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Introduction: Racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected by end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). ESKD patients on dialysis are at increased risk for Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, but racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities associated with this outcome are not well described., Methods: Surveillance data from the 2020 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the 2017-2020 Emerging Infections Program (EIP) were used to describe bloodstream infections among patients on hemodialysis (hemodialysis patients) and were linked to population-based data sources (CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [ATSDR] Social Vulnerability Index [SVI], United States Renal Data System [USRDS], and U.S. Census Bureau) to examine associations with race, ethnicity, and social determinants of health., Results: In 2020, 4,840 dialysis facilities reported 14,822 bloodstream infections to NHSN; 34.2% were attributable to S. aureus. Among seven EIP sites, the S. aureus bloodstream infection rate during 2017-2020 was 100 times higher among hemodialysis patients (4,248 of 100,000 person-years) than among adults not on hemodialysis (42 of 100,000 person-years). Unadjusted S. aureus bloodstream infection rates were highest among non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black) and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) hemodialysis patients. Vascular access via central venous catheter was strongly associated with S. aureus bloodstream infections (NHSN: adjusted rate ratio [aRR] = 6.2; 95% CI = 5.7-6.7 versus fistula; EIP: aRR = 4.3; 95% CI = 3.9-4.8 versus fistula or graft). Adjusting for EIP site of residence, sex, and vascular access type, S. aureus bloodstream infection risk in EIP was highest in Hispanic patients (aRR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.2-1.7 versus non-Hispanic White [White] patients), and patients aged 18-49 years (aRR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.5-1.9 versus patients aged ≥65 years). Areas with higher poverty levels, crowding, and lower education levels accounted for disproportionately higher proportions of hemodialysis-associated S. aureus bloodstream infections., Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice: Disparities exist in hemodialysis-associated S. aureus infections. Health care providers and public health professionals should prioritize prevention and optimized treatment of ESKD, identify and address barriers to lower-risk vascular access placement, and implement established best practices to prevent bloodstream infections., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Jennifer Ahern reports a grant from the National Institute of Health and receipt of a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigators Program gift. Lee H. Harrison reports meeting and travel support from Merck, GSK, Pfizer, and Sanofi Pasteur. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, health care personnel (HCP) have been at high risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, through patient interactions and community exposure (1). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended prioritization of HCP for COVID-19 vaccination to maintain provision of critical services and reduce spread of infection in health care settings (2). Early distribution of two mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) to HCP allowed assessment of the effectiveness of these vaccines in a real-world setting. A test-negative case-control study is underway to evaluate mRNA COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic illness among HCP at 33 U.S. sites across 25 U.S. states. Interim analyses indicated that the VE of a single dose (measured 14 days after the first dose through 6 days after the second dose) was 82% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 74%-87%), adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, and underlying medical conditions. The adjusted VE of 2 doses (measured ≥7 days after the second dose) was 94% (95% CI = 87%-97%). VE of partial (1-dose) and complete (2-dose) vaccination in this population is comparable to that reported from clinical trials and recent observational studies, supporting the effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic disease in adults, with strong 2-dose protection., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Deverick Anderson is the owner of Infection Control Education for Major Sports, LLC, and reports grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and personal fees from UpToDate, outside the submitted work. Ghinwa Dumyati reports grants from Pfizer and personal fees from Roche Diagnostics. Gregory Moran reports grants from I-Mab Biopharma and BeiGene and personal fees from Light AI. Mark Steele reports personal fees from Light AI, during the conduct of the study. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens in health care facilities and in the community, and can cause invasive infections, sepsis, and death. Despite progress in preventing methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections in health care settings, assessment of the problem in both health care and community settings is needed. Further, the epidemiology of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) infections is not well described at the national level., Methods: Data from the Emerging Infections Program (EIP) MRSA population surveillance (2005-2016) and from the Premier and Cerner Electronic Health Record databases (2012-2017) were analyzed to describe trends in incidence of hospital-onset and community-onset MRSA and MSSA bloodstream infections and to estimate the overall incidence of S. aureus bloodstream infections in the United States and associated in-hospital mortality., Results: In 2017, an estimated 119,247 S. aureus bloodstream infections with 19,832 associated deaths occurred. During 2005-2012 rates of hospital-onset MRSA bloodstream infection decreased by 17.1% annually, but the decline slowed during 2013-2016. Community-onset MRSA declined less markedly (6.9% annually during 2005-2016), mostly related to declines in health care-associated infections. Hospital-onset MSSA has not significantly changed (p = 0.11), and community-onset MSSA infections have slightly increased (3.9% per year, p<0.0001) from 2012 to 2017., Conclusions and Implications for Public Health Practice: Despite reductions in incidence of MRSA bloodstream infections since 2005, S. aureus infections account for significant morbidity and mortality in the United States. To reduce the incidence of these infections further, health care facilities should take steps to fully implement CDC recommendations for prevention of device- and procedure-associated infections and for interruption of transmission. New and novel prevention strategies are also needed., Competing Interests: All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

In the United States, age-adjusted opioid overdose death rates increased by >200% during 1999-2015, and heroin overdose death rates increased nearly 300% during 2011-2015 (1). During 2011-2013, the rate of heroin use within the past year among U.S. residents aged ≥12 years increased 62.5% overall and 114.3% among non-Hispanic whites, compared with 2002-2004 (2). Increases in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections related to increases in injection drug use have been recently highlighted (3,4); likewise, invasive bacterial infections, including endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and skin and soft tissue infections, have increased in areas where the opioid epidemic is expanding (5-7). To assess the effects of the opioid epidemic on invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections during 2005-2016, surveillance data from CDC's Emerging Infections Program (EIP) were analyzed (8). Persons who inject drugs were estimated to be 16.3 times more likely to develop invasive MRSA infections than others. The proportion of invasive MRSA cases that occurred among persons who inject drugs increased from 4.1% in 2011 to 9.2% in 2016. Infection types were frequently those associated with nonsterile injection drug use. Continued increases in nonsterile injection drug use are likely to result in increases in invasive MRSA infections, underscoring the importance of public health measures to curb the opioid epidemic., Competing Interests: William Schaffner reports personal fees from Pfizer, Merck, Dynavax, Seqirus, SutroVax, and Shionogi outside the submitted work. No other conflicts of interest were reported.