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Background: Symptoms of COVID-19 including fatigue and dyspnea, may persist for weeks to months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study compared self-reported disability among SARS-CoV-2-positive and negative persons with mild to moderate COVID-19-like illness who presented for outpatient care before widespread COVID-19 vaccination., Methods: Unvaccinated adults with COVID-19-like illness enrolled within 10 days of illness onset at three US Flu Vaccine Effectiveness Network sites were tested for SARS-CoV-2 by molecular assay. Enrollees completed an enrollment questionnaire and two follow-up surveys (7-24 days and 2-7 months after illness onset) online or by phone to assess illness characteristics and health status. The second follow-up survey included questions measuring global health, physical function, fatigue, and dyspnea. Scores in the four domains were compared by participants' SARS-CoV-2 test results in univariate analysis and multivariable Gamma regression., Results: During September 22, 2020 - February 13, 2021, 2712 eligible adults were enrolled, 1541 completed the first follow-up survey, and 650 completed the second follow-up survey. SARS-CoV-2-positive participants were more likely to report fever at acute illness but were otherwise comparable to SARS-CoV-2-negative participants. At first follow-up, SARS-CoV-2-positive participants were less likely to have reported fully or mostly recovered from their illness compared to SARS-CoV-2-negative participants. At second follow-up, no differences by SARS-CoV-2 test results were detected in the four domains in the multivariable model., Conclusion: Self-reported disability was similar among outpatient SARS-CoV-2-positive and -negative adults 2-7 months after illness onset., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

Background: The use of neuraminidase-inhibiting anti-viral medication to treat influenza is relatively infrequent. Rapid, cost-effective methods for diagnosing influenza are needed to enable appropriate prescribing. Multi-viral respiratory panels using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to diagnose influenza are accurate but expensive and more time-consuming than low sensitivity rapid influenza tests. Influenza clinical decision algorithms are both rapid and inexpensive, but most are based on regression analyses that do not account for higher order interactions. This study used classification and regression trees (CART) modeling to estimate probabilities of influenza., Methods: Eligible enrollees ≥ 5 years old (n = 4,173) who presented at ambulatory centers for treatment of acute respiratory illness (≤7 days) with cough or fever in 2011-2012, provided nasal and pharyngeal swabs for PCR testing for influenza, information on demographics, symptoms, personal characteristics and self-reported influenza vaccination status., Results: Antiviral medication was prescribed for just 15 % of those with PCR-confirmed influenza. An algorithm that included fever, cough, and fatigue had sensitivity of 84 %, specificity of 48 %, positive predictive value (PPV) of 23 % and negative predictive value (NPV) of 94 % for the development sample., Conclusions: The CART algorithm has good sensitivity and high NPV, but low PPV for identifying influenza among outpatients ≥5 years. Thus, it is good at identifying a group who do not need testing or antivirals and had fair to good predictive performance for influenza. Further testing of the algorithm in other influenza seasons would help to optimize decisions for lab testing or treatment.

Background: Little is known about factors associated with maintenance of hemagglutinin inhibition (HAI) antibodies after influenza vaccination in older adults., Methods: Adults ≥50 years of age were vaccinated prior to the 2009-10 influenza season. Serum was drawn pre-vaccination (S1), 21-28 days post-vaccination (S2), and after the influenza season (S3) for HAI assays. Seroconversion was defined as ≥ 4-fold increase S1 to S2 (or if S1 < 10, by an S2 ≥ 40) and seroprotection was defined as S2 ≥ 40. Maintenance of antibody response was measured in participants with an S2 ≥ 40, and defined as an S3 ≥ 40., Results: We enrolled 510 participants during Fall 2009 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation. Participants' mean age was 64 years with 62% female and 96% white. Seroconversion and seroprotection rates were lowest for influenza A H1N1 (12% and 26%, respectively), highest for influenza A H3N2 (45% and 82%), and intermediate for influenza B (28% and 72%). Of the participants with an S2 ≥ 40, 36% (46/126), 71% (289/407), and 74% (263/354) maintained an S3 ≥ 40 for H1N1, H3N2, and B influenza vaccine strains, respectively. S1 HAI titer was strongly associated with both post-vaccination seroprotection and maintaining seroprotection at S3 for all three influenza antigens. Age, sex, body mass index, self-reported stress, and vaccination site were not consistently associated with vaccine response or maintenance of response., Conclusions: Pre-vaccination antibody titer was the only study variable consistently and positively associated with both serologic response to vaccination and maintenance of response. Antibody responses were lowest for the H1N1 vaccine strain., Clinicaltrials: gov Identifier: NCT02401893.

Background: Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are common in outpatient practice, and the severity of symptoms contributes to the overall burden of illness. We examined the association between a subjective symptom severity score, demographic and clinical characteristics, and presence of laboratory-confirmed influenza among central Wisconsin adults who sought care for ARI during four influenza seasons. We hypothesized that adults with laboratory-confirmed influenza would rate their symptoms as more severe relative to adults without influenza, and vaccinated adults with influenza would rate symptoms as less severe than those who were not vaccinated., Methods: Patients with acute respiratory illness, including feverishness or cough symptoms ≤ 7 days duration, were prospectively enrolled and tested for influenza by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) during influenza seasons 2007-08 through 2010-11. Perceived severity was self-rated during the enrollment interview for eight symptoms, on a scale of 0 (absent) to 3 (severe). Scores for each symptom were summed to generate a combined severity score ranging from 1 to 24 for each individual. The association between influenza test result and severity score was examined using linear regression., Results: There were 2,374 individuals included in the analysis, including 324 with RT-PCR confirmed influenza. The mean symptom severity score was 12.3 (±4.1) points, and the most common symptoms were cough (92%), fatigue (91%), and nasal congestion (84%). In the final adjusted model, influenza infection was the strongest independent predictor of higher severity score, with a mean increase of 1.7 points compared to those who were influenza negative (p < 0.001). Among adults with influenza, the association between influenza vaccination and symptom severity was modified by age (p < 0.001). In adults ≥ 65 years old with RT-PCR confirmed influenza, symptom severity was 31% lower in those who were vaccinated as compared to those who were not vaccinated., Conclusions: Influenza is associated with more severe symptoms of acute respiratory illness. The association between influenza vaccination and reduced symptom severity in older adults should be confirmed and explored further in other populations and seasons.

Background: Local reactions are the most commonly reported adverse events following tetanus and diphtheria toxoid (Td) vaccine and the risk of local reactions may increase with number of prior Td vaccinations., Methods: To estimate the risk of medically attended local reactions following Td vaccination in adolescents and young adults we conducted a six-year retrospective cohort study assessing 436,828 Td vaccinations given to persons 9 through 25 years of age in the Vaccine Safety Datalink population from 1999 through 2004., Results: Overall, the estimated risk of a medically attended local reaction was 3.6 events per 10,000 Td vaccinations. The lowest risk (2.8 events per 10,000 vaccinations) was found in the 11 to 15 year old age group. In comparison with that group, the event risks were significantly higher in both the 9 to 10 and 21 to 25 year old age groups. The risk of a local reaction was significantly higher in persons who had received another tetanus and diphtheria toxoid containing vaccine (TDCV) in the previous five years (incidence rate ratio, 2.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 7.2). Twenty-eight percent of persons with a local reaction to Td vaccine were prescribed antibiotics., Conclusion: Medically attended local reactions were uncommon following Td vaccination. The risk of those reactions varied by age and by prior receipt of TDCVs. These findings provide a point of reference for future evaluations of the safety profile of newer vaccines containing tetanus or diphtheria toxoid.

Background: Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) is recommended for all adults 65 years of age and older and for younger adults with high-risk conditions. While data from national surveys provide information on the proportion of adults 65 years of age and older reporting ever receipt of PPV they do not collect more detailed information, such as age at vaccination or the total number of vaccinations received. In addition, there is relatively little information available on PPV coverage in younger adults with chronic conditions. To assess contemporary patterns of pneumococcal vaccination and revaccination of adults, we conducted a cross-sectional study of adults enrolled in medical care organizations (MCOs) participating in the Vaccine Safety Datalink project., Methods: The study population included 1.5 million adults 25 years of age and older enrolled in the four participating MCOs on December 1, 2006. PPVs administered to members of the study population prior to that date were identified from computerized immunization registries maintained by the MCOs., Results: Among the general population of adults 25 through 64 years of age, vaccine coverage increased from 2% in the 25-29 year old age-group to 26% in the 60-64 year old age-group. In all age-groups, coverage was substantially higher in persons defined as having a chronic high risk condition. This was particularly true for diabetes mellitus, with vaccine coverage of over 50% in the lower age-groups and 75% in those 60-64 years of age. Among adults 65 years of age and older, 82% had received at least one PPV and 18% had received two or more PPVs., Conclusion: We found higher levels of PPV coverage among adults 65 years of age and older and among younger adults with diabetes mellitus than reported by national surveys and for those groups PPV coverage approached the Healthy People 2010 national objectives. These results suggest that achieving those objectives for PPV is possible and that high vaccination coverage may be facilitated by vaccine tracking and reminder systems.