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Seasonal coronavirus antibodies correlate with lower COVID-19 severity

Patients critically ill with COVID-19 infections had significantly lower levels of antibodies against seasonal human coronaviruses (HCoVs) OV43 and HKU1 than those with mild to severe infections, according to a German study published yesterday in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

COVID-19 antibodies may offer at least partial protection

Americans with COVID-19 antibodies displayed 10-fold increased protection against infection 90 days after testing compared with those who had no antibodies, according to a study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dental hygienist survey suggests 3% contracted COVID-19

A survey of US registered dental hygienists reported that 3.1% had been diagnosed as having COVID-19 as of October 2020, according to a Journal of Dental Hygiene study published yesterday. At the time, the study says an estimated 2.3% of the general US population had been infected.

SARS-CoV-2 reinfects 5 in nursing home, causing worse disease, 1 death

Five residents of a skilled nursing facility in Kentucky were likely reinfected with COVID-19, and the disease was worse the second time, with one patient dying, according to today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

High vaccine uptake in Israel tied to fewer severe COVID cases in elderly

Israel's national COVID-19 vaccine rollout, which saw 84% of people 70 and older fully vaccinated by Feb 9 , was associated with less need for mechanical ventilation in the elderly. The finding could show that COVID-19 vaccine rollouts help prevent severe cases at the national level, according to a study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Previous COVID-19 associated with greater post-vaccination antibodies

After vaccination with an mRNA-based COVID-19 shot, antibody levels for immunoglobulin G (IgG) were higher in the short term in healthcare workers (HCWs) who had previous COVID-19 infections than those who had never had the disease, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA.

COVID-19 P1 variant may be more transmissible, infectious

The P1 variant that caused a second wave of COVID-19 infections in Manaus, Brazil, is more transmissible and from 25% to 61% of previously infected people may be susceptible to reinfection, according to a preprint, non–peer-reviewed study from researchers at the University of Sao Paulo, Imperial College London, and the University of Oxford.

Study warns of COVID-19 variant B117 transmissibility, resurgence

A modeling study published yesterday in Science projects increased transmissibility of the B117 strain of COVID-19, also known as the UK strain, and warns that the strain could likely cause a resurgence of high virus activity in the United Kingdom and make 2021 a deadlier year than 2020.

Nearly a quarter of kids with COVID or MIS-C had neurologic involvement

Among US children and teens hospitalized with COVID-19 or its related multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), 22% had neurologic conditions, most of them transient but 12% of them life-threatening or fatal, according to a study today in JAMA Neurology.

US COVID-19 hospital death rate declined markedly last year

US in-hospital mortality for COVID-19 was almost 14% overall but decreased 15 percentage points from March to August 2020, with higher rates in older patients, according to a research letter published in JAMA Network Open late last week.

Online self-reported COVID-19 symptom checkers may delay treatment

The US and UK digital COVID-19 symptom checkers consistently suggest less healthcare contact than Singapore's and Japan's, which may cause more serious outcomes, according to a study released yesterday by BMJ Health & Care Informatics.

Minorities bore brunt of COVID among young Americans early in pandemic

Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 infection rates were significant among Americans younger than 25 years early in the pandemic, particularly for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic people, according to a study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

mRNA COVID vaccination tied to 80% lower risk of asymptomatic infection

A real-world Mayo Clinic study shows a link between vaccination with two doses of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine—either Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna—and an 80% lower risk of asymptomatic infection.

Study notes moderate depression, anxiety in health workers during COVID

In a review of 65 studies from around the world, pooled data indicate that one in five healthcare workers (HCWs) have experienced moderate depression, anxiety, and/or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published this week in PLOS One.

Small Saudi study finds 12% in ICU had both MERS and COVID-19

Out of 67 intensive care unit (ICU) patients who underwent simultaneous SARS-CoV-2 and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) testing in Saudi Arabia, 8 (11.9%) had coinfections, according to a new Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease study.

The study didn't find any anomalous symptoms or mortality rates, although the researchers say more data are needed around mortality.

Study: US COVID infections may have been twice the number reported

Roughly 15.9 million asymptomatic US COVID-19 cases may have gone undetected as of Sep 30, 2020, which would double the cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during that time, according to a research letter detailing a 6.6% nationwide SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence rate.

Study shows deeper COVID impact in socially vulnerable neighborhoods

An analysis of neighborhood-level data in three US cities highlights the racial and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19 positivity, incidence, and mortality, researchers reported today in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Racial disparities in COVID vaccine uptake noted, even in health workers

Racial and ethnic differences in intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine were comparable across both healthcare workers (HCWs) and the general public in the San Francisco Bay area this winter, according to survey results published yesterday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Study: More stillbirths, maternal deaths during COVID pandemic

The first global assessment of the collateral impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnancy outcomes found a significant increase in stillbirths, maternal deaths, maternal depression, and women requiring surgery for ectopic pregnancy, researchers reported yesterday in The Lancet Global Health.

Study estimates 522,000 excess US deaths during pandemic

An analysis of US mortality data shows all-cause mortality rose 23% in 2020, researchers reported today in JAMA.

B117 shows similar aerosol stability as other strains

The COVID-19 B117 strain, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, has similar aerosol stability compared with three other COVID strains, so transmissibility differences are most likely due to other factors, according to a study last week in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Nearly 40,000 US children have lost a parent to COVID-19, study estimates

Nearly 40,000 US children 17 or younger may have lost a parent due to COVID-19 infection, according to a statistical model in JAMA Pediatrics today.

The results, published as a research letter, suggested that 1 in 13 COVID deaths result in a child losing a parent and that, as of February 2021, 37,300 children have been affected—more than 43,000 if using excess death data.

1 in 3 COVID survivors develop neurologic, psychological conditions

One in three COVID-19 survivors were diagnosed as having a neurologic or psychological condition within 6 months after their coronavirus diagnosis, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet Psychiatry. The researchers noted that disease severity was linked to higher risk.

Report spotlights inequalities in COVID-related restrictions

COVID-related mobility restrictions such as stay-at-home orders had disproportionate burdens on women, minorities, and lower-income populations, according to a study yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

Kidney dialysis patients 40 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID

COVID-19 hospitalization and all-cause death rates for patients with end-stage kidney disease undergoing dialysis, as well as kidney transplant recipients, climbed steeply early in the pandemic, and both exhibited racial disparities, according to a study published yesterday in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).