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Host immune responses are a key source of selective pressure driving pathogen evolution. Emergence of many SARS-CoV-2 lineages has been associated with enhancements in their ability to evade population immunity resulting from both vaccination and infection. Here we show diverging trends of escape from vaccine-derived and infection-derived immunity for the emerging XBB/XBB.1.5 Omicron lineage. Among 31,739 patients tested in ambulatory settings in Southern California from December, 2022 to February, 2023, adjusted odds of prior receipt of 2, 3, 4, and ≥5 COVID-19 vaccine doses were 10% (95% confidence interval: 1–18%), 11% (3–19%), 13% (3–21%), and 25% (15–34%) lower, respectively, among cases infected with XBB/XBB.1.5 than among cases infected with other co-circulating lineages. Similarly, prior vaccination was associated with greater point estimates of protection against progression to hospitalization among cases with XBB/XBB.1.5 than among non-XBB/XBB.1.5 cases (70% [30–87%] and 48% [7–71%], respectively, for recipients of ≥4 doses). In contrast, cases infected with XBB/XBB.1.5 had 17% (11–24%) and 40% (19–65%) higher adjusted odds of having experienced 1 and ≥2 prior documented infections, respectively, including with pre-Omicron variants. As immunity acquired from SARS-CoV-2 infection becomes increasingly widespread, fitness costs associated with enhanced vaccine sensitivity in XBB/XBB.1.5 may be offset by increased ability to evade infection-derived host responses. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineage XBB/XBB.1.5 became the leading cause of new infections in the US in January 2023. Here, the authors use testing and hospitalisation data and show that this variant has increased ability to evade infection-derived immunity but enhanced vaccine sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initiative's promising rate of return of FIT kits (28.2%) - as compared to average return rates of 10-28% seen in prior studies[6] and plummeting pandemic screening rates - may suggest that some patient populations are open to at-home screenings. Keywords: FIT; colorectal cancer; COVID-19 EN FIT colorectal cancer COVID-19 1334 1336 3 04/06/22 20220401 NES 220401 Prior Presentations None INTRODUCTION As the COVID-19 pandemic increased in intensity, many United States medical centers halted non-urgent and elective medical procedures[1], including colorectal cancer (CRC) screenings[2] which already have poor screening rates prior to the pandemic.[3] Recent US studies have shown the effectiveness of using mailed fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) programs to increase CRC screening rates.[4], [5] Given the limited resources during the pandemic and low CRC screening, our academic medical center launched a CRC screening initiative, and we report on the results of this initiative and the characteristics of those who received screening through this program. [Extracted from the article]

Disparities in COVID-19 outcomes between Spanish and non-Spanish speakers may be driven by living conditions that necessitate greater interactions with others who may be at risk for spreading the infection. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated stark racial disparities in how it has affected Hispanic/Latino populations in the USA. [Extracted from the article]