To assess the effect of different front-of-package labelling (FOPL) schemes on the objective understanding of the nutritional content and intention to purchase products, in Panama.

Single-blinded multi-arm parallel-group randomised controlled trial.

Supermarkets across Panama. Participants were exposed to two-dimensional images of fifteen mock-up products presented at random and balanced orders. Participants assigned to the intervention groups were exposed to mock-ups featuring one FOPL scheme: black octagonal warning labels (OWL), traffic-light labelling (TFL) or guideline daily amounts (GDA). The control group was not exposed to any FOPL scheme.

Adult supermarket shoppers (n 1200). Participants were blinded to group assignment.

A similar number of participants were randomised and analysed in each group: OWL (n 300), TFL (n 300), GDA (n 300) and control (n 300). The odds of choosing to purchase the least harmful or none of the options more often was the highest in the OWL group. Compared with the control group, these odds were two times higher in the OWL group (OR 2·13, 95 % CI 1·60, 2·84) and 57 % higher in the TFL (1·57, 1·40–2·56), with no changes in the GDA (0·97, 0·73–1·29). OWL also resulted in the highest odds for correctly identifying the least harmful option and for correctly identifying a product with excessive amounts of sugars, sodium and/or saturated fats.

OWL performed best in helping shoppers to correctly identify when a product contained excessive amounts of nutrients of concern, to correctly identify the least harmful option and to decide to purchase the least harmful or none of the options, more often.

To compare the long-term vaccine effectiveness between those receiving viral vector [Oxford-AstraZeneca (ChAdOx1)] or inactivated viral (CoronaVac) primary series (2 doses) and those who received an mRNA booster (Pfizer/BioNTech) (the third dose) among healthcare workers (HCWs).

We conducted a retrospective cohort study among HCWs (aged ≥18 years) in Brazil from January 2021 to July 2022. To assess the variation in the effectiveness of booster dose over time, we estimated the effectiveness rate by taking the log risk ratio as a function of time.

Of 14,532 HCWs, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was confirmed in 56.3% of HCWs receiving 2 doses of CoronaVac vaccine versus 23.2% of HCWs receiving 2 doses of CoronaVac vaccine with mRNA booster (P < .001), and 37.1% of HCWs receiving 2 doses of ChAdOx1 vaccine versus 22.7% among HCWs receiving 2 doses of ChAdOx1 vaccine with mRNA booster (P < .001). The highest vaccine effectiveness with mRNA booster was observed 30 days after vaccination: 91% for the CoronaVac vaccine group and 97% for the ChAdOx1 vaccine group. Vacine effectiveness declined to 55% and 67%, respectively, at 180 days. Of 430 samples screened for mutations, 49.5% were SARS-CoV-2 delta variants and 34.2% were SARS-CoV-2 omicron variants.

Heterologous COVID-19 vaccines were effective for up to 180 days in preventing COVID-19 in the SARS-CoV-2 delta and omicron variant eras, which suggests the need for a second booster.

To determine risk factors for the development of long coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in healthcare personnel (HCP).

We conducted a case–control study among HCP who had confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 working in a Brazilian healthcare system between March 1, 2020, and July 15, 2022. Cases were defined as those having long COVID according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition. Controls were defined as HCP who had documented COVID-19 but did not develop long COVID. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between exposure variables and long COVID during 180 days of follow-up.

Of 7,051 HCP diagnosed with COVID-19, 1,933 (27.4%) who developed long COVID were compared to 5,118 (72.6%) who did not. The majority of those with long COVID (51.8%) had 3 or more symptoms. Factors associated with the development of long COVID were female sex (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.05–1.39), age (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00–1.02), and 2 or more SARS-CoV-2 infections (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.07–1.50). Those infected with the SARS-CoV-2 δ (delta) variant (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.17–0.50) or the SARS-CoV-2 o (omicron) variant (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.30–0.78), and those receiving 4 COVID-19 vaccine doses prior to infection (OR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01–0.19) were significantly less likely to develop long COVID.

Long COVID can be prevalent among HCP. Acquiring >1 SARS-CoV-2 infection was a major risk factor for long COVID, while maintenance of immunity via vaccination was highly protective.

Although multiple studies have revealed that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines can reduce COVID-19–related outcomes, little is known about their impact on post–COVID-19 conditions. We performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination against post–COVID-19 conditions (ie, long COVID).

We searched PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and Web of Science from December 1, 2019, to April 27, 2022, for studies evaluating COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against post–COVID-19 conditions among individuals who received at least 1 dose of Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, or Janssen vaccine. A post–COVID-19 condition was defined as any symptom that was present 3 or more weeks after having COVID-19. Editorials, commentaries, reviews, study protocols, and studies in the pediatric population were excluded. We calculated the pooled diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) for post–COVID-19 conditions between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated as 100% × (1 − DOR).

In total, 10 studies with 1,600,830 individuals evaluated the effect of vaccination on post–COVID-19 conditions, of which 6 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled DOR for post–COVID-19 conditions among individuals vaccinated with at least 1 dose was 0.708 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.692–0.725) with an estimated vaccine effectiveness of 29.2% (95% CI, 27.5%–30.8%). The vaccine effectiveness was 35.3% (95% CI, 32.3%–38.1%) among those who received the COVID-19 vaccine before having COVID-19, and 27.4% (95% CI, 25.4%–29.3%) among those who received it after having COVID-19.

COVID-19 vaccination both before and after having COVID-19 significantly decreased post–COVID-19 conditions for the circulating variants during the study period although vaccine effectiveness was low.

A before-after prospective surveillance study to assess the impact of a multidimensional infection control approach for the reduction of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) rates.

Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) of hospital members of the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) from 10 cities of the following 6 developing countries: Colombia, El Salvador, India, Mexico, Philippines, and Turkey.

PICU inpatients.

We performed a prospective active surveillance to determine rates of CAUTI among 3,877 patients hospitalized in 10 PICUs for a total of 27,345 bed-days. The study was divided into a baseline period (phase 1) and an intervention period (phase 2). In phase 1, surveillance was performed without the implementation of the multidimensional approach. In phase 2, we implemented a multidimensional infection control approach that included outcome surveillance, process surveillance, feedback on CAUTI rates, feedback on performance, education, and a bundle of preventive measures. The rates of CAUTI obtained in phase 1 were compared with the rates obtained in phase 2, after interventions were implemented.

During the study period, we recorded 8,513 urinary catheter (UC) days, including 1,513 UC-days in phase 1 and 7,000 UC-days in phase 2. In phase 1, the CAUTI rate was 5.9 cases per 1,000 UC-days, and in phase 2, after implementing the multidimensional infection control approach for CAUTI prevention, the rate of CAUTI decreased to 2.6 cases per 1,000 UC-days (relative risk, 0.43 [95% confidence interval, 0.21–1.0]), indicating a rate reduction of 57%.

Our findings demonstrated that implementing a multidimensional infection control approach is associated with a significant reduction in the CAUTI rate of PICUs in developing countries.