Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
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We enrolled 91 consecutive inpatients with COVID-19 at 6 hospitals in Toronto, Canada, and tested 1 nasopharyngeal swab/saliva sample pair from each patient using real-time RT-PCR for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Sensitivity was 89% for nasopharyngeal swabs and 72% for saliva (P = .02). Difference in sensitivity was greatest for sample pairs collected later in illness.
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Several vaccines are now clinically available under emergency use authorization in the United States and have demonstrated efficacy against symptomatic COVID-19. The impact of vaccines on asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection is largely unknown. ⋯ COVID-19 vaccination with an mRNA-based vaccine showed a significant association with a reduced risk of asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection as measured during pre-procedural molecular screening. The results of this study demonstrate the impact of the vaccines on reduction in asymptomatic infections supplementing the randomized trial results on symptomatic patients.
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Streptococcus pneumoniae coinfection with influenza results in synergistic lethality, but there are limited data on pneumococcal coinfection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). ⋯ Large declines in IPD were observed following COVID-19 lockdown. IPD/COVID-19 coinfections were rare but associated with high CFR, mainly in older adults. The rarity, age and serotype distribution of IPD/COVID-19 coinfections do not support wider extension of pneumococcal vaccination.
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We investigated patients with potential SARS-CoV-2 reinfection in the United States during May-July 2020. ⋯ We did not confirm SARS-CoV-2 reinfection within 90 days of the initial infection based on the clinical and laboratory characteristics of cases in this investigation. Our findings support current CDC guidance around quarantine and testing for patients who have recovered from COVID-19.