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Research

Individual-based models of infectious disease dynamics commonly use network structures to represent human interactions. Network structures can vary in complexity, from single-layered with homogeneous mixing to multi-layered with clustering and layer-specific contact weights. Here we assessed policy-relevant consequences of network choice by simulating different network structures within an established individual-based model of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics.

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Britta Regli-von Ungern-Sternberg AM FAHMS MD, PhD, DEAA, FANZA Chair of Paediatric anaesthesia, University of Western Australia; Consultant

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Meta-analyses and single-site studies have established that children are less infectious than adults within a household when positive for ancestral SARS-CoV-2. In addition, children appear less susceptible to infection when exposed to ancestral SARS-CoV-2 within a household. The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) has been associated with an increased number of paediatric infections worldwide.

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The ability for vaccines to protect against infectious diseases varies among individuals, but computational models employed to inform policy typically do not account for this variation. Here we examine this issue: we implement a model of vaccine efficacy developed in the context of SARS-CoV-2 in order to evaluate the general implications of modelling correlates of protection on the individual level.

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Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 through to mid-2021, much of the Australian population lived in a COVID-19-free environment. This followed the broadly successful implementation of a strong suppression strategy, including international border closures. With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in early 2021, the national government sought to transition from a state of minimal incidence and strong suppression activities to one of high vaccine coverage and reduced restrictions but with still-manageable transmission.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented levels of grief and psychological distress in community samples. We examined unique pandemic grief risk factors, dysfunctional grief, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, general psychiatric distress, disrupted meaning, and functional impairment in a treatment-seeking sample of people bereaved from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.

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Public health measures targeting coronavirus disease 2019 have potential to impact transmission of other respiratory viruses. We found 98.0% and 99.4% reductions in respiratory syncytial virus and influenza detections, respectively, in Western Australian children through winter 2020 despite schools reopening. Border closures have likely been important in limiting external introductions.

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In the absence of an established gold standard, an understanding of the testing cycle from individual exposure to test outcome report is required to guide the correct interpretation of SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results and optimise the testing processes.

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The authors recognized a gap in existing guidelines and convened a modified Delphi process to address novel issues in pediatric difficult airway management raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pediatric Difficult Intubation Collaborative, a working group of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, assembled an international panel to reach consensus recommendations on pediatric difficult airway management during the COVID-19 pandemic using a modified Delphi method.

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SARS-CoV-2 infection rapidly spreads in populations due to the high rates of community transmission. Interrupting the shedding of SARS-CoV-2 may reduce the incidence of Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19).