Article Summary
March 2, 2021
Reducing COVID-19 Airborne Transmission Risks on Public Transportation Buses An Empirical Study on Aerosol Dispersion and Control
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Mask wearing in a transit or school bus setting could reduce the overall particle count released into the bus by an average of 50% or more (depending on mask quality), and could reduce the dispersion distance by several feet, according to an experimental study. The study conducted 84 test runs totaling 124…
March 1, 2021
Orchestrating Performance of Healthcare Networks Subjected to the Compound Events of Natural Disasters and Pandemic
In the event of combined wildfires and the COVID epidemic, applying restrictive measures, protecting shelter residents, and expanding the healthcare capacity by using non-acute beds could be helpful mitigation strategies according to a modeling study. The study used Butte Country, California as a representative community and coupled the 2018 Camp Fire that occurred in Paradise…
Assessing the Readability of Covid-19 Testing Messages on the Internet
Only 6 out of the first 50 results using a Google search for “COVID-19 testing” had an appropriate readability score. Of these six, two were deemed appropriate by 3 tests (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fog Index (GFI), and Coleman-Liau Index (CLI)) and four were deemed appropriate by 2 tests (FKGL and GFI). None of…
Long, Thin Transmission Chains of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 May Go Undetected for Several Weeks at Low to Moderate Reproduction Numbers: Implications for Containment and Elimination Strategy
Low reproduction numbers can lead to long, thin transmission chains that may span three or more viral generations before a clearly symptomatic case occurs, according to a series of mathematical models developed to assess the impacts of delayed index case identification in the context of SARS-CoV-2. Such chains may be underrepresented in routine surveillance data,…
Exploratory Analysis of Immunization Records Highlights Decreased SARS-CoV-2 Rates in Individuals with Recent Non-COVID-19 Vaccinations
An exploratory analysis of immunization records from the Mayo clinic found that receipt of multiple vaccines within the past five years were associated with protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection. In an analysis of medical records from 137,037 individuals tested for SARS-CoV-2 by PCR , receipt of vaccines for polio, Haemophilus influenzae type-B (HIB), measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), Varicella,…
Interpreting Vaccine Efficacy Trial Results for Infection and Transmission
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] In simulations of randomized trials to estimate the effect of vaccination on transmission, one dose of the Moderna vaccine reduced the potential for transmission by at least 61%. The analysis suggested that the impact of a given vaccine on viral positivity should be assessed separately in symptomatic individuals and positive test results…
Reanalysis of the Pfizer MRNA BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Data Fails to Find Any Increased Efficacy Following the Boost Implications for Vaccination Policy and Our Understanding of the Mode of Action
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study exploring the timing of protection conferred by the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine indicated that the vaccine was effective beginning 11 days following the first dose, suggesting that vaccine protection precedes the full development of neutralizing antibodies. In addition, efficacy did not increase following the second dose (compared to the period between day…
Antibody Response to First BNT162b2 Dose in Previously SARS-CoV-2-Infected Individuals
A nested case-control study of 51 health care workers found that anti-S titers 19-29 days after the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine were comparable to peak titers after natural infection. Among those with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccination increased anti-S titers more than 140-fold from peak pre-vaccine levels. Prior infection was determined by positive…
Effect of Previous SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Humoral and T-Cell Responses to Single-Dose BNT162b2 Vaccine
Individuals with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection generated strong humoral and cellular responses following a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, according to an analysis of specimens from healthcare workers in the UK (n = 72). Individuals who had not been previously infected showed weaker T-cell responses and generated lower neutralizing antibody titers (median 615.1 vs. 16353…
Association of Convalescent Plasma Treatment With Clinical Outcomes in Patients With COVID-19
A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials comparing patients with COVID-19 treated with convalescent plasma versus control did not detect any significant differences in all-cause mortality, length of hospital stay, mechanical ventilation use, clinical improvement, or clinical deterioration. Results from 4 published, peer-reviewed RCTs including 1,060 patients indicated that the risk ratio for mortality was 0.93….
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