Socioeconomic inequalities in COVID-19 infection and vaccine uptake among children and adolescents in Catalonia, Spain: a population-based cohort study.

Introduction: This study aims to investigate the relationship between deprivation, as measured by a socioeconomic deprivation index (SDI) score for census tract urban areas, and COVID-19 infections and vaccine uptake among children and adolescents before and after the vaccination rollout in Catalonia, Spain.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study using primary care records. Individuals were followed 3 months before the start of the vaccination campaign in Spain and 3 months after.

Mathematical modeling of SARS-CoV-2 variant substitutions in European countries: transmission dynamics and epidemiological insights.

Background: Countries across Europe have faced similar evolutions of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants.

Materials And Methods: We used data from GISAID and applied a robust, automated mathematical substitution model to study the dynamics of COVID-19 variants in Europe over a period of more than 2 years, from late 2020 to early 2023. This model identifies variant substitution patterns and distinguishes between residual and dominant behavior.

Respiratory Viral Coinfections in Pediatric Patients in the Primary Care Setting: A Multicenter Prospective Study Within the COPEDICAT Network.

Acute respiratory viral infections pose a significant healthcare burden on the pediatric population globally, but data on the dissemination pattern in the community due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are scarce. We conducted a 2-year prospective multicenter study in Catalonia (Spain) that examined the prevalence and coinfection dynamics of respiratory viruses among 1276 pediatric patients from different age groups attending primary care. Coinfection analysis demonstrated complex patterns and revealed a coinfection rate of 23.

Severity of Omicron Subvariants and Vaccine Impact in Catalonia, Spain.

In the current COVID-19 landscape dominated by Omicron subvariants, understanding the timing and efficacy of vaccination against emergent lineages is crucial for planning future vaccination campaigns, yet detailed studies stratified by subvariant, vaccination timing, and age groups are scarce. This retrospective study analyzed COVID-19 cases from December 2021 to January 2023 in Catalonia, Spain, focusing on vulnerable populations affected by variants BA.1, BA.

A semi-empirical risk panel to monitor epidemics: multi-faceted tool to assist healthcare and public health professionals.

Introduction: Bronchiolitis, mostly caused by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and influenza among other respiratory infections, lead to seasonal saturation at healthcare centers in temperate areas. There is no gold standard to characterize the stages of epidemics, nor the risk of respiratory infections growing. We aimed to define a set of indicators to assess the risk level of respiratory viral epidemics, based on both incidence and their short-term dynamics, and considering epidemical thresholds.

Policies on children and schools during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Western Europe.

During the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), mitigation policies for children have been a topic of considerable uncertainty and debate. Although some children have co-morbidities which increase their risk for severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and complications such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome and long COVID, most children only get mild COVID-19. On the other hand, consistent evidence shows that mass mitigation measures had enormous adverse impacts on children.