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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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The incidence of all-cause mortality among residents of assisted living settings in the US between January and August 2020 was 17% higher compared to the same time period in 2019. Among the 10 states with the highest COVID-19 community spread, during that time period the incidence of all-cause mortality was 24% higher.
A modeling study found that the approach to distribution of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines between February 19 and Match 17, 2021 in the US may have created “vaccine deserts”, defined as areas with localized, geographic barriers to vaccine-associated herd immunity, which the authors suggest may affect population-wide efforts to curb SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
The incidence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in the US was 5.1 per 100,000 person-months and 316 per 1,000,000 (0.0003%) SARS-CoV-2 infections, based on a retrospective cohort study of young persons under 21 years of age with SARS-CoV-2 infection diagnosed April-June 2020 in 7 US states that identified 248 cases of (MIS-C). The authors conclude that these results indicate MIS-C was a rare complication associated with SARS-CoV-2 during this time period.
The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant accounted for 66% and the P.1 (Gamma) variant accounted for 5% of US infections during April 11-24, 2021, according to population-weighted CDC estimates. The estimated proportion of B.1.1.7 (Alpha) infections in the region including Washington State was 52%.
Elderly residents (n=71, median age 81 years) exhibited delayed and reduced humoral and cellular responses elicited by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine compared to a younger cohort of vaccinated healthcare workers (n=123, median age 34 years) in Germany. Neutralizing antibody responses did not reach ≥90% until 4 weeks after the second dose in the older cohort compared to 3 weeks after the first dose in the younger cohort.
A statewide survey of opioid treatment programs (OPTs) in Connecticut found no increases in methadone-involved fatalities relative to other opioid-involved fatalities, despite dramatic changes in practices during the COVID-19 pandemic, including increases in the proportion of patients who received take-home doses.
A study of the impact of Washington State’s exposure notification tool, WA Notify, estimated that the tool averted 6,240 COVID-19 cases and saved 30-120 lives during the first four months of implementation based on an estimated COVID-19 case fatality of 1.4%, a secondary attack rate of 12% and a quarantine effectiveness of 53%.
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