Article Summary
February 24, 2021
The COVID-19 Symptom to Isolation Cascade in a Latinx Community: A Call to Action
Approximately a quarter of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients at a low-barrier testing site serving a low-income Latinx community in San Francisco were already outside the 10-day window of isolation at the time they received counseling on isolation. Among symptomatic participants (n=145), 83% percent had moderate to high levels of virus (Ct <33). All participants received post-test…
Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis in COVID-19 Critically Ill Patients: Results of a French Monocentric Cohort
The prevalence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was not higher for mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients compared to what has been described in other populations with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), according to a retrospective cohort study. The prevalence of IPA among non-immunocompromised patients in this cohort (n=52 patients) was 3.7%. Most (71%) of the patients…
Patients with Uncomplicated COVID-19 Have Long-Term Persistent Symptoms and Functional Impairment Similar to Patients with Severe COVID-19: A Cautionary Tale during a Global Pandemic
Persistent COVID-19 symptoms at 3-4 month after infection were found in 82% of patients who had been hospitalized and 64% of those who had not been hospitalized, the most prevalent of which included fatigue and difficulty breathing (dyspnea). Patients were recruited from clinical trials occurring at a single center (Stanford). The majority had mild/moderate COVID-19…
Healthcare Personnel Knowledge Motivations Concerns and Intentions Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines a Cross-Sectional Survey
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals (HCP) (n=2,448) from three Northern California medical centers conducted from November 16-December 8, 2020 indicated that overall enthusiasm for the COVID-19 vaccine was strong, and more HCP (69%) said they would definitely/likely receive vaccine if it were formally FDA-approved versus if it were approved via emergency…
SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Sensitivity to MRNA Vaccine-Elicited, Convalescent and Monoclonal Antibodies
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An assessment of immune responses following a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (BNT162b2) vaccine using pseudoviruses expressing the wild-type Spike protein or the B.1.1.7 spike protein showed that the vaccine-elicited antibodies modestly reduced activity against the B.1.1.7 variant. This reduction was also observed in sera from some convalescent patients and with…
Janssen Ad26.COV2.S Vaccine for the Prevention of COVID-19. Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting
The Johnson & Johnson single-dose Ad26.COV2.S vaccine candidate was determined by the FDA to have met the safety and efficacy requirements for emergency use authorization. Vaccine efficacy against laboratory-confirmed moderate to severe/critical COVID-19 across all geographic areas in which the trial was conducted was 66.9% when considering cases occurring at least 14 days after the…
Occupational Exposures and Mitigation Strategies among Homeless Shelter Workers at Risk of COVID-19
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An online survey of 106 workers at homeless shelters in 17 shelter networks in Washington, Massachusetts, Utah, Maryland and Georgia found that 15% of workers reported testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, with 80% believing they were infected at work. The survey was conducted to assess occupational exposures to SARS-CoV-2, characterize job practices, and…
Self-Testing for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Infection with Rapid Antigen Tests
[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Self-testing for SARS-CoV-2 using rapid antigen detection kits (RDT) was found to have a high specificity (99.4%) and relatively high sensitivity (78%) to identify individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 RNA below a low cycle-time (CT) value threshold. Low CT values are associated with high viral load and the authors suggest that is a…
Effect of a Genetically Engineered Interferon-Alpha versus Traditional Interferon-Alpha in the Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe COVID-19: A Randomised Clinical Trial
A randomized clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of a modified “super-compound interferon” (rSIFN-co) to standard of care in China (which includes treatment with traditional interferon-alpha) indicated that rSIFN-co was associated with a shorter time to clinical improvement. Patients were blinded to treatment arm and received the standard of care, which also included lopinavir-ritonavir or umifenovir…
Nonmetropolitan COVID‐19 Incidence and Mortality Rates Surpassed Metropolitan Rates within the First 24 Weeks of the Pandemic Declaration: United States, March 1–October 18, 2020
The incidence and mortality trends of COVID-19 in rural counties increased and surpassed those in metropolitan areas beginning in early August 2020. Residents of nonmetropolitan counties accounted for 14% of the 8,085,214 confirmed COVID‐19 cases and 11% of the 217,510 deaths in the United States from March 1-October 18, 2020. The average daily COVID‐19 incidence rate over the…
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