Off the Bench and in the Coronavirus Fight

I'm officially going to be adding coronavirus disinfection research to my resume in the coming weeks. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I had felt sidelined from the work of getting us all past this virus, so it feels good to finally be off the benches and in the fight to tackle an important aspect of the pandemic. I'm looking forward to being back in the lab again. I can't talk too much about the project, but the aim is a scientific publication, so at that point, I can share the details. It does mean a bunch of travel, which I had hoped to avoid during a pandemic, but I will have the right supplies and certainly the knowledge to navigate pandemic travel as safely as possible. While there is some manageable increased risk versus my current rural pandemic bubble, I can't pass up the opportunity to lend my knowledge and skills to the cause. Right now I feel like Jack looks in the main page banner picture as he is eyeing a gopher in the distance he wanted to get a hold of. Let's do this!

Coronavirus Population Studies from Iceland and NYC

A solid epidemiological study from deCODE in Iceland was recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Population prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 positive tests in Iceland? 0.8% A separate serostudy from New York City? ~21%. This isn't quite an apples to apples comparison, as the two tests used and the study designs are completely different. There are also significant questions around the antibody testing used, and reliability. Even assuming significant noise in the numbers, the difference is striking.

Key takeaways from the robust Icelandic study:

• 43% of positive participants reported no symptoms at testing, though some may have gone on to later develop symptoms.
• Testing had been carried out for a month before the first positive.
• Over the course of the study, the percent positive (that 0.8%) remained stable, while overall respiratory symptoms decreased, possibly indicating that distancing and other measures were more broadly reducing the spread of seasonal respiratory infections.
• An interesting observation that those concerned about having an infection with mild symptoms may be more likely to seek out testing probably impacts both study's findings.

Key takeaway from the New York data:

• Antibody testing is not ready to be used as a benchmark for reopening the economy as the question of durable immunity to SARS-CoV-2 remains hotly debated.

Both are worth the read. Comment below with any questions, and I'll try to get them answered for you.