[M T]

The effects of ARBs, ACEIs and statins on clinical outcomes of COVID-19 infection among nursing home residents

We found a statistically significant association between statin intake and the absence of symptoms during COVID-19 infection (unadjusted OR 2.91; CI 1.27-6.71; p=0.011), which remained statistically significant after adjusting for age, sex, functional status, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The strength of this association was considerable and clinically important. Although the effects of statin intake on serious clinical outcome (long-stay hospitalisation or death) were in the same beneficial direction, these were not statistically significant...
here was also no statistically significant association between ACEi/ARB and asymptomatic status (OR 1.52; CI 0.62-3.50; p=0.339) or serious clinical outcome (OR 0.79; CI 0.26-1.95; p=0.629)

The role of high cholesterol in age-related COVID19 lethality
Argues that high cholesterol levels in tissue (vs blood) gives a larger & more entry points.

NON-WHITE ETHNICITY, MALE SEX, AND HIGHER BODY MASS INDEX, BUT NOT MEDICATIONS ACTING ON THE RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN SYSTEM ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) HOSPITALISATION: REVIEW OF THE FIRST 669 CASES FROM THE UK BIOBANK

We considered the following exposures: age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, ACEi/ARB use, prior myocardial infarction (MI), and smoking. . . . Among participants tested for COVID-19 with presumed moderate to severe symptoms in a hospital setting, non-white ethnicity, male sex, and higher BMI are associated with a positive result. Other cardiometabolic morbidities confer increased risk of hospitalisation, without specificity for COVID-19. Notably, ACE/ARB use did not associate with COVID-19 status.

Screening of healthcare workers for SARS-CoV-2 highlights the role of asymptomatic carriage in COVID-19 transmission

3% of HCWs in the asymptomatic screening group tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. 17/30 (57%) were truly asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic. 12/30 (40%) had experienced symptoms compatible with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) >7 days prior to testing, most self-isolating, returning well.

Pre-Procedural Surveillance Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in an Asymptomatic Population Shows Low Rates of Positivity
In Seattle, less than 1% of asymptomatic patients were positive.

Estimating pre-symptomatic transmission of COVID-19: a secondary analysis using published data

Proportion of pre-symptomatic transmission ranged from 33.7% in Wuhan to 72.7% in Hong Kong . . .
Our work suggests that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is most likely in the day before symptom onset whereas estimates suggesting most pre-symptomatic transmission highlighted a mean transmission times almost 3 days before symptom onset.

Bidirectional contact tracing is required for reliable COVID-19 control
Modeling suggests that contact tracing is more effective if it finds the source infector as well as the infectees.  "as long as exposure events can be detected by nearly all smartphones, the combination of manual and digital with bidirectional tracing more than doubles the probability of controlling outbreaks across three epidemiological scenarios."

Correlation between prevalence of tobacco smoking and risk and severity of COVID-19 at the national level in the European Union: an ecological study.

We have found that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between the age-standardized prevalence of tobacco smoking and the attack rate of COVID-19 in member states of the EU

I saw other studies that indicated smoking was associate with less disease.

Moving Beyond a Peak Mentality: Plateaus, Shoulders, Oscillations and Other 'Anomalous' Behavior-Driven Shapes in COVID-19 Outbreaks

Here we explore a model of fatality-driven awareness in which individual protective measures increase with death rates. . . .
We also show that incorporating long-term awareness can avoid peak resurgence and accelerate epidemic decline. We suggest that awareness of the severity of the short- and long-term epidemic is likely to play a critical role in disease dynamics, beyond that imposed by intervention-driven policies.

Infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a German community with a super-spreading event
Testing of households 6 weeks after a carnival

Of the 919 individuals with evaluable infection status (out of 1,007; 405 households) 15.5% (95% CI: [12.3%; 19.0%]) were infected. This is 5-fold higher than the number of officially reported cases for this community (3.1%). Infection was associated with characteristic symptoms such as loss of smell and taste. 22.2% of all infected individuals were asymptomatic. . . .
Age and sex were not found to be associated with the infection rate. Participation in carnival festivities increased both the infection rate (21.3% vs. 9.5%, p<0.001) and the number of symptoms in the infected (estimated relative mean increase 1.6, p=0.007). The risk of a person being infected was not found to be associated with the number of study participants in the household this person lived in.

[M T]

The effects of ARBs, ACEIs and statins on clinical outcomes of COVID-19 infection among nursing home residents

We found a statistically significant association between statin intake and the absence of symptoms during COVID-19 infection (unadjusted OR 2.91; CI 1.27-6.71; p=0.011), which remained statistically significant after adjusting for age, sex, functional status, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The strength of this association was considerable and clinically important. Although the effects of statin intake on serious clinical outcome (long-stay hospitalisation or death) were in the same beneficial direction, these were not statistically significant...
here was also no statistically significant association between ACEi/ARB and asymptomatic status (OR 1.52; CI 0.62-3.50; p=0.339) or serious clinical outcome (OR 0.79; CI 0.26-1.95; p=0.629)

The role of high cholesterol in age-related COVID19 lethality
Argues that high cholesterol levels in tissue (vs blood) gives a larger & more entry points.

NON-WHITE ETHNICITY, MALE SEX, AND HIGHER BODY MASS INDEX, BUT NOT MEDICATIONS ACTING ON THE RENIN-ANGIOTENSIN SYSTEM ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) HOSPITALISATION: REVIEW OF THE FIRST 669 CASES FROM THE UK BIOBANK

We considered the following exposures: age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, ACEi/ARB use, prior myocardial infarction (MI), and smoking. . . . Among participants tested for COVID-19 with presumed moderate to severe symptoms in a hospital setting, non-white ethnicity, male sex, and higher BMI are associated with a positive result. Other cardiometabolic morbidities confer increased risk of hospitalisation, without specificity for COVID-19. Notably, ACE/ARB use did not associate with COVID-19 status.

Screening of healthcare workers for SARS-CoV-2 highlights the role of asymptomatic carriage in COVID-19 transmission

3% of HCWs in the asymptomatic screening group tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. 17/30 (57%) were truly asymptomatic/pauci-symptomatic. 12/30 (40%) had experienced symptoms compatible with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) >7 days prior to testing, most self-isolating, returning well.

Pre-Procedural Surveillance Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in an Asymptomatic Population Shows Low Rates of Positivity
In Seattle, less than 1% of asymptomatic patients were positive.

Estimating pre-symptomatic transmission of COVID-19: a secondary analysis using published data

Proportion of pre-symptomatic transmission ranged from 33.7% in Wuhan to 72.7% in Hong Kong . . .
Our work suggests that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is most likely in the day before symptom onset whereas estimates suggesting most pre-symptomatic transmission highlighted a mean transmission times almost 3 days before symptom onset.

Bidirectional contact tracing is required for reliable COVID-19 control
Modeling suggests that contact tracing is more effective if it finds the source infector as well as the infectees.  "as long as exposure events can be detected by nearly all smartphones, the combination of manual and digital with bidirectional tracing more than doubles the probability of controlling outbreaks across three epidemiological scenarios."

Correlation between prevalence of tobacco smoking and risk and severity of COVID-19 at the national level in the European Union: an ecological study.

We have found that there is a statistically significant negative correlation between the age-standardized prevalence of tobacco smoking and the attack rate of COVID-19 in member states of the EU

I saw other studies that indicated smoking was associate with less disease.

Moving Beyond a Peak Mentality: Plateaus, Shoulders, Oscillations and Other 'Anomalous' Behavior-Driven Shapes in COVID-19 Outbreaks

Here we explore a model of fatality-driven awareness in which individual protective measures increase with death rates. . . .
We also show that incorporating long-term awareness can avoid peak resurgence and accelerate epidemic decline. We suggest that awareness of the severity of the short- and long-term epidemic is likely to play a critical role in disease dynamics, beyond that imposed by intervention-driven policies.

Infection fatality rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a German community with a super-spreading event
Testing of households 6 weeks after a carnival

Of the 919 individuals with evaluable infection status (out of 1,007; 405 households) 15.5% (95% CI: [12.3%; 19.0%]) were infected. This is 5-fold higher than the number of officially reported cases for this community (3.1%). Infection was associated with characteristic symptoms such as loss of smell and taste. 22.2% of all infected individuals were asymptomatic. . . .
Age and sex were not found to be associated with the infection rate. Participation in carnival festivities increased both the infection rate (21.3% vs. 9.5%, p<0.001) and the number of symptoms in the infected (estimated relative mean increase 1.6, p=0.007). The risk of a person being infected was not found to be associated with the number of study participants in the household this person lived in.