Hsuerickson9209

To support safer in-person K-6 instruction during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) pandemic by providing public health authorities and school districts with a practical model of transmission dynamics and mitigation strategies.

We developed an agent-based model of infection dynamics and preventive mitigation strategies such as distancing, health behaviors, surveillance and symptomatic testing, daily symptom and exposure screening, quarantine policies, and vaccination. The model parameters can be updated as the science evolves and are adjustable via an online user interface, enabling users to explore the effects of interventions on outcomes of interest to states and localities, under a variety of plausible epidemiological and policy assumptions.

Under default assumptions, secondary infection rates and school attendance are substantially affected by surveillance testing protocols, vaccination rates, class sizes, and effectiveness of safety education.

Our model helps policymakers consider how mitigation options and the dynamics of school infection risks affect outcomes of interest. The model's parameters can be immediately updated in response to changes in epidemiological conditions, science of COVID-19 transmission dynamics, testing and vaccination resources, and reliability of mitigation strategies.

Our model helps policymakers consider how mitigation options and the dynamics of school infection risks affect outcomes of interest. The model's parameters can be immediately updated in response to changes in epidemiological conditions, science of COVID-19 transmission dynamics, testing and vaccination resources, and reliability of mitigation strategies.Serosurveillance studies are critical for estimating SARS-CoV-2 transmission and immunity, but interpretation of results is currently limited by poorly defined variability in the performance of antibody assays to detect seroreactivity over time in individuals with different clinical presentations. We measured longitudinal antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 in plasma samples from a diverse cohort of 128 individuals over 160 days using 14 binding and neutralization assays. For all assays, we found a consistent and strong effect of disease severity on antibody magnitude, with fever, cough, hospitalization, and oxygen requirement explaining much of this variation. We found that binding assays measuring responses to spike protein had consistently higher correlation with neutralization than those measuring responses to nucleocapsid, regardless of assay format and sample timing. However, assays varied substantially with respect to sensitivity during early convalescence and in time to seroreversion. Variations in sensitivity and durability were particularly dramatic for individuals with mild infection, who had consistently lower antibody titers and represent the majority of the infected population, with sensitivities often differing substantially from reported test characteristics (e.g., amongst commercial assays, sensitivity at 6 months ranged from 33% for ARCHITECT IgG to 98% for VITROS Total Ig). Thus, the ability to detect previous infection by SARS-CoV-2 is highly dependent on the severity of the initial infection, timing relative to infection, and the assay used. These findings have important implications for the design and interpretation of SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance studies.

To examine characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) decedents in California (CA) and evaluate for disproportionate mortality across race/ethnicity and ethnicity/nativity.

COVID-19 deaths were identified from death certificates. Age-adjusted mortality rate ratios (MRR) were compared across race/ethnicity. Proportionate mortality rates (PMR) were compared across race/ethnicity and by ethnicity/nativity.

We identified 10,200 COVID-19 deaths in CA occurring February 1 through July 31, 2020. Decedents tended to be older, male, Hispanic, foreign-born, and have lower educational attainment. MRR indicated elevated COVID-19 morality rates among Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Hispanic groups compared with the White group, with Black and Hispanic groups having the highest MRR at 2.75 (95%CI2.54-2.97) and 4.18 (95%CI 3.99-4.37), respectively. Disparities were larger at younger ages. Similar results were observed with PMR, which remained in analyses stratified by education. Elevated PMR were observed in all ethnicity/nativity groups, especially foreign-born Hispanic individuals, relative to U.S.-born non-Hispanic individuals, were generally larger at younger ages, and persisted after stratifying by education.

Differential COVID-19 mortality was observed in California across racial/ethnic groups and by ethnicity/nativity groups with evidence of greater disparities among younger age groups. Identifying COVID-19 disparities is an initial step towards mitigating disease impacts in vulnerable communities.

Differential COVID-19 mortality was observed in California across racial/ethnic groups and by ethnicity/nativity groups with evidence of greater disparities among younger age groups. Identifying COVID-19 disparities is an initial step towards mitigating disease impacts in vulnerable communities.

There is increasing concern that persistent infection of SARS-CoV-2 within immunocompromised hosts could serve as a reservoir for mutation accumulation and subsequent emergence of novel strains with the potential to evade immune responses.

We describe three patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who were persistently positive for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Viral viability from longitudinally-collected specimens was assessed. Whole-genome sequencing and serological studies were performed to measure viral evolution and evidence of immune escape.

We found compelling evidence of ongoing replication and infectivity for up to 162 days from initial positive by subgenomic RNA, single-stranded RNA, and viral culture analysis. this website Our results reveal a broad spectrum of infectivity, host immune responses, and accumulation of mutations, some with the potential for immune escape.

Our results highlight the need to reassess infection control precautions in the management and care of immunocompromised patients.