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June 11, 2021
Dynamic Changes in the Immune Response Correlate with Disease Severity and Outcomes During Infection with SARS-CoV-2
A small, single center study of persons hospitalized with COVID-19 in China (N=74) identified innate and adaptive immunological differences between patients with severe and non-severe disease. Specifically, patients with severe disease had lower baseline lymphocyte counts, higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios, and lower eosinophil counts. T-cell, B-cell, and natural killer cells were also lower among…
Incidence of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Among US Persons Infected With SARS-CoV-2
A retrospective cohort study of persons with SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed between April and June 2020 in 7 US states identified 248 cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in persons <21 years of age. The corresponding incidence of MIS-C was 5.1 per 100,000 person-months and 316 persons per 1,000,000 (0.0003%) SARS-CoV-2 infections. Incidence was…
Does Reactogenicity after a Second Injection of the BNT162b2 Vaccine Predict Spike IgG Antibody Levels in Healthy Japanese Subjects
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A small study of Japanese healthcare workers (N=67) found that reactogenicity to a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was not a predictor of subsequent IgG antibody levels. The study controlled for age, sex, and IgG levels after the first dose of vaccine. The prevalence of local and systemic reactogenicity was 2.5-times…
Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infections After Full Schedule BNT162b2 Vaccination in Seropositive Healthcare Workers: A Case Series From a Single Institution
Data from a voluntary surveillance program at a single medical center in Italy revealed that 11 healthcare workers who had been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had SARS-CoV-2 detected in nasopharyngeal swabs and 5 of these persons had mild symptoms. The average cycle threshold (Ct) in detected infections was 19 (range 6-26). However, no…
First-Dose ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccines and Thrombocytopenic, Thromboembolic and Hemorrhagic Events in Scotland
Compared to those who received one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, receipt of one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was associated with a higher risk of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a blood disorder involving low platelet counts, during 0–27 days after vaccination (adjusted RR = 5.8), with an estimated incidence of 1.13 cases per 100,000…
BNT162b2-Elicited Neutralization of B.1.617 and Other SARS-CoV-2 Variants
An in-vitro study of sera from persons fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine found that all samples neutralized SARS-CoV-2 virus variants B.1.617.1 (Kappa), B.1.617.2 (Delta), B.1.618 (first identified in India) and B.1.525 (Eta, first identified in Nigeria). Neutralization of all variants, with the exception of B.1.617.1, was only slightly reduced compared to neutralization of wild-type…
Improved Survival among Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 Treated with Remdesivir and Dexamethasone. A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study
A retrospective cohort study from Denmark found that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (N=2,747) who were treated with remdesivir and dexamethasone had lower odds of 30-day mortality (OR=0.47) and progression to mechanical ventilation (OR=0.36) compared to persons receiving the standard of care. However, the authors caution that because treatment was not randomized, study data does not…
SARS-CoV2 Spike Protein Gene Variants with N501T and G142D Mutation-Dominated Infections in Mink in the United States
An analysis of SARS-CoV-2 sequences isolated from farmed mink populations (N=977) and human infections in the US and Canada (N=192,806) from December 2019-March 2021 revealed that the N501T mutation was found in humans two months prior to being detected in mink populations. However, in contrast to the N501Y mutation, which is present in the B.1.1.7…
June 10, 2021
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Administration of Selected Routine Childhood and Adolescent Vaccinations — 10 U.S. Jurisdictions, March–September 2020
Routine childhood and adolescent vaccination decreased substantially during March to May 2020 in 10 US jurisdictions with high-performing immunization information systems, including Washington State, compared to 2018 and 2019 levels. Across all jurisdictions, the most substantial declines were observed for HPV vaccinations among children aged 13-17 years (73%), TdAP among children aged 9-12 years (63%),…
Response of Unvaccinated US Adults to Official Information About the Pause in Use of the Johnson & Johnson-Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An online survey of unvaccinated US adults about the pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson-Janssen vaccine conducted in April 2021 (n=557) found that respondents tended to overestimate the number of cases of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). When asked to guess a specific number after reading web materials mentioning…
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