EMJ COVID-19 monthly top five (June 2021).

Following from the successful ‘RCEM weekly top five’ series starting in April 2020, this is the eighth of a monthly format for Emergency Medicine Journal (EMJ) readers. We have undertaken a focused search of the PubMed literature using a standardised COVID-19 search string. Our search between 1 and 31 May 2021 returned 2654 papers limited to human subjects and English language. We also searched high-impact journals for papers of interest. Our team have narrowed down the most interesting, relevant and important of the papers and provided a critical snapshot of five of those we felt most deserved EMJ readers’ attention. Importantly, we have highlighted not only the main findings from the papers but also key limitations and considerations for EM clinicians when interpreting the work. In doing so, we have created an accessible window into pertinent research findings for our busy colleagues during this fast-paced and ever-changing COVID-19 landscape. The papers are ranked in one of three categories, allowing you to focus on the papers that are most vital to your practice: This month’s searches were undertaken by the Emergency Medicine Research Group Edinburgh based at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. We look forward to next month’s instalment from the team back in Manchester with a change in direction for the Journal Update as we expand to include studies beyond COVID-19. Topic: prevention Rating: game changer Vaccine platform efficacy remains at the core of public health policy with figures ranging between 62.1% and 95% in large-scale phase III trials, depending on the vaccine and population.1–7 The SIREN study, a UK healthcare worker cohort study, assessed the early effectiveness of vaccination against infection over the initial 8-week period following vaccination. Participants underwent …