In a new study, researchers used Medicare data to characterize the long-term risk of death and hospital readmission after being hospitalized with COVID-19 among patients 65 years and older. The study demonstrates that among patients who were admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 and discharged alive, the risk of post-discharge death was nearly twice that observed in those who were discharged alive from an influenza-related hospital admission.
Comments closedThis study provides us with strong evidence that we need to stop looking at COVID-19 as strictly an upper respiratory disease and start viewing it as a systemic disorder that impacts multiple organs. The continued dysfunction we observed in organs other than the lungs suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction could be causing long-term damage to the internal organs of these patients.
A new SARS-CoV-2 variant has emerged, serving as a reminder that the pandemic is not over. The World Health Organization (WHO) has added EG.5 (includes EG.5.1) to the list of variants under monitoring (VUMs).
Comments closedComments closedWith this test, there are no nasal swabs and no waiting 15 minutes for results, as with home tests. A person simply blows into a tube in the device, and an electrochemical biosensor detects whether the virus is there. Results are available in about a minute.
The National Institutes of Health in the United States have begun a series of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, a step eagerly awaited in the efforts of the United States to fight this mysterious disease that affects millions of people.
Comments closedIn May 2023, Mass General Brigham instructed its patients that they “cannot ask staff members to wear a mask because our policies no longer require it.”
Following patient protests, the hospital updated its policies with an imperfect fix, announcing that “patients can ask, but providers determine when and if masking in a particular situation is clinically necessary.”
Comments closedThe In-N-Out burger chain will bar employees in five states from wearing masks unless they have a doctor’s note, according to internal company emails leaked on social media.
Comments closedIt has been well noted that, whatever their starting points, conspiracy theorists sooner or later get around to blaming the Jews.
During a press dinner in New York last week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is hoping to convert his portfolio of chuckleheaded conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and all sorts of other things into the semblance of a presidential campaign, went there last week.
Comments closedMore than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools, one in 20 K-12 educators believe they have long COVID. Another 14 percent think or know they previously had it but eventually recovered.
Comments closedRetrospective analysis of national data led by investigators from Mass Eye and Ear estimates that over 20 million COVID patients experienced loss of smell or taste in 2021, with a large portion of patients never fully recovering these senses.
Comments closedA retrospective study by researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, investigated the loss of olfactory and gustatory senses and estimated that about a quarter of Americans who had COVID-19 reported only partial or no recovery of taste or smell.
Comments closedAccording to a recent study, over 70% of nearly 850,000 US household COVID-19 transmissions originated with a child. The researchers concluded that children had an important role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and that in-person school also resulted in substantial spread.
Comments closedComments closedWe now know that an infection can trigger several heart diseases. There is a clear expectation in the coming years that consultations for various cardiovascular conditions will increase
For the one-year period August 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022, COVID-19 was a leading cause of death in children and young people in the United States, ranking eighth overall.
The researchers believe that vaccines and nonpharmaceutical interventions are needed to limit transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and mitigate severe disease.
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