Article Summary
March 16, 2021
Association of Preterm Birth Rate With COVID-19 Statewide Stay-at-Home Orders in Tennessee
The preterm birth rate in Tennessee was lower in 2020 during the stay-at-home order compared with the 5 preceding years. After adjusting for maternal age, education, race/ethnicity, diabetes, and hypertension the odds for preterm birth in 2020 was 14% lower compared with 2015 to 2019 (10.2% vs 11.3%). Harvey et al. (Mar 15, 2021). Association of…
Reinfection Rates among Patients Who Previously Tested Positive for COVID-19: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Previous SARS-COV-2 infection was associated with a lower likelihood of subsequent reinfection compared to those without a previous history of infection. These results are based on a cohort study of over 150,000 patients from a multi-hospital system in Ohio and Florida. Among 8,845 initially PCR-positive patients, 1,278 were retested after ≥90 days and 62 (0.4%)…
BNT162b2 MRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Induces Antibodies of Broader Cross-Reactivity than Natural Infection but Recognition of Mutant Viruses Is up to 10-Fold Reduced
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Antibodies induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had higher binding capacities (avidity) than antibodies induced by natural infection against the receptor binding domain (RBD) containing mutations representative of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (N501Y, K417N, E484K, and a combination of all three). Vaccine-induced sera (n=6) reduced binding against the RBD containing the N501Y…
Antibody Evasion by the Brazilian P.1 Strain of SARS-CoV-2
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] The SARS-CoV-2 P.1 variant, which has caused large outbreaks in Brazil, is less resistant to neutralization from both convalescent serum and vaccine-induced serum than the B.1.351 variant originally identified in South Africa, despite containing similar receptor binding domain (RBD) mutations (E484K, K417N/T and N501Y). Similar to the B.1.351 variant, mutations associated with…
Antibody Response After SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Implications for Immunity
A review of 66 observational studies found that most adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection develop IgM and IgG antibody responses. Among studies measuring IgM antibody responses (n=21 studies), 80% of adults developed responses, peaking at 20 days. Among studies measuring IgG antibody responses (n=24 studies), 95% of adults developed responses, peaking at 25 days and remaining…
Immunogenicity of a Single Dose of SARS-CoV-2 Messenger RNA Vaccine in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients
Solid organ transplant recipients in the US were less likely to develop anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses after receiving a single dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. In a prospective convenience sample, only 17% (76 of 436) had detectable antibody responses at a median of 20 days after the first dose. Transplant recipients who were…
Social Distancing Compliance: A Video Observational Analysis
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage in inner-city Amsterdam, Netherlands showed short-lived adherence to physical distancing measures following implementation of “lockdown” policies. From February to May 2020, the observed number of physical distancing violations (less than 1.5 meters) decreased following announcements of physical distancing measures and full lockdown on March 23rd, but then increased onwards from…
Early Public Adherence with and Support for Stay-at-Home COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies despite Adverse Life Impact: A Transnational Cross-Sectional Survey Study in the United States and Australia
Self-reported adherence to COVID-19 mitigation policies was high in both highly- and minimally-affected regions in the US around the time of the first wave in April 2020, according to representative cross-sectional surveys (n=5,573) administered to adults residing in throughout the US, in New York City and Los Angeles, and Australia. 82% reported adherence to recommended…
March 15, 2021
Place and Underlying Cause of Death During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective Cohort Study of 3.5 Million Deaths in England and Wales, 2014 to 2020
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (between March 2 and July 30, 2020) in England and Wales, there was an overall excess mortality of 57,860 deaths, of which 50,603 (87%) appeared to be directly related to COVID-19. In care homes or hospice facilities, 61% (15,623) of the 25,611 excess deaths were related to…
Model-Based Evaluation of School- and Non-School-Related Measures to Control the COVID-19 Pandemic
An age-structured SARS-CoV-2 transmission model fitted to data from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands suggested that if methods to reduce the effective reproduction number (Re) of non-school-based contacts with non-school-based measures are exhausted or undesired and Re is still near 1, school-based prevention measures may be beneficial, particularly among older students. The authors provide examples from…
Previous page Next page