Clinical Characteristics
Within a cohort study of 1641 adult patients with SARS-CoV-2, an elevated red blood cell distribution width (RDW) at admission and increasing RDW during hospitalization were associated with statistically higher increased in mortality risk.
Within this meta-analysis that pooled data from 7503 individuals with SARS-CoV-2 and 2,962,160 controls , researchers found that SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals are more likely to have blood group A (pooled OR 1.23, 95%CI: 1.09–1.40) and less likely to have blood group O (pooled OR = 0.77, 95%CI: 0.67–0.88).
In a retrospective data analysis from the University of Washington Medicine system, Non-English speakers were overall less likely to have had COVID-19 testing compared with English-speakers (4.7% [95% CI, 4.5%-4.9%] vs 5.6% [95% CI, 5.6%-5.7%]). Furthermore, the proportion of positive cases was 4.6-fold higher among non-English speakers (18.6%; 95% CI, 16.8%-20.4%) compared with English speakers (4.0%; 95% CI, 3.8%-4.2%)
A living systematic review and meta-analysis on individuals who are asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic with SARS-CoV2 found that 20% (95%CI: 17-25%) remain asymptomatic during course of illness. The proportion of pre-symptomatic patients could not be determined due to heterogeneity.
Vaccine:
Updated review on the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in development. Phase I/II trial data is already available for several vaccine candidates and many have moved into Phase III trials. The data available so far suggests that an effective and safe vaccine might become identified within months rather than years (although scale-up and distribution will still need consideration).
Halloween advice:
