Viral whole-genome sequencing to assess impact of universal masking on SARS-CoV-2 transmission among pediatric healthcare workers

Larry K. Kociolek; Ami B. Patel; Judd F. Hultquist; Egon A. Ozer; Lacy M. Simons; Matthew McHugh; William J. Muller; Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo

doi:10.1017/ice.2021.415

Viral whole-genome sequencing to assess impact of universal masking on SARS-CoV-2 transmission among pediatric healthcare workers

Larry K. Kociolek^*, Ami B. Patel, Judd F. Hultquist, Egon A. Ozer, Lacy M. Simons, Matthew McHugh, William J. Muller, Ramon Lorenzo-Redondo

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To identify the impact of universal masking on COVID-19 incidence and putative SARS-CoV-2 transmissions events among children's hospital healthcare workers (HCWs). Design: Quasi-experimental study. Setting: Single academic free-standing children's hospital. Methods: We performed whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2- PCR-positive samples collected from HCWs 3 weeks before and 6 weeks after implementing a universal masking policy. Phylogenetic analyses were performed to identify clusters of clonally related SARS-CoV-2 indicative of putative transmission events. We measured COVID-19 incidence, SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rates, and frequency of putative transmission events before and after the masking policy was implemented. Results: HCW COVID-19 incidence and test positivity declined from 14.3 to 4.3 cases per week, and from 18.4% to 9.0%, respectively. Putative transmission events were only identified prior to universal masking. Conclusions: A universal masking policy was associated with reductions in HCW COVID-19 infections and occupational acquisition of SARS-CoV-2.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1408-1412
Number of pages	5
Journal	Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
Volume	43
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2021.415
State	Published - Oct 1 2022

Funding

This work was partially supported by funding to L.K.K., J.F.H., E.A.O., L.M.S., and R.L.R. from the Walder Foundation’s Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network (Chicago CAN) Initiative. Research reported in this publication was also supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (grant no. UL1TR001422). This work was partially supported by funding to L.K.K., J.F.H., E.A.O., L.M.S., and R.L.R. from the Walder Foundation's Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network (Chicago CAN) Initiative. Research reported in this publication was also supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (grant no. UL1TR001422).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology (medical)
Infectious Diseases
Epidemiology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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abstract = "Objective: To identify the impact of universal masking on COVID-19 incidence and putative SARS-CoV-2 transmissions events among children's hospital healthcare workers (HCWs). Design: Quasi-experimental study. Setting: Single academic free-standing children's hospital. Methods: We performed whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2- PCR-positive samples collected from HCWs 3 weeks before and 6 weeks after implementing a universal masking policy. Phylogenetic analyses were performed to identify clusters of clonally related SARS-CoV-2 indicative of putative transmission events. We measured COVID-19 incidence, SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rates, and frequency of putative transmission events before and after the masking policy was implemented. Results: HCW COVID-19 incidence and test positivity declined from 14.3 to 4.3 cases per week, and from 18.4% to 9.0%, respectively. Putative transmission events were only identified prior to universal masking. Conclusions: A universal masking policy was associated with reductions in HCW COVID-19 infections and occupational acquisition of SARS-CoV-2.",

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AU - Simons, Lacy M.

AU - McHugh, Matthew

AU - Muller, William J.

AU - Lorenzo-Redondo, Ramon

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N2 - Objective: To identify the impact of universal masking on COVID-19 incidence and putative SARS-CoV-2 transmissions events among children's hospital healthcare workers (HCWs). Design: Quasi-experimental study. Setting: Single academic free-standing children's hospital. Methods: We performed whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2- PCR-positive samples collected from HCWs 3 weeks before and 6 weeks after implementing a universal masking policy. Phylogenetic analyses were performed to identify clusters of clonally related SARS-CoV-2 indicative of putative transmission events. We measured COVID-19 incidence, SARS-CoV-2 test positivity rates, and frequency of putative transmission events before and after the masking policy was implemented. Results: HCW COVID-19 incidence and test positivity declined from 14.3 to 4.3 cases per week, and from 18.4% to 9.0%, respectively. Putative transmission events were only identified prior to universal masking. Conclusions: A universal masking policy was associated with reductions in HCW COVID-19 infections and occupational acquisition of SARS-CoV-2.

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Viral whole-genome sequencing to assess impact of universal masking on SARS-CoV-2 transmission among pediatric healthcare workers

Abstract

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ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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