Publications by authors named "Josephine Murray"

Background: The two-dose BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine has demonstrated high efficacy against COVID-19 disease in clinical trials of children and young people (CYP). Consequently, we investigated the uptake, safety, effectiveness and waning of the protective effect of the BNT162b2 against symptomatic COVID-19 in CYP aged 12-17 years in Scotland.

Methods: The analysis of the vaccine uptake was based on information from the Turas Vaccination Management Tool, inclusive of Mar 1, 2022.

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Article Synopsis
  • Despite existing vaccination programs for the elderly and high-risk groups, there's still a significant burden from seasonal influenza, prompting an investigation into 27 programs across eight European countries involving over 205 million people.
  • A dynamic-transmission model was used to evaluate vaccination effects on seasonal influenza infections, comparing different vaccine types and strategies for both the elderly and children, particularly focusing on improvements like adjuvanted vaccines and mass vaccinations for kids.
  • Results showed that switching to improved vaccines for the elderly or implementing pediatric vaccination programs significantly reduces infections and healthcare costs, with the best cost-effectiveness coming from combining both strategies at an estimated €35,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY)
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Background: The UK COVID-19 vaccination programme has prioritised vaccination of those at the highest risk of COVID-19 mortality and hospitalisation. The programme was rolled out in Scotland during winter 2020-21, when SARS-CoV-2 infection rates were at their highest since the pandemic started, despite social distancing measures being in place. We aimed to estimate the frequency of COVID-19 hospitalisation or death in people who received at least one vaccine dose and characterise these individuals.

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Background: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, national-level surveillance platforms with real-time individual person-level data are required to monitor and predict the epidemiological and clinical profile of COVID-19 and inform public health policy. We aimed to create a national dataset of patient-level data in Scotland to identify temporal trends and COVID-19 risk factors, and to develop a novel statistical prediction model to forecast COVID-19-related deaths and hospitalisations during the second wave.

Methods: We established a surveillance platform to monitor COVID-19 temporal trends using person-level primary care data (including age, sex, socioeconomic status, urban or rural residence, care home residence, and clinical risk factors) linked to data on SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests, hospitalisations, and deaths for all individuals resident in Scotland who were registered with a general practice on Feb 23, 2020.

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Background: The BNT162b2 mRNA (Pfizer-BioNTech) and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) COVID-19 vaccines have shown high efficacy against disease in phase 3 clinical trials and are now being used in national vaccination programmes in the UK and several other countries. Studying the real-world effects of these vaccines is an urgent requirement. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between the mass roll-out of the first doses of these COVID-19 vaccines and hospital admissions for COVID-19.

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Objectives: Following the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus and the subsequent global spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), health systems and the populations who use them have faced unprecedented challenges. We aimed to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the uptake of hospital-based care at a national level.

Design: The study period (weeks ending 5 January to 28 June 2020) encompassed the pandemic announcement by the World Health Organization and the initiation of the UK lockdown.

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Scotland observed an unusual influenza A(H3N2)-dominated 2017/18 influenza season with healthcare services under significant pressure. We report the application of the moving epidemic method (MEM) to virology data as a tool to predict the influenza peak activity period and peak week of swab positivity in the current season. This novel MEM application has been successful locally and is believed to be of potential use to other countries for healthcare planning and building wider community resilience.

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I1: Trauma, Pre-hospital and Cardiac Arrest Care 2015 Pascale Avery, Leopold Salm, Flora Bird A1: Retrospective evaluation of HEMS ‘Direct to CT’ protocol Anja Hutchinson, Ashley Matthies, Anthony Hudson, Heather Jarman A2 Rush hour – Crush hour: temporal relationship of cyclist vs. HGV trauma admissions. A single site observational study Maria Bergman Nilsson, Tom Konig, Nigel Tai A3 Semiprone position endotracheal intubation during continuous cardiopulmonary resuscitation in drowned children with regurgitation: a case report and experimental manikin study Espen Fevang, Børge Hognestad, Håkon B.

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Objective: This article presents the long-term results of our patients with a diagnosis of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), hypoplastic left heart complex (HLHC), and variants who received a biventricular repair following hybrid stage I with ductal stenting and bilateral pulmonary artery banding.

Methods: Between June 1998 and June 2013, a total of 154 patients with hypoplastic left heart structures underwent a hybrid stage I procedure. Forty patients were definitely treated by creating a biventricular circulation.

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