Duration of Culturable SARS-CoV-2 in Hospitalized Patients with Covid-19 – NEJM

The duration of transmissibility of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and the associated level of contagion have been uncertain. We cultured severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in serial respiratory samples obtained from hospitalized patients with Covid-19 to assess the duration of shedding of viable virus.

Israeli Study Shows A Majority Of Those Vaccinated Can Be Infected By SARS-CoV-2 After The First Shot – Forbes

As vaccine distribution is picking up with nearly 70 million doses administered worldwide, data regarding large-scale vaccination is becoming available. Last week, Israel released preliminary data on the effects of vaccination for infection. Early indications suggest that after vaccination, as many as 70% of people can still be infected by SARS-CoV-2 after the initial dose of the Pfizer vaccine. More data is needed to confirm the effects on transmissibility among the vaccinated.

Tracking SARS-CoV-2 infection in India with serology – The Lancet

The rapid spread of COVID-19 across the globe caught most countries off guard, in terms of their ability to detect, track, and contain the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. India, with 462 million of its 1·3 billion people living in densely populated urban settlements with high contact rates, was at risk of catastrophic spread of the virus.1
Decades of underinvestment in public health, with inadequate diagnostic capacity and programmatic agility, made the implementation of test, trace, and treat strategies at scale challenging. The country’s leadership had little choice but to enforce a harsh nationwide lockdown to give themselves time to strengthen capacity. Although the lockdown did result in delaying an exponential increase in infections, when the restrictions on activity and movement were reduced, cases of COVID-19 in hospitals increased, even as testing intensified; first in metropolitan cities and then in smaller cities and towns.2

Global COVID-19 cases surpass 100 million as nations tackle vaccine shortages – Reuters

Global coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as countries around the world struggle with new virus variants and vaccine shortfalls.

China Deploys Anal Swab Tests To Detect High-Risk Covid-19 Cases – Forbes

As Chinese authorities struggle to contain rising Covid-19 infections ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations, Beijing has introduced anal swabs asa new type of coronavirus test that could detect the virus more accurately.

Scientists highlight low risk of COVID-19 spread in schools – CIDRAP

Only 3.7% of COVID-19 cases at 17 in-person K-12 schools in Wood County, Wisconsin, were tied to in-school transmission, and incidence was 37% lower than that in the surround community, according to a study published yesterday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).