Staphylococcus aureus isolates from NYC hospital patients during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

Severe COVID-19 disease has been associated with coinfections with bacterial and/or fungal pathogens. Amongst these, patients with COVID-19 who develop Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia exhibit higher rates of mortality than those infected with either pathogen alone. To understand this clinical scenario, we collected and examined S. aureus isolates from a hospital in New York City during the early phase of the pandemic, from both SARS-CoV-2+ and SARS-CoV-2- patients.