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Published on 08/25/2022

COVID-19 Genomics and Precision Public Health Weekly Update Content

Pathogen and Human Genomics Studies

  • Clinical and Genetic Risk Factors for Acute Incident Venous Thromboembolism in Ambulatory Patients With COVID-19
    J Xie et al, JAMA Internal Medicine, August 18, 2022
    What is the 30-day acute risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among ambulatory patients with COVID-19, and what are the clinical and genetic risk factors predisposing them to developing post–COVID-19 VTE? In this retrospective cohort study of 18?818 outpatients with COVID-19 and 93?179 propensity score–matched noninfected participants, a higher VTE incidence was observed in the former (hazard ratio, 21.42); however, this risk was considerably attenuated among the fully vaccinated, after breakthrough infection. Older age, male sex, obesity, no vaccination or partial vaccination, and inherited thrombophilia were independent risk factors for COVID-19–associated VTE.
  • Awareness of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infection Among Adults With Recent COVID-19 Seropositivity.
    Joung Sandy Y et al. JAMA network open 2022 8 (8) e2227241
    Of the 210 participants (median [range] age, 51 (23-84) years; 136 women [65%]) with serological evidence of recent Omicron variant infection, 44% (92) demonstrated awareness of any recent Omicron variant infection and 56% (118) reported being unaware of their infectious status. Among those who were unaware, 10% (12 of 118) reported having had any symptoms, which they attributed to a common cold or other non-SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  • T cell immunity to COVID-19 vaccines.
    Wherry E John et al. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2022 8 (6608) 821-822
    The development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in record time is a major biomedical achievement, but mechanistic immune correlates of vaccine protection remain to be determined. Most studies on COVID-19 vaccines have focused on neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses, with little emphasis on cellular immunity. However, accumulating data suggest that T cell responses play an important role in vaccine protection against severe COVID-19 disease, particularly against viral variants that partially escape from recognition by NAbs.
  • Safety Monitoring of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Children Aged 5-11 Years - United States, May 17-July 31, 2022.
    Hause Anne M et al. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report 2022 8 (33) 1047-1051
    A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended for children aged 5–11 years; approximately 657,302 third doses were administered to children in this age group during May–July 2022. Among children aged 5–11 years, local and systemic reactions were reported to v-safe with similar frequency after doses 2 and 3; specific reactions differed in severity. Vaccine administration errors were the most common events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. No reports of myocarditis or death after receipt of dose 3 were received.
  • Distinguishing features of Long COVID identified through immune profiling.
    Klein Jon et al. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2022 8
  • Neutrophil proteomics identifies temporal changes and hallmarks of delayed recovery in COVID19
    MB Long et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
    Neutrophil changes associated with COVID19 disease severity and prolonged illness were characterized and candidate targets for modulation of neutrophil function were identified. Delayed recovery from COVID19 was associated with changes in metabolic and signalling proteins, complement, chemokine and leukotriene receptors, integrins and inhibitory receptors.
  • Protection against symptomatic disease with the delta and omicron BA.1/BA.2 variants of SARS-CoV-2 after infection and vaccination in adolescents: national observational test-negative case control study, August 2021 to March 2022, England
    AA Powell et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
  • SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity in households highlights the challenges of sequence-based transmission inference
    E Bendall et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
    The reliability of sequence-based inference of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is not clear. Sequence data from infections among household members can define the expected genomic diversity of a virus along a defined transmission chain. In multiple infection households, whole genome consensus sequences differed by 0-1 mutations. Identification of shared iSNV occasionally resolved linkage, but the low genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 limits the utility of sequence-only transmission inference.
  • Causal associations between body fat accumulation and COVID-19 severity: A Mendelian randomization study.
    Yoshiji Satoshi et al. Frontiers in endocrinology 2022 8 899625
    Here, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to compare the independent causal relationships of body fat mass and fat-free mass with COVID-19 severity. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with body fat mass and fat-free mass in 454,137 and 454,850 individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank, respectively. We then performed two-sample MR to ascertain their effects on severe COVID-19 (cases: 4,792; controls: 1,054,664) from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. We found that an increase in body fat mass by one standard deviation was associated with severe COVID-19.
  • Accuracy of 2 Rapid Antigen Tests During 3 Phases of SARS-CoV-2 Variants
    PK Drain et al, JAMA Network Open, August 24, 2022
    Are rapid antigen tests analytically and clinically accurate for detecting variants of SARS-CoV-2? In this diagnostic study of 802 adults reporting COVID-19–like symptoms within the prior 5 days, no significant differences were found in the analytical limit of detection or clinical diagnostic accuracy of 2 rapid antigen tests across 3 epidemic phases of SARS-CoV-2 variants. The positive percent agreement ranged from 81% to 91% across the 3 phases of variants.
  • SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics across US states show consistent differences in effective reproduction numbers
    MD Figgins et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
  • Immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 re-reinfection and immune imprinting
    H Chemaitelly et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
    There was no evidence that immune imprinting compromises protection against Omicron subvariants. However, there was evidence that having two infections, one with a pre-Omicron variant followed by one with an Omicron subvariant, elicits stronger protection against future Omicron-subvariant reinfection than having had only one infection with an Omicron subvariant.
  • A Deep Learning Approach to Forecast Short-Term COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the US
    H Du et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
    To date, providing an accurate and robust forecast at a high spatial resolution has proved challenging, even in the short term. Here we present a novel multi-stage deep learning model to forecast the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths for each US state at a weekly level for a forecast horizon of 1 to 4 weeks. The model is heavily data driven, and relies on epidemiological, mobility, survey, climate, and demographic. We further present results from a case study that incorporates SARS-CoV-2 genomic data (i.e. variant cases) to demonstrate the value of incorporating variant cases data into model forecast tools.

Non-Genomics Precision Health Studies

  • Clinical and Genetic Risk Factors for Acute Incident Venous Thromboembolism in Ambulatory Patients With COVID-19
    J Xie et al, JAMA Internal Medicine, August 18, 2022
    What is the 30-day acute risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among ambulatory patients with COVID-19, and what are the clinical and genetic risk factors predisposing them to developing post–COVID-19 VTE? In this retrospective cohort study of 18?818 outpatients with COVID-19 and 93?179 propensity score–matched noninfected participants, a higher VTE incidence was observed in the former (hazard ratio, 21.42); however, this risk was considerably attenuated among the fully vaccinated, after breakthrough infection. Older age, male sex, obesity, no vaccination or partial vaccination, and inherited thrombophilia were independent risk factors for COVID-19–associated VTE.
  • Awareness of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infection Among Adults With Recent COVID-19 Seropositivity.
    Joung Sandy Y et al. JAMA network open 2022 8 (8) e2227241
    Of the 210 participants (median [range] age, 51 (23-84) years; 136 women [65%]) with serological evidence of recent Omicron variant infection, 44% (92) demonstrated awareness of any recent Omicron variant infection and 56% (118) reported being unaware of their infectious status. Among those who were unaware, 10% (12 of 118) reported having had any symptoms, which they attributed to a common cold or other non-SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  • T cell immunity to COVID-19 vaccines.
    Wherry E John et al. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2022 8 (6608) 821-822
    The development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in record time is a major biomedical achievement, but mechanistic immune correlates of vaccine protection remain to be determined. Most studies on COVID-19 vaccines have focused on neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses, with little emphasis on cellular immunity. However, accumulating data suggest that T cell responses play an important role in vaccine protection against severe COVID-19 disease, particularly against viral variants that partially escape from recognition by NAbs.
  • Safety Monitoring of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Children Aged 5-11 Years - United States, May 17-July 31, 2022.
    Hause Anne M et al. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report 2022 8 (33) 1047-1051
    A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended for children aged 5–11 years; approximately 657,302 third doses were administered to children in this age group during May–July 2022. Among children aged 5–11 years, local and systemic reactions were reported to v-safe with similar frequency after doses 2 and 3; specific reactions differed in severity. Vaccine administration errors were the most common events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. No reports of myocarditis or death after receipt of dose 3 were received.
  • Distinguishing features of Long COVID identified through immune profiling.
    Klein Jon et al. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2022 8
  • Neutrophil proteomics identifies temporal changes and hallmarks of delayed recovery in COVID19
    MB Long et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
    Neutrophil changes associated with COVID19 disease severity and prolonged illness were characterized and candidate targets for modulation of neutrophil function were identified. Delayed recovery from COVID19 was associated with changes in metabolic and signalling proteins, complement, chemokine and leukotriene receptors, integrins and inhibitory receptors.
  • Protection against symptomatic disease with the delta and omicron BA.1/BA.2 variants of SARS-CoV-2 after infection and vaccination in adolescents: national observational test-negative case control study, August 2021 to March 2022, England
    AA Powell et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
  • SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity in households highlights the challenges of sequence-based transmission inference
    E Bendall et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
    The reliability of sequence-based inference of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is not clear. Sequence data from infections among household members can define the expected genomic diversity of a virus along a defined transmission chain. In multiple infection households, whole genome consensus sequences differed by 0-1 mutations. Identification of shared iSNV occasionally resolved linkage, but the low genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 limits the utility of sequence-only transmission inference.
  • Causal associations between body fat accumulation and COVID-19 severity: A Mendelian randomization study.
    Yoshiji Satoshi et al. Frontiers in endocrinology 2022 8 899625
    Here, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to compare the independent causal relationships of body fat mass and fat-free mass with COVID-19 severity. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with body fat mass and fat-free mass in 454,137 and 454,850 individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank, respectively. We then performed two-sample MR to ascertain their effects on severe COVID-19 (cases: 4,792; controls: 1,054,664) from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. We found that an increase in body fat mass by one standard deviation was associated with severe COVID-19.
  • Accuracy of 2 Rapid Antigen Tests During 3 Phases of SARS-CoV-2 Variants
    PK Drain et al, JAMA Network Open, August 24, 2022
    Are rapid antigen tests analytically and clinically accurate for detecting variants of SARS-CoV-2? In this diagnostic study of 802 adults reporting COVID-19–like symptoms within the prior 5 days, no significant differences were found in the analytical limit of detection or clinical diagnostic accuracy of 2 rapid antigen tests across 3 epidemic phases of SARS-CoV-2 variants. The positive percent agreement ranged from 81% to 91% across the 3 phases of variants.
  • SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics across US states show consistent differences in effective reproduction numbers
    MD Figgins et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
  • Immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 re-reinfection and immune imprinting
    H Chemaitelly et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
    There was no evidence that immune imprinting compromises protection against Omicron subvariants. However, there was evidence that having two infections, one with a pre-Omicron variant followed by one with an Omicron subvariant, elicits stronger protection against future Omicron-subvariant reinfection than having had only one infection with an Omicron subvariant.
  • A Deep Learning Approach to Forecast Short-Term COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the US
    H Du et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
    To date, providing an accurate and robust forecast at a high spatial resolution has proved challenging, even in the short term. Here we present a novel multi-stage deep learning model to forecast the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths for each US state at a weekly level for a forecast horizon of 1 to 4 weeks. The model is heavily data driven, and relies on epidemiological, mobility, survey, climate, and demographic. We further present results from a case study that incorporates SARS-CoV-2 genomic data (i.e. variant cases) to demonstrate the value of incorporating variant cases data into model forecast tools.

News, Reviews and Commentaries

  • Clinical and Genetic Risk Factors for Acute Incident Venous Thromboembolism in Ambulatory Patients With COVID-19
    J Xie et al, JAMA Internal Medicine, August 18, 2022
    What is the 30-day acute risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) among ambulatory patients with COVID-19, and what are the clinical and genetic risk factors predisposing them to developing post–COVID-19 VTE? In this retrospective cohort study of 18?818 outpatients with COVID-19 and 93?179 propensity score–matched noninfected participants, a higher VTE incidence was observed in the former (hazard ratio, 21.42); however, this risk was considerably attenuated among the fully vaccinated, after breakthrough infection. Older age, male sex, obesity, no vaccination or partial vaccination, and inherited thrombophilia were independent risk factors for COVID-19–associated VTE.
  • Awareness of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Infection Among Adults With Recent COVID-19 Seropositivity.
    Joung Sandy Y et al. JAMA network open 2022 8 (8) e2227241
    Of the 210 participants (median [range] age, 51 (23-84) years; 136 women [65%]) with serological evidence of recent Omicron variant infection, 44% (92) demonstrated awareness of any recent Omicron variant infection and 56% (118) reported being unaware of their infectious status. Among those who were unaware, 10% (12 of 118) reported having had any symptoms, which they attributed to a common cold or other non-SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  • T cell immunity to COVID-19 vaccines.
    Wherry E John et al. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2022 8 (6608) 821-822
    The development of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in record time is a major biomedical achievement, but mechanistic immune correlates of vaccine protection remain to be determined. Most studies on COVID-19 vaccines have focused on neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses, with little emphasis on cellular immunity. However, accumulating data suggest that T cell responses play an important role in vaccine protection against severe COVID-19 disease, particularly against viral variants that partially escape from recognition by NAbs.
  • Safety Monitoring of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Children Aged 5-11 Years - United States, May 17-July 31, 2022.
    Hause Anne M et al. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report 2022 8 (33) 1047-1051
    A Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster dose is recommended for children aged 5–11 years; approximately 657,302 third doses were administered to children in this age group during May–July 2022. Among children aged 5–11 years, local and systemic reactions were reported to v-safe with similar frequency after doses 2 and 3; specific reactions differed in severity. Vaccine administration errors were the most common events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. No reports of myocarditis or death after receipt of dose 3 were received.
  • Distinguishing features of Long COVID identified through immune profiling.
    Klein Jon et al. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2022 8
  • Neutrophil proteomics identifies temporal changes and hallmarks of delayed recovery in COVID19
    MB Long et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
    Neutrophil changes associated with COVID19 disease severity and prolonged illness were characterized and candidate targets for modulation of neutrophil function were identified. Delayed recovery from COVID19 was associated with changes in metabolic and signalling proteins, complement, chemokine and leukotriene receptors, integrins and inhibitory receptors.
  • Protection against symptomatic disease with the delta and omicron BA.1/BA.2 variants of SARS-CoV-2 after infection and vaccination in adolescents: national observational test-negative case control study, August 2021 to March 2022, England
    AA Powell et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
  • SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity in households highlights the challenges of sequence-based transmission inference
    E Bendall et al, MEDRXIV, August 22, 2022
    The reliability of sequence-based inference of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is not clear. Sequence data from infections among household members can define the expected genomic diversity of a virus along a defined transmission chain. In multiple infection households, whole genome consensus sequences differed by 0-1 mutations. Identification of shared iSNV occasionally resolved linkage, but the low genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 limits the utility of sequence-only transmission inference.
  • Causal associations between body fat accumulation and COVID-19 severity: A Mendelian randomization study.
    Yoshiji Satoshi et al. Frontiers in endocrinology 2022 8 899625
    Here, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to compare the independent causal relationships of body fat mass and fat-free mass with COVID-19 severity. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with body fat mass and fat-free mass in 454,137 and 454,850 individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank, respectively. We then performed two-sample MR to ascertain their effects on severe COVID-19 (cases: 4,792; controls: 1,054,664) from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. We found that an increase in body fat mass by one standard deviation was associated with severe COVID-19.
  • Accuracy of 2 Rapid Antigen Tests During 3 Phases of SARS-CoV-2 Variants
    PK Drain et al, JAMA Network Open, August 24, 2022
    Are rapid antigen tests analytically and clinically accurate for detecting variants of SARS-CoV-2? In this diagnostic study of 802 adults reporting COVID-19–like symptoms within the prior 5 days, no significant differences were found in the analytical limit of detection or clinical diagnostic accuracy of 2 rapid antigen tests across 3 epidemic phases of SARS-CoV-2 variants. The positive percent agreement ranged from 81% to 91% across the 3 phases of variants.
  • SARS-CoV-2 variant dynamics across US states show consistent differences in effective reproduction numbers
    MD Figgins et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
  • Immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 re-reinfection and immune imprinting
    H Chemaitelly et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
    There was no evidence that immune imprinting compromises protection against Omicron subvariants. However, there was evidence that having two infections, one with a pre-Omicron variant followed by one with an Omicron subvariant, elicits stronger protection against future Omicron-subvariant reinfection than having had only one infection with an Omicron subvariant.
  • A Deep Learning Approach to Forecast Short-Term COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the US
    H Du et al, MEDRXIV, August 24, 2022
    To date, providing an accurate and robust forecast at a high spatial resolution has proved challenging, even in the short term. Here we present a novel multi-stage deep learning model to forecast the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths for each US state at a weekly level for a forecast horizon of 1 to 4 weeks. The model is heavily data driven, and relies on epidemiological, mobility, survey, climate, and demographic. We further present results from a case study that incorporates SARS-CoV-2 genomic data (i.e. variant cases) to demonstrate the value of incorporating variant cases data into model forecast tools.
Disclaimer: Articles listed in COVID-19 Genomics and Precision Public Health Weekly Update are selected by Public Health Genomics Branch to provide current awareness of the scientific literature and news. Inclusion in the update does not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor does it imply endorsement of the article's methods or findings. CDC and DHHS assume no responsibility for the factual accuracy of the items presented. The selection, omission, or content of items does not imply any endorsement or other position taken by CDC or DHHS. Opinion, findings and conclusions expressed by the original authors of items included in the Clips, or persons quoted therein, are strictly their own and are in no way meant to represent the opinion or views of CDC or DHHS. References to publications, news sources, and non-CDC Websites are provided solely for informational purposes and do not imply endorsement by CDC or DHHS.
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