Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence in a Large US population Over a Period of 12 Months

Abstract

Due to a combination of asymptomatic or undiagnosed infections, the proportion of the United States population infected with SARS-CoV-2 was unclear from the beginning of the pandemic. We previously established a platform to screen for SARS-CoV-2 positivity across a representative proportion of the US population, from which we reported that almost 17 million Americans were estimated to have had undocumented infections in the Spring of 2020. Since then, vaccine rollout and prevalence of different SARS-CoV-2 variants have further altered seropositivity trends within the United States population. To explore the longitudinal impacts of the pandemic and vaccine responses on seropositivity, we re-enrolled participants from our baseline study in a 6- and 12- month follow-up study to develop a longitudinal antibody profile capable of representing seropositivity within the United States during a critical period just prior to and during the initiation of vaccine rollout. Initial measurements showed that, since July 2020, seropositivity elevated within this population from 4.8% at baseline to 36.2% and 89.3% at 6 and 12 months, respectively. We also evaluated nucleocapsid seropositivity and compared to spike seropositivity to identify trends in infection versus vaccination relative to baseline. These data serve as a window into a critical timeframe within the COVID-19 pandemic response and serve as a resource that could be used in subsequent respiratory illness outbreaks.

Genetic predisposition to milder forms of COVID-19 may provide some resilience to head and neck cancers

“…For example, prolonged immunosuppression in inflammatory bowel disease also increases the risk of developing HNC ( 29 , 30 ). In the case of asymptomatic disease, which is expected to be common in adult COVID-19 controls according to recent epidemiological evaluations ( 31 , 32 ), the state of immunosuppression may be present at the time of infection and is due to various genetic or environmental causes. Indeed, the epidemiology of the first two waves of COVID-19, which occurred before the advent of anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, seems to reflect a mix of asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2 with cases of non-exposure rather than true innate resistance to SARS-CoV-2 infection or pre-existing B- or T-cell immunity.…”

Assembly reactions of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein with nucleic acid

“…After expression and lysis, NTD was purified by Ni-NTA chromatography. The C-terminal domain (247–364) was generated as previously described (51): Briefly, an N-terminal 6xHis tagged N-CTD construct preceded by a TEV protease cleavage site was expressed in E. cli BL21(DE3) using Dynamite Broth as described in (52). After expression and lysis, protein was purified by Ni 2+ affinity chromatography followed by cleavage of the tag and purification by affinity and size exclusion chromatography.…”