Article Summary
May 14, 2021
Trends in Pediatric Primary Care Visits during the COVID-19 Pandemic
A retrospective review of a large US commercial medical claims database found that pediatric primary care visits were 60% lower between March 25 and April 21, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and problem-focused visits were 63% lower. Primary care visits and problem-focused visits remained 17% and 31% lower in October 2020 compared…
Trajectories of Child Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Longitudinal UK Cohort
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Emotional and behavioral difficulties decreased at a slower rate during the COVID-19 pandemic among young children in the UK (N=708) in a longitudinal birth-cohort study. In pre-pandemic times, predicted trajectories of difficulties peaked at age 2 and declined over the rest of early childhood. During the pandemic, the rate of decline was…
Comparison and Impact of COVID-19 for Patients with Cancer: A Survival Analysis of Fatality Rate Controlling for Age, Sex and Cancer Type
A survival analysis of UK cancer patients (N=4,606) found that those with a SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis between March-October 2020 had a higher risk of death compared to patients without SARS-CoV-2. The risk of death within 21 days post SARS-CoV-2 detection was over 10-fold higher than among those without SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with melanoma, hematological malignancies,…
Short-Term Antibody Response Afer 1 Dose of BNT162b2 Vaccine in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis
A study of persons receiving onsite hemodialysis and health care worker controls (N=210) found that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine failed to elicit detectable IgG antibodies in 57% of hemodialysis patients and 5% of health care workers without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection at 4 weeks following vaccination. Among hemodialysis patients with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection,…
Plans to Vaccinate Children for COVID-19 a Survey of US Parents
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A national online survey of US parents (N=2,074) conducted in March 2021 found that 49% planned to vaccinate their children for COVID-19 when available, while 26% of respondents said they would “definitely not” vaccinate their children. The most common concerns cited about vaccines were safety, effectiveness, and a perceived lack of need….
BNT162b2-Elicited Neutralization against New SARS-CoV-2 Spike Variants
An in vitro study of serum neutralization after two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine found that variants B.1.526, B.1.429, and B.1.1.7+E484K remained susceptible to vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies at a level equivalent to the neutralization of wild-type USA-WA1/2020 strain. The authors suggest that these results indicate the additional E484K mutation, also found in the B.1.351 and B.1.526…
Immunogenicity of COVID-19 MRNA Vaccines in Pregnant and Lactating Women
A small (N=46) study of pregnant and lactating persons found that mRNA vaccines produced binding, neutralizing, and functional non-neutralizing antibody responses as well as CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses. Additionally, binding and neutralizing antibodies were also detectable in cord blood, suggesting placental transfer of maternal antibodies and conferral of immunity to infants. Post-vaccination in vitro…
Antibody Responses to Single-Dose SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients Receiving Immunomodulators for Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disease
A study of persons with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID) (N=120) found that 15% failed to produce detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 23-46 days after one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Astra-Zeneca vaccines. In contrast, nearly 100% of persons without IMID who receive one dose of either vaccine have been shown to produce antibodies within this time frame….
Effects of Different Types of Written Vaccination Information on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in the UK (OCEANS-III): A Single-Blind, Parallel-Group, Randomised Controlled Trial
A single-blind, parallel-group, randomized trial of UK adults (N=15,014) found that among strongly vaccine hesitant persons, providing information about the personal benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine reduced hesitancy more than providing information about collective benefits. However, the study showed no difference between the messaging strategies among people who were more mildly hesitant about vaccination, or…
Interferon-a-2b Aerosol Inhalation Is Associated with Improved Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Coronavirus Disease-2019
A retrospective analysis of patients with COVID-19 (N=1,401) found that patients treated with IFN-α-2b aerosol inhalation in combination with standard treatment had a 61% lower risk of ICU admission, mechanical ventilation, and death, even after adjusting for comorbidities, baseline disease severity, and antiviral use. A subgroup analysis found that delayed IFN treatment was associated with…
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