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Tag: SARS-CoV-2

Topic: researchView all posts for the topic: research

COVID-19 virus disrupts protein production, study finds

Published April 23, 2024

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Published by: University of Toronto
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By Jenni Bozec

When SARS-CoV-2 enters our cells, it disrupts the process of making proteins, which are essential for our cells to work correctly. A particular SARS-CoV-2 protein called Nsp1 has a crucial role in this process. It stops ribosomes, the machinery that makes proteins, from doing their job effectively. The virus is like a clever saboteur inside our cells, making sure its own needs are met while disrupting our cells’ ability to defend themselves.

— Talya Yerlici, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine
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Topic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick

COVID-19 kills 2 more in N.B., flu sends child under 4 and 2 youths to hospital

Published April 23, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

COVID-19 has killed two more New Brunswickers, while a child under four and two youths aged five to 19 are among those hospitalized by the flu, Tuesday’s Respiratory Watch report shows.

“COVID-19 activity remains moderate; some indicators (number of cases, percent positivity, and number of deaths) remained stable during the current reporting period,” April 7 to April 13, the report says.

Influenza activity decreased slightly, it says.

The two people who died from COVID during the reporting week were both aged 65 or older.

Continue readingCOVID-19 kills 2 more in N.B., flu sends child under 4 and 2 youths to hospital
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Topic: SaskatchewanView all posts for the topic: Saskatchewan

Sask. officials knew COVID-19 was spreading at an ‘exponential’ rate in 2021, but refused restrictions

Published April 23, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Alexander Quon, Zak Vescera

This story is a collaboration between the Investigative Journalism Foundation and CBC Saskatchewan.

Newly obtained internal data shows the Saskatchewan government knew COVID-19 was spreading at an “exponential” rate in the fall of 2021, providing new insight into what officials knew before a devastating COVID-19 wave hit the province.

The Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) and the CBC have obtained a six-page briefing presented to top officials at Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health in September 2021, days before the provincial government publicly declined to re-introduce measures doctors said were urgently needed to stop the spread of the virus.

The presentation, dated Sept. 3, 2021, came before a wave of COVID-19 infections that killed hundreds and nearly overwhelmed the province’s health system.

The government would later have to airlift roughly a quarter of its most critically sick patients to Ontario because there were not enough doctors and medical staff to care for them in Saskatchewan.

Continue readingSask. officials knew COVID-19 was spreading at an ‘exponential’ rate in 2021, but refused restrictions
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Topic: SaskatchewanView all posts for the topic: Saskatchewan

Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine

Published April 19, 2024

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Published by: CTV News
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By Donovan Maess

Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.

Following two weeks of proceedings, the jury’s verdict handed down Friday found Jackson, 55, withheld his then 7-year-old daughter from her mother in late 2021 to early 2022. Police eventually found the pair in Vernon, B.C.

While the motive was undisputed, Crown prosecutor Zoey Kim Zeggelaar said the results of Jackson’s actions were in direct contravention of the Order.

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Topic: SaskatchewanView all posts for the topic: Saskatchewan

Additional COVID-19 booster now available for at-risk individuals

Published April 19, 2024

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Published by: Regina Leader-Post
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Select residents can now receive an additional vaccine booster to protect against the current XBB.1.5 strain of COVID-19, one of several circulating in the province.

Booster doses have been available since April 8 and will remain available until June 30, only to high-risk groups or individuals, provided it has been at least six months since their last vaccination for XBB.1.5 or their last COVID-19 infection, according to a Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) news release issued Friday.

Those eligible include anyone aged 65 and older or any adult residing in a long-term care facility, personal care home or congregate living setting that also houses residents over 65 years of age.

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Topic: OntarioView all posts for the topic: Ontario

Public Health reports eight new high-risk COVID cases

Published April 19, 2024

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Published by: The Intelligencer
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Hastings Prince Edward Public Health officials reported eight new high-risk cases as of April 17 in the region, the same as in the previous reporting period.

The health unit also reported eight active high-risk cases, the same as in the last health unit report.

There were no new deaths attributed to COVID-19 leaving the number of deaths since the pandemic to 150 in the region.

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Topic: Hamilton RegionView all posts for the topic: Hamilton Region

Hamilton launching spring COVID-19 vaccination campaign

Published April 19, 2024

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Published by: The Hamilton Spectator
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By Metroland Staff

Hamiltonians at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 infection are eligible for vaccination this spring.

In an April 19 news release, Hamilton public health services announced it’s joining forces with the Ontario Ministry of Health to administer vaccine doses to high-risk community members.

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Topic: The NetherlandsView all posts for the topic: The Netherlands

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

Published April 18, 2024

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Published by: Time
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By Jason Gale / Bloomberg

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.

Continue readingCOVID Patient’s Infection Lasts Record 613 Days—and Accumulated Over 50 Mutations
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Topic: airborne transmissionView all posts for the topic: airborne transmission

WHO experts now agree diseases like COVID spread through the air

Published April 18, 2024

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Published by: CBC News / Reuters
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.

The Geneva-based U.N. health agency released a technical document on the topic on Thursday. It said it was the first step toward working out how to better prevent this kind of transmission, both for existing diseases like measles and for future pandemic threats.

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Topic: activismView all posts for the topic: activism

Clean Air Club Is Organizing Musicians to Make COVID-Safer Shows and Spaces

Published April 18, 2024

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Published by: Teen Vogue
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By Mary Retta

Last year, Chicago resident Emily Dupree attended a concert with her partner, who caught COVID-19 at the show. While Dupree treated her sick partner and tried to avoid getting ill in their shared home, some thoughts began to form in her mind. Dupree and her partner still wore masks everywhere they went, and had adopted air purification in their home early in the pandemic to mitigate the risk of transmission. But she knew that wasn’t the case for most people.

Around this time, Dupree came across a question the father of prolific abolitionist organizer Mariame Kaba used to ask her when she was frustrated: “It sounds like this is something you are very upset about. What will you do about it?” That question helped Dupree “channel a lot of despair I was feeling during the pandemic into concrete action,” she told Teen Vogue. And Clean Air Club was born.

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Topic: antiviral drugsView all posts for the topic: antiviral drugs

Remdesivir tied to 25% lower risk of in-hospital death in adults with COVID and no added oxygen

Published April 17, 2024

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Published by: CIDRAP
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By Mary Van Beusekom

The antiviral drug remdesivir cut death rates 17% to 25% in adults hospitalized for COVID-19 who didn’t require supplemental oxygen at admission, suggests a large US study published yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

The study, led by researchers from remdesivir (Veklury) developer Gilead Sciences, used a multicenter US hospital billing database to compare rates of in-hospital death among 58,188 patients on room air who received at least one dose of remdesivir within the first 2 days of hospital admission and 17,574 matched patients not given the drug. The drug is most effective when given early in infection, when viral replication is most active.

Continue readingRemdesivir tied to 25% lower risk of in-hospital death in adults with COVID and no added oxygen
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Topic: ManitobaView all posts for the topic: Manitoba

La distribution des vaccins contre la COVID-19 sera interrompue cet été

Published April 16, 2024

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Published by: Radio-Canada
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Manitoba indicated that the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines will be discontinued as of May 1. The vaccination campaign will resume in autumn 2024.

A provincial spokesperson says the province has taken this approach based on scientific evidence and advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

Based on seasonal trends in respiratory viruses in Manitoba, a dose administered in the fall is more likely to provide protection when respiratory virus circulation levels are higher, he said.

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Topic: SaskatchewanView all posts for the topic: Saskatchewan

Michael Gordon Jackson’s narrative challenged under cross-examination

Published April 16, 2024

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Published by: Regina Leader-Post
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By Brandon Harder

Michael Gordon Jackson acknowledged some people might view what he did — taking his then seven-year-old daughter on the run across Western Canada — as…

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Topic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick

COVID-19 kills New Brunswicker aged 45-64, 2 youth among those hospitalized by flu

Published April 16, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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By Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

A New Brunswicker aged 45 to 64 has died from COVID-19, while the flu sent eight people to the hospital, including two youth aged five to 19, updated data from the province Tuesday shows.

“COVID-19 activity remains moderate,” according to the Respiratory Watch report. “Some indicators (number of cases, percent positivity, and hospitalizations) decreased slightly during the current reporting period, between March 31 and April 6.

Influenza activity remained “relatively stable,” it says.

Continue readingCOVID-19 kills New Brunswicker aged 45-64, 2 youth among those hospitalized by flu
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Topic: New ZealandView all posts for the topic: New Zealand

NZ bucked life expectancy trend during Covid-19 paper shows: What you need to know

Published April 15, 2024

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Published by: Radio New Zealand
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By Katie Kenny

These findings provide further evidence supporting the effectiveness of the elimination strategy for minimising mortality from the pandemic.

— Otago University epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker
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Topic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines

Video | Study finds no link between COVID vaccines and fatal heart problems in young people

Published April 12, 2024

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Published by: CBC News
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A new study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows there is no evidence to suggest COVID vaccines cause sudden cardiac death or other fatal heart problems in young people.

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Topic: cognitive issuesView all posts for the topic: cognitive issues

Radio | COVID infections are causing drops in IQ and years of brain aging, studies suggest

Published April 12, 2024

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Published by: CBC Radio | Quirks and Quarks
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By Amanda Buckiewicz

When COVID-19 first reared its head back in 2019, it brought with it a slew of strange symptoms beyond just respiratory problems. One of the most puzzling symptoms in those early days was something called “brain fog” — cognitive issues like confusion, forgetfulness, and trouble focusing.

And while other symptoms have changed as the virus mutated, brain fog is still a common complaint of COVID sufferers not only during the initial illness, but extending for months or even years afterwards. Several recent studies have been trying to understand exactly what this virus is doing to our brains — and how to stop it.

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Topic: British ColumbiaView all posts for the topic: British Columbia

B.C. COVID-19 hospitalizations up slightly as province launches latest vaccine campaign

Published April 11, 2024

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Published by: CTV News
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By Ian Holliday

The number of people in B.C. hospitals with COVID-19 rose slightly this week as the province began rolling out its latest vaccination campaign.

There were 141 test-positive COVID patients in hospitals across the province as of Thursday, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. That’s an increase of nine – or about 6.8 per cent – from last week’s total.

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