COVID-19 Literature Situation Report
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report is a daily (M-F) newsletter that provides a succinct summary of the latest scientific literature related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scientific literature on COVID-19 is rapidly evolving and these articles were selected for review based on their relevance to Washington State decision making around COVID-19 response efforts. Included in these Lit Reps are some manuscripts that have been made available online as pre-prints but have not yet undergone peer review. Please be aware of this when reviewing articles included in the Lit Reps.
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February 17, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 17, 2021
The Minnesota Department of Health identified eight people who had been infected with the B.1.1.7 SARS-CoV-2 variant (first detected in the UK) from December 18, 2020–January 11, 2021. Three people had a history of international travel during the 14 days before illness onset, and three additional people had traveled domestically.
February 16, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 16, 2021
The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant (first described in the UK) showed similar sensitivity to neutralizing activity of convalescent sera and sera from vaccinated individuals compared to the wild-type virus. In contrast, neutralization was lower against the B.1.351 variant (first described in South Africa).
February 13, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 12, 2021
The CDC released new guidelines for reopening K-12 schools for in-person learning, noting that evidence suggests that many K-12 schools that have strictly implemented mitigation strategies have been able to open safely for in-person instruction and remain open.
February 11, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 11, 2021
Approximately 65% of nearly 4,000 students participating in a web survey in October 2020 reported wearing masks all the time when in classrooms, hallways, or stairwells. Mask use was lower in other indoor spaces, such as restrooms and cafeterias (when not eating), and lowest in outdoor spaces such as outside school property.
February 10, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 10, 2021
Sera from individuals who had received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine showed equivalent neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 viruses engineered to include key mutations from variant strains emerging from the UK (69/70-deletion + N501Y + D614G) and South Africa (E484K + N501Y + D614G). The authors suggest this indicates a minimal impact of these mutations on neutralization by sera from vaccinated individuals, but the impact on vaccine efficacy is unknown.
February 9, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 9, 2021
Whole-genome sequencing identified a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections that involved 14 patients and 38 staff members at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The cluster occurred despite infection prevention measures that included universal testing, mandatory surgical masks and eye protection, patient cohorting into negative pressure wards, free PCR testing for employees, and mandatory sick leave.
February 8, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 8, 2021
Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes collected from testing facilities in the U.S. between December 2020 to January 2021 found multiple independent introductions of the B.1.1.7 variant into the U.S. by late November 2020, with community transmission leadings to its spread to 30 or more states as of January 2021.
February 5, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 5, 2021
The ChAdOx1 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) vaccine against symptomatic COVID-19 disease had similar efficacy against B.1.1.7 and non-B.1.1.7 viral lineages. Among those who were vaccinated and subsequently became infected with SARS-CoV-2, both the duration of shedding and viral load were lower than among control participants.
February 4, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 4, 2021
The B.1.1.7 (UK) SARS-CoV-2 variant may increase the risk of death by 30%, based on an analysis of SARS-CoV-2 community test results in the UK that identified B.1.1.7-associated infections using S gene target PCR failure.
February 3, 2021
COVID-19 Literature Situation Report Feb 3, 2021
A randomized trial (RECOVERY) of azithromycin to treat COVID-19 found no differences between treatment and placebo groups in terms of survival, duration of hospitalization, proportion of patients discharged alive within 28 days, or proportion of patients meeting composite endpoints of mechanical ventilation or death.
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