Constructing Online Spaces Amid a Pandemic: Advocating for Students Through User-Centered Design

With an increase in online learning environments, especially after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this proposed research paper focuses on the need for student-centered design in online spaces as a form of advocacy. The four authors explore the following question that revolves around online spaces: What are the practices through which user-centered design, especially participatory design through cultural, feminist, enviro-materialist, and disability lenses, might be implemented in online, higher education, or other adult-learning courses? This research article addresses the question of how we as educators, students, and technical communicators can advocate for students and their environments while amid a global pandemic. © 2022 ACM.

Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in a teenage discotheque in Northern Ireland-November 2021.

OBJECTIVES: To report key findings associated with an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 following a teenage disco in Northern Ireland. STUDY DESIGN: Observational case series. METHODS: A case was defined as an individual who attended the event with a positive SARS-CoV-2 result between 6th and 20th November 2021. Demographic and clinical information, including symptom status, date of onset and school attended, were recorded during contact tracing. Vaccination status was derived from the COVID-19 Vaccine Management System. Forty-five samples associated with the outbreak were sequenced as part of the NI Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) programme. RESULTS: Only 2.4% (5/205) of cases received a COVID-19 vaccine more than 14 days before the event. 84.9% (174/205) had received no vaccine at the time of the event and 12.7% (26/205) had been vaccinated within 14 days, offering only limited disease protection. The AY4.2.2 lineage of two cases who attended the event after symptom onset was found in 69% of sequenced outbreak cases. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates extensive COVID-19 transmission in largely unvaccinated teenagers in an indoor venue with limited social distancing, close social contact and mixing, limited ventilation and singing and shouting. Public Health authorities developing COVID-19 entertainment regulations should consider congregations of teenagers in these settings, especially if vaccination rates are low in this group or they are not eligible for vaccination at that time. Public communications should be developed to ensure young people with COVID-19 symptoms follow public guidance regarding self-isolation and in particular avoid indoor events with larger numbers.

Inherited Thrombophilias Are Associated with an Increased Risk of COVID-19 Associated Venous Thromboembolism: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: COVID-19 is associated with high rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The impact of common inherited thrombophilias on the development of COVID-19-associated VTE (COVID-19 VTE) is not well understood. Objective: To determine if the presence of inherited thrombophilias modifies the risk of COVID-19 VTE or COVID-19 mortality. Methods: Prospective population-based cohort study evaluating adult participants of the UK Biobank diagnosed with COVID-19 between November 2019 and May 2021. Individuals were of European descent and aged between 45 and 69 at recruitment to UK Biobank. We evaluated six single nucleotide polymorphisms including rs6025 (Factor V Leiden mutation) and rs1799963 (Prothrombin mutation) in addition to two polygenic risk scores (PRS-VTE and PRS-ABO). A genome-wide association study was performed for associations with COVID-19 VTE. COVID-19 VTE was defined using International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes for VTE following COVID-19 diagnosis. COVID-19 mortality was defined using ICD-10 codes for COVID-19 on the death certificate. Results: Demographic and clinical characteristics are shown in Table 1. Of the 13 712 COVID-19 positive individuals included in the analysis, the median age was 54 years and 52.5% were female. There were 197 (1.4%) cases of COVID-19 VTE and 890 (6.5%) died due to COVID-19. The rs6025 variant, synonymous with FVL, was associated with a 1.8-fold risk of COVID-19 VTE (95% CI 1.040-2.931) (Table 2). The risk of COVID-VTE was also increased with rs2066865 (OR 1.345;95% CI 1.074-1.675) and the PRS-VTE (OR 1.262;95% CI 1.081-1.468) (Table 2). COVID-19 VTE was associated with increased COVID-19 mortality (OR 2.731;95% CI 1.885-3.901) but this study found no association between the studied inherited thrombophilias and COVID-19 mortality (Table 2). On genome-wide analysis, two novel SNPs, rs4975019 and rs2875853, located on chromosomes 4 and 16 respectively, were associated with an increased occurrence of COVID-19 VTE. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that several inherited thrombophilias increase the risk of COVID-19 VTE and suggest that two novel SNPs are associated with COVID-19 VTE. These results suggest that certain inherited thrombophilias may assist in characterising a subgroup of COVID-19 patients at higher risk of thrombotic events who require individualised antithrombotic therapy. Future prospective studies are required to evaluate inherited thrombophilias in this patient cohort. [Formula presented] Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.