Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: Europe

Young people with long Covid ‘battle’ for NHS care

Young people living with debilitating symptoms caused by long Covid have described feeling abandoned and having to “battle” to access NHS support.

Kaylee, 17, a once promising gymnast who hoped to represent her country, developed the virus on her 12th birthday and still experiences symptoms including dizziness and shortness of breath, causing her to miss school and give up on the sport she loves.

Two million people in the UK have long Covid, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Comments closed

‘We’re losing decades of our life to this illness’: long Covid patients on the fear of being forgotten

Five years on from March 2020, millions of people still face debilitating symptoms, with huge repercussions on public health and productivity. But politicians are starting to pretend the pandemic never happened

On 20 March 2020, Rowan Brown started to feel a tickle at the back of her throat. Over the next few days, new symptoms began to emerge: difficulty breathing, some tiredness. By the following week, the UK had been put under lockdown in a last-minute attempt to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, or Covid-19. No one else she knew had yet been infected, so she posted updates on Facebook to keep people informed: “Oh, guys, it feels like a mild flu. Tonsillitis was definitely worse.”

Brown didn’t know then she was at the beginning of a condition that did not yet have a name, but which has since become known as long Covid. After two weeks, she had a Zoom with a friend, and at the end of the conversation it was as if all life force had drained out of her body. Her doctor advised her to stay in bed for two weeks. Those two weeks turned into three and a half months of extended Covid symptoms: nausea, fevers, night sweats, intense muscle and joint pain, allodynia (a heightened sensitivity to pain), hallucinations, visual disturbances. By the end of the three months, she had noted 32 different symptoms. “I didn’t recognise the way my body felt at all: my skin, my hair,” she remembers now. “It was like being taken over by a weird alien virus, which I guess is what happened.”

Comments closed

UK orders H5 avian flu vaccine for pandemic preparedness

The UK Health Security Agency (HSA) today announced a contract with CSL Seqirus to buy more than 5 million doses of human H5 avian flu vaccine to prepare for a potential influenza pandemic.

In a statement, the HSA said the vaccine will be based on a current H5 strain and is part of a longer-term plans to ensure access to vaccines for a wider range of pathogens that have pandemic potential.

Comments closed

Long Covid could cost the economy billions every year

Working days lost to long Covid could be costing the economy billions of pounds every year as patients struggle to cope with symptoms and return to work, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

Comments closed

Tour de France Reinstates COVID-19 Measures as More Cases Emerge in the Peloton

The Tour de France has reinstated COVID-19 protective measures, requiring race organizers, media, and guests to wear masks when in contact with riders and team staff. This protocol was announced by race organizer ASO on Sunday morning after several recent COVID-19 cases among the peloton.

“In order to limit health risks, it is now compulsory to wear a mask in the various areas where you will be in contact with the riders and members of the cycling teams,” read the statement from the ASO.

Riders who have abandoned the race due to the virus include Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers), Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), and Michael Mørkøv (Astana-Qazaqstan). Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) remains in the Tour despite testing positive, as the rules currently allow.

Comments closed

Finland to start bird flu vaccinations for humans, in world first

Finland plans to offer preemptive bird flu vaccination as soon as next week to some workers with exposure to animals, health authorities said on Tuesday, making it the first country in the world to do so.

The Nordic country has bought vaccines for 10,000 people, each consisting of two injections, as part of a joint EU procurement of up to 40 million doses for 15 nations from manufacturer CSL Seqirus (CSL.AX).

The European Commission said Finland would be the first country to roll out the vaccine.

Comments closed

UK Covid hospitalisations increase following emergence of new variant

Experts have warned that Covid “hasn’t gone away” after an uptick in infections and hospitalisations that is thought to have been caused by new variants of the virus.

A group of Covid mutations has recently emerged and is collectively referred to as FLiRT.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Covid hospital admissions increased by 24 per cent in the week to Sunday, with a rate of 3.31 per 100,000 people compared with 2.67 per 100,000 in the previous week.

Comments closed

Scientists discover higher levels of CO2 increase survival of viruses in the air and transmission risk

A new study has revealed for the first time the vital role carbon dioxide (CO2) plays in determining the lifespan of airborne viruses – namely SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

It clearly showed keeping CO2 levels in check helps to reduce virus survival, and therefore the risk of infection.

The research, led by the University of Bristol and published today in Nature Communications, shows how CO2 is a major factor in prolonging the life of SARS-CoV-2 variants present in tiny droplets circulating in the atmosphere.

Comments closed

About 2m people have long Covid in England and Scotland, figures show

About 2 million people in England and Scotland say they are experiencing long Covid, figures reveal, with many reporting their symptoms have lasted two years or longer.

The findings were released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and cover the period from November 2023 to March 2024, revealing of those who reported having long Covid, about 1.5 million people – about three-quarters– felt their day-to-day activities were affected, while 381,000 people – about a fifth – said their ability to undertake such activities had been “limited a lot”.

Comments closed

COVID Patient’s Infection Lasts Record 613 Days—and Accumulated Over 50 Mutations

A Covid-19 patient with a weakened immune system incubated a highly mutated novel strain over 613 days before succumbing to an underlying illness, researchers in the Netherlands found.

The patient, a 72-year-old man with a blood disorder, failed to mount a strong immune response to multiple Covid shots before catching the omicron variant in February 2022. Detailed analysis of specimens collected from more than two dozen nose and throat swabs found the coronavirus developed resistance to sotrovimab, a Covid antibody treatment, within a few weeks, scientists at the University of Amsterdam’s Centre for Experimental and Molecular Medicine said. It later acquired over 50 mutations, including some that suggested an enhanced ability to evade immune defenses, they said.

Comments closed

Discovery of how COVID-19 virus replicates opens door to new antiviral therapies

A new study, looking at the replication stage of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, discovered important mechanisms in its replication that could be the foundation for new antiviral therapies.

The study, which set out to investigate how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates once it enters the cells, has made surprising discoveries that could be the foundation for future antiviral therapies. It also has important theoretical implications as the replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has, so far, received less attention from researchers.

Comments closed

Covid-19 Brings Down Healthy Life Expectancy In The U.K.

People born recently in England and Wales can expect to spend fewer years of their life in good health than those born over a decade ago, official figures show.

Covid-19, healthcare delays and an increase in long-term sickness are likely factors in this decline. But the Office of National Statistics figures also reflect deeper social issues like widespread inequality, say experts.

Comments closed

Probe links COVID spread to school bus riders from sick driver

The proportion of children infected with COVID-19 while riding a bus to a school in Germany was about four times higher than in peers who didn’t ride the bus, illustrating efficient transmission during multiple short rides on public transport, finds a study published this week in Emerging Infectious Diseases.

A team led by researchers from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin and public health officials used surveillance data, lab analyses, case-patient and household interviews, a cohort study of all students in grades 1 to 4, and a cohort study of bus riders to investigate a 2021 COVID-19 outbreak that involved an infected bus driver and his passengers. The rides lasted 9 to 18 minutes, and multiple schools in a single district were involved.

Comments closed

Government ‘dismissed’ concerns over airborne Covid transmission, inquiry told

The Scottish Government “dismissed” concerns about the airborne transmission of Covid during the pandemic, an inquiry has heard.

Colin Poolman, director of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) in Scotland, also paid tribute at the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry to the “ultimate sacrifice” made by health workers who lost their lives in the pandemic.

He told the inquiry that attempts were made from 2020 by the RCN to raise concerns about airborne transmission with the Scottish Government, due to considerations about personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilation.

Comments closed

New economic analysis reveals Long Covid could be a long-term drag on economic growth and add pressure to already strained NHS

A new report by global economics consultancy Cambridge Econometrics reveals that Long Covid could have wider economic ramifications for the UK causing a drag on economic growth and added pressure on the NHS if no long-term healthcare funding commitments are made.

Funded by direct giving fund Balvi, and in partnership with Professor Emeritus in Public Health Ruairidh Milne from the University of Southampton, the report used available evidence on the cost of Long Covid treatment, economic inactivity among those living with the condition, and prevalence in the UK population to consider the long-term macroeconomic impacts on wider UK society by 2030.

Based on the assumption that there are no long-term healthcare funding commitments to manage Long Covid, the results estimate that Long Covid is likely to reduce GDP by around £1.5bn and 138,000 jobs each year. Were prevalence to increase to 4 million people per year by 2030, the negative impacts would increase to a reduction of around £2.7bn in GDP and 311,000 job losses each year.

Comments closed

‘Long Covid’ sick pay scheme to end in move that will impact 120 healthcare workers

A dedicated sick pay scheme for people suffering from the effects of “long Covid” is due to end in two weeks’ time in a move which will affect around 120 healthcare workers.

In July 2022 the Government introduced a temporary scheme to provide special leave with pay for eligible staff suffering with the symptoms of long Covid, such as fatigue and exhaustion. While the scheme was previously extended following approval by the Department of Public Expenditure, it will now end on March 31st. The Department of Public Expenditure has told the Department of Health that no further extensions will be granted.

Comments closed

Living With Long COVID: ‘You Feel Like You Have Been Poisoned’

“The sensation often felt akin to being poisoned.”

Katherine Francis, 30, has been living with long COVID for three and a half years. “I was originally infected in October 2020, just a week before starting a new job in PR,” Francis told Newsweek. “Three and a half years later, much of my life is still largely confined to the four walls of my home, with occasional outings to various hospital appointments.”

“I’ve been diagnosed with Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia, Dysautonomia, asthma and lung scarring to name a few, all attributed to Long COVID.”

Long COVID can affect anyone, irrespective of the severity of their initial infection. At least 65 million individuals have been affected by this chronic post-viral condition worldwide, a study published in the journal Nature Reviews Microbiology in January 2023 reports, equating to roughly 1 in 10 individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Comments closed

Radio | New report fails to address Covid impacts for children

  • A Public Health Agency investigation into the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s health is facing criticism, as it does not address how Covid infections directly affected children and their families.
  • Instead, the Swedish Covid Association says attention in the report has been focused on how school closures and other restrictions affected children’s well-being.
  • Social Affairs and Public Health Minister Jakob Forssmed tells Swedish Radio News there are valid reasons for having a wide-ranging investigation.
Comments closed