Perspectives of COVID‐19 vaccine–hesitant emergency department patients to inform messaging platforms to promote vaccine uptake

Objectives: Efforts to promote COVID‐19 vaccine acceptance must consider the critical role of the emergency department (ED) in providing health care to underserved patients. Focusing on patients who lacked primary care, we sought to elicit the perspectives of unvaccinated ED patients regarding COVID‐19 vaccination concerns and potential approaches that might increase their vaccine acceptance. Methods: We conducted this qualitative interview study from August to November 2021 at four urban EDs in San Francisco, California;Seattle, Washington;Durham, North Carolina;and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We included ED patients who were ≥18 years old, fluent in English or Spanish, had not received a COVID‐19 vaccine, and did not have primary care physicians or clinics. We excluded patients who were unable to complete an interview, in police custody, under suspicion of active COVID‐19 illness, or presented with a psychiatric chief complaint. We enrolled until we reached thematic saturation in relevant domains. We analyzed interview transcripts with a content analysis approach focused on identifying concerns about COVID‐19 vaccines and ideas regarding the promotion of vaccine acceptance and potential trusted messengers. Results: Of 65 patients enrolled, 28 (43%) identified as female, their median age was 36 years (interquartile range 29–49), and 12 (18%) interviews were conducted in Spanish. Primary concerns about COVID‐19 vaccines included risk of complications, known and unknown side effects, and fear of contracting COVID‐19 from vaccines. Trust played a major role for patients in deciding which sources to use for vaccine information and in engendering vaccine acceptance. Health care providers and family or friends were commonly cited as trusted messengers of information. Conclusions: We characterized concerns about COVID‐19 vaccines, uncovered themes that may promote vaccine acceptance, and identified trusted messengers—primarily health care professionals. These data may inform the development of nuanced COVID‐19 vaccine messaging platforms to address COVID‐19 vaccine hesitancy among underserved ED populations.

The Skagit County choir COVID-19 outbreak – have we got it wrong?

Over time, papers or reports may come to be taken for granted as evidence for some phenomenon. Researchers cite them without critically re-examining findings in the light of subsequent work. This can give rise to misleading or erroneous results and conclusions. We explore whether this has occurred in the widely reported outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 at a rehearsal of the Skagit Valley Chorale in March 2020, where it was assumed, and subsequently asserted uncritically, that the outbreak was due to a single infected person. Review of original report and subsequent modelling and interpretations. We reviewed and analysed original outbreak data in relation to published data on incubation period, subsequent modelling drawing on the data, and interpretations of transmission characteristics of this incident. We show it is vanishingly unlikely that this was a single point source outbreak as has been widely claimed and on which modelling has been based. An unexamined assumption has led to erroneous policy conclusions about the risks of singing, and indoor spaces more generally, and the benefits of increased levels of ventilation. Although never publicly identified, one individual bears the moral burden of knowing what health outcomes have been attributed to their actions. We call for these claims to be re-examined and for greater ethical responsibility in the assumption of a point source in outbreak investigations.

Asthma as a comorbidity in COVID-19 pediatric ICU admissions in a large metropolitan children's hospital

Rationale: Children contribute to 5% of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19)-related hospitalizations in the United States. There is mounting evidence suggesting childhood asthma is a risk factor for severe disease. We hypothesized that asthma is associated with longer length of stay (LOS) and need for respiratory support among children admitted to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with COVID-19. Methods: We reviewed 150 charts of children and young adults with a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2polymerase chain reaction test admitted to the PICU at Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC between 2020 and 2021. We recorded demographics, anthropometrics, past medical history, clinical course, laboratory findings, imaging, medication usage, respiratory support, and outcomes. Functional Status Scale (FSS), which measures an Intensive Care Unitpatient's physical function, was used to characterize children with multiple comorbidities;FSS and obesity were included as covariates in multivariate analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS v25.0. Results: Sixty-Eight patients ages 0–21 years met inclusion criteria. Median age was 14.9 years, 55.9% were female, median Body Mass Index percentile was 62, and 42.6% were African American. Compared with those without asthma, patients with asthma averaged longer LOS (20.7 vs. 10.2 days, p = 0.02), with longer PICU stay (15.9 vs. 7.6 days, p = 0.033) and prolonged maximum respiratory support (8.3 vs. 3.3 days, p = 0.016). Adjusted for obesity and poor physical function (FSS > 6), asthma remained a significant predictor of hospital LOS, PICU LOS, and days on maximum respiratory support. Conclusion: Asthma can cause severe disease with prolonged need for maximum respiratory support among children with COVID-19. © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Context and Considerations for the Development of Community-Informed Health Communication Messaging to Support Equitable Uptake of COVID-19 Vaccines Among Communities of Color in Washington, DC.

BACKGROUND: Communities of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. We explored barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccine uptake among African American, Latinx, and African immigrant communities in Washington, DC. METHODS: A total of 76 individuals participated in qualitative interviews and focus groups, and 208 individuals from communities of color participated in an online crowdsourcing contest. RESULTS: Findings documented a lack of sufficient, accurate information about COVID-19 vaccines and questions about the science. African American and African immigrant participants spoke about the deeply rooted historical underpinnings to their community's vaccine hesitancy, citing the prior and ongoing mistreatment of people of color by the medical community. Latinx and African immigrant participants highlighted how limited accessibility played an important role in the slow uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in their communities. Connectedness and solidarity were found to be key assets that can be drawn upon through community-driven responses to address social-structural challenges to COVID-19 related vaccine uptake. CONCLUSIONS: The historic and ongoing socio-economic context and realities of communities of color must be understood and respected to inform community-based health communication messaging to support vaccine equity for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

A Decade with DYSS: Lessons Learned and Looking Forward

Each summer over the past decade, the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Washington has hosted the "Distinguished Young Scholars Seminar" (DYSS) series, bringing outstanding research trainees from top-tier programs around the country for day-long campus visits filled with student discussions, faculty meetings, mock interview questioning, and a research seminar. Here, we discuss the history and evolving structure of DYSS, highlighting prior successes and lessons learned, as well as opportunities for ongoing improvement.

Collaborating to Remove Barriers to Success

This article begins with a brief description of access and affordability and their relationship to equity, diversity, and inclusion within the higher education sector today. Because the authors work at a Jesuit Catholic institution, awareness and appreciation of the call to uphold access and affordability at Jesuit institutions are also important. COVID-19 institutional and library impacts are summarized, followed by the identification of pandemic-created opportunities for the library to demonstrate commitment to institutional values and align with institutional and library strategic directions and priorities. Descriptions of initiatives launched in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years to advance access and affordability are provided, accompanied by profiles of campus partnerships that ensured the success and sustainability of these initiatives. Finally, the authors consider the challenges and benefits of constructing and maintaining campus partnerships to improve access and affordability for students and the components of effective campus partnerships.

Teaching the Teachers: Early Childhood Education Programs Aim to Fill Shortages, Meet Growing Demand

Community college early childhood education programs prepare students for a career path that enjoys plenty of demand, although that's at least in part due to low wages that make hiring and retaining good workers a challenge. That challenge has become more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, given the literally hands-on nature of the work. Demand for early childhood education programs likely would spike if President Biden's Build Back Better plan passes Congress, given that it includes money for universal preschool. Administrators and faculty of community college early childhood education programs say they're paying close attention to what's happening in Washington as well as their own states as they try to recruit students, upgrade training to deal with challenges like COVID-19 and meet the demand in their respective areas.

Three Days in March: Examining the Adaptive Expertise of a Teacher Leader at a Crucial Moment in a School-Embedded Teacher Preparation Program

Using an adaptive expertise lens, the following case study examined a teacher leader's perceptions of three crucial days in his life and practice. From March 13th to 16th, 2020, when his school responded to the COVID-19 virus, David1, a teacher leader, had to move a complex school-university learning partnership from in-person classes to an on-line environment. In the partnership, a graduate-level preservice teacher preparation program was embedded into the daily operation of an innovative project-based middle-school. In this partnership, David wore four hats: he taught 6th grade classes, taught a graduate-level technology course at the middle school in the teacher preparation program, co-directed the school university partnership, and conducted professional development for his school and district. In the midst of a rapidly changing global crisis, David had to coordinate changes to each of these four interconnected institutional levels (of which we study the first three). The following research question guided the study: What were the key factors that facilitated David's leadership for teacher preparation and partnership success? Three key findings emerged from the research as important contextual pieces that enabled David's adaptive expertise as a teacher-leader -- and which allowed the school-university partnership to continue for the full semester: (1) David's deep knowledge of educational technology, (2) his ability to respond to challenges by drawing on foundational beliefs and principles, and (3) the progressive leadership of administrators at multiple levels.

Household Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Humans to Pets, Washington and Idaho, USA.

SARS-CoV-2 likely emerged from an animal reservoir. However, the frequency of and risk factors for interspecies transmission remain unclear. We conducted a community-based study in Idaho, USA, of pets in households that had >1 confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans. Among 119 dogs and 57 cats, clinical signs consistent with SARS-CoV-2 were reported for 20 dogs (21%) and 19 cats (39%). Of 81 dogs and 32 cats sampled, 40% of dogs and 43% of cats were seropositive, and 5% of dogs and 8% of cats were PCR positive. This discordance might be caused by delays in sampling. Respondents commonly reported close human‒animal contact and willingness to take measures to prevent transmission to their pets. Reported preventive measures showed a slightly protective but nonsignificant trend for both illness and seropositivity in pets. Sharing of beds and bowls had slight harmful effects, reaching statistical significance for sharing bowls and seropositivity.

Human Parainfluenza Virus in Homeless Shelters before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Washington, USA.

To determine the epidemiology of human parainfluenza virus in homeless shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic, we analyzed data and sequences from respiratory specimens collected in 23 shelters in Washington, USA, during 2019-2021. Two clusters in children were genetically similar by shelter of origin. Shelter-specific interventions are needed to reduce these infections.