Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of phase 3 randomized controlled trials.

Several vaccines have been approved for the prevention of COVID-19. However, no head-to-head trials comparing their clinical efficacy have been performed. This network meta-analysis aims to identify those, among the competing existing vaccines, conferring the maximum protection against COVID-19. A literature search was done in Medline (via PubMed), Embase and Cochrane Library databases for phase 3 randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of different COVID-19 vaccines. Search results were screened and eligible studies were included to perform a network meta-analysis in software 'R' version 4.1.2 using a random effect model. Cochrane's 'Risk of Bias tool (RoB2)' was used for quality assessment. Raw data from the included studies was used for network meta-analysis. Assessment of inconsistency was not possible as no study compared two or more vaccines directly. A forest plot for indirect comparison of various COVID-19 vaccines was obtained. Rankogram and 'P' scores were obtained to rank the vaccines based on the indirect evidence of their comparative efficacy. A total of 17 randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of 16 COVID-19 vaccines, were included in the network meta-analysis. A total of 361,386 participants was included in this network meta-analysis. Overall risk of bias among included studies was of 'some concern'. All the COVID-19 vaccines had a statistically significant reduction of risk for contracting symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 in comparison to the placebo, however, the maximum protection (RR 0.05) was with BNT126b2. The indirect comparison also revealed BNT126b2 vaccine confers the highest protection against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in comparison to all others included, with a 'P' score of 0.9771 followed by mRNA-1273, rAD26 & rAD5 and NVX-CoV2373. The evidence generated from this network meta-analysis indicates the good efficacy of all the included vaccines in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 as compared to placebo. The BNT126b2 vaccine was found to provide the highest protection against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 among all included followed by mRNA-1273, rAD26 & rAD5, NVX-CoV2373 and others.

Shareholder response to pension deficit: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic

We examine the impact of firms' pre-crisis pension underfunding on stock returns of US firms during the COVID-19 stock market crisis. Unlike the prior studies, our study uses the COVID-19 pandemic as an exogenous shock to pension underfunding and reports that shareholders remain indifferent to firms' pension underfunding. The impact of pension underfunding remains trivial even after considering firms' possible financial constraints, information asymmetry, and mandatory contributions associated with the underfunding. Our findings suggest that shareholders acknowledge pension deficit as a firm's true liability only when pension underfunding contributions start affecting earnings and cash flows in the future.

Impact on neurosurgical management in a Level 1 trauma center post COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions.

The stringent restrictions from shelter-in-place (SIP) policies placed on hospital operations during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp decrease in planned surgical procedures. This study quantifies the surgical rebound experienced across a neurosurgical service post SIP restrictions in order to guide future hospital programs with resource management. We conducted a retrospective review of all neurosurgical procedures at a public Level 1 trauma center between February 15th to August 30th for the years spanning 2018-2020. We categorized patient procedures into four comparative one-month periods: pre-SIP; SIP; post-SIP; and late recovery. Patient procedures were designated as either cranial; spinal; and other; as well as Elective or Add-on (Urgent/Emergent). Categorical variables were analyzed using χ2 tests and Fisher's exact tests. A total of 347 cases were reviewed across the four comparative periods and three years studied; with 174 and 152 spinal and cranial procedures; respectively. There was a proportional increase; relative to historical controls; in total spinal procedures (p-value < 0.001) and elective spinal procedures (p-value < 0.001) in the 2020 SIP to Post-SIP. The doubling of elective spinal cases in the Post-SIP period returned to historical baseline levels in three months after SIP restrictions were lifted. Total cranial procedures were proportionally increased during the SIP period relative to historical controls (p-value = 0.005). We provide a census on the post-pandemic neurosurgical operative demands at a major public Level 1 trauma hospital, which can potentially be applied for resource allocations in other disaster scenarios.

Crohn's and Colitis Canada's 2021 Impact of COVID-19 and Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Canada: Executive Summary.

Persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) make up more than 0.75% of the Canadian population in 2021. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals with IBD, particularly those on immunosuppressive therapies, were concerned that their health status may place them at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 or experiencing more severe disease course if infected with SARS-CoV-2. In response, Crohn's and Colitis Canada developed the COVID-19 and IBD Taskforce in March 2020 to rapidly synthesize the evolving knowledge of COVID-19 as relevant to Canadians with IBD. The Taskforce communicated expert information directly to the Canadian IBD community through online tools and a webinar series. In order to understand the full impact of COVID-19 on the IBD community, Crohn's and Colitis Canada commissioned a policy report that was informed through a systematic literature review and synthesized across working groups along the following domains: Epidemiology, Children and Expectant Mothers with IBD, Seniors with IBD, Mental Health, Risk Factors and Medications, Vaccines, and Healthcare Delivery during the Pandemic and the Future Model of IBD Care. This report from Canadian physicians, researchers, and IBD community representatives highlights the physical, mental, and health systems impact of COVID-19 on the entire spectrum of the IBD community, including children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and pregnant people with IBD. This executive summary provides an overview of the crucial information from each of the chapters of the policy report, supplemented with additional information made available through Crohn's and Colitis Canada's webinar-based knowledge translation platform.

Crohn's and Colitis Canada's 2021 Impact of COVID-19 and Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Canada: Seniors With IBD.

The risk of hospitalization and death from Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) increases with age. The extreme elderly have been particularly vulnerable, with those above the age of 80 having a case-fatality rate as high as 15%. Aging of the immune system can lead to impaired inflammatory responses where eradication of an organism such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) is inadequate but is exaggerated in such a way as to enhance pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Frailty and comorbidity are both more common in the elderly, and these can enhance the morbidity and mortality from COVID-19. Studies from Northern California and Italy suggest that elderly persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were more likely to acquire SARS-CoV-2 infection than youths with IBD. While the specific impact of age-related comorbidity is less well established among people with IBD who acquire COVID-19, data from the Surveillance Epidemiology of Coronavirus Under Research Exclusion (SECURE-IBD) database reported that having two or more chronic illnesses was independently associated with developing severe COVID-19 among people with IBD. Despite having exaggerated auto-inflammatory responses, people with IBD do not appear to have an overall increased risk of developing severe COVID-19 than the general population. However, whether seniors with IBD do worse once they acquire COVID-19 compared with seniors without IBD is not known. The advent of telehealth care has posed an information technology challenge for many seniors with and without IBD. Most persons with IBD have expressed satisfaction with virtual IBD health care (phone or video-based visits). While the elderly may have less robust immune responses to vaccinations, learning from experiences with other vaccination programs, especially influenza, have shown that vaccinating seniors decreases both morbidity and mortality and, in turn, healthcare resources.

Impact on neurosurgical management in Level 1 trauma centers during COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions: The Santa Clara County experience.

Early COVID-19-targeted legislations reduced public activity and elective surgery such that local neurosurgical care greatly focused on emergent needs. This study examines neurosurgical trauma patients' dispositions through two neighboring trauma centers to inform resource allocation. We conducted a retrospective review of the trauma registries for two Level 1 Trauma Centers in Santa Clara County, one academic and one community center, between February 1st and April 15th, 2018-2020. Events before a quarantine, implemented on March 16th, 2020, and events from 2018 to 19 were used for reference. Encounters were characterized by injuries, services, procedures, and disposition. Categorical variables were analyzed by the χ2 test, proportions of variables by z-score test, and non-parametric variables by Fisher's exact test. A total of 1,336 traumas were identified, with 31% from the academic center and 69% from the community center. During the post-policy period, relative to matching periods in years prior, there was a decrease in number of TBI and spinal fractures (24% versus 41%, p < 0.001) and neurosurgical consults (27% versus 39%, p < 0.003), but not in number of neurosurgical admissions or procedures. There were no changes in frequency of neurosurgery consults among total traumas, patients triaged to critical care services, or patients discharged to temporary rehabilitation services. Neurosurgical services were similarly rendered between the academic and community hospitals. This study describes neurosurgical trauma management in a suburban healthcare network immediately following restrictive quarantine during a moderate COVID-19 outbreak. Our data shows that neurosurgery remains a resource-intensive subspeciality, even during restrictive periods when overall trauma volume is decreased.