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May 7, 2021
Antibody Response to MRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine among Kidney Transplant Recipients – Prospective Cohort Study
A study of kidney transplant recipients who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (N=308) found that only 36% tested positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 2-4 weeks after receiving the second dose. Factors associated with antibody detection included younger age, higher renal function, and reduced immunosuppression. The authors note that although correlation between antibody levels and protection has not…
Delayed Production of Neutralizing Antibodies Correlates with Fatal COVID-19
A study of humoral immune responses among 229 patients with asymptomatic, mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 found that persons with delayed neutralizing antibody generation had a higher risk of mortality compared to survivors. Investigators collected multiple serum samples from patients during the course of their illness and examined SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies and IgG levels. Although…
SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Reinfection in a Seroepidemiological Workplace Cohort in the United States
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A prospective cohort study of SpaceX employees (N=4,111) found a 91% lower odds of SARS-CoV-2 reinfection over 6 months of follow-up among participants with detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at baseline. The study authors adjusted for underlying health conditions and increased risk of exposure as potential confounders. The results suggest that previous infection may…
Performance of Unobserved Self-Collected Nasal Swabs for Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR Utilizing a Remote Specimen Collection Strategy
A large, retrospective study (N=47,000) comparing unobserved self-collected anterior nasal swabs and healthcare provider-collected nasopharyngeal swabs found that cycle threshold values for detection of human RNase P (RP), an indicator of sample adequacy for RT-PCR testing, were not significantly different. However, cycle thresholds for detection of SARS-CoV-2 were significantly higher for self-collected than provider-collected swabs,…
May 6, 2021
Outbreaks of Covid-19 Variants in Prisons A Mathematical Modeling Analysis of Vaccination and Re-Opening Policies
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A SARS-CoV-2 transmission model calibrated to California state prisons predicts that if a viral variant is introduced in a prison with moderate vaccine coverage, and no baseline immunity that has resumed pre-2020 contact levels, 23-74% of residents could be infected over 200 days. Cumulative infections may be reduced to 2-54% if high…
SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia Predicts Clinical Deterioration and Extrapulmonary Complications from COVID-19
In a sample of 191 COVID-19 patients presenting to the emergency department, viral RNA detected in blood (RNAemia) by digital PCR (dPCR) was associated with poor clinical outcomes. DCR was more sensitive than quantitative PCR (qPCR) in detecting RNAemia, or viral RNA in plasma (23% vs 1.4%). RNAemia was undetectable within 10 days of symptom…
SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load Kinetics in Symptomatic Children, Adolescents and Adults
Mean viral load (VL) was slightly lower at the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosis for children aged 0-13 years (6.2 log10 copies/mL) and adolescents aged 14-19 years (6.4 log10 copies/mL) compared to adults aged ≥20 years (6.7 log10 copies/mL) in a study in Switzerland (n=8,027). At time of diagnosis, the proportion of adults with VL…
Asymptomatic and Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections After BNT162b2 Vaccination in a Routinely Screened Workforce
Vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was associated with a 72% lower incidence of a positive SARS-CoV-2 PCR result during routine weekly screening for asymptomatic infection among employees of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital between December 2020 to March 2021 and a greater than 90% reduction in PCR positivity among fully vaccinated individuals. Incidence of asymptomatic…
Efficacy of NVX-CoV2373 Covid-19 Vaccine against the B.1.351 Variant
Results from a multicenter, randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled phase 2a-b trial in South Africa of the NVX-CoV2373 (Novavax) nanoparticle vaccine indicated a 49% vaccine efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 infection among 2,684 participants. 94% of participants were HIV-negative and 6% were people living with HIV. After 1:1 vaccine to placebo randomization, 15 participants in the vaccine arm and…
Impact and Effectiveness of MRNA BNT162b2 Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 Infections and COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalisations, and Deaths Following a Nationwide Vaccination Campaign in Israel: An Observational Study Using National Surveillance Data
Estimated real-world vaccine effectiveness 7 days or more after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% against SARS-CoV-2 infection according to analysis of national surveillance data from Israel (n=4.7 million) between January to April 2021After adjustment for age, sex, and week of infection, estimated vaccine effectiveness was 92% against aymptomatic infection and 97%…
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