Effectiveness of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccines against Delta-Variant COVID-19: Evidence from an Outbreak in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

Phase 3 clinical trials and real-world effectiveness studies showed that China's two main inactivated COVID-19 vaccines are very effective against serious illness. In November 2021, an outbreak occurred in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region that provided an opportunity to assess the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of these inactivated vaccines against COVID-19 caused by the delta variant. We evaluated VE with a retrospective cohort study of close contacts of infected individuals, using a generalized linear model with binomial distribution and log-link function to estimate risk ratios (RR) and VE. A total of 8842 close contacts were studied. Compared with no vaccination and adjusted for age, presence of comorbidity, and time since last vaccination, full vaccination reduced symptomatic infection by 62%, pneumonia by 64% and severe COVID-19 by 90%; reductions associated with homologous booster doses were 83% for symptomatic infection, 92% for pneumonia and 100% for severe COVID-19. There was no significant decline in two-dose VE for any outcome for up to 325 days following the last dose. There were no differences by vaccine brand. Inactivated vaccines were effective against delta-variant illness, and were highly effective against pneumonia and severe COVID-19; VE was increased by booster doses.

The cuter, the better? The impact of cuteness on intention to purchase AI voice assistants: A moderated serial-mediation model.

Due to the lockdown, more and more people are used to communicating with AI voice assistants during the post-COVID era. This study investigates the relationship between the perceived cuteness of AI voice assistants and the intention to purchase via a moderated serial-mediation model. We tested a PLS-SEM model with 284 survey data from an online experiment. The findings indicate that: (1) different cuteness appearances lead to different levels of perceived cuteness; (2) perceived cuteness positively affects intention to purchase; (3) the positive direct effect is serial mediated by social presence and user engagement; (4) the serial mediation effect is negatively moderated by perceived risk of service failure, which means the positive influence of perceived cuteness on intention to purchase is weakened at a high level of perceived risk. Our research has both theoretical and managerial contributions, which also reminds enterprises to grasp the cuteness degree of the product.

A Systematic Review of Objective Factors Influencing Behavior in Public Open Spaces.

As a significant part of outdoor built-environment, public open spaces are closely associated with people's daily lives. Studies of outdoor behavior in these spaces can shed light on users' environmental perceptions and contribute to the promotion of physiological and psychological health. Many recent studies are case studies focused where observations, surveys and interviews have been conducted to understand the factors influencing people's behavior on one or few sites or city environments. There have been few reviews related to this topic, and none have been based on the systematic understanding of influencing factors. This paper presents a systematic review of interactions between behavior and the built environment in public open spaces, and highlights the impacts of diverse and objective influencing factors. Followed the rules of PRISMA method (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), 109 papers published in 2000-2021 were selected and reviewed. The distribution of the studied interactions is analyzed, and the impacts of four distinct factors: personal background, location and context, environmental component, and climate stimuli, are extracted, categorized, and specified. Moreover, outdoor health benefits are discussed based on which, crucial factors that require emphasis after the outbreak of COVID-19 are identified. Throughout this paper, behavioral influencing processes, including objective influencing factors, subjective feedback, and the relationships involved, are considered to provide a comprehensive picture. With the robust classification of existing factors, architects, urban designers, policy makers and fellow researches could be easier to get a more comprehensive trend from the past. This paper also provides guidance for future research, especially given that COVID-19 has created huge changes to outdoor needs and customary behavior. Systematic Review Registration: http://www.prisma-statement.org/.

Rapid and Specific Detection of Active SARS-CoV-2 With CRISPR/Cas12a.

Rapid and sensitive nucleic acid detection of SARS-CoV-2 has contributed to the clinical diagnosis and control of COVID-19. Although detection of virus genomic RNA (gRNA) has been commonly used in clinical diagnosis, SARS-CoV-2 gRNA detection could not discriminate between active infectious virus with remnant viral RNA. In contrast to genomic RNA, subgenomic RNAs (sgRNAs) are only produced when the virus is actively replicating and transcription, detection of sgRNA could be an indication to evaluate infectivity. CRISPR/Cas-based nucleic acid detection methods have been considered potential diagnostic tools due to their intrinsic sensitivity, specificity and simplicity. In this study, to specifically detect active virus replication, we developed a CRISPR-based active SARS-CoV-2 (CRISPR-actCoV) detection strategy by detecting sgRNAs of SARS-CoV-2. CRISPR-actCoV with CRISPR Cas12a-assisted fluorescence reporter system enables detection of sgRNAs at 10 copies in 35 min with high specificity and can be read out with naked eyes. Further, we performed CRISPR-actCoV mediated sgRNA detection in 30 SARS-CoV-2 potentially infected clinical samples, and 21 samples were SARS-CoV-2 sgRNA positive. A quantitative RT-PCR assay was also performed to detect gRNA of SARS-CoV-2 in parallel. Among the 30 clinical samples, 27 samples were gRNA positive. Taken together, CRISPR-actCoV provides an alternative for rapid and accurate detection of active SARS-CoV-2 and has great significance in better response of coronavirus causing epidemic disease.

Assessment of medical waste generation, associated environmental impact, and management issues after the outbreak of COVID-19: A case study of the Hubei Province in China.

COVID-19 greatly challenges the human health sector, and has resulted in a large amount of medical waste that poses various potential threats to the environment. In this study, we compiled relevant data released by official agencies and the media, and conducted data supplementation based on earlier studies to calculate the net value of medical waste produced in the Hubei Province due to COVID-19 with the help of a neural network model. Next, we reviewed the data related to the environmental impact of medical waste per unit and designed four scenarios to estimate the environmental impact of new medical waste generated during the pandemic. The results showed that a medical waste generation rate of 0.5 kg/bed/day due to COVID-19 resulted in a net increase of medical waste volume by about 3366.99 tons in the Hubei Province. In the four scenario assumptions, i.e., if the medical waste resulting from COVID-19 is completely incinerated, it will have a large impact on the air quality. If it is disposed by distillation sterilization, it will produce a large amount of wastewater and waste residue. Based on the results of the study, we propose three policy recommendations: strict control of medical wastewater discharge, reduction and transformation of the emitted acidic gases, and attention to the emission of metallic nickel in exhaust gas and chloride in soil. These policy recommendations provide a scientific basis for controlling medical waste pollution.

Effectiveness of Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccines Against Symptomatic, Pneumonia, and Severe Disease Caused by the Delta Variant: Real World Study and Evidence - China, 2021.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS TOPIC?: Effectiveness of China's 2 inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac) against pre-Delta severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants ranged from 47% to over 90%, depending on the clinical endpoint, and with greater effectiveness against more severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). During an outbreak in Guangdong, inactivated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against the Delta variant was 70% for symptomatic infection and 100% for severe COVID-19. However, separate or combined VE estimates for the two inactivated vaccines against Delta are not available. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT?: In an outbreak that started in a hospital, VEs of completed primary vaccination with inactivated COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic COVID-19, COVID-19 pneumonia, and severe COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant were 51%, 61%, and 82%. Completed primary vaccination reduced the risk of progressing from mild to moderate or severe COVID-19 by 74%. VE estimates for BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac or combined vaccination were similar, and partial vaccination was ineffective. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE?: Completed primary vaccination with either of the 2 inactivated COVID-19 vaccines reduces risk of symptomatic COVID-19, COVID-19 pneumonia, and severe COVID-19 caused by the Delta variant. Completion of the completed primary vaccination with two doses is necessary for protection from Delta.

Vaccination Vehicles for COVID-19 Immunization - China, 2021.

BACKGROUND: Recently, developed vaccination vehicles were repurposed and deployed for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in China. We described the vehicles and reported an evaluation of vaccination throughput of these vehicles for COVID-19 vaccination in China. METHODS: We obtained daily reports of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in vehicles in Hubei Province between March 16 and 29 of 2021. We determined the rate of COVID-19 vaccines given and evaluated the applicability of vaccination vehicles for COVID-19 vaccination. RESULTS: Vehicles with 2 vaccination stations are suitable for several real-world scenarios. Vehicles administered an average of 72 COVID-19 vaccine doses per hour, with an upper limit of 145 doses per hour. CONCLUSION: Vaccination vehicles can save human and financial resources and provide high quality, effective, convenient, and rapid on-site vaccination services; they can increase the pace of COVID-19 vaccination.

The associations of geographic location and perceived risk of infection with the intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in China.

BACKGROUND: Vaccines are a critical tool against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, yet little is known regarding the associations of geographic location and perceived risk with the intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in China. METHODS: An on-site survey of adults aged 18 or older (n = 7261) was conducted from November to December, 2020 in China, and this survey selected six provinces based on the geographic location. RESULTS: In the total sample, 82.5% reported that they would intend to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Compared with Hubei province, respondents' intentions to get vaccinated decreased by 70% in Zhejiang, 61% in Guangdong, 87% in Gansu, and 71% in Jilin, respectively. However, within Hubei province, compared with Wuhan city, respondents' intentions to get vaccinated in other cities were not significantly different. Respondents with higher perceived risk of infection were associated with increased odds of intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Our study identified priority geographic regions that need to pay attention on the vaccination campaign and help design effective immunization strategies to increase the vaccine uptake against COVID-19. More attention should be paid to adults residing farther from the epicenter of the outbreak and having lower perceived risk of infection.