Category: COVID
Omicron BA.2 tied to more symptoms and, rarely, brain swelling in kids
(CIDRAP) A UK study suggests that Omicron BA.2 is tied to more symptoms and greater disruption in daily activities than BA.1, and Taiwanese researchers describe fatal cerebral edema in six children hospitalized for BA.2. Imperial College London researchers tracked SARS-CoV-2 transmission and symptoms among 1,542,510 randomly selected English adults, including 17,448 COVID-19 patients, from May 1, 2020, […]
Nov 15, 2022
Covid Hospitalizations Are Rising in Kids Under 6 Months, CDC Director Walensky Says
(Bloomberg) Covid-19 hospitalizations are rising among babies under 6 months old, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging mothers to get vaccinated to reduce the risk of infection in those not yet eligible for shots, Director Rochelle Walensky said. “We’re seeing more and more of those younger babies getting hospitalized,” Walensky […]
Nov 15, 2022
‘I Didn’t Think COVID-19 Was Real’: Why 40% Misled During the Pandemic
(MedPageToday) Two in five Americans say they either misled others about their COVID-19 infection or vaccination status, or didn’t follow pandemic-related public health measures, a new study indicated. In a survey involving over 1,700 respondents, 41.6% suggested they either misrepresented and/or did not adhere to at least one of nine survey items, most commonly 24.3% […]
Nov 11, 2022
Acute and postacute sequelae associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection
(Nature) First infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with increased risk of acute and postacute death and sequelae in various organ systems. Whether reinfection adds to risks incurred after first infection is unclear. Here we used the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ national healthcare database to build a cohort of […]
Nov 11, 2022
What a ‘Tripledemic’ Means for Your Body
(The Atlantic) In 2020, and again in 2021, the dreaded twindemic never came. The worry among experts was that a winter COVID surge layered on top of flu season—or even, in worst-case scenarios, a flu outbreak of pandemic proportions—would push already strained hospitals to the brink. Thankfully, we got lucky. Flu season simply didn’t materialize […]
Nov 10, 2022
SARS-CoV-2 Nsp6 damages Drosophila heart and mouse cardiomyocytes through MGA/MAX complex-mediated increased glycolysis
(Nature) SARS-CoV-2 infection causes COVID-19, a severe acute respiratory disease associated with cardiovascular complications including long-term outcomes. The presence of virus in cardiac tissue of patients with COVID-19 suggests this is a direct, rather than secondary, effect of infection. Here, by expressing individual SARS-CoV-2 proteins in the Drosophila heart, we demonstrate interaction of virus Nsp6 with host […]
Nov 8, 2022
How a SARS-CoV-2 virus protein damages the heart?
(Tech Expert) Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Center for Precision Disease Modeling identified how SARS-CoV-2 damages heart tissue. Last year, in research involving fruit flies and human cells, the most lethal SARS-CoV-2 proteins were discovered. They found a promising drug selinexor reduced the toxicity of one of these proteins but not the […]
Nov 8, 2022
New VA study finds Paxlovid may cut the risk of long COVID
(NPR) It’s well-documented that Paxlovid — a 5-day course of antiviral pills from Pfizer — can reduce the risk of hospitalization in COVID-19 patients who are more likely to develop severe illness. Now, researchers from the Veterans Health Administration find that taking the medication may also reduce the risks of later developing long COVID, according […]
Nov 8, 2022
Pfizer’s Paxlovid Antiviral Lowered Long-Covid Risk in Study
(Bloomberg) Pfizer Inc.’s blockbuster Paxlovid antiviral that lowers rates of illness and death in people infected with the coronavirus also cuts the risk of some symptoms of disabling long Covid, a study found.Taking the oral medication within five days of testing positive for a SARS-CoV-2 infection was linked to a 26% lower risk of lingering […]
Nov 7, 2022
Pulmonary Dysfunction after Pediatric COVID-19
(Radiology) Long COVID occurs in lower frequency in children and adolescents than in adults. Morphologic and free-breathing phase-resolved functional low-field MRI may identify persistent pulmonary manifestations after SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Nov 4, 2022