Articles: sars-cov-2.
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Information regarding the protection conferred by vaccination and previous infection against infection with the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is limited. ⋯ Our findings in two high-risk populations suggest that mRNA vaccination and previous infection were effective against omicron infection, with lower estimates among those infected before the period of delta predominance. Three vaccine doses offered significantly more protection than two doses, including among previously infected persons.
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Asymptomatic COVID-19 cases have complicated the surveillance and tracking of the pandemic. Previous studies have estimated that 15-25% of all infectees remain asymptomatic. ⋯ Symptomatic cases spread the virus to a greater extent than asymptomatic, and infectees are more likely to be asymptomatic if their assumed infector was asymptomatic.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Nov 2022
Real-World Accuracy of a SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Diagnostic Tests in the Republic of Korea.
Antigen rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) became the most important tool for the diagnosis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), however there have been very few evaluations of the accuracy of the RDTs in actual use. In this study, we investigated the performance accuracy of the RDT, the STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag (STANDARD Q), in the Republic of Korea. ⋯ With binomial logistic regression analysis, we estimated that about half of the COVID-19 patients with a cycle threshold value of 25 for E and RdRP were RDT-negative. These results suggest that the clinical sensitivity of RDTs against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is considerably low in a real-world setting, and we recommend that limitations of RDTs should be considered when setting up COVID-19 test strategies.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Nov 2022
Rates of COVID-19 Infection Among Healthcare Workers in Designated COVID-19 Wards and General Wards.
To evaluate the effects of isolating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in general wards, we compared the rates of COVID-19 infection in nurses and nursing assistants working in COVID-19 designated wards and in general wards of our hospital from 1 October 2021 to 21 April 2022. ⋯ HCWs in designated wards have a lower rate of contracting COVID-19 than those in general wards. A lack of exposure to undiagnosed cases and their caregivers, greater care with social distancing outside the hospital, higher rates of 3-dose vaccinations, and the use of isolation rooms with negative pressure may be associated with this finding.