Article Summary
August 20, 2020
Public Health Student Response to COVID-19
• Burns et al. identified that by July 31, 2020, 30 schools and programs of public health in the US were supporting public health agencies in response to COVID-19, primarily through the provision of surge capacity (n=20, 67%), contact tracing (n=19, 63%), and training (n=11, 37%). The authors suggest that future funding should explicitly link…
COVID-19-Associated Critical Illness-Report of the First 300 Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units at a New York City Medical Center
• Among 300 patients admitted to ICUs at an academic medical center in New York City from March 10 through April 11, 2020, the majority developed acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring mechanical ventilation (91%) and/or vasopressor-dependent shock (78%). Forty-one percent had acute kidney injury (AKI) present upon admission and 36% subsequently developed AKI. The 30-day…
Factors Determining COVID-19 Pneumonia Severity in a Country with Routine BCG Vaccination
• A retrospective cross-sectional study among 123 adults with COVID-19 in Istanbul, Turkey found that the patients with severe disease were less likely to have had a BCG vaccination than patients with mild disease (69% vs 88%), but after adjustment for factors associated with COVID-19 severity, BCG vaccination was not associated with the disease severity….
RNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccine BNT162b2 Selected for a Pivotal Efficacy Study
• [Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Walsh et al. report Phase 1 results of an ongoing dose-escalation clinical trial of two RNA vaccine candidates for SARS-CoV-2 (BNT162b1 and BNT162b2) among 195 healthy adults randomized into 13 groups based on age (18-55 or 65-85 years), vaccine type and vaccine dose. Participants received two injections of either vaccine or…
Information given by Websites Selling Home Self-Sampling COVID-19 Tests An Analysis of Accuracy and Completeness
• [Preprint, not peer-reviewed] Taylor-Phillips et al. reviewed 27 websites selling home self-sampling and testing kits for COVID-19 (39 tests in UK and 2 tests in US), of which 23 offered molecular virus testing services and 18 offered antibody testing services. They report that 22% tests were provided with the name or manufacturer, 76% included…
Mass Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in 16 Prisons and Jails — Six Jurisdictions, United States
The mass testing conducted among incarcerated or detained persons across 16 prisons and jails from 6 US jurisdictions (April 11-May 20, 2020) identified a total of 8,239 persons with SARS-CoV-2 among 16,392 individuals tested, representing a median 12-fold increase over the number of cases in each facility by earlier symptom-based testing. Prevalence in jails and…
August 19, 2020
Association of Race With Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at 92 US Hospitals
Among a cohort study of 11,210 adults hospitalized with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 in 92 hospitals across 12 states, there was no statistically significant difference in risk of mortality between Black and white patients (HR=0.93, 95% CI 0.80–1.09) after adjusting for age, sex, insurance, comorbidities, neighborhood deprivation, and site of care. Yehia et al. (Aug 18, 2020). Association of Race With Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) at 92 US…
Years of Life Lost Attributable to COVID-19 in High-Incidence Countries
Oh et al. found that the years of life lost (YLLs) due to COVID-19 increased from 1,699,574 YLLs on April 22 to 4,072,325 on July 14 in a sum of estimates for 30 high-incidence countries. The US had the highest number of YLLs as of July 14, followed by Brazil, the UK, Italy, and France. The YLLs per 100,000 population were highest in Belgium,…
COVID-19 Among American Indian and Alaska Native Persons — 23 States, January 31–July 3, 2020
In 23 states with adequate race/ethnicity data, the cumulative incidence of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons was 3.5-fold higher than among non-Hispanic white persons. While AI/AN persons account for only 0.7% of the US population, 1.3% of COVID-19 cases reported to CDC with known race and ethnicity data were among AI/AN persons. Hatcher et al. (Aug 19, 2020). COVID-19 Among American Indian and…
Comparison of Molecular Testing Strategies for COVID-19 Control: A Mathematical Modelling Study
Mathematical modeling by Grassly et al. indicates optimal SARS-CoV-2 testing strategies would include regular screening of high-risk groups such as health-care and social-care workers during periods of sustained transmission and testing of people with COVID-19 symptoms and tracing and quarantining their contacts. Test and trace requires high coverage and rapid testing and contact tracing to be effective. Testing alone is unlikely to bring the viral reproductive number below 1…
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