Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Exposure to COVID-19 in Homeless People in Paris, France: a Cross-sectional Study (Lancet Public Health) We did a cross-sectional seroprevalence study at food distribution sites, emergency shelters, and workers' residences that were provided medical services by Médecins Sans Frontières in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis in the Ile-de-France region. Between June 23 and July 2, 2020, 426 (52%) of 818 individuals recruited tested positive in 14 sites. Seroprevalence varied significantly by type of recruitment site (χ2 p<0·0001), being highest among those living in workers' residences (88·7%, 95% CI 81·8–93·2), followed by emergency shelters (50·5%, 46·3–54·7), and food distribution sites (27·8%, 20·8–35·7). More than two thirds of COVID-19 seropositive individuals (68%, 95% CI 64·2–72·2; 291 of 426) did not report any symptoms during the recall period. Living in crowded conditions was the strongest factor associated with exposure level.
Public & Global Health
Vaccines are Curbing COVID: Data from Israel Show Drop in Infections (Nature) Good news from Israel. Researchers are seeing signs that COVID-19 vaccines are helping to curb infections and hospitalizations among older people, almost 6 weeks after shots were rolled out in that group. The country is the first to release data showing vaccines working in such a large group of people, following news two weeks ago that shots seemed to be reducing infections in vaccinated individuals. Close to 90% of people aged 60 and older in the country have received their first dose of Pfizer’s 2-dose vaccine so far. Now, data collected by Israel’s Ministry of Health show that there was a 41% drop in confirmed COVID-19 infections in that age group, and a 31% drop in hospitalizations from mid-January to early February.
Decline in COVID-19 Hospitalization Growth Rates Associated with Statewide Mask Mandates — 10 States, March–October 2020 (MMWR) During March 22–October 17, 2020, 10 sites participating in the COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network in states with statewide mask mandates reported a decline in weekly COVID-19–associated hospitalization growth rates by up to 5.5 percentage points for adults aged 18–64 years after mandate implementation, compared with growth rates during the 4 weeks preceding implementation of the mandate. Mask-wearing is a component of a multipronged strategy to decrease exposure to and transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and reduce strain on the health care system, with likely direct effects on COVID-19 morbidity and associated mortality.
Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation on Vaccination Intent in the UK and USA (Nature Human Behavior) To inform successful vaccination campaigns, we conducted a randomized controlled trial in the UK and the USA to quantify how exposure to online misinformation around COVID-19 vaccines affects intent to vaccinate to protect oneself or others. Here we show that in both countries—as of September 2020—fewer people would ‘definitely’ take a vaccine than is likely required for herd immunity, and that, relative to factual information, recent misinformation induced a decline in intent of 6.2 percentage points (95th percentile interval 3.9 to 8.5) in the UK and 6.4 percentage points (95th percentile interval 4.0 to 8.8) in the USA among those who stated that they would definitely accept a vaccine. We also find that some sociodemographic groups are differentially impacted by exposure to misinformation. Finally, we show that scientific-sounding misinformation is more strongly associated with declines in vaccination intent.
Science & Technology
An in Silico Deep Learning Approach to Multi-epitope Vaccine Design: a SARS-CoV-2 Case Study (Nature Scientific Reports) In this study, we propose an in silico deep learning approach for prediction and design of a multi-epitope vaccine (DeepVacPred). By combining the in silico immunoinformatics and deep neural network strategies, the DeepVacPred computational framework directly predicts 26 potential vaccine subunits from the available SARS-CoV-2 spike protein sequence. We further use in silico methods to investigate the linear B-cell epitopes, Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTL) epitopes, Helper T Lymphocytes (HTL) epitopes in the 26 subunit candidates and identify the best 11 of them to construct a multi-epitope vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Structure and Binding Properties of Pangolin-CoV Spike Glycoprotein Inform the Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 (Nature Communications) Coronaviruses of bats and pangolins have been implicated in the origin and evolution of the pandemic SARS-CoV-2. We show that spikes from Guangdong Pangolin-CoVs, closely related to SARS-CoV-2, bind strongly to human and pangolin ACE2 receptors. We also report the cryo-EM structure of a Pangolin-CoV spike protein and show it adopts a fully-closed conformation and that, aside from the Receptor-Binding Domain, it resembles the spike of a bat coronavirus RaTG13 more than that of SARS-CoV-2.
Genomic Epidemiology Identifies Emergence and Rapid Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 in the United States (MedRxiv) We investigated the prevalence and growth dynamics of this variant in the United States (U.S.), tracking it back to its early emergence and onward local transmission. We found that the RT-qPCR testing anomaly of S gene target failure (SGTF), first observed in the U.K., was a reliable proxy for B.1.1.7 detection. We found that while the fraction of B.1.1.7 among SGTF samples varied by state, detection of the variant increased at a logistic rate similar to those observed elsewhere, with a doubling rate of a little over a week and an increased transmission rate of 35-45%. By performing time-aware Bayesian phylodynamic analyses, we revealed several independent introductions of B.1.1.7 into the U.S. as early as late November 2020, with onward community transmission enabling the variant to spread to at least 30 states as of January 2021.
Public & Global Health
Liberia: Polio Outbreak Declared as National Public Health Emergency (Outbreak News Today) In Liberia, the Minister of Health, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, has issued a statement declaring polio outbreak within the country as a ‘National Public Health Emergency.’ The bold move by the Minister followed after a detection of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus-2 (cVDPV2) by the National Surveillance System, which has spread throughout the Country from two different environmental sites in Monrovia. This is the first polio outbreak since 2008 in Liberia.
Biological Agents & Infectious Diseases
New Ebola Case Reported in North Kivu Province (Outbreak News Today) On Sunday, February 7, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Ministry of Health reported a new case of Ebola has been detected in Butembo, a city in North Kivu Province, where a previous outbreak was declared over in June 2020. Ebola virus was confirmed in samples taken from a patient with Ebola-like symptoms who had sought treatment at a local health centre.
Domestic Preparedness & Response
Government Affairs & National Security
House Panel Renews Probe into Trump Administration’s Interference with Covid Response (Washington Post) The head of a congressional oversight panel on Monday renewed its investigation into political interference in the nation’s coronavirus response, releasing new allegations of meddling in scientists’ work. The panel “is continuing these critical investigations … in order to understand what went wrong over the last year and determine what corrective steps are necessary to control the virus and save American lives,” James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), who chairs the select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis, wrote to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain and acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran, in letters shared with The Washington Post. Clyburn said the Trump administration had blocked the subcommittee’s inquiries, noting that HHS officials “failed to fully comply with two subpoenas and at least 20 document requests.”
Global Health Security
UN Official: Impunity in Use of Chemical Weapons Must Not Be Tolerated (Global Biodefense) The senior United Nations disarmament official urged the Security Council to unite and ensure that the use of chemical weapons shall never be tolerated, as she briefed the 15-member body on Feb. 3 on efforts by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to verify the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles and production facilities. |
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