Environmental impact of telerehabilitation visits in an urban setting

Background: Climate change has been described as the largest public health concern of the 21st century. In response to climate change over 50 countries have pledged to go carbon neutral in the provision of health care services and telemedicine can be an integral part of decreasing emissions related travel associated with health care. While telemedicine rapidly expanded to increase access to care during the Covid-19 pandemic, the impact of telerehabilitation on climate change as part of the provision of physical rehabilitation services has not been assessed. This study focuses on physical medicine and rehabilitation physicians in an urban physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) department and assesses patient satisfaction with synchronous video visits (SVVs) as well as the estimated value of SVVs in travel savings and carbon emissions. Materials and methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review, implemented a patient survey, and conducted a commuter analysis to report our experience using SVVs to provide follow-up care across multiple rehabilitation sub-specialties Results: A total of 154 SVVs were conducted before the pandemic over an 18-month period. The most commonly addressed issues during the SVVs were rehabilitation and medication management, followed by equipment, lab and imaging results. About one-third of the patients (31%) were non-ambulatory at the time of their SVV. On average, SVVs reduced travel distance (95 miles), travel time (2.23 h), travel cost ($15) and carbon emissions. Discussion: The use of telerehabilitation should be an integral part of decreasing the carbon footprint of provision of physical medicine and rehabilitation services. © 2022 The Authors

Operationalizing Resiliency among Childcare Providers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Childcare, a critical infrastructure, played an important role to create community resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic. By finding pathways to remain open, or rapidly return to operations, the adaptive capacity of childcare providers to offer care in the face of unprecedented challenges functioned to promote societal level mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic impacts, to assist families in their personal financial recoveries, and to provide consistent, caring, and meaningful educational experiences for society's youngest members. This paper assesses the operational adaptations of childcare centers as a key resource and critical infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Greater Rochester, NY metropolitan region. Our findings evaluate the policy, provider mitigation, and response actions documenting the challenges they faced and the solutions they innovated. Implications for this research extend to climate-induced disruptions, including fires, water shortages, electric grid cyberattacks, and other disruptions where extended stay-at-home orders or service critical interventions are implemented. © 2022 IEEE.

The Effects of COVID-19 on U.S. Small Businesses: Evidence from Owners, Managers, and Employees

We analyze a large-scale survey of small business owners, managers, and employees in the United States to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on those businesses. We explore two waves of the survey that were fielded on Facebook in April 2020 and December 2020. We document five facts about the impact of the pandemic on small businesses. (1) Larger firms, older firms, and male-owned firms were more likely to remain open during the early stages of the pandemic with many of these heterogeneities persisting through the end of 2020. (2) At businesses that remained open, concerns about demand shocks outweighed concerns about supply shocks though the relative importance of supply shocks grew over time. (3) In response to the pandemic, almost a quarter of the firms reduced their prices with price reductions concentrated among businesses facing financial constraints and demand shocks;almost no firms raised prices. (4) Only a quarter of small businesses had access to formal sources of financing at the start of the pandemic, and access to formal financing affected how firms responded to the pandemic. (5) Increased household responsibilities affected the ability of managers and employees to focus on their work, whereas increased business responsibilities impacted their ability to take care of their household members. This effect persisted through December 2020 and was particularly strong for women and parents of school-aged children. We discuss how these facts inform our understanding of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they can help design policy responses to similar shocks. © 2022 INFORMS.

Twitters' Concerns and Opinions About the COVID-19 Booster Shots: Infoveillance Study

Objective: This study aimed to categorize and analyze the public response toward third/booster shots of COVID-19 on Twitter. Methods: We downloaded the COVID-19 vaccine booster shots related Tweets using the Twitter API. The collected Tweets were pre-processed to prepare them for analysis by (1) removing non-English language tweets, retweets, emojis, emoticons, non-printable characters, the punctuation marks, and the prepositions, (2) anonymizing the identity of the users, and (3) normalizing various forms of the same words. We used the state-of-the-art BertTopic modeling library to identify the most popular topics. Results: Of 165,048 Tweets collected, 36,908 Tweets were analyzed in this study. From these tweets, we identified 9 topics, which were about Biden administration, Pfizer & BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, eligibility for booster shots, side effects, Donald Trump, variants of the Novel Coronavirus, and conspiracy theory & propaganda. The mean of sentiment was positive in all topics. The lowest and highest mean of sentiments were for the Donald Trump topic (0.0097) and the Johnson & Johnson topic (0.1294), respectively. Conclusions: The topics identified in this study not only accurately reflect the contemporary COVID-19 discussion, but also the high degree of politicization in the USA. While the latter might be a result of our rejection of non-English tweets, it is reassuring to see our fully automated, unsupervised pipeline reliably extract such global features in the data at scale. We, therefore, believe that the methodology presented in this study is mature and useful for other infoveillance studies on a wide variety of topics. © 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

COVID-19 in cancer patients: Clinical characteristics and outcome-a first analysis of the LEOSS registry

Introduction: Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in December 2019 in Wuhan, cases of the associated disease COVID-19 are seen worldwide. To collect clinical data of the pandemic the international, multicenter Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2-Infected Patients (LEOSS) registry was established. Here, we present a first description of cancer patients with COVID-19 from LEOSS. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 283 patients (pts) with cancer and COVID-19 from a total of 1808 pts enrolled between March 6th, 2020, and June 26th, 2020. Baseline characteristics include socio-demographics, comorbidity according to Charlson Comor-bidity Index (CCI), ECOG and outcome of COVID-19. Clinical manifestation of COVID-19 was described in four phases: uncomplicated (asymptomatic/mild symptoms), complicated (need for oxygen supplementation), critical (need for life supporting therapy) and recovery (clinical improvement/discharge). Result(s): Median observational period was 11 (range 0-48) days, median inpatients stay 12.5 (range 0-72) days. Most patients were aged 66 years or older (75.5%), 112 (39.5%) pts were female. Median CCI was 4 (0-15), 46/119 (16.5%) pts had an ECOG >2. Solid tumors were seen in 61%, lymphoma and leukemia in 14.5% and 10.5% respectively. One hundred and seven pts (38%) had an active malignant disease and 76 (27%) had received anti-cancer treatment within the last 3 months. In 181 (64%) pts COVID-19 remained in the uncomplicated phase whereas 93 (33%) pts developed a complicated or critical phase. Sixty-three (22.5%) pts required intensive care, 35 out of 63 needed mechanical ventilation. A total of 79 (28%) pts died, 67 (23.5%) from COVID-19. Median survival was 33 days and worse compared to non-cancer pts (non-cancer pts: med. survival not reached, p-value < 0.001). Conclusion(s): As expected, cancer patients hospitalized for COVID-19 frequently have severe disease and an adverse outcome. To confrm these results, age-and comorbidity adjusted analysis are needed. An update of the analysis will be presented at the DGHO Annual Meeting.

The role of the information community in ensuring that information is authoritative: Strategies from NISO Plus 2022

This article reports on a NISO Plus 2022 session that addressed what can be done to safeguard the integrity of the scholarly content being created, disseminated, and used. How much responsibility does the information community have in ensuring that the content we provide is authoritative? Preprints are a great way to make early research results available, but it is not always clear that those results are not yet thoroughly vetted. Peer review - a key element of scholarly publication - can help, but is far from foolproof. Retractions are another important tool, but most retracted research is still all too readily available. What can and should we be doing to safeguard the integrity of the content being created, disseminated, and used? © 2022 - The authors. Published by IOS Press.

Impact of COVID-19 on patient navigation services for follow-up colonoscopy after abnormal fecal testing in community health centers

Introductory sentence about purpose of the study: The PRECISE study tests the effectiveness of a targeted patient navigation program for follow-up colonoscopy after abnormal fecal testing in community health centers. We present adaptations of the patient navigation program resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Brief description of pertinent experimental procedures: Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is an accessible and cost-effective strategy to lower CRC incidence and mortality. However, this mode of screening depends on follow-up colonoscopy after an abnormal FIT result to prevent CRC or find it in early, treatable forms. Unfortunately, almost half of patients with an abnormal FIT result fail to complete this essential screening component. Patient navigation can provide needed support for patients to complete a follow-up colonoscopy. PRECISE is a collaboration with a large community health center whose patient population is 37% Latino. Eligible patients were aged 50-75, had an abnormal FIT result in the past month, and were due for a follow-up colonoscopy. Patients were randomized to patient navigation or usual care. Patient navigation was delivered by a bilingual (English and Spanish) patient navigator using a six-topic phone-based protocol, adapted from the New Hampshire Colorectal Cancer Screening Program. Summary of new, unpublished data: A total of 985 patients were enrolled in the PRECISE study, 489 randomized to the intervention arm and 496 to the control arm. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we made adaptations to the navigator training program and navigation delivery. We converted our in-person training program to a virtual navigation training series combining pre-recorded videos and live webinars. Additionally, we strengthened relationships with GI practices to expedite referrals, improve scheduling processes, and better understand COVID-related policy changes including the conversion of some preprocedure consultations to a phone-based platform and COVID-19 testing requirements prior to the colonoscopy. Finally, we adapted patient navigator messages to address fear and anxiety about getting medical care during the peak COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary patient navigation outcomes will be available in September 2022. Statement of conclusions: This innovative clinical trial highlights the importance of patient navigation to improve CRC screening in community health centers. Rapid response to COVID-19 provided the opportunity to adapt our navigator program for a virtual setting allowing for 1) the sustainability of patient navigation during the pandemic and 2) the broadening of training resources for patient navigators and community health workers.

The Clinical Burden of Sars-Cov-2 on a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit through the Pandemic in Ny

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 epidemic has overwhelmed hospitals around the world. However, the risk of overwhelming pediatric intensive care units (PICU) during the pandemic has yet to be characterized. We aimed to describe the COVID and MIS-C burden on a quaternary urban PICU throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. METHOD(S): We performed a retrospective review of all patients admitted to the PICU positive for SARS-CoV-2 or MIS-C from January 2020 through June 2022. We grouped patients in 4 time periods relating to the four major variant waves. Descriptive statistics were utilized to compare patient characteristics and clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C patients. Mann-Whitney U and Chi-Square analyses were used as appropriate. Further analysis described the incidence and burden of SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C in our PICU. RESULT(S): 294 of 5000 (5.9%) PICU patients were admitted with SARS-CoV-2 (N=223) or MIS-C (N=71) during the pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 patients were more likely male (46%, p=0.002), less likely to require vasoactive support (25% vs 62%, p=< 0.001) and more likely to require positive pressure ventilation (55% vs 27%, p< 0.001). MIS-C patients had lower platelets, sodium, potassium & albumin (all p< 0.001) and higher creatinine, CRP (all p< 0.001) than SARS-CoV-2 patients on admission. The study period was broken down as follows: January 2020-Sept 2020 (P1), October 2020- March 2021 (P2), April 2021- September 2021 (P3), October 2021- June 2022 (P4). During P1, 5.2 % of all PICU admissions were SARS-CoV-2 related, 47.2% were MIS-C. During P2, 5.2% of all admissions were SARSCoV- 2 related, 40% were MIS-C. During P3, 1.8% of all admissions were SARS-CoV-2 related, 16.7% were MIS-C. During P4, 8.7% were SARS-CoV-2 related, 9.6% were MIS-C. MIS-C was less common during P4 (Omicron surge) compared to either P1 or P2 (Alpha & Delta) (p< 0.001). CONCLUSION(S): SARS-CoV-2 imposed a significant burden on our quaternary PICU. MIS-C and SARS-CoV-2 patients have significant differences. MIS-C is less common in more recent variants. Understanding the impact on the pediatric population as it pertains to acute COVID and MIS-C infection are critical to effective planning in order to mitigate the burden on our health system, particularly the PICU.

GAS6 and TAM receptors as biomarkers for disease severity in patients with COVID-19

Introduction: COVID-19 p atients o ften d evelop s ystemic i nflammation and hypercoagulability, leading to an increased thromboembolism risk and a poor evolution. The D-dimer level at the time of hospitalization predicts the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome development, intensive care admission and death. Identifying additional biomarkers to assist physicians in risk stratification and decision-making processes is of upmost importance. Growth arrest-specific gene 6 (GAS6) is a vitamin K-dependent protein that plays a role in thrombosis, hemostasis, and inflammation and is a ligand for tyrosine kinase receptors AXL, MERTK & TYRO3 (TAM). AXL h as b een suggested to be a novel host receptor that promotes SARS-CoV-2 entry into human cells (Cell Research 2021, 31:126-140). Our goal was to determine if GAS6 and TAM receptors plasma level may be used as biomarker of disease severity in patients with COVID-19 and to assess if there is a correlation between GAS6 and D-dimer levels. Method(s): We enrolled a prospective observational single-center s tudy i ncluding 1 10 a dult p atients w ith P CR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from whom blood was collected at prespecified time points. Plasma concentrations of GAS6 and TAM receptors were determined by ELISA. Furthermore, coagulation parameters were measured in plasma. Result(s): The patient cohort was scored using the WHO Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement 2020 and divided into "mild COVID-19" (<=4) and "severe COVID-19" (>=5). Our data showed that plasma Gas6 level significantly increases with the severity of the COVID-19 disease (mild COVID-19: 10.72 +/- 1.33 ng/ml vs severe COVID-19: 18.70 +/- 1.05 ng/ml). Furthermore, we detected a significant increase in sAXL (mild COVID-19: 17.80 +/- 1.85 n g/ml v s s evere C OVID-19: 26.14 +/- 3.81 ng/ml) and sMERTK (mild COVID-19: 6.42 +/- 0.8 ng/ml vs severe COVID-19: 8.55 +/- 0.53 ng/ml) as well as an increase of sTyro3 by trend (mild COVID-19: 1.55 +/- 0.25 ng/ml vs severe COVID-19: 2.13 +/- 0.35 ng/ml) (Figure 1B). There was a positive correlation between increasing Gas6 levels and higher sAXL and sTYRO3 levels (Figure 1B). The WHO Ordinal Scale for Clinical Improvement 2020 positive correlated with sMERTK and D-Dimer levels. Conclusion(s): Gas6, sAXL, sMERTK, sTYRO3 might constitute valid biomarkers to help the clinician to tailor therapy in the assessment of COVID-19 severity in individual patients. (Figure Presented).

Cleaner Skies during the COVID-19 Lockdown

During spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused massive reductions in emissions from industry and ground and airborne transportation. To explore the resulting atmospheric composition changes, we conducted the BLUESKY campaign with two research aircraft and measured trace gases, aerosols, and cloud properties from the boundary layer to the lower stratosphere. From 16 May to 9 June 2020, we performed 20 flights in the early COVID-19 lockdown phase over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. We found up to 50% reductions in boundary layer nitrogen dioxide concentrations in urban areas from GOME-2B satellite data, along with carbon monoxide reductions in the pollution hot spots. We measured 20%-70% reductions in total reactive nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and fine mode aerosol concentration in profiles over German cities compared to a 10-yr dataset from passenger aircraft. The total aerosol mass was significantly reduced below 5 km altitude, and the organic aerosol fraction also aloft, indicative of decreased organic precursor gas emissions. The reduced aerosol optical thickness caused a perceptible shift in sky color toward the blue part of the spectrum (hence BLUESKY) and increased shortwave radiation at the surface. We find that the 80% decline in air traffic led to substantial reductions in nitrogen oxides at cruise altitudes, in contrail cover, and in resulting radiative forcing. The light extinction and depolarization by cirrus were also reduced in regions with substantially decreased air traffic. General circulation-chemistry model simulations indicate good agreement with the measurements when applying a reduced emission scenario. The comprehensive BLUESKY dataset documents the major impact of anthropogenic emissions on the atmospheric composition.

Meat Plants and Strawberry Fields Forever? Precarious Migrant Labour in the German Agri-Food Sector before and after COVID-19

Despite a series of regulative steps and the introduction of a minimum wage in 2015, meat production as well as agricultural and horticultural farming remain vulnerable to undeclared work and exploitative employment structures. The COVID-19 pandemic was a disruptive event for these industries: mass infections in meat factories and housing facilities for seasonal migrants, but also a looming shortage of harvest workers evoked rapid regulative responses, albeit with a different focus. In the agricultural fruit and vegetable sector, security of supply, labour shortage and farm survival centred stage, prompting adaptive measures to comfort farmers, retailers and consumers. In the meat industry, reforms were much more profound and marked a fundamental policy change towards improved working conditions. This article sheds light on the frameworks for recruiting, employing and (potentially) exploiting migrant workers in these two segments of the German agri-food sector. We critically contextualise the legal, political and institutional changes ever since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and find that the reforms each have a quite different potential to sustainably improve the precarious working conditions of migrant workers in agriculture and meat production, respectively. Keywords © 2022 Copyright 2022 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Numerical simulation of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on tropospheric composition and aerosol radiative forcing in Europe

Aerosols influence the Earth's energy balance directly by modifying the radiation transfer and indirectly by altering the cloud microphysics. Anthropogenic aerosol emissions dropped considerably when the global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe restraints on mobility, production, and public life in spring 2020. We assess the effects of these reduced emissions on direct and indirect aerosol radiative forcing over Europe, excluding contributions from contrails. We simulate the atmospheric composition with the ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model in a baseline (business-as-usual) and a reduced emission scenario. The model results are compared to aircraft observations from the BLUESKY aircraft campaign performed in May-June 2020 over Europe. The model agrees well with most of the observations, except for sulfur dioxide, particulate sulfate, and nitrate in the upper troposphere, likely due to a biased representation of stratospheric aerosol chemistry and missing information about volcanic eruptions. The comparison with a baseline scenario shows that the largest relative differences for tracers and aerosols are found in the upper troposphere, around the aircraft cruise altitude, due to the reduced aircraft emissions, while the largest absolute changes are present at the surface. We also find an increase in all-sky shortwave radiation of 0.21 +/- 0.05 Wm(-2) at the surface in Europe for May 2020, solely attributable to the direct aerosol effect, which is dominated by decreased aerosol scattering of sunlight, followed by reduced aerosol absorption caused by lower concentrations of inorganic and black carbon aerosols in the troposphere. A further increase in shortwave radiation from aerosol indirect effects was found to be much smaller than its variability. Impacts on ice crystal concentrations, cloud droplet number concentrations, and effective crystal radii are found to be negligible.

Health locus of control in a pandemic situation: cross-cultural differences between European and Asian respondents

BACKGROUND The present cross-cultural study examined the health locus of control construct during the COVID-19 pandemic. The scientific purpose of the study was to determine whether, during the pandemic situation, cultural and sex differences influence the health locus of control construct and change the internal health locus of control (IHLC), powerful others health locus of control (PHLC), and chance health locus of control (CHLC). PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE A total of 2617 recipients aged 18-70 years from Asia (China, India, and Indonesia), and Europe (Bulgaria, Germany, and Hungary) completed a questionnaire about their health. The participants completed an online version of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale – Form A. RESULTS The survey shows that in a pandemic life-threatening situation, most individuals strive to rely on IHLC and/or PHLC, and fewer of them tend to rely on CHLC. However, there are differences (p < .001) between the two cultural samples: the representatives of Asian collectivistic culture are more dominated by PHLC, compared to the representatives of the European individualistic culture. When the comparison is between individuals from different cultures, sex differentiation affects the health locus of control, and as a result, significant differences in relation to IHLC, PHLC, and CHLC levels (р < .05) appear. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the study indicates that cultural differences influence both the IHLC and PHLC levels, and that Asian participants are dominated by PHLC more than European respondents. Asian females are more likely to seek support from powerful others (PHLC) compared to European women, who perceive themselves as more independent. Asian male participants are prepared to rely on powerful others (doctors or medical institutions), while European male respondents are prone to rely on themselves mainly (IHLC). The results show that sex differences do not significantly affect the health locus of control within the same cultural group. © 2022 Revista Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Ninez y Juventud. All rights reserved.

The Effects of COVID-19 on US Small Businesses: Evidence from Owners, Managers, and Employees

We analyze a large-scale survey of small business owners, managers, and employees in the United States to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on those businesses. We explore two waves of the survey that were fielded on Facebook in April 2020 and December 2020. We document five facts about the impact of the pandemic on small businesses. (1) Larger firms, older firms, and male-owned firms were more likely to remain open during the early stages of the pandemic with many of these heterogeneities persisting through the end of 2020. (2) At businesses that remained open, concerns about demand shocks outweighed concerns about supply shocks though the relative importance of supply shocks grew over time. (3) In response to the pandemic, almost a quarter of the firms reduced their prices with price reductions concentrated among businesses facing financial constraints and demand shocks;almost no firms raised prices. (4) Only a quarter of small businesses had access to formal sources of financing at the start of the pandemic, and access to formal financing affected how firms responded to the pandemic. (5) Increased household responsibilities affected the ability of managers and employees to focus on their work, whereas increased business responsibilities impacted their ability to take care of their household members. This effect persisted through December 2020 and was particularly strong for women and parents of school-aged children. We discuss how these facts inform our understanding of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how they can help design policy responses to similar shocks.

SARS-CoV-2-SPECIFIC T CELLS ASSOCIATED with LUNG DYSFUNCTION in LONG COVID-19

Background: After infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a significant number of individuals develop post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) marked by prolonged symptoms, including persistent pulmonary dysfunction. An estimated 5-20% of those infected with SARS-CoV-2 will go on to develop PASC. T cells and inflammation contribute significantly to severe COVID-19 and similar chronic conditions;however, little is known about the role of persistent inflammation and SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity in PASC. The objective of this study is to compare inflammatory markers, frequencies of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells, and pulmonary function in subjects who recovered from acute COVID infection (AC) and PASC. Methods: We collected blood samples from 35 individuals after recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infection and divided the cohort by symptom duration into AC or PASC. We measured T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 surface proteins, assessed levels of inflammatory markers in the plasma and measured pulmonary function. The Mann-Whitney U test were utilized to examine differences between groups. Correlations were calculated using the nonparametric Spearman test. P values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Compared to AC, subjects with PASC had significantly elevated plasma CRP and IL-6 and up to a hundred-fold increase in the frequency of IFN-γ-and TNF-α-producing SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in blood. Importantly, the frequency of SARS-CoV-2-specific, TNF-α-producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in PASC positively correlated with plasma IL-6 and negatively correlated with measures of lung function, including FEV1, while increased frequencies of IFN-γ-producing T cells were associated with the duration of respiratory symptoms during the post-acute period. Conclusion: Significant immunological differences exist between subjects with PASC and AC that are associated with increased inflammation and pulmonary dysfunction, suggesting that persistent immunologic differences may drive ongoing symptoms in PASC. The persistence of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in PASC suggests the presence of persistent viral reservoirs as a possible mechanism behind PASC etiology.

IgG GLYCOSYLATION PREDICTS COVID-19 DISEASE SEVERITY and VACCINE ANTIBODY RESPONSE

Background: Although vaccination efforts have been deployed worldwide over the past 10 months, there are still gaps in our understanding surrounding the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, including changes to the antibody repertoire. One way of tracking the immune response over time is through measuring IgG Fc glycosylation, which provides insight into the inflammatory state of an infected individual, antibody effector function, antibody half-life, and more. Therefore we set out to interrogate bulk IgG changes in glycosylation in both natural infection and vaccinated cohorts in order to determine potential insight into protection from severe disease and responsiveness to vaccination. Methods: We evaluated 98 plasma samples from COVID-19 patients with either mild or severe COVID-19. Symptomatic patients were characterized as mild or severe based on hospital admission. We also evaluated plasma from 228 vaccinated individuals (Pfizer-BioNTech). Bulk IgG glycosylation analysis was measured through a quadrupole orbitrap mass spectrometry. Neutralization potential was assessed through a spike pseudotyped neutralization assay. Spike antibody levels were measured using a Luminex assay and ELISA. Results: We found that inflammatory glycans (fucosylated agalactosylated, G0F) on bulk IgG were elevated in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and increased over time in this population when compared to mild infection. Mild patients had an anti-inflammatory glycosylation pattern (afucosylated galactosylated, G2) which increased over time. Siaylation levels were elevated in mild individuals, increased over time, and correlated with increased RBD antibody levels. Interestingly, when we assessed COVID-19 vaccinated individuals with low Spike antibody levels and low neutralization, they had the same glycosylation pattern (G0F) as that of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Additionally, a small longitudinal vaccinated cohort (out to 8 months) revealed a decrease in G0F associated with peak IgG concentrations and neutralization (Fig 1). Conclusion: Inflammatory glycan signatures, such as an elevation in G0F glycans, can be used as prognostic tools, not only to predict the severity of COVID-19 disease, but also to predict patient responsiveness to COVID-19 vaccines. This is the first report identifying a shift in glycan signature to be associated with COVID-19 disease severity and vaccine responsiveness, which can guide future studies into SARS-CoV-2 protective immunity and vaccine development.

COVID-19 Vaccine Discussion: Evidence from Twitter Data Using Text Mining

COVID-19 vaccination has led to unrest within societies, and intense public debates are often carried out on social media platforms like Twitter. A better understanding of concerns, issues, and communication on COVID-19 vaccines is a first step to reducing tension within society and improving the negative effects of the pandemic. It can also contribute to addressing the concerns of advocates and opponents, which is essential in the battle against this and possible future pandemics. At the same time, many people report pressure to undergo vaccination in order to continue participating in social and professional life. COVID-19 vaccination has triggered a complex discussion among the public. We use text mining algorithms suitable for big datasets to identify relevant categories of discourse and sentiments from about 250,000 tweets. Our findings highlight (and quantify) expressed shortcomings in vaccination programs related to administration, planning, information, and protective measures. It also hints that rare and severe incidents related to vaccination have a more substantial impact than potential fears related to non-familiar technology such as "mRNA"causing uncertainty. We also provide an extensive discussion setting forth suggestions that might help deal with the current and future pandemic. © 2021 ACM.