Alberta’s new respiratory virus dashboard provides weekly updates on the spread of COVID‑19 in the province, but making sense of the numbers can be a challenge — and it’s particularly difficult to figure out how many people have died.
Comments closedStill COVIDing Canada Posts
Inside long COVID’s war on the body: Researchers are trying to find out whether the virus has the potential to cause cancer
Long COVID is no stranger to either patients or those immersed in studies of its effects. In the U.S., one in 7 adults–about 14% of the adult population–has experienced symptoms that lasted three months or longer after first contracting the virus. The worldwide estimate for long COVID is 65 million people.
What is less clear–because it’s still so early in the process–is the impact of some of SARS-CoV-2’s most dangerous characteristics on those hit by long COVID. But some researchers are warily watching for the worst: a potential connection to cancer.
Comments closedOttawa-Gatineau community update | 2023‑11‑22
📈 The COVID-19 wastewater viral signal for Ottawa has increased substantially (+1,684%) since a low on July 12, 2023.
⚠️ The 7-day average of percent positivity is extremely high (17.23%).
🏥 Confirmed COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals: 203 ( increase of 25).
Since January 1, 2023, there have been 105 COVID-19 outbreaks at Ottawa’s hospitals, leading to 15 deaths and 865 known cases of COVID-19.
Comments closedCalgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre adopts masking directive to curb COVID-19 infections
Calgary’s Peter Lougheed Centre is one of the latest hospitals to adopt Alberta Health Service’s mask directive to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Masking is now required for Peter Lougheed Centre’s staff, physicians, volunteers, contracted service providers and laboratory workers in patient-facing areas of the hospital.
MRI study spotlights impact of long COVID on the brain
A new study comparing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of patients with long COVID, fully recovered COVID-19 survivors, and healthy controls shows microstructural changes in different brain regions in the long-COVID patients. The findings will be presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
Comments closedSeven new COVID outbreaks declared in Thunder Bay
Over the past six days, numerous COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported in local long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals. The Thunder Bay District Health…
Comments closedThe eighth COVID-19 wave is here. Could catching it trigger Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or autoimmune disorders?
From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have raised concerns about the potential for long-term health problems linked to SARS-CoV-2 and warned repeated infections are likely to increase the risk.
An association between COVID and cardiovascular disease emerged quickly.
And now — almost exactly four years since the first case was discovered in Wuhan — a growing body of scientific research is cautiously linking the inflammation caused by a COVID infection to diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as autoimmune conditions from bowel disease to rheumatoid arthritis.
Comments closedUK primary care costs nearly 45% higher among long-COVID patients, analysis finds
Long-COVID diagnoses and long-term symptoms among nonhospitalized adults were tied to 43% and 44% increases in the costs of primary care, respectively, in the United Kingdom, according to a study published yesterday in BMC Primary Care.
Comments closedN.B. COVID-19 death toll increases by 4, child under 4 hospitalized
COVID-19 has killed at least four more New Brunswickers aged 65 or older, and a child under four is among those hospitalized for or with the virus between Nov. 5 and Nov. 11, figures released by the province Tuesday show.
Comments closedFormer British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘bamboozled’ by science, COVID-19 inquiry told
Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, struggled to come to grips with much of the science during the coronavirus pandemic, his chief scientific adviser said Monday.
In keenly awaited testimony to the country’s public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Vallance said he and others faced repeated problems getting Johnson to understand the science and that he changed his mind on numerous occasions.
Comments closed10-minute procedure may repair distorted sense of smell in COVID survivors
A new minimally invasive procedure may restore COVID-related impaired sense of smell, suggests a small study to be presented at next week’s Radiological Society of…
Comments closedLake of the Woods District Hospital is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak within part of its campus.
Comments closedMore free COVID-19 tests from the government are available for home delivery through the mail
Americans can order more free COVID-19 tests online for home delivery.
The U.S. government is offering to send another round of four at-home virus tests ahead of the typical surge in cases during the winter holiday season.
Anyone who did not order a batch of four COVID-19 tests in September can secure up to eight of them this time around starting Monday at COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver them for free.
Comments closedWith COVID surging, should I wear a mask?
COVID is on the rise again, with a peak likely over the holiday season. Given this, health authorities in a number of Australian states have…
Comments closedDoes Novavax’s Covid vaccine cause fewer side effects?
Erin Kissane, a co-founder of the COVID Tracking Project, rolled up her sleeve for the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine in mid-October soon after it was finally recommended in the United States. Like many people with autoimmune diseases, she wants to protect herself from a potentially devastating Covid infection.
Kissane’s autoimmune arthritis seems to make her susceptible to unusual vaccine side effects. After getting an mRNA booster last year, her joints ached so painfully that her doctor prescribed steroids to dampen the inflammation. She still considers the mRNA vaccines “miraculous,” knowing Covid could be far worse than temporary aches.
Comments closedWA public hospitals strengthen mask-wearing requirements in response to surging COVID cases
Surging COVID cases in Western Australia has seen the first public health measures introduced since the state’s COVID-19 ‘state of emergency’ declaration was dropped.
From Monday, all staff and patients in high-risk hospital clinical areas must wear masks.
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