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

Published by: San Francisco Chronicle
Published on: February 16, 2024
By Aidin Vaziri

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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New York

New York City public hospitals bring back mask mandates in certain areas

Published January 3, 2024

Published by: ABC News
Published on: January 3, 2024
By Mary Kekatos

Indoor mask requirements have been reinstated at all New York City public hospitals amid a rise in respiratory viruses including COVID-19 and flu.

The mandate extends to the 11 hospitals, 30 health centers and five long-term care facilities run by NYC Health + Hospitals.

The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, said Wednesday masks will only be required in areas where patients are being treated, according to local ABC News affiliate ABC 7 NY.

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United States

Why hospitals in several states are reinstating mask requirements

Published January 1, 2024

Published by: ABC News
Published on: January 1, 2024
By Mary Kekatos

Some hospitals across the United States are reinstating indoor masking rules amid rising cases and hospitalizations of respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 and influenza.

Hospitals in at least six states — California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin — have put masking guidelines in place, according to an ABC News count.

Over the weekend, Mass General Brigham, which is the largest health system in Massachusetts, told ABC News it issued guidelines requiring employee caregivers and those working in patient care areas to wear masks.

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Massachusetts

Masking returns at many Massachusetts hospitals — and not just because of COVID

Published December 28, 2023

Published by: GBH
Published on: December 28, 2023
By Liz Neisloss

With both COVID-19 and other respiratory virus rates up, nearly all the major hospital groups in Massachusetts are bringing back mask requirements for doctors and staff, and in some cases for patients and visitors as well.

Beth Israel Lahey, Boston Medical Center and Dana Farber have already reimposed requirements. Mass General Brigham and UMass Memorial plan to require masking starting Jan. 2, followed by Tufts Medicine on Jan. 3.

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Massachusetts

Some hospitals resume mask requirements as respiratory infections rise

Published December 22, 2023

Published by: The Boston Globe
Published on: December 22, 2023
By Adam Piore

With COVID-19 cases and other respiratory illnesses rising across the region, some area hospitals have begun to bring back face mask requirements to halt the spread of infections.

Boston Medical Center said Thursday it would resume masking requirements in all patient-care areas beginning Friday. On Monday, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reinstated its mask requirements in all clinical and public spaces, and the Beth Israel Lahey Health system (BILH) updated its policies to require masking for all health care personnel upon entry to a patient room or bed space.

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wastewater

New research examines wastewater to detect community spread of Covid-19

Published April 7, 2020

Published by: STAT
Published on: April 7, 2020
By Shraddha Chakradhar

A series of crucial setbacks in Covid-19 testing has made it difficult to keep up with the virus’ rapid spread, and has inspired some researchers to look to wastewater to help fill in the gap of measuring how prevalent SARS-CoV-2 is in a given community.

In a paper posted Tuesday to the preprint server medRxiv, researchers collected samples in late March from a wastewater treatment plant serving a large metropolitan area in Massachusetts and found that the amount of SARS-CoV-2 particles in the sewage samples indicated a far higher number of people likely infected with Covid-19 than the reported cases in that area.

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Tag: Massachusetts