COVID-19

Children who received two or more doses of COVID-19 messenger RNA vaccine were 40% less likely to be hospitalized or visit an ED due to the disease, according to findings published in MMWR.

A Bluetooth low-energy-based contact-tracing system was successful at identifying potential COVID-19 contacts with additional specific data including location, date and cumulative contact time, researchers found.

SAN DIEGO — Patients with primary systemic vasculitis who received a third or additional doses of a COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated a reduced risk for breakthrough infection, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2023.

COVID-19 caused a surge in premature births in California that “fully disappeared” by 2022, likely because of vaccines, researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

Healio compiled the most-read news in allergy, asthma and immunology posted in November.

Time to successful weaning off of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was similar for prone and supine positioning among patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, according to results published in JAMA.

Standard oxygen therapy and high-flow nasal oxygen along with awake prone positioning were associated with lower COVID-19-associated mortality in a low-income country, according to results published in CHEST.

Incidence rates for several respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, declined during vs. before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to study results published in Thorax.

BOSTON — In the absence of cirrhosis, no specific precautions are needed for patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and a history of hepatitis C virus, according to findings presented at The Liver Meeting.

The Biden administration is offering more free COVID-19 tests ahead of the holiday season.