The epidemic of 2019 novel coronavirus (now called SARS-CoV-2, causing the disease Covid-19) has expanded from Wuhan throughout China and is being exported to a growing number of countries, some of which have seen onward transmission. Early efforts have focused on describing the clinical course, counting severe cases, and treating the sick. Experience with the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), pandemic influenza, and other outbreaks has shown that as an epidemic evolves, we face an urgent need to expand public health activities in order to elucidate the epidemiology of the novel virus and characterize its potential impact. The impact of an epidemic depends on the number of persons infected, the infection’s transmissibility, and the spectrum of clinical severity.

While some studies have previously estimated lives saved by COVID-19 vaccination, we estimate how many deaths could have been averted by vaccination in the US but were not because of a failure to vaccinate. We used a simple method based on a nationally representative dataset to estimate the preventable deaths among unvaccinated individuals in the US from May 30, 2021 to September 3, 2022 adjusted for the effects of age and time. We estimated that at least 232,000 deaths could have been prevented among unvaccinated adults during the 15 months had they been vaccinated with at least a primary series. While uncertainties exist regarding the exact number of preventable deaths and more granular data are needed on other factors causing differences in death rates between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups to inform these estimates, this method is a rapid assessment on vaccine-preventable deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 that has crucial public health implications. The same rapid method can be used for future public health emergencies.

Objective To characterise individual and area-level risks associated with invasive or skin and soft tissue (SSTIs) Staphylococcus aureus infections comparing methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) with methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA); and highlight differences between children and adults. Setting A population-based study from 21 reporting laboratories located in Georgia Health District 3 (HD3), an eight-county catchment area around metro Atlanta. Participants A case is a resident of HD3 from whom S. aureus had been isolated in 2017. Primary outcome Culture-confirmed S. aureus infections, classified as skin and soft tissue (proxy for non-invasive) or invasive, by methicillin-sensitivity status. Results The incidence of SSTIs was 19.7/100 000, compared with 5.2/100 000 for invasive infections. Adults experienced higher rates of SSTIs (22.3/100 000) and invasive infections (6.7/100 000) compared with children with SSTIs (13.0/100 000) and invasive infections (1.3/100 000). Risks of MRSA versus MSSA SSTIs were similar for children and adults. Black individuals with SSTIs were more likely to have MRSA than white individuals (children (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.76); adults (OR 1.24, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.42)). Adults with invasive MRSA were more likely to be black (adjusted OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.25 to 2.29) compared with those with invasive MSSA. Children with invasive MRSA were more likely from a racial-ethnic concentrated area (OR 4.66, 95% CI 1.85 to 11.71). Hotspots of MRSA were found in crowded areas with higher rates of black populations. Conclusions The risk of MRSA infections in children and adults can be defined by unique area-level sociodemographic characteristics which were distinct for those areas associated with MSSA infections. Place-based risks of MRSA or MSSA can be used to develop target public health interventions to decrease transmission and incidence.