Publications by authors named "Jefferson M Jones"
Article Synopsis
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) leads to significant hospitalizations in infants in the US, prompting recommendations for nirsevimab to prevent RSV in all infants under 8 months and at-risk children up to 19 months during their RSV seasons.* -
- A simulation study found that administering nirsevimab could potentially avoid over 107,000 outpatient visits and 14,000 hospitalizations annually if half of newborns receive it, costing approximately $153,517 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved.* -
- The analysis suggests nirsevimab is cost-effective, particularly for high-risk infants, though the cost-per-QALY can vary widely based on factors like hospitalization costs
Background And Objectives: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) commonly causes hospitalization among US infants. A maternal vaccine preventing RSV in infants, RSV bivalent prefusion F maternal vaccine (RSVpreF), was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Our objective was to evaluate the health benefits and cost-effectiveness of vaccinating pregnant persons in the United States using RSVpreF.
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- - The study investigates the prevalence of long-term symptoms in blood donors based on their SARS-CoV-2 infection status, focusing on differences across various occupations and industries.
- - Data was collected from nearly 28,000 donors, revealing that 45% of those previously infected reported new long-term symptoms, compared to 24% of those never infected, with higher symptom prevalence in certain job sectors like healthcare support and accommodation services.
- - The findings suggest that certain occupational groups experience more long-term symptoms due to their exposure to COVID-19, indicating a potential need for workplace accommodations to support affected employees.
Differences in COVID-19 Outpatient Antiviral Treatment Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years by Age Group - National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, United States, April 2022-September 2023.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- * A study found that as age increases, the likelihood of older adults receiving antiviral treatment decreases, with only 35.2% of those aged 90 and above receiving it.
- * Among patients aged 65 and older, those who did not receive antiviral treatment were more likely to suffer severe outcomes, indicating a need for improved antiviral access for older populations.
Article Synopsis
- RSV is a leading cause of hospitalization in U.S. infants, and the CDC suggests vaccines for pregnant individuals and antibody treatments for infants under 8 months to prevent severe RSV illness. !* -
- A recent survey revealed that only 32.6% of pregnant women received the RSV vaccine, and 44.6% of infants were given the RSV antibody nirsevimab; overall, 55.8% of infants were protected from RSV. !* -
- Higher immunization rates were linked to healthcare provider recommendations, while concerns about long-term safety were a significant barrier for families; efforts are being made to improve communication between providers and patients about RSV immunization. !*
Unlabelled: Hybrid immunity, as a result of infection and vaccination to SARS-CoV-2, has been well studied in adults but limited evidence is available in children. We evaluated the antibody responses to primary SARS-CoV-2 infection among vaccinated and unvaccinated children aged ≥ 5 years.
Methods: A longitudinal cohort study of children aged ≥ 5 was conducted during August 2021-August 2022, at sites in Arizona, Texas, Utah, and Florida.
Unlabelled: During September to December 2021, school mask policies to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission varied throughout the US. We compared infection-induced seroprevalence estimates and estimated seroconversion among children residing in areas with and without school mask requirements. We estimated infection-induced seroprevalence among children in three age groups (5-17, 5-11, and 12-17 years) in areas with and without school district mask requirements for two time points: September 1-30, 2021 and December 15, 2021 to January 14, 2022.
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- * A study involving 142,599 blood donors established a new, lower threshold for detecting past infections using the Ortho VITROS Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Total-N Antibody assay, which boosted detection sensitivity while keeping specificity above 98%.
- * The updated test showed a high sensitivity of 98.1% for unvaccinated individuals and 95.6% for those who were vaccinated, though sensitivity was influenced by factors like the virus variant, donor age,
Unlabelled: We estimated monthly cross-sectional seroprevalence rates of anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) and anti-spike (anti-S) antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in two U.S. nationwide studies.
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- The study focuses on COVID-19 mitigation measures in workplaces where U.S. blood donors are employed, analyzing how these measures differ by industry and work arrangement.
- Data was collected from over 53,000 respondents between May and December 2021, revealing varied implementation of measures like ventilation upgrades (20% overall), telework access (53% overall), and mask requirements (84% overall), with fewer measures reported by independent workers.
- The findings suggest that mitigation strategies should be customized for specific industries and job types, as a uniform approach may not effectively address unique workplace challenges related to disease transmission.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates the prevalence of long-term health symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection, addressing the gap of previous research that lacked control groups uninfected by the virus.
- - Conducted among American Red Cross blood donors, the cross-sectional study involved surveys and serologic testing to assess new symptoms from March 2020 onwards, focusing on neurological, gastrointestinal, respiratory, cardiac, and mental health issues.
- - Results showed that 43.3% of individuals with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection reported new long-term symptoms, significantly higher than the 22.1% in those without such a history, suggesting a strong link between COVID-19 and the development of these symptoms.
Background: There are limited data on whether hybrid immunity differs by count and order of immunity-conferring events (infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2] or vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19]). From a multi-site cohort of frontline workers, we examined the heterogeneity of the effect of hybrid immunity on SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels.
Methods: Exposures included event count and event order, categorized into 7 permutations.
The GSK and Pfizer respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines are both indicated for adults aged 60 years and older, but only the Pfizer product is approved for use in pregnancy to prevent RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease in infants aged younger than 6 months. To assess for vaccine administration errors (ie, administration of the GSK RSV vaccine to pregnant persons) VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System), a U.S.
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- A national study in the US assessed the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in relation to Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) across different age groups during the Delta and Omicron periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The research analyzed over 406,000 antibody testing results from September 2021 to February 2022, revealing that the seroprevalence increased overall and correlated with higher SVI levels, particularly in socioeconomic status.
- The findings highlighted that during the Delta period, higher SVI counties had significantly more infections per reported case compared to lower SVI counties, while no significant difference was noted during the Omicron period, emphasizing the need for focused public health efforts in vulnerable communities
Introduction: Cardiometabolic diseases are associated with greater COVID-19 severity; however, the influences of cardiometabolic health on SARS-CoV-2 infections after vaccination remain unclear. Our objective was to investigate the associations between temporal blood pressure and total cholesterol patterns and incident SARS-CoV-2 infections among those with serologic evidence of vaccination.
Methods: In this prospective cohort of blood donors, blood samples were collected in 2020-2021 and assayed for binding antibodies of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein antibody seropositivity.
Article Synopsis
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the top cause of serious lung infections in young children, with approximately 97% of U.S. children infected by age 2 and 2-3% requiring hospitalization in infants under 6 months.
- Two preventive measures are now available: a maternal vaccine called RSVPreF for pregnant women and a long-acting monoclonal antibody called nirsevimab for infants.
- Both options are recommended to prevent serious RSV infections in infants, though typically only one is needed; therefore, healthcare providers should be well-informed to advise pregnant patients on these options.
Use of the Pfizer Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine During Pregnancy for the Prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Associated Lower Respiratory Tract Disease in Infants: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices - United States, 2023.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
October 2023
Article Synopsis
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of hospitalization for infants in the U.S., leading to recommended preventative measures like nirsevimab (Bevfortus) for infants and the newly approved RSVpreF vaccine (Abrysvo) for pregnant individuals.
- The FDA approved the RSVpreF vaccine in August 2023 for administration during weeks 32-36 of pregnancy to help protect infants under 6 months from RSV-related respiratory issues.
- The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that either the RSVpreF vaccine for mothers or nirsevimab for infants be used to protect against RSV, but not necessarily both for most infants.
Article Synopsis
- - Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the top reason for hospitalizations in U.S. infants, and in July 2023, the FDA approved a new treatment called nirsevimab to help prevent RSV-related lung infections in infants and young kids.
- - The ACIP has been reviewing nirsevimab's safety and effectiveness since October 2021, and in August 2023, recommended it for all infants under 8 months in their first RSV season and for at-risk children up to 19 months entering their second season.
- - Nirsevimab is expected to be given mainly from October to March, based on RSV patterns from before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it can significantly
Background: Because COVID-19 case data do not capture most SARS-CoV-2 infections, the actual risk of severe disease and death per infection is unknown. Integrating sociodemographic data into analysis can show consequential health disparities.
Methods: Data were merged from September 2020 to November 2021 from 6 national surveillance systems in matched geographic areas and analyzed to estimate numbers of COVID-19-associated cases, emergency department visits, and deaths per 100 000 infections.
Unlabelled: Donor-derived transmission of infections is a rare complication of kidney transplant. Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a common cause of acute viral hepatitis worldwide, but donor-derived transmission to organ recipients has been reported in the literature only twice previously. The timeline for HAV incubation and clearance in transplant recipients is not well understood.
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- Reinfections of SARS-CoV-2 in the U.S. have become more common, especially during the Omicron variant period, rising from 2.7% during Delta to 28.8% in Omicron BQ.1/BQ.1.1.
- Hospitalizations and deaths linked to reinfections also increased significantly, going from 1.9% and 1.2% of COVID-19-related cases during Delta, to 17.0% and 12.3% during Omicron BQ.1/BQ.1.1.
- Younger adults (18-49 years) had higher rates of reinfections compared to older adults (≥50 years), and it's crucial to stay updated on vaccinations
Article Synopsis
- The U.S. Nationwide Blood Donor Seroprevalence Study tracked SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels from July 2020 to December 2021, adapting testing methods as vaccine uptake increased and pandemic conditions changed.* -
- The study assessed the effectiveness of the Ortho anti-nucleocapsid (NC) test as a substitute for the Roche NC test, finding high agreement in results and confirming that most specimens provided consistent reactivity.* -
- Overall, the use of parallel testing on both Roche and Ortho platforms demonstrated high efficiency and agreement, making it valuable for large-scale seroprevalence studies that monitor the spread of COVID-19.*
Changes in testing behaviors and reporting requirements have hampered the ability to estimate the U.S. SARS-CoV-2 incidence (1).
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