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Study: Mental health of minorities especially affected during pandemic

The results of a UK mental health survey conducted before and after the start of the pandemic found that British minorities were more impacted by the pandemic, but all citizens reported an increase in mental distress, according to a study yesterday in PLOS One.

Studies describe Candida auris outbreaks in COVID-19 patients

Two new studies highlight the threat posed by the multidrug-resistant yeast Candida auris to hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Report highlights delirium, comas in sedated COVID-19 ICU patients

In COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) early in the pandemic, 82% were in a comatose state at some point and 55% experienced delirium, reports a Lancet study published late last week. Previous studies have connected ICU delirium to higher costs, greater mortality risk, and long-term dementia.

Study suggests nonwhite, poor, less educated at high risk for COVID death

Nonwhite Americans, those with low incomes or less than a high school education, and veterans were much more likely to die of COVID-19 than others in a simulation study published yesterday in PLOS Medicine, backing the findings of previous research.

Depression, anxiety, PTSD reported in ICU staff during pandemic

Almost half (45.4%) of intensive care unit (ICU) physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers in England reported a mental disorder during the pandemic, including suicidal thoughts, according to survey results published in Occupational Medicine yesterday.

Phase 1 and 2 trials show J&J COVID vaccine safe, immune-producing

Interim phase 1-2a results from Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine trials show that its vaccine, Ad26.COV2.S, produces a good immune response and safety profile, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study yesterday.

COVID-19 occasionally associated with serious childbirth complications

Pregnant women with COVID-19 are more likely to experience complications such as heart attacks or blood clots, though the absolute increased risk is small, according to a JAMA Internal Medicine research letter today.

These findings highlight the need for risk mitigations, the authors write, adding that pregnant women should also be included in COVID-19 vaccine and treatment trials.

Many US immigration detention centers rife with COVID-19 cases

COVID-19 infection rates in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers are higher than those in the general population and eclipse those of surrounding communities, according to a research letter published today in JAMA Network Open.

COVID mortality in US ICUs fell during first wave of pandemic

Twenty-eight–day in-hospital mortality rates decreased from 29.9% to 19.7% for adult COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) patients over the first wave of the pandemic, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study published yesterday.

RNA—but not live virus—found in corneas of deceased COVID patients

Six of 11 deceased patients—all but one of whom had COVID-19—had SARS-CoV-2 RNA in their corneas, but live virus was not detected, according to a study published today in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Reports detail pediatric eye injuries related to hand sanitizer

As the pandemic has made hand sanitizer ubiquitous, perhaps it was inevitable that clinicians would report sanitizer-related eye injuries in children.

NFL COVID-19 tracking yields lessons for fine-tuning control measures

An intensive COVID-19 prevention and surveillance system that the National Football League (NFL) put in place this season identified certain types of risky in-club transmission, which helped officials revise its high-risk contact definition and improve its protocols.

French study finds high antibiotic use in COVID-19 patients

Antibiotics were widely prescribed to hospitalized COVID-19 patients at Dijon University Hospital in France during the first wave of the pandemic but did not have any impact on outcome, French researchers reported yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

High COVID antibodies noted in public service, especially in jail staff, EMTs

While 10.1% of first responders and public service personnel in New York City reported positive COVID test results, 22.5% had COVID-19–specific antibodies in their blood, with even higher rates in prison staff and emergency medical technicians (EMTs), according to an Emerging Infectious Diseases study yesterday.

Schizophrenia, but not mood or anxiety disorders, tied to COVID-19 death

COVID-19 patients diagnosed as having schizophrenia spectrum disorder—but not those with mood or anxiety disorders—were linked to an increased risk of death, according to an observational cohort study published today in JAMA Psychiatry.

COVID-19 tied to markedly higher mortality in pregnant women

Pregnant women with COVID-19 had a case-fatality rate 13.6 times higher than similarly aged people with COVID, according to a study published this week in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

COVID inflammatory syndrome in kids ranges from mild to life-threatening

An international survey of 183 pediatric patients with the rare but serious COVID-19–related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) shows broad clinical presentations, from mild illness featuring fever and inflammation to life-threatening shock similar to that of Kawasaki disease (KD).

Pre-, asymptomatic COVID cases lead to half of transmissions, study finds

Presymptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases contributed at least 50% of transmissions during New York City's first COVID surge, according to a study published yesterday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Study shows strong 1-dose immune response with Pfizer vaccine

A single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was immunogenic in 92% of recipients, with no difference in immunogenic response between men and women but a decreasing response among older recipients, researchers from Israel's Bar-Ilan University reported yesterday in Eurosurveillance.

High SARS-CoV-2 loads tied to B117 variant, potential super-spreaders

B117, a SARS-CoV-2 variant believed to have increased infectivity, is linked to high viral loads in COVID-19 patients in the United Kingdom, while a small number of patients with extremely high viral loads could have largely driven the second wave of the pandemic in Houston, according to two new studies in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Convalescent plasma associated with lower COVID-19 death rates

COVID-19 patients in a Warsaw, Poland, hospital had a significantly lower mortality rate when treated with convalescent plasma, especially early, according to a study published yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Interventions tied to lower COVID rates in meat processing plants

Almost one in five meat processing workers in Nebraska contracted COVID-19 from April to July 2020, but after facility-wide mitigations and strategies were put in place, new cases appeared to decrease, according to an Emerging Infectious Diseases report yesterday. The researchers found that men and Hispanic/Latinos showed the highest burden in case numbers and severity.

Analysis suggests high efficacy for single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine

An analysis by Canadian researchers suggests that a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is highly efficacious, according to a letter published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

More than 20.5 million years of life lost during COVID-19

More than 20.5 million years of life may have been lost during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Scientific Reports study published yesterday. The study also reports that, compared with the median mortality rate of the seasonal flu, COVID-19 deaths may be two to nine times higher.

Flu vaccine associated with lower COVID likelihood, hospitalizations

People who received their flu vaccine were less likely to test positive for COVID-19, and if they were infected with the virus, they were less likely to need hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, or a longer hospital stay, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control.