Estimating baseline rates of adverse perinatal and neonatal outcomes using a facility-based surveillance approach: A prospective observational study from the WHO Global Vaccine Safety Multi-Country Collaboration on safety in pregnancy.

Background: Most perinatal and neonatal deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), yet, quality data on burden of adverse outcomes of pregnancy is limited in such countries. Methods: A network of 21 maternity units, across seven countries, undertook surveillance for low birthweight, preterm birth, small for gestational age (SGA), stillbirths, congenital microcephaly, in-hospital neonatal deaths, and neonatal infections in a cohort of over 85,000 births from May 2019 - August 2020. For each outcome, site-specific rates per 1,000 livebirths (or per 1,000 total births for stillbirth) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Descriptive sensitivity analysis was conducted to gain insight regarding underreporting of four outcomes at 16 sites. Findings: Estimated rates varied across countries and sites, ranging between 43·3-329·5 and 21·4-276·6/1000 livebirths for low birthweight and preterm birth respectively and 11·8-81/1,000 livebirths for SGA. No cases of congenital microcephaly were reported by three sites while the highest estimated rate was 13/1,000 livebirths. Neonatal infection and neonatal death rates varied between 1·8-73 and 0-59·9/1000 livebirths respectively while stillbirth rates ranged between 0-57·1/1000 total births across study sites. Results from the sensitivity analysis confirmed the underreporting of congenital microcephaly and SGA in our study. Interpretation: Our study establishes site-specific baseline rates for important adverse perinatal and neonatal outcomes and addresses a critical evidence gap towards improved monitoring of benefits and risks of emerging pregnancy and neonatal interventions. Funding: The study was sponsored by the World Health Organization with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Background rates of all-cause mortality, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits among nursing home residents in Ontario, Canada to inform COVID-19 vaccine safety assessments.

BACKGROUND: Nursing home (NH) residents are prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination. We report monthly mortality, hospitalizations, and emergency department (ED) visit incidence rates (IRs) during 2010-2020 to provide context for COVID-19 vaccine safety assessments. METHODS: We observed outcomes among all NH residents in Ontario using administrative databases. IRs were calculated by month, sex, and age group. Comparisons between months were assessed using one-sample t-tests; comparisons by age and sex were assessed using chi-squared tests. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2019, there were 83,453 (SD: 652.4) NH residents per month, with an average of 2.3 (SD: 0.28) deaths, 3.1 (SD: 0.16) hospitalizations, and 3.6 (SD: 0.17) ED visits per 100 residents per month. From March to December 2020, mortality IRs were increased, but hospitalization and ED visit IRs were reduced (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: We identified consistent monthly mortality, hospitalization, and ED visit IRs during 2010-2019. Marked differences in these rates were observed during 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic.