Q: Does the status "Awaiting final decision" within a week of submission indicate desk rejection?
I submitted my manuscript via the ScholarOne system. The online status was “Not Assigned” at the beginning. Two days later, it changed to “EO: XX Status is Under Review.” A week after my submission, the status became “Awaiting Final Decision.” I wonder if my manuscript was rejected by the journal editor directly without going through peer review?
Status descriptions in the online submission system vary across journals. However, in your case, since the paper was not assigned to an Associate Editor, I feel inclined to think that the "Under Review" status refers to the initial editorial review, not peer review. Of course, one cannot be sure, but the status changes seem to indicate a higher possibility of a desk rejection, that is, a rejection without peer review.
Related reading:
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage