Annals of internal medicine
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Biorepositories provide a critical resource for gaining knowledge of emerging infectious diseases and offer a mechanism to rapidly respond to outbreaks; the emergence of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has proved their importance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the absence of centralized, national biorepository efforts meant that the onus fell on individual institutions to establish sample repositories. ⋯ This article offers a realistic overview of the authors' experience in establishing this biorepository at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic during the height of the first surge of cases in Boston, Massachusetts, with the hope that the challenges and solutions described are useful to other institutions. Going forward, funders, policymakers, and infectious disease and public health communities must support biorepository implementation as an essential element of future pandemic preparedness.
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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Excess Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic, March to December 2020.
Although racial/ethnic disparities in U.S. COVID-19 death rates are striking, focusing on COVID-19 deaths alone may underestimate the true effect of the pandemic on disparities. Excess death estimates capture deaths both directly and indirectly caused by COVID-19. ⋯ National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program.
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Fully assessing the mortality burden of the COVID-19 pandemic requires measuring years of life lost (YLLs) and accounting for quality-of-life differences. ⋯ National Institute on Aging.