Publications by authors named "Sungching C Glenn"
Article Synopsis
- A study re-evaluated mortality risks associated with COVID-19 vaccinations using a modified self-controlled case series design to minimize confounding biases.
- Researchers analyzed death data from vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, focusing on non-COVID-19 mortality and specific cardiac-related deaths within set observation periods.
- Results for Pfizer-BioNTech showed reduced mortality risks for all outcomes, while Moderna and Janssen also indicated low risks, although some results for Moderna had confidence intervals that included 1, suggesting uncertainty in the estimates.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Health Care Utilization in the Vaccine Safety Datalink: Retrospective Cohort Study.
JMIR Public Health Surveill
January 2024
Background: Understanding the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care utilization is important to health care organizations and policy makers for strategic planning, as well as to researchers when designing studies that use observational electronic health record data during the pandemic period.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the changes in health care utilization across all care settings among a large, diverse, and insured population in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study within 8 health care organizations participating in the Vaccine Safety Datalink Project using electronic health record data from members of all ages from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2021.
Article Synopsis
- A study examined influenza vaccination coverage among pregnant people in the U.S. from the 2016-2017 to 2021-2022 seasons, revealing trends among different demographics.
- Coverage rose from 63.0% in 2016-2017 to a peak of 71.0% in 2019-2020 but dropped significantly to 56.4% during the 2021-2022 season post-COVID-19 pandemic.
- The research highlighted that the lowest vaccination rates were consistently among pregnant individuals aged 18-24 and non-Hispanic Black individuals, emphasizing the need for targeted outreach to increase vaccination coverage.
Article Synopsis
- A large cohort study was conducted to assess the risk of non-COVID-19 mortality after vaccination, which is crucial to combat vaccine hesitancy, taking into account various demographic, clinical, and socioeconomic factors.
- The study analyzed data from seven Vaccine Safety Datalink sites, comparing non-COVID-19 mortality rates among vaccinated individuals with those who were not, across different age, sex, and racial/ethnic groups.
- The findings revealed lower non-COVID-19 mortality rates for vaccinated individuals, with adjusted hazard ratios indicating a significantly reduced risk after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, despite some remaining confounding bias.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers analyzed data from over 10 million members across eight Vaccine Safety Datalink sites from 2017 to 2020, focusing on changes in incidence rates of specific health outcomes during different phases of the pandemic.
- * Results indicated that most outcomes, including serious conditions like encephalitis and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, remained stable, while there was a notable decrease in incidence rates for several conditions during the early pandemic period.
The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) conducts active surveillance and vaccine safety research studies. Since the start of the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) relies on vaccination data from electronic health records to monitor vaccine safety, particularly focusing on data from non-traditional settings where many COVID-19 vaccines are administered.
- A survey of the eight participating VSD sites revealed that all sites send and receive data from state Immunization Information Systems (IIS) and integrate COVID-19 vaccine data into safety research efforts, though some sites experience delays with other vaccines.
- The findings indicate that all VSD sites are effectively incorporating COVID-19 vaccination data into research, highlighting the need for improved processes to ensure timely integration of data for all vaccines to enhance overall vaccine safety assessments.
By September 21, 2021, an estimated 182 million persons in the United States were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.* Clinical trials indicate that Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2), Moderna (mRNA-1273), and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson; Ad.26.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dramatic decreases in outpatient visits and sudden increases in telehealth visits were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it was unclear whether these changes differed by patient demographics and socioeconomic status.
Objective: This study aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic on in-person outpatient and telehealth visits (telephone and video) by demographic characteristics and household income in a diverse population.
Methods: We calculated weekly rates of outpatient and telehealth visits by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood-level median household income among members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) from January 5, 2020, to October 31, 2020, and the corresponding period in 2019.
Background: Identifying pregnancy episodes and accurately estimating their beginning and end dates are imperative for observational maternal vaccine safety studies using electronic health record (EHR) data.
Methods: We modified the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) Pregnancy Episode Algorithm (PEA) to include both the International Classification of Disease, ninth revision (ICD-9 system) and ICD-10 diagnosis codes, incorporated additional gestational age data, and validated this enhanced algorithm with manual medical record review. We also developed the new Dynamic Pregnancy Algorithm (DPA) to identify pregnancy episodes in real time.
Objectives: The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on vaccination coverage, critical to preventing vaccine-preventable diseases, has not been assessed during the reopening period.
Methods: Vaccine uptake and vaccination coverage for recommended vaccines and for measles-containing vaccines at milestone ages were assessed in a large cohort of children aged 0 to 18 years in Southern California during January to August 2020 and were compared with those in the same period in 2019. Differences in vaccine uptake and vaccination coverage (recommended vaccines and measles-containing vaccines) in prepandemic (January to March), stay-at-home (April to May), and reopening (June to August) periods in 2020 and 2019 were compared.
We identified 10 women hospitalized with respiratory syncytial virus infection during pregnancy. Diagnoses included pneumonia/atelectasis (5), respiratory failure (2), and sepsis (2). Six had obstetrical complications during hospitalization, including 1 induced preterm birth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSyncope is a common reason for emergency department (ED) visits, and patients are often admitted to exclude syncope of cardiovascular origin. Population-based data on patterns and predictors of cardiac outcomes may improve decision-making. Our objective was to identify patterns and predictors of short-term cardiac outcomes in ED patients with syncope.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF