Featured Publications
Vaccination with BNT162b2 reduces transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to household contacts in Israel
Prunas O, Warren JL, Crawford FW, Gazit S, Patalon T, Weinberger DM, Pitzer VE. Vaccination with BNT162b2 reduces transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to household contacts in Israel. Science 2022, 375: eabl4292. PMID: 35084937, PMCID: PMC9261115, DOI: 10.1126/science.abl4292.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVaccine effectivenessSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2Acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2Respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2Syndrome coronavirus 2Effectiveness of vaccinesEffectiveness of vaccinationTotal vaccine effectivenessSARS-CoV-2Household contactsSecond doseCoronavirus 2Household transmissionDelta variantDay 10VaccinationBNT162b2COVID-19InfectionChain binomial modelVaccineDoseImmunityEstimation of Excess Deaths Associated With the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, March to May 2020
Weinberger DM, Chen J, Cohen T, Crawford FW, Mostashari F, Olson D, Pitzer VE, Reich NG, Russi M, Simonsen L, Watkins A, Viboud C. Estimation of Excess Deaths Associated With the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States, March to May 2020. JAMA Internal Medicine 2020, 180: 1336-1344. PMID: 32609310, PMCID: PMC7330834, DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.3391.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsCOVID-19Excess deathsOfficial COVID-19 deathsCoronavirus disease 2019Entire US populationPublic health impactCOVID-19 diagnostic testsCOVID-19 burdenCOVID-19 deathsCause deathReported deathsMortality burdenObservational studyDisease 2019Influenza activityMAIN OUTCOMEDeath AssociatedWeekly deathsTotal deathsUS deathsMore deathsDeath recordsUS populationHealth StatisticsTest availabilityAssociation Between the Decline in Pneumococcal Disease in Unimmunized Adults and Vaccine-Derived Protection Against Colonization in Toddlers and Preschool-Aged Children
Weinberger DM, Pitzer VE, Regev-Yochay G, Givon-Lavi N, Dagan R. Association Between the Decline in Pneumococcal Disease in Unimmunized Adults and Vaccine-Derived Protection Against Colonization in Toddlers and Preschool-Aged Children. American Journal Of Epidemiology 2018, 188: 160-168. PMID: 30462150, PMCID: PMC6321804, DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwy219.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInvasive pneumococcal diseaseUnimmunized adultsPneumococcal diseaseVaccine-associated immunityVaccine-derived protectionVaccine-targeted serotypesNationwide surveillance studyPrevalence of colonizationUnvaccinated adultsPneumococcal carriagePreschool aged childrenVaccine uptakeColonization prevalenceGroup of childrenVaccination coverageEmergency departmentSurveillance studyDisease ratesTrajectory of declineAge rangeAdultsAged childrenChildrenSerotypesVaccine
2024
Genome-wide association study between SARS-CoV-2 single nucleotide polymorphisms and virus copies during infections
Li K, Chaguza C, Stamp J, Chew Y, Chen N, Ferguson D, Pandya S, Kerantzas N, Schulz W, Initiative Y, Hahn A, Ogbunugafor C, Pitzer V, Crawford L, Weinberger D, Grubaugh N. Genome-wide association study between SARS-CoV-2 single nucleotide polymorphisms and virus copies during infections. PLOS Computational Biology 2024, 20: e1012469. PMID: 39288189, PMCID: PMC11432881, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012469.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGenome-wide association studiesSingle-nucleotide polymorphismsAssociation studiesWhole-genome sequencingAmino acid changesSingle nucleotide polymorphismsPairs of substitutionsViral copiesEpistasis testsGenome sequenceGenetic variationSpike geneAcid changesViral genomeNucleotide polymorphismsSARS-CoV-2Detect interactionsHost factorsVirus copiesCopyInfection dynamicsRT-qPCRPolymorphismOmicron BASARS-CoV-2 infection
2023
Excess Mortality Among Patients in the Veterans Affairs Health System Compared With the Overall US Population During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Weinberger D, Rose L, Rentsch C, Asch S, Columbo J, King J, Korves C, Lucas B, Taub C, Young-Xu Y, Vashi A, Davies L, Justice A. Excess Mortality Among Patients in the Veterans Affairs Health System Compared With the Overall US Population During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Network Open 2023, 6: e2312140. PMID: 37155169, PMCID: PMC10167568, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.12140.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsGeneral US populationVA health care systemHealth care systemComprehensive medical careOverall US populationRate of deathVA populationUS populationDeath rateCohort studyExcess mortalityCare systemCOVID-19 pandemicMedical careVeterans Affairs Health Care SystemVeterans Affairs Health SystemHealth systemVA health systemFirst yearVA health careStandardized mortality rateAdult age groupsVA enrolleesMAIN OUTCOMEGeneral population
2022
Waning Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 Vaccine Against Infection in Adolescents in Israel
Prunas O, Weinberger D, Pitzer V, Gazit S, Patalon T. Waning Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 Vaccine Against Infection in Adolescents in Israel. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2022, 76: 113-118. PMID: 36484301, PMCID: PMC10202431, DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciac315.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsMaccabi Healthcare ServicesBNT162b2 vaccineSecond doseAcute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infectionSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infectionSyndrome coronavirus 2 infectionPositive polymerase chain reaction testSARS-CoV-2 infectionPfizer BNT162b2 vaccineCoronavirus 2 infectionVaccine-induced immunityVaccine-induced protectionPolymerase chain reaction testIncidence of infectionCoronavirus disease 2019COVID-19Chain reaction testShort-term effectivenessCase-control designLong-term effectivenessVaccine effectivenessSymptomatic infectionLong-term protectionDisease 2019Delta variantOdds of Testing Positive for SARS-CoV-2 Following Receipt of 3 vs 2 Doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine
Patalon T, Gazit S, Pitzer VE, Prunas O, Warren JL, Weinberger DM. Odds of Testing Positive for SARS-CoV-2 Following Receipt of 3 vs 2 Doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine. JAMA Internal Medicine 2022, 182: 179-184. PMID: 34846533, PMCID: PMC8634151, DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.7382.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSARS-CoV-2Maccabi Healthcare ServicesBooster doseBNT162b2 vaccineMRNA vaccinesPositive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction testSARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction testPreliminary retrospective case–control studyRetrospective case-control studyPositive PCR test resultsBNT162b2 mRNA vaccineVaccine-derived protectionTest-negative designDuration of immunityCase-control studyPolymerase chain reaction testEstimated odds ratioHealthcare servicesCase-control analysisPCR test resultsPositive test resultsChain reaction testCase-control designTesting PositiveOdds ratio
2015
Association Between Local Pediatric Vaccination Rates and Patterns of Pneumococcal Disease in Adults
Pingali SC, Warren JL, Mead AM, Sharova N, Petit S, Weinberger DM. Association Between Local Pediatric Vaccination Rates and Patterns of Pneumococcal Disease in Adults. The Journal Of Infectious Diseases 2015, 213: 509-515. PMID: 26310307, PMCID: PMC4721904, DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiv431.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsInvasive pneumococcal diseasePneumococcal diseaseIPD casesPopulation-based surveillance systemZip code level dataAdult IPD casesDoses of PCV7Effectiveness of PCVsPediatric vaccination ratesVaccination of childrenState immunization registryZip codesLogistic regression modelsPCV7 serotypesHigher proportionVaccination ratesImmunization registryDisease patternsDiseaseAdultsPCV7PCVSerotypesChildrenDoses
2011
Impact of the 2009 Influenza Pandemic on Pneumococcal Pneumonia Hospitalizations in the United States
Weinberger DM, Simonsen L, Jordan R, Steiner C, Miller M, Viboud C. Impact of the 2009 Influenza Pandemic on Pneumococcal Pneumonia Hospitalizations in the United States. The Journal Of Infectious Diseases 2011, 205: 458-465. PMID: 22158564, PMCID: PMC3276240, DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jir749.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizationsInfluenza pandemicPneumonia hospitalizationsPneumococcal diseaseInfluenza activityCause-specific hospitalizationsPandemic influenza activityPneumonia hospitalization ratesH1N1 influenza pandemicState Inpatient DatabasesLow baseline levelsHospitalization ratesInpatient DatabaseWeekly ageHospitalizationHealthcare costsExcess diseaseLargest absolute increaseBaseline levelsAge groupsInfluenza virusAbsolute increaseInfluenza waveDiseaseSignificant increase