Top in ID: Transmission of respiratory illnesses, AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine

Researchers said that outdoor transmission of respiratory illnesses “definitely happens,” but less often than indoor transmission. It was the top story in infectious disease last week.

Another top story was about data on the safety and efficacy of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Read these and more top stories in infectious disease below:

Transmission of respiratory illnesses outdoors ‘definitely happens’ but less than indoors

Outdoor transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses is possible, but the odds are much lower than indoor transmission, according to a recent study. Read more.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine shows overall efficacy of 70% with two doses

AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated an overall efficacy of 70% after two doses, according to interim data from four trials published in The Lancet. Read more.

UK advises against giving Pfizer vaccine to patients with history of allergic reactions

Health authorities in the United Kingdom have advised against giving Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to individuals with a history of allergic reaction, CNN and other outlets reported. The guidance comes in response to two health care workers who experienced symptoms the day after their inoculation. Read more.

FDA authorizes first direct-to-consumer COVID-19 test

The FDA has authorized LabCorp’s Pixel COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit the first direct-to-consumer COVID-19 test kit for use by anyone aged 18 years and older. Read more.

Q&A: Model estimates 53M COVID-19 cases occurred through September in US

In a new modeling study, researchers estimated that nearly 53 million SARS-CoV-2 infections — including 2.4 million associated hospitalizations — may have occurred in the United States through September 30. Read more.