scholarly journals Distinct patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in two nearby communities in Wisconsin, USA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gage Kahl Moreno ◽  
Katarina M Braun ◽  
Kasen K Riemersma ◽  
Michael A Martin ◽  
Peter J Halfmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Viral Transmission ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Full Genome ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
Milwaukee County ◽  
At Home

Evidence-based public health approaches that minimize the introduction and spread of new SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters are urgently needed in the United States and other countries struggling with expanding epidemics. Here we analyze 247 full-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences from two nearby communities in Wisconsin, USA, and find surprisingly distinct patterns of viral spread. Dane County had the 12th known introduction of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, but this did not lead to descendant community spread. Instead, the Dane County outbreak was seeded by multiple later introductions, followed by limited community spread. In contrast, relatively few introductions in Milwaukee County led to extensive community spread. We present evidence for reduced viral spread in both counties, and limited viral transmission between counties, following the statewide Safer-at-Home public health order, which went into effect 25 March 2020. Our results suggest that early containment efforts suppressed the spread of SARS-CoV-2 within Wisconsin.

scholarly journals Revealing fine-scale spatiotemporal differences in SARS-CoV-2 introduction and spread

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gage K. Moreno ◽  
Katarina M. Braun ◽  
Kasen K. Riemersma ◽  
Michael A. Martin ◽  
Peter J. Halfmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Full Genome ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
Viral Spread ◽  
Milwaukee County ◽  
Local Patterns

Abstract Evidence-based public health approaches that minimize the introduction and spread of new SARS-CoV-2 transmission clusters are urgently needed in the United States and other countries struggling with expanding epidemics. Here we analyze 247 full-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences from two nearby communities in Wisconsin, USA, and find surprisingly distinct patterns of viral spread. Dane County had the 12th known introduction of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States, but this did not lead to descendant community spread. Instead, the Dane County outbreak was seeded by multiple later introductions, followed by limited community spread. In contrast, relatively few introductions in Milwaukee County led to extensive community spread. We present evidence for reduced viral spread in both counties following the statewide “Safer at Home” order, which went into effect 25 March 2020. Our results suggest patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission may vary substantially even in nearby communities. Understanding these local patterns will enable better targeting of public health interventions.

scholarly journals Taking the Cloth: How Religious Appeals Increase Compliance with COVID-19 Prevention Measures

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Adida ◽  
Christina Cottiero ◽  
Leonardo Falabella ◽  
Isabel Gotti ◽  
Syeda ShahBano Ijaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
The United States ◽  
Viral Transmission ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Prevention Measure ◽  
Prevention Guidelines

During the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks have been recommended by the CDC and the WHO as key to reducing viral transmission. Yet, in the United States, one fifth of individuals say they wear masks at most some of the time, and a majority say that people in their community wear masks at most some of the time. What strategies most effectively encourage compliance with this critical covid-19 prevention measure? Relying on social identity theory, we experimentally assess two possible mechanisms of compliance, elite endorsement and social norms, among a representative sample of White U.S.–born Evangelicals, a group that has shown resistance to prevention measures. We find evidence for both mechanisms, but social norms play a remarkably important role – increasing support for mask-wearing by 6% with spillover effects on other prevention guidelines. Our findings confirm the role that appeals to norms and elite endorsements play in shaping individual behavior, and offer lessons for public health messaging.

scholarly journals A Social Network Model of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei Jun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Viral Transmission ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Weighted Graphs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
The U.S

AbstractIn the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, currently vaccines and specific anti-viral treatment are not yet available. Thus, preventing viral transmission by case isolation, quarantine, and social distancing is essential to slowing its spread. Here we model social networks using weighted graphs, where vertices represent individuals and edges represent contact. As public health measures are implemented, connectivity in the graph decreases, resulting in lower effective reproductive numbers, and reduced viral transmission. For COVID-19, model parameters were derived from the coronavirus epidemic in China, validated by epidemic data in Italy, then applied to the United States. We calculate that, in the U.S., the public is able to contain viral transmission by limiting the average number of contacts per person to less than 7 unique individuals over each 5 day period. This increases the average social distance between individuals to 10 degrees of separation.

scholarly journals Building Community Resilience to Disasters: A Review of Interventions to Improve and Measure Public Health Outcomes in the Northeastern United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 11699
Author(s):  
Abigail Abrash Walton ◽  
Janine Marr ◽  
Matthew J. Cahillane ◽  
Kathleen Bush
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Community Resilience ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Northeastern United States ◽  
Building Community

Climate change-related natural disasters, including wildfires and extreme weather events, such as intense storms, floods, and heatwaves, are increasing in frequency and intensity. These events are already profoundly affecting human health in the United States and globally, challenging the ability of communities to prepare, respond, and recover. The purpose of this research was to examine the peer-reviewed literature on community resilience initiatives in one of the most densely populated and economically important regions, the Northeastern United States, and to identify evidence-based interventions and metrics that had been field-tested and evaluated. This paper addresses two critical gaps in the literature: (1) what strategies or interventions have been implemented to build or enhance community resilience against climate change-related natural disasters; and (2) what metrics were used to measure community resilience as an outcome of those strategies or interventions? This review provides a succinct list of effective interventions with specific health outcomes. Community or state-level health officials can use the results to prioritize public health interventions. This review used existing database search tools to discover 205 studies related to community resilience and health outcomes. Methods set criteria to assess if interventions were able to measure and change levels of community resilience to the health impacts associated with a changing climate. Criteria included: (a) alignment with the United States’ National Preparedness Goal for reducing risks to human health and for recovering quickly from disasters; (b) derived from publicly available data sources; (c) developed for use by communities at a local scale; and (d) accessible to modestly resourced municipalities and county health agencies. Five (5) peer-reviewed, evidence-based studies met all of the selection criteria. Three of these articles described intervention frameworks and two reported on the use of standardized tools. Health-related outcomes included mental health impacts (PTSD/depression), mental stress, emergency preparedness knowledge, social capital skills, and emergency planning skills. The paper recommends the COAST project, COPEWELL Rubric for self-assessment, and Ready CDC intervention as examples of strategies that could be adapted by any community engaged in building community resilience.

scholarly journals Partisan pandemic: How partisanship and public health concerns affect individuals’ social mobility during COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. eabd7204
Author(s):  
J. Clinton ◽  
J. Cohen ◽  
J. Lapinski ◽  
M. Trussler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Over Time ◽  
At Home

Rampant partisanship in the United States may be the largest obstacle to the reduced social mobility most experts see as critical to limiting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing a total of just over 1.1 million responses collected daily between 4 April and 10 September reveals not only that partisanship is more important than public health concerns for explaining individuals’ willingness to stay at home and reduce social mobility but also that the effect of partisanship has grown over time—especially among Republicans. All else equal, the relative importance of partisanship for the increasing (un)willingness of Republicans to stay at home highlights the challenge that politics poses for public health.

E-Cigarette Use Among Youths and Young Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: United States, 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e9
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Kreslake ◽  
Bethany J. Simard ◽  
Katie M. O’Connor ◽  
Minal Patel ◽  
Donna M. Vallone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Young People ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
At Home

Objectives. To determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic affected e-cigarette use among young people in the United States. Methods. Data came from a weekly cross-sectional online survey of youths and young adults (aged 15–24 years). Logistic regression analyses measured odds of past-30-day e-cigarette use (n = 5752) following widespread stay-at-home directives (March 14–June 29, 2020), compared with the pre‒COVID-19 period (January 1–March 13, 2020). Logistic regression among a subsample of current e-cigarette users (n = 779) examined factors associated with reduced use following stay-at-home orders. Results. Odds of current e-cigarette use were significantly lower during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the pre‒COVID-19 period among youths aged 15 to 17 years (odds ratio [OR] = 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.54, 0.96) and young adults aged 18 to 20 years (OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.52, 0.81). E-cigarette users with reduced access to retail environments had higher odds of reporting reduced e-cigarette use (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.07, 2.14). Conclusions. COVID-19 stay-at-home directives present barriers to e-cigarette access and are associated with a decline in e-cigarette use among young people. Public Health Implications. Findings support the urgent implementation of interventions that reduce underage access to e-cigarettes to accelerate a downward trajectory of youth and young adult e-cigarette use. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 15, 2021: e1–e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306210 )

scholarly journals State-level Stay-at-home Orders and Objectively Measured Movement in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle J. Bourassa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
State Level ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
The United States ◽  
Total Change ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Objectively Measured ◽  
At Home

Objective: Social distancing has been one of the primary interventions used to slow the spread of COVID-19. State-wide stay-at-home orders received a large degree of attention as a public health intervention to increase social distancing, but relatively little peer-reviewed research has examined the extent to which stay-at-home orders affected people’s behavior. Method: This study used GPS-derived movement from 2,858 counties in the United States from March 1 to May 7, 2020 to test the degree to which changes in state-level stay-at-home orders were associated with movement outside the home. Results: From the first week of March to the first week of April, people in counties within states that enacted stay-at-home orders decreased their movement significantly more than people in counties within states that did not enact state-level stay-at-home orders. From the first week of April to the first week of May, people in counties within states that ended their stay-at-home orders increased their movement significantly more than people in counties within states whose stay-at-home orders remained in place. The magnitude of change in movement associated with state-level stay-at-home orders was many times smaller than the total change in movement across all counties over the same periods of time in both cases. Conclusions: Stay-at-home orders are likely insufficient to reduce people’s movement outside the home without additional public health actions. Existing research on behavior change would be useful to determine what additional interventions could support social distancing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic if becomes necessary to reduce movement in the future.

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