Designing and analyzing studies of coronavirus disease 2019 and post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 among immunocompromised individuals.

Observational studies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among transplant candidates and recipients remain important as immunocompromised patients formed a very small proportion of patients included in COVID-19 trials and large database analyses. We discuss methods that have been used in such analyses to evaluate the impact of vaccination on the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 in such patients and on the probability of developing post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 after the onset of infection. We also propose future directions for research and discuss the methods that will be useful to conduct such investigations.

Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 in solid organ transplant recipients.

Background: Post-acute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (PASC), defined as prolonged symptoms following an episode of COVID-19, is not well-characterized in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTR). In this study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of PASC in SOTR, its descriptive characteristics, and associated risk factors.

Methods: We retrospectively identified SOTRs with acute COVID-19 between June 1, 2020 and April 15, 2022, and abstracted demographic and medical history, characteristics of acute COVID-19 illness, and COVID-19 vaccination status.

Modeling homophily in dynamic networks with application to HIV molecular surveillance.

Background: Efforts to control the HIV epidemic can benefit from knowledge of the relationships between the characteristics of people who have transmitted HIV and those who became infected by them. Investigation of this relationship is facilitated by the use of HIV genetic linkage analyses, which allows inference about possible transmission events among people with HIV infection. Two persons with HIV (PWH) are considered linked if the genetic distance between their HIV sequences is less than a given threshold, which implies proximity in a transmission network.