Early in the pandemic, scientists warned that COVID-19 could cause long-term sequelae even after a mild infection. After all, at least a dozen other known pathogens cause post-infection syndromes. Why didn’t we see this problem coming, and possibly prevent millions of people from developing long COVID?
Comments closedTag: long COVID
Opinion: This is a pandemic of attrition
It’s time for our society to admit that we’ve made a mistake and change course. The COVID-is-mild experiment, despite the wishing and the hoping, has been a tragic failure. We aren’t just accepting ongoing hospitalizations and deaths to protect the economy, but also ignoring the social and economic costs of continuing high levels of acute infections. Worse still are more cases of Long COVID, a condition that takes many people entirely out of the workforce. And with every wave, the staffing attrition worsens.
Comments closedNow is not the time to end Covid-related services in BC
After 2023, funding for Covid-related services is set to end in BC.
For nearly four years now, British Columbians have been grappling with Covid-19. We’re currently aided by health management initiatives like vaccination, testing, and protective equipment for healthcare workers. Since 2021, these measures have been funded by BC’s Pandemic Recovery Contingencies, a three-year plan that also sustains economic recovery programs and supports for vulnerable community members.
This plan expires at the end of 2023. After that, our government anticipates that “most initiatives will wind down or be integrated into existing government programs.”
Comments closedMeta-analysis reveals high rates of heart complications in long-COVID patients
A review and meta-analysis of long-term cardiac complications of long COVID finds a high prevalence of chest pain and abnormal heart rhythms (arrythmias).
Comments closedInside 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 closedMRI 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 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 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 closedCOVID-19 et influenza : pourquoi fait-on un nouvel appel à la vaccination?
On Wednesday, Quebec’s National Director of Public Health, Dr. Luc Boileau, issued a new call for vaccination, due to a “serious” circulation of COVID-19 and an imminent wave of influenza in Quebec. Here are seven questions to understand why vaccination remains an important tool in the fight against these infectious diseases.
Comments closedCan’t Think, Can’t Remember: More Americans Say They’re in a Cognitive Fog
There are more Americans who say they have serious cognitive problems — with remembering, concentrating or making decisions — than at any time in the last 15 years, data from the Census Bureau shows.
The increase started with the pandemic: The number of working-age adults reporting “serious difficulty” thinking has climbed by an estimated one million people.
Comments closedWhat Tony Fauci Told Me About Long COVID and Other Postviral Illnesses
Too many people are suffering from long COVID and other postviral syndromes. Anthony Fauci says we need to step up funding and research now.
Comments closedWe Interrupt This Mood of Denial to Update COVID’s Threat
Although many Canadians act as though the pandemic has ended, the airborne virus that causes COVID-19 continues to evolve at an amazing pace with devastating consequences for both individuals and the public at large.
Comments closedLoss of smell, taste after mild COVID improves within 3 years, study shows
Mild COVID-19 infections can cause a loss of taste and smell, but a study today in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery suggests that almost all cases resolve within 3 years of initial infection.
Comments closedLong COVID linked to allergies in new study
In an analysis of 13 published prospective studies of people of all ages with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were followed up for at least 12 months, pre-existing allergic conditions were linked to higher risks of experiencing long COVID, according to a study today in Clinical & Experimental Allergy.
Comments closedOntario: Keep masks in healthcare!
📣 Let hospital CEOs and MPPs know you want universal masking with respirators in Ontario hospitals
✉️ Send letters to voice your support for universal masking with respirators in hospitals. You can use your own email software to send the letters.
Why take action? SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne, level 3 pathogen. We need universal masking with respirators to prevent COVID-induced health issues, including long COVID, cognitive issues, and cardiovascular diseases.
Please take a moment to voice your support for universal masking with respirators in Ontario hospitals!
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