Category: COVID
Authorities are urging indoor masking in major cities as the ‘tripledemic’ rages
(NPR) Public health officials are revisiting the topic of indoor masking, as three highly contagious respiratory viruses take hold during the holiday season. Over the past few weeks, a surge in cases of COVID, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus — known as RSV — has been sickening millions of Americans, overwhelming emergency rooms and […]
Dec 12, 2022
Feeling forgetful after COVID? Study shows the virus can affect short-term memory
(The Conversation) Although it’s well known that COVID affects the respiratory system, it’s perhaps less well known that the virus can also affect cognitive function. Many people with COVID experience a phenomenon commonly called “brain fog”, which can include problems remembering, concentrating and performing daily tasks. Brain fog can also be a symptom of long COVID, […]
Dec 6, 2022
Why the Now-Dominant BQ COVID Strains Are Cause for Concern
(MedPageToday) The latest circulating COVID-19 variants have shown greater immune escape, which will likely lead to increasing cases over the coming months, experts said. New Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 together now make up more than half of all COVID cases in the U.S. (30.9% and 31.9%, respectively), according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, representing […]
Dec 6, 2022
Models predict massive wave of disease and death if China lifts ‘zero COVID’ policy
(Science) Surprised and stung by protests against draconian “zero-COVID” policies, Chinese authorities are gingerly moving to ease the burden of lockdowns, quarantines, and constant testing. But 3 years into the pandemic, China shows no sign of planning a major course change. Mathematical models suggest why: The country is still ill-prepared for living with SARS-CoV-2. Easing […]
Dec 6, 2022
Drop in COVID alertness could create deadly new variant, WHO says
(Reuters) Lapses in strategies to tackle COVID-19 this year continue to create the perfect conditions for a deadly new variant to emerge, as parts of China witness a rise in infections, the head of the World Health Organization said on Friday. The comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mark a change in tone just […]
Dec 5, 2022
11% of COVID-19 survivors have residual lung damage, study finds
(CIDRAP) A new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reveals about an 11% incidence of residual lung damage—known as interstitial lung disease—after COVID-19 hospitalization. Interstitial lung disease is a broad category of lung damage and disease defined by fibrotic scarring. The damage is often irreversible. Link to Study
Dec 5, 2022
So You Say You Haven’t Had Covid. You’re Probably Mistaken, Study Finds
(KFF) Researchers tested 1,574 people from August 2021 to May 2022, and 44% of them said they had never had covid. But serologic testing found that 42% of them had antibodies that indicated a previous infection. Meanwhile, new research shows that SARS-CoV-2 can live on some groceries for days.
Dec 5, 2022
Teens’ brains aged faster during the first year of the pandemic, study says, and stress may be to blame
(CNN) The brains of US teens have physically changed during the Covid-19 pandemic, aging faster than normal, a new study says. The young study participants also reported more severe symptoms of anxiety, depression and what scientists call internalized problems – meaning feelings of sadness, low self-esteem and fear and trouble regulating their emotions – after the first […]
Dec 5, 2022
How Qatar Provided Early Answers About COVID Immunity
(MedPage Today) While the world turns its attention to Qatar for the World Cup, the tiny Middle Eastern nation jutting into the Persian Gulf is more recognized in the medical research community for providing some of the earliest insights into vaccine efficacy, waning immunity, and reinfection during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a national healthcare system […]
Nov 29, 2022
Covid becomes plague of elderly, reviving debate over ‘acceptable loss’
(Washington Post) In October, Felton’s team logged six deaths due to the virus, many of them among vaccinated people. Their ages: 80s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 90s.They included Betty Witzel, 88, described by her family as a tomboy who carried snakes in her pocket as a child and grew up to be a teacher, mother of […]
Nov 29, 2022