Comments closedSome people who had Long Covid early in 2020 are still not well. So the experience of being not listened to and not believed has been very harmful for them alongside the very considerable health impacts that they’ve had from Long Covid. […] The cost of inaction is going to be very high and that’s going to be a human cost and a financial cost.
As part of its updates on strategies to battle respiratory viruses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 22 detailed steps that people can take to reduce the number of respiratory particles that circulate in indoor air. The ventilation guidance update comes as respiratory disease levels such as flu and COVID are declining from a late December peak.
The CDC said ventilation, alongside vaccination and practicing good hand hygiene, is one of the core strategies for protecting people against respiratory illness. “People can still get sick after ventilating a space, so it is important to use ventilation as one part of a multi-layered approach to protect ourselves against getting sick from respiratory viruses,” the CDC said.
Comments closedCOVID-19 is a respiratory disease. Yet, from the earliest days of the pandemic, the cardiovascular risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection were clear: individuals with severe cases of COVID-19 often died from cardiovascular complications, and those with pre-existing cardiovascular disease were more likely to have severe illness or die.
In short, the cardiovascular system has played a central role in COVID-19 since the beginning.
It is not surprising that as debate over COVID-19 and vaccines flared that cardiovascular disease was a central issue. Those opposed to vaccination often make claims of cardiovascular risks that exceed any benefits. But when data on COVID-19, vaccines and cardiovascular health are reviewed, the conclusions are clear: vaccines are safe and effective at reducing the cardiovascular complications that are a hallmark of COVID-19.
Comments closedTaken together, these studies show that COVID-19 poses a serious risk to brain health, even in mild cases, and the effects are now being revealed at the population level. […]
The growing body of research now confirms that COVID-19 should be considered a virus with a significant impact on the brain. The implications are far-reaching, from individuals experiencing cognitive struggles to the potential impact on populations and the economy.
A woman in her 90s has died of COVID-19, raising the pandemic toll to 12 deaths this year.
The regional public health unit reported the latest death Friday in a weekly update of indicators. The health unit counts cases where the pandemic disease is a main or contributing cause of death.
Hospitalizations are stable at a relatively low level. There are currently six patients with COVID-19 in three local hospitals on an average day. A typical day during the four-year pandemic is 26 patients hospitalized.
Comments closedThe CDC recently eliminated isolation periods for people ill and likely infectious from Covid. Their Healthcare Infection Control Advisory Committee drafted guidelines weakening infection precautions, particularly regarding masking. Fortunately, after a wave of public criticism, the guidelines were sent back to HICPAC for revision.
People are increasingly left to their own devices to protect themselves against infection. So, what can you do? Mask and improve ventilation. Uniformly, wearing a well-fitting, effective respirator, such as an N95 certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or an elastomeric respirator, is the top recommendation. KF94 masks, the Korean standard, are preferred by many because, while not quite as protective, they use ear loops rather than over-the-head straps and don’t fit as tightly. KN95s meet the Chinese standards, but there were more problems with counterfeiting. Project N95 was a nonprofit I (and many) relied on because they carefully vetted their products. They have maintained a list of previously vetted products on that site, although they are no longer supplying masks.
Comments closedThe number of COVID-positive patients in B.C. hospitals declined this week, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
There were 148 test-positive patients in hospitals across the province as of Thursday, a decrease of 15 – or about nine per cent – from the 163 reported in hospital at this time last week.
The latest data continues the trend of relatively stable hospitalization levels seen throughout 2024 so far, with the first update of the year remaining the only one to show more than 200 COVID patients receiving hospital treatment.
Comments closedQuebec’s immunization committee is recommending a booster dose of the monovalent XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccine this spring to seniors ages 80 and over as well as to people who are immunocompromised or on dialysis.
The COVID-19 situation continues to evolve and certain parts of the population remain more vulnerable to the virus, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) said this week in publishing its vaccination recommendations.
A person vaccinated against COVID-19 is less likely to develop serious illness, but a gradual decrease in this protection is observed over a period of six months following vaccination. A booster dose is therefore necessary to maintain adequate protection, the INSPQ notes in its most recent opinion.
Comments closedThe COVID-19 situation continues to evolve and some population groups remain more vulnerable to the virus. This week, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) published its vaccination recommendations for spring 2024.
A person vaccinated against COVID-19 is less likely to develop a serious illness, but a gradual decrease in this protection is observed over a period of six months after vaccination. A booster dose is thus necessary to maintain adequate protection, recalls the INSPQ in its latest opinion.
Serious complications of COVID-19 are much more common in people 80+ years of age. For this age group, about one in 30 infected people must be hospitalized. For those aged 60 to 79, the incidence of hospitalizations and deaths is lower, except for those living with a chronic disease.
Respiratory disease levels have remained mostly steady in the past week, Ottawa Public Health says in its latest update.
Influenza remains a major concern with 13 more patients hospitalized in the seven days ended March 16. There were 14 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, which OPH described as “low and decreasing since last week.”
There were 45 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, about half of them in patients 65 years of age and older.
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 closedThe 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 closedA 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.
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