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May 14, 2021
Ivermectin in Combination with Doxycycline for Treating COVID-19 Symptoms: A Randomized Trial
A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial of ivermectin combined with doxycycline for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 symptoms (N=400) found that treated patients had a shorter median time to recovery (7 vs. 9 days) and were more likely to be SARS-CoV-2 negative by RT-PCR at two weeks follow-up. However, the investigators note that the majority of study…
Community-Based Testing for SARS-CoV-2 — Chicago, Illinois, May–November 2020
A community-based SARS-CoV-2 testing (CBT) program in Chicago found that persons tested at CBT sites (N=250,000) were more likely to have SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to persons tested in other settings. Persons who were tested at the CBT sites were also more likely to be <40 years of age, Hispanic, and live in economically marginalized zip…
Diagnostic Performance of an Antigen Test with RT-PCR for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in a Hospital Setting — Los Angeles County, California, June–August 2020
An evaluation of the rapid Quidel Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA test in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at a large, tertiary medical center in Los Angeles found a lower sensitivity in symptomatic (72%) and asymptomatic (61%) patients compared to RT-PCR. Specificity of the Antigen test was >98% in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The authors…
May 13, 2021
Perinatal Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ontario, Canada
There were no differences observed in the frequency of preterm birth (7.5%) and stillbirth (0.5%) between a cohort of births during the COVID-19 pandemic (n=67,747) occurring between March and September 2020 and a cohort of pre-pandemic births (n=348,633) occurring within the same calendar period between 2015 and 2019 according to administrative data in Ontario, Canada. …
Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes, Maternal Complications, and Severe Illness among U.S. Delivery Hospitalizations with and without a COVID-19 Diagnosis
Adverse pregnancy outcomes occurred more frequently among US women with documented COVID-19 diagnosis at delivery hospitalization compared to those without diagnosis (4.4% vs 0.8%) in a large study including 703 hospitals (n=489,471 delivery hospitalizations; 1.3% of patients with COVID-19) between March and September 2020. In analyses adjusted for confounders, COVID-19 diagnosis was associated with a…
Quantifying the Potential for Dominant Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.351 in the United States
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An age-stratified SARS-CoV-2 transmission model calibrated to the US population and current vaccination rates suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant would likely remain the dominant variant of concern in the US compared to the B.1.351 variant through December 2021, if the B.1.351 variant reduced vaccine efficacy by less than 30% or if…
Evaluation of Healthcare Personnel Exposures to Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Associated with Personal Protective Equipment Use
Lack of eye protection during the care of a COVID-19 patient was associated with test positivity for SARS-CoV-2 infection (RR=10) among 345 healthcare personnel (HCP) who sustained significant occupational exposure to COVID-19 patients in a tertiary care center in Minnesota from May to November 2020. While the most common reason for significant exposure was use…
Persistence of Antibody and Cellular Immune Responses in COVID-19 Patients over Nine Months after Infection
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, IgM, and neutralizing antibodies against the spike and nucleocapsid proteins were detected in approximately 90% of participants in a cross-sectional study of 59 mostly mild COVID-19 patients after a median of 317 days (range 257 – 343) since symptom onset, while roughly 60% of patients had anti-receptor binding domain (RBD) IgG antibodies. In…
Neutralization Potential of Covishield Vaccinated Individuals against B.1.617.1
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Individuals with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection (n=18) had 24-fold higher levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) against the B.1.617.1 variant, which is linked to recent surges in cases in India, 4 weeks after the second dose of the Covishield vaccine (Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine version manufactured in India), compared to those without a previous history…
mRNA Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2-Specific T Cells Recognize B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 Variants but Differ in Longevity and Homing Properties Depending on Prior Infection Status
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] CD4+ T cell responses elicited by COVID-19 mRNA vaccines respond similarly to spike protein epitopes derived from the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants of concern and the ancestral strain, based on an analysis of 24 specimens obtained at 3 different timepoints from 8 fully vaccinated individuals. The second vaccine dose appeared to…
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