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Tag: Maryland

Long COVID rates vary significantly by state. See where California ranks

About a quarter of U.S. adults who had COVID-19 during the past four years endured persistent symptoms lasting at least three months following their infection. But the prevalence of long COVID varied significantly by state, with California having a relatively low incidence compared to the national average, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Long COVID encompasses over 200 symptoms that can last for months or even years after a coronavirus infection, including extreme fatigue, brain fog, heart palpitations, sexual dysfunction or digestive disorders.

The CDC’s breakdown of long COVID hotspots revealed a clear correlation between areas with higher rates of persistent symptoms and those with the greatest skepticism about the pandemic, per research from the National Institutes of Health.

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Researchers report COVID home tests as accurate as the same tests given by a clinician

A single-center study conducted at a free community testing site in Maryland suggests that patient-administered BinaxNow COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (RATs) have similar accuracy as those performed by a clinician, although the results can be misinterpreted or falsely negative.

Researchers from the Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital and Johns Hopkins University and their collaborators compared the sensitivity and specificity of Abbott’s BinaxNOW home RAT with those administered by a healthcare provider and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from February to July 2022, a period of Omicron variant predominance.

The median age of the 953 participants was 34 years, 60.6% were women, 58.6% were White, 98.2% were English-speaking, and 34.1% had at least one COVID-19 symptom. Hospital staff administered both a RAT and an RT-PCR test to participants, who then self-tested with a RAT, the results of which were both self-reported and reviewed by the researchers.

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States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire

When the coronavirus pandemic took hold in an unprepared U.S., many states like Ohio scrambled for masks and other protective gear. Supplies were so limited in 2020 that the state bought millions of medical gowns from a marketing and printing company and spent about $20 million to try to get personal protective equipment made in-state.

Three years later, as the grips of the pandemic have loosened, Ohio and other states are now trying to deal with an excess of protective gear, ditching their supplies in droves.

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