November 16, 2020 - a podcast by COVID19LST

In today's episode we discuss:

—Climate: The International COVID-19 Parental Attitude Study (COVIPAS) group conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1541 caregivers from six countries and found that 65% of caregivers were willing to vaccinate their child against COVID-19 whenever a vaccine became available, and that 52% of those refusing vaccination reported that the newness of the vaccine was a deciding factor. Authors suggest these findings demonstrate the need for effective public health education efforts regarding the safety, efficacy, and utility of any available COVID-19 vaccine

—Epidemiology: Massive dissemination of a SARS-CoV-2 Spike Y839 variant in Portugal was found. Bioinformatic and surveillance specialists from Portugal reviewed geotemporal spread of SARS-CoV-2 Spike 839Y variant, introduced from Italy to Portugal in February 2020, using 1,516 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences collected as part of national surveillance. They found relative frequency increased at a rate of 12.1% every three days, and the Spike 839Y variant was associated with 24.8% of confirmed cases by the end of April. This variant has since been detected in 12 other countries, so authors suggest ongoing surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity and epidemiological monitoring of potentially significant variants.

· A retrospective study of 192 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at “Beato Matteo” (Hospital Group San Donato) conducted by internal and emergency medicine specialists in Vigevano, Italy found no significant association between having lupus anticoagulant (95/192, 49.5%) and mortality (47.7% of 130 survivors and 53.2% of 62 non-survivors; p=0.4745) or need for mechanical ventilation. However, worse outcomes were seen in patients with obesity, low oxygen saturation, and high troponin level. Authors suggest lupus anticoagulant is not a strong prognostic marker in COVID-19 patients and it may be a side effect of rather than a cause for thromboembolism.

—Management: What are the SARS-CoV-2 risks in first trimester pregnancy? A cohort study, conducted at Copenhagen University Hospital, examined potential risk caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection for first trimester pregnancies by analyzing double tests, which are blood samples for pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) and free beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG), of 1,019 pregnant women for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Results indicated SARS-CoV-2 infection early in pregnancy as 18 (1.8%) of the 1,019 pregnant women were positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in their serum. However, there was not a significant correlation with nuchal translucency thickness nor increased risk of pregnancy loss between the women testing positive versus those testing negative for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. While these results may be limited by sample size, population type, and severity of COVID-19 infection, this study demonstrates no increased risk of low-severity COVID-19 infections during the first trimester of pregnancy.

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