseases
A man in Nevada was found to be the first case of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in North America, testing positive first in April, then receiving two negative tests during follow-up in May, then testing positive again in June. Genomic analysis of the positive samples show significant genetic differences between viral strains collected during the two periods…
October 12, 2020
Geographic Variation of Racial Disparities in Health and COVID-19 Mortality
The cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was reported to be three-fold higher among Black individuals in the US compared to white individuals, and the crude mortality was two-fold higher. However, the infection-fatality-ratio was similar between Black and white individuals. There was a higher prevalence of comorbidities (63% vs 55%) and adverse socioeconomic factors (47% vs 31%)…
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