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April 29, 2021
COVID-19 Outbreak Among Farmworkers — Okanogan County, Washington, May–August 2020
Investigation of a large SARS-CoV-2 outbreak among employees of a fruit grower in Okanogan County in Washington State between May and August 2020 found that cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was higher among employees living in the community than those living in congregate temporary housing (12% vs 4%). Cumulative incidence was highest among employees packing…
Detecting In-School Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Case Ratios and Documented Clusters
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A SARS-CoV-2 transmission model that accounts for a lower probability of symptomatic infection among children (21%) than adults (70%) found that only roughly 4% of in-school child-to-child transmission would be detectable with symptom-based contact tracing, even if all symptomatic cases are detected. The authors suggest that low in-school detection rates do not…
Impact of Vaccination on Household Transmission of SARS-COV-2 in England
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Vaccinated individuals who became infected with SARS-CoV-2 had a lower rate of secondary household transmission compared to unvaccinated index individuals. Among over 550,000 residential households in the UK between January to March 2021, the overall SARS-CoV-2 secondary attack rate was 5.7% in household where the index case had received at least one…
Linked Clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.351 — Maryland, January–February 2021
A contact tracing investigation in January 2021 initiated after a Maryland resident was confirmed to have SARS-CoV-2 infection with the B.1.351 variant, first described in South Africa, identified two clusters comprised of 17 total patients not linked to travel. Sequencing of samples from the index case and three other patients from both clusters confirmed B.1.351…
COVID-19 Among Workers in the Seafood Processing Industry: Implications for Prevention Measures — Alaska, March–October 2020
A review of COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in the Alaska fishing industry found that entry quarantine and testing might have reduced introduction of the virus to seafood processing facilities and vessels. A CDC field review found that among 132 non-outbreak associated cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in seafood processing industry workers in Alaska from March to…
Public Compliance With Social Distancing Measures and SARS-CoV-2 Spread
Based on mobility data, public compliance with physical distancing mandates implemented in March 2020 was found to be initially high in 5 US states that accounted for half of all COVID-19 cases during the first wave of the pandemic. However, compliance began to decrease by mid-April 2020. Greater compliance, indicated by a higher social distancing…
April 28, 2021
Actual Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality for the Non-Hispanic Black Compared to Non-Hispanic White Population in 35 US States and Their Association with Structural Racism
A study using CDC data to examine COVID-19 mortality rates for non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic Black populations across US states found that structural racism was associated with increased mortality in Black populations. Using a state-level index of structural racism and adjusting for age, each standard deviation increase in the racism index was associated with a…
Half-year Follow-up of Patients Recovering from Severe COVID-19: Analysis of Symptoms and Their Risk Factors
More than half (55.4%, n = 441) of patients who recovered from severe COVID-19 had persistent symptoms (“sequelae”) at six months follow-up. The most common symptoms were fatigue (25.3%), sleep disorder (23.2%) and shortness of breath (20.4%). Compared to those who had been severely ill (defined as hypoxia without respiratory failure), individuals who had been…
Effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Vaccines Against COVID-19 Among Hospitalized Adults Aged =65 Years — United States, January–March 2021
Among adults age 65 and older (n = 417), mRNA vaccines were 94% effective against hospitalization for COVID-19 among fully vaccinated individuals, and 64% effective among partially-vaccinated individuals, according to data from US hospitals during January-March 2021. In the study, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were equally represented, and approximately half of participants were over the…
Association of Facial Paralysis With MRNA COVID-19 Vaccines
There was no evidence for an association between facial paralysis and mRNA vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 compared to other vaccines, according to a study using World Health Organization data. Among 133,883 cases of adverse drug reactions reported with mRNA vaccines, 844 (0.6%) total facial paralysis-related events were identified, 749 of which were reported with the Pfizer-BioNTech…
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