Project description:India has suffered from the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic since March 2021. This wave of the outbreak has been more serious than the first wave pandemic in 2020, which suggests that some new transmission characteristics may exist. COVID-19 is transmitted through droplets, aerosols, and contact with infected surfaces. Air pollutants are also considered to be associated with COVID-19 transmission. However, the roles of indoor transmission in the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of these factors in indoor environments are still poorly understood. Our study focused on reveal the role of indoor transmission in the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India. Our results indicated that human mobility in the home environment had the highest relative influence on COVID-19 daily growth rate in the country. The COVID-19 daily growth rate was significantly positively correlated with the residential percent rate in most state-level areas in India. A significant positive nonlinear relationship was found when the residential percent ratio ranged from 100 to 120%. Further, epidemic dynamics modelling indicated that a higher proportion of indoor transmission in the home environment was able to intensify the severity of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India. Our findings suggested that more attention should be paid to the indoor transmission in home environment. The public health strategies to reduce indoor transmission such as ventilation and centralized isolation will be beneficial to the prevention and control of COVID-19.
Project description:Against the backdrop of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in India that started in March 2021, we have monitored the spike (S) protein mutations in all the reported (GISAID portal) whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 circulating in India from 1 January 2021 to 31 August 2021. In the 43,102 SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences analysed, we have identified 24,260 amino acid mutations in the S protein, based on which 265 Pango lineages could be categorized. The dominant lineage in most of the 28 states of India and its 8 union territories was B.1.617.2 (the delta variant). However, the states Madhya Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Punjab had B.1.1.7 (alpha variant) as the major lineage, while the Himachal Pradesh state reported B.1.36 as the dominating lineage. A detailed analysis of various domains of S protein was carried out for detecting mutations having a prevalence of >1%; 70, 18, 7, 3, 9, 4, and 1 (N = 112) such mutations were observed in the N-terminal domain, receptor binding domain, C -terminal domain, fusion peptide region, heptapeptide repeat (HR)-1 domains, signal peptide domain, and transmembrane region, respectively. However, no mutations were recorded in the HR-2 and cytoplasmic domains of the S protein. Interestingly, 13.39% (N = 15) of these mutations were reported to increase the infectivity and pathogenicity of the virus; 2% (N = 3) were known to be vaccine breakthrough mutations, and 0.89% (N = 1) were known to escape neutralizing antibodies. The biological significance of 82% (N = 92) of the reported mutations is yet unknown. As SARS-CoV-2 variants are emerging rapidly, it is critical to continuously monitor local viral mutations to understand national trends of virus circulation. This can tremendously help in designing better preventive regimens in the country, and avoid vaccine breakthrough infections.
Project description:The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic has spread rampantly throughout India between April and May 2021, leading to high mortality rates. Identifying any change in the rate of vaccine hesitancy or refusal due to such mass casualty events will provide further insights on developing appropriate risk communication strategy. Hence, this study was undertaken to identify the vaccine hesitancy and refusal before and during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a longitudinal study among 900 adults to know about their vaccine hesitancy and refusal pattern before (March 2021 - round-1) and during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic (May 2021 - round-2). Telephonic interview was conducted using the pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire. There was an increase in the vaccine hesitancy (27.8% in round-1 to 32.7% in round-2) and refusal (25.6% in round-1 to 35.6% in round-2) during the second wave of pandemic in Puducherry. In adjusted analysis, vaccine hesitancy was found to increase by 1.19 times during the round-2 survey compared to round-1 survey (aIRR = 1.19; 95%CI: 1.03-1.37). We also found that the vaccine refusal increased by 1.40 times during the round-2 survey compared to round-1 survey (aIRR = 1.40; 95%CI: 1.22-1.62) after adjusting for age, place of residence, and occupation. We found that the confidence in COVID-19 vaccine efficacy and safety has declined over time leading to increase in the vaccine hesitancy and refusal in our study cohort, with more than one-third refusing to get themselves vaccinated during the second wave of pandemic.
Project description:To curb the 2nd wave of COVID-19 disease in April-May 2021, a night curfew followed by full lockdown was imposed over the National Capital Territory, Delhi. We have analyzed the observed variation in pollutants and meteorology, and role of local and transboundary emission sources during night-curfew and lockdown, as compared to pre-lockdown period and identical periods of 2020 lockdown as well as of 2018 and 2019. In 2021, concentration of pollutants (except O₃, SO₂, and toluene) declined by 4-16% during night-curfew as compared to the pre-lockdown period but these changes are not statistically significant. During lockdown in 2021, various pollutants decreased by 1-28% as compared to the night-curfew (except O₃ and PM₂.₅), but increased by 31-129% compared to the identical period of 2020 lockdown except O₃. Advection of pollutants from the region of moderate lockdown restrictions and an abrupt increase in crop-residue burning activity (120-587%) over Haryana and Punjab increased the air pollution levels over NCT during the lockdown period of 2021 as compared to 2020 in addition to a significant contribution of long-range transport. The increase in PM₂.₅ during the lockdown period of 2021 compared to 2020 might led to 5-29 additional premature mortalities.
Project description:The study aims to assess the impact of the second COVID-19 pandemic wave on migraine characteristics. This is an observational cross-sectional study conducted on migraine patients previously interviewed during the first Italian pandemic outbreak. A second structured telephone interview was conducted between 20 November 2020 and 18 January 2021. We compared migraine characteristics among T0 (before pandemic), T1 (during the first pandemic phase), and T2 (during the second pandemic phase). Among the 433 patients interviewed during the first pandemic phase, 304 cases were finally considered. One hundred forty-eight patients had a control visit between March 2020 and December 2020, 120 had an in-person visit, 14 by phone, the remainder used telemedicine software provided by the hospital. Frequency of headache, number of symptomatic drugs and headache intensity worsened during T2, compared to T0 and T1, especially in episodic migraine. Headache intensity increased relating to the negative emotional impact of the pandemic. Migraine management during the pandemic did not influence the clinical outcome. The prolongation of the pandemic seems to have a negative impact on migraine evolution. The arousal and negative psychological behavior toward the COVID-19 outbreak seem to worsen migraine.
Project description:Objective To assess trends in case incidence and fatality rate between the first and second waves, we analyzed programmatic COVID-19 data from Pune city, an epicenter of COVID-19 cases in India. Method The trends of cases incidence, time-to-death and case fatality rate (CFR) were analyzed. Poisson regression models adjusted for age and gender were used to determine the independent effect of pandemic waves on mortality. Results Of 465 192 COVID-19 cases, 162 182 (35%) were reported in the first wave and 4146 (2.5%) deaths, and 275 493 (59%) in the second wave and 3184 (1.1%) deaths (P<0.01). The overall CFR was 1.16 per 1000 person-days (PD), which declined from 1.80 per 1000 PD during the first wave to 0.77 per 1000 PD in the second. The risk of death was 1.49 times higher during the first wave (adjusted CFR ratio (aCFRR)1.49; 95% CI: 1.37–1.62) and 35% lower in the second wave (aCFRR 0.65; 95% CI: 0.59–0.70). Conclusion The burden of COVID-19 cases and deaths was more significant in the second wave; however, the CFR declined as the pandemic progressed. Nevertheless, investigating new therapies and implementing mass vaccination against COVID-19 are urgently needed.
Project description:COVID-19 pandemic has affected all age groups globally including pregnant women and their neonates. The aim of the study was to understand outcomes in neonates of mothers with COVID-19 during the first and second waves of COVID-19 pandemic. A retrospective analysis of 2524 neonates born to SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers was conducted during the first wave (n = 1782) and second wave (n = 742) of the COVID-19 pandemic at five study sites of the PregCovid registry in Maharashtra, India. A significant difference was noted in preterm birth, which was higher in the second wave (15.0%, 111/742) compared to the first wave (7.8%, 139/1782) (P < 0.001). The proportion of neonates requiring NICU admission was significantly higher in the second wave (19.0%, 141/742) as compared to that in the first wave (14.8%, 264/1782) (P < 0.05). On comparing regional differences, significantly higher neonatal complications were reported from Mumbai metropolitan region (P < 0.05). During the second wave of COVID-19, birth asphyxia and prematurity were 3.8- and 2.1-fold higher respectively (P < 0.001). Neonatal resuscitation at birth was significantly higher in second wave (3.4%, 25/742 vs 1.8%, 32/1782) (P < 0.05). The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in neonates was comparable (4.2% vs 4.6%) with no significant difference between the two waves.ConclusionHigher incidence of adverse outcomes in neonates born to SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers in the second wave of COVID-19 as compared to the first wave.Trial registrationPregCovid study is registered with the Clinical Trial Registry of India (CTRI/2020/05/025423, Registered on 28/05/2020).What is known• The second wave of COVID-19 was more lethal to pregnant women than the first wave. Newborns are at risk of developing complications.What is new• Birth asphyxia, prematurity, and neonatal resuscitation at birth were significantly higher in the second wave as compared to those in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.