Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes with variants of concern in Ontario
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- Evaluated articles (Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases)
Abstract
No abstract available
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Rod Russell
Review 1: "Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines Against Variants of Concern in Ontario, Canada"
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Strength of evidence
Reviewers: R Russell (Memorial University of Newfoundland) | 📘📘📘📘📘
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SciScore for 10.1101/2021.06.28.21259420: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics Field Sample Permit: We classified specimens positive for both N501Y and E484K mutations as the Beta or Gamma variants since both variants have the E484K mutation and insufficient numbers of specimens were sequenced to permit estimation of vaccine effectiveness for Beta and Gamma separately. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization We used the first positive test for cases with multiple positive tests, and a randomly selected negative test for controls with multiple negative tests. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Cell Line Authentication Authentication: Covariates: We obtained information on the following covariates from administrative databases: age and sex from … SciScore for 10.1101/2021.06.28.21259420: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics Field Sample Permit: We classified specimens positive for both N501Y and E484K mutations as the Beta or Gamma variants since both variants have the E484K mutation and insufficient numbers of specimens were sequenced to permit estimation of vaccine effectiveness for Beta and Gamma separately. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization We used the first positive test for cases with multiple positive tests, and a randomly selected negative test for controls with multiple negative tests. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Cell Line Authentication Authentication: Covariates: We obtained information on the following covariates from administrative databases: age and sex from the Ontario Registered Persons Database (RPDB); postal code and Public Health Unit of residence from the RPDB and Statistics Canada Postal Code Conversion File Plus (version 7B); the number of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests for each individual during the 3 months prior to 14 December (a proxy for individuals who are at increased risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection and undergo frequent testing), and biweekly (weekly for Delta) period of RT-PCR test to account for the temporal viral activity and regional vaccine roll-out created using testing information from OLIS; comorbidities12 associated with increased risk of severe COVID-19 identified from various databases using validated algorithms and commonly used diagnostic codes described previously;13 influenza vaccination status during the 2019/2020 and/or 2020/2021 influenza season determined from physician and pharmacist billing claims in the Ontario Health Insurance Plan and Ontario Drug Benefit databases, respectively; and information on median neighbourhood income, proportion of the working population employed as non-health essential workers, average number of persons per dwelling, and proportion of the population who self-identify as a visible minority obtained from 2016 Census data. Table 2: Resources
No key resources detected.
Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:There are some limitations of our study. First, VOC classification in this study relied on a combination of mutation screening and whole genome sequencing, and the criteria for sequencing evolved over the course of the pandemic. Our definition of Delta specimens relied largely on a proxy measure of a N501Y-/E484K- result on mutation screening and a combination of date and geographic location, which were used to infer probable Delta variant specimens. Thus, a small proportion of specimens designated as Delta may have been non-VOC specimens. Second, since vaccine effectiveness is likely impacted by age, the interval between most recent vaccination and index date, vaccine product, and VOC, and given that the eligibility criteria for vaccination (e.g., initial prioritization of older age groups), the availability of certain vaccine products, and the distribution of circulating VOCs all varied over time, comparisons of vaccine effectiveness estimates between combinations of vaccine products and VOCs should be made with caution. However, we adjusted for relevant covariates and restricted the periods of vaccine effectiveness estimation for Beta/Gamma and Delta variants to correspond with their initial confirmation in Ontario. Third, it is possible that we may have missed some of the severe outcomes if they were not recorded in CCM, such as when severe outcomes occur after completion of case follow-up or when cases volumes exceed public health system capacity and public health invest...
Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.
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