December 26, 2024

VIEW TRANSCRIPT

Flu

The Burden of All-Cause Mortality Following Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations: Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, 2010–2019
Investigators looked at how many people die from the flu. They looked at 121 390 cases hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza over nine seasons, 5.5% died. They report that 76% of deaths were in patients aged ≥65 years, 71% were non-Hispanic White, and 34% had 4 or more underlying medical conditions. Among all patients with an influenza-associated hospitalization who died, 48% of deaths occurred after hospital discharge; the median number of days from discharge to death was nine (interquartile range, 3–19). Post-discharge deaths more often occurred in older patients and among those with underlying medical conditions. Only 37% of patients who died had “influenza” as a COD on their death certificate. Influenza was more frequently listed as a COD among persons who died in the hospital compared with cardiovascular disease among those who died after discharge.

COVID: Active Vaccination/Immunity

Initial Effectiveness of mRNA-1273 against SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Hospitalization in Young Children
The objectives of this study were to assess mRNA-1273 vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19-related hospitalization among children aged 6 months to 5 years during the initial five months of the vaccination campaign, as well as to determine whether VE varied by age group (6 months to <2 years versus 2 to 5 years). Here, they included 572 test-positive cases and 3467 test-negative controls. Receipt of mRNA-1273 was associated with reduced symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection (VE=90%; 95%CI: 53, 99%) and COVID-19-related hospitalization (VE=82%; 95%CI: 4, 99%) ≥7 days after the second dose. This study shows Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine provided strong initial protection against symptomatic COVID-19 (90% vaccine effectiveness) and hospitalization (82% vaccine effectiveness) in children aged 6 months to 5 years, ≥7 days after the second dose.

COVID: The Late Phase/PASC/Long COVID

2024 Update of the RECOVER-Adult Long COVID Research Index
In this prospective, observational cohort study, data from 13 647 adults participating in the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER-Adult) study were used to update the research index for classifying symptomatic LC and 5 symptom subtypes that differ in associated demographic features and quality of life. This study includes adults 18 years or older with or without known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection who were enrolled at 83 sites in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Included participants had at least one study visit taking place 4.5 months after first SARS-CoV-2 infection or later, and not within 30 days of a reinfection. The study visits took place between October 2021 and March 2024. A total of 13,647 participants (11,743 with known SARS-CoV-2 infection and 1,904 without known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection; median age, 45 years [IQR, 34-69 years]; and 73% were female) were included. Symptoms contributing to the updated 2024 index included postexertional malaise, fatigue, brain fog, dizziness, palpitations, change in smell or taste, thirst, chronic cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, and sleep apnea. For the 2024 LC research index, the optimal threshold to identify participants with highly symptomatic LC was a score of 11 or greater. The 2024 index classified 20% of participants with known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and 4% of those without known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection as having likely LC (vs 21% and 5%, respectively, using the 2023 index) and 39% of participants with known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection as having possible LC, which is a new category for the 2024 model. Cluster analysis identified 5 LC subtypes that tracked quality-of-life measures.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2828329
Real-world Effectiveness and Causal Mediation Study of BNT162b2 on Long COVID Risks in Children and Adolescents
These are results of a real-world vaccine effectiveness study that used data from 20 health systems in the RECOVER PCORnet electronic health record (EHR) program. Three independent cohorts were constructed including adolescents (12–20 years) during the Delta phase (July 1–November 30, 2021), children (5–11 years) and adolescents (12–20 years) during the Omicron phase (January 1–November 30, 2022). The intervention is first dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine in comparison with no receipt of COVID-19 vaccine. The outcomes of interest included conclusive or probable diagnosis of Long COVID following a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection, and body-system-specific condition clusters of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), such as cardiac, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and syndromic categories. 112,590 adolescents (88,811 vaccinated) were included in the cohort for the analysis against Delta variant, and 188,894 children (101,277 vaccinated), and 84,735 adolescents (37,724 vaccinated) were included for the analysis against the Omicron variant. During the Delta period, the estimated effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine against Long COVID among adolescents was 95.4% (95% CI: 90.9%–97.7%). During the Omicron phase, the estimated effectiveness against Long COVID among children was 60.2% (95% CI: 40.3%–73.5%) and 75.1% (95% CI: 50.4%–87.5%) among adolescents.
Personality and Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Individuals Diagnosed with Long COVID
These are results of an online survey with 114 participants diagnosed with Long COVID who were found to have high rates of depressive disorders (46%), generalized anxiety disorders (21%), sleep disturbances (76%), and reported cognitive changes (95%) among those diagnosed with the condition.
Post-COVID Condition Risk Factors and Symptom Clusters and Associations with Return to Pre-COVID Health—Results from a 2021 Multi-State Survey
Authors here report again the high rate of Long COVID in people who were infected in the pre-Delta period and a high percentage that have not returned to their prior health.