Category: COVID
Covid, flu, RSV declining in hospitals as ‘tripledemic’ threat fades
(Washington Post) So manypatients sick with RSV had inundated Connecticut Children’s Medical Center that they had to be treated in hallways and playrooms. Facing their busiest season in memory last fall, hospital leaders floated a plan to enlist the National Guard to set up tents outside. Doctors braced for a dire winter — a looming disaster some […]
Jan 24, 2023
COVID-19 Patients Retain Elevated Risk of Death for 1.5 Years After Acute Infection
(Contagion) New research definitively linked COVID-19 infection to a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease and death—both short- and long-term. The study, published in Cardiovascular Research, evaluated the association between COVID-19 and development of cardiovascular disease and mortality. “COVID-19 patients were more likely to develop numerous cardiovascular conditions compared to uninfected participants, which may have contributed to their higher risks […]
Jan 24, 2023
The next worrisome coronavirus variant could come from China — will it get detected?
(Nature) Fears that the massive surge of coronavirus infections in China could immediately spark the emergence of a troubling new variant are unfounded, say researchers. But that could change in the coming months as more people in the country acquire some natural immunity from infection. More widespread immunity could drive the virus SARS-CoV-2 to evolve […]
Jan 24, 2023
Younger generations suffered from worst mental illness during COVID-19
(HealthEuropa) Mental illness was more common in younger generations compared to older age groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. A new study by University College London (UCL) explored how five different birth cohort studies which followed participants born in 1946, 1958, 1970, 1989-90 and 2000-02 coped with mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jan 24, 2023
UNMC Global Center for Health Security Infectious Disease Briefing Infectious Disease Briefing
By Dr. Joseph Fauver SARS-CoV-2 Variant Update
Jan 24, 2023
How your first brush with COVID warps your immunity
(Nature) The immune system responds more strongly to the strain of a virus that it first met, weakening response to other strains. Can this ‘imprinting’ be overcome? During the summer of 2022, with the Omicron coronavirus variant running rampant, friends and relatives of immunologist Bob Seder kept asking him if they should postpone their COVID-19 […]
Jan 24, 2023
COVID-19 Infection May Induce Fetal Brain Hemorrhages, Scientists Warn
(Science Alert) There are already plenty of reasons to worry about COVID-19, but there’s another to add to the list: There’s evidence of the virus in fetal brain tissue in instances of pregnant people passing the infection to their children. So it’s not just the effects of the illness on our bodies that are of concern, but also […]
Jan 24, 2023
The doctor won’t see you now: Covid winters are making long hospital waits the new normal
(Washington Post) As the United States enters its third full covid winter, a top administration official is warning that the permanence of the coronavirus in the disease landscape could mean brutal and long-lasting seasonal surges of cold-weather illnesses for years to come, resulting in hospitals struggling to care for non-covid emergencies and unable to give patients timely, lifesaving treatments. Winter […]
Jan 17, 2023
The Genetic Mutation That Makes ‘Kraken’ Covid So Contagious
(Rolling Stone) A particular change in the spike protein means the virus is spreading faster than ever. There is a new, more contagious form of the novel-coronavirus. It’s got a greater ability to evade our antibodies. And it’s spreading easier than ever. You’ve read these words before, and you’ll almost certainly read them again as the Covid pandemic […]
Jan 17, 2023
Why kids are “great little vectors” for COVID-19
(AMA) Offering new revelations on the behavior of SARS-CoV-2, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study suggests that young children and people with obesity may be significant vectors of viral transmission in households. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) enlisted scientists from Henry Ford Health and other groups to participate in the project, which focused on […]
Jan 17, 2023