Category: News

The eighth COVID-19 wave is here. Could catching it trigger Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or autoimmune disorders?

The eighth COVID-19 wave is here. Could catching it trigger Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or autoimmune disorders?

Published November 21, 2023

Published by: ABC News
Published on: November 21, 2023
By Catherine Taylor

From the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists have raised concerns about the potential for long-term health problems linked to SARS-CoV-2 and warned repeated infections are likely to increase the risk.

An association between COVID and cardiovascular disease emerged quickly.

And now — almost exactly four years since the first case was discovered in Wuhan — a growing body of scientific research is cautiously linking the inflammation caused by a COVID infection to diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as well as autoimmune conditions from bowel disease to rheumatoid arthritis.

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New Brunswick

N.B. COVID-19 death toll increases by 4, child under 4 hospitalized

Published November 21, 2023

Published by: CBC News
Published on: November 21, 2023
By Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon

COVID-19 has killed at least four more New Brunswickers aged 65 or older, and a child under four is among those hospitalized for or with the virus between Nov. 5 and Nov. 11, figures released by the province Tuesday show.

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Omicron

Omicron, Now 2 Years Old, Is Not Done With Us Yet

Published November 21, 2023

Published by: The New York Times
Published on: November 21, 2023
By Carl Zimmer

By November 2021, nearly two years after the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan and spread across the world, the surprises seemed to be over. More than four billion people had been vaccinated against the virus, and five million had died. Two new variants, known as Alpha and Delta, had surged and then ebbed. As Thanksgiving approached, many Americans were planning to resume traveling for the holiday.

And then, the day after turkey, the pandemic delivered a big new surprise.

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COVID-19 inquiry

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson ‘bamboozled’ by science, COVID-19 inquiry told

Published November 20, 2023

Published by: The Associated Press
Published on: November 20, 2023
By Pan Pylas

Boris Johnson, the former British prime minister, struggled to come to grips with much of the science during the coronavirus pandemic, his chief scientific adviser said Monday.

In keenly awaited testimony to the country’s public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Vallance said he and others faced repeated problems getting Johnson to understand the science and that he changed his mind on numerous occasions.

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impaired sense of smell

10-minute procedure may repair distorted sense of smell in COVID survivors

Published November 20, 2023

Published by: CIDRAP
Published on: November 20, 2023
By Mary Van Beusekom

A new minimally invasive procedure may restore COVID-related impaired sense of smell, suggests a small study to be presented at next week’s Radiological Society of…

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Ontario

COVID-19 outbreak at Kenora hospital

Published November 20, 2023

Published by: NWOnewswatch.com
Published on: November 20, 2023
By Mike Stimpson

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak within part of its campus.

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rapid tests

More free COVID-19 tests from the government are available for home delivery through the mail

Published November 20, 2023

Published by: The Associated Press
Published on: November 20, 2023
By Amanda Seitz

Americans can order more free COVID-19 tests online for home delivery.

The U.S. government is offering to send another round of four at-home virus tests ahead of the typical surge in cases during the winter holiday season.

Anyone who did not order a batch of four COVID-19 tests in September can secure up to eight of them this time around starting Monday at COVIDtests.gov. The U.S. Postal Service will deliver them for free.

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universal masking

With COVID surging, should I wear a mask?

Published November 19, 2023

Published by: The Conversation
Published on: November 19, 2023
By C. Raina MacIntyre

COVID is on the rise again, with a peak likely over the holiday season. Given this, health authorities in a number of Australian states have…

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Novavax

Does Novavax’s Covid vaccine cause fewer side effects?

Published November 19, 2023

Published by: NBC News
Published on: November 19, 2023
By Amy Maxmen

Erin Kissane, a co-founder of the COVID Tracking Project, rolled up her sleeve for the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine in mid-October soon after it was finally recommended in the United States. Like many people with autoimmune diseases, she wants to protect herself from a potentially devastating Covid infection.

Kissane’s autoimmune arthritis seems to make her susceptible to unusual vaccine side effects. After getting an mRNA booster last year, her joints ached so painfully that her doctor prescribed steroids to dampen the inflammation. She still considers the mRNA vaccines “miraculous,” knowing Covid could be far worse than temporary aches.

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human rights

Physicians’ Refusal to Wear Masks to Protect Vulnerable Patients—An Ethical Dilemma for the Medical Profession

Published November 17, 2023

Published by: JAMA Health Forum
Published on: November 17, 2023
By Doron Dorfman, Mical Raz, Zackary Berger

On May 11, 2023, the US federal government put an end to the COVID-19–related public health emergency. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommends routine universal masking in most health care settings. Many clinicians and staff at hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes around the country have stopped regularly wearing masks. A conflict might arise when patients who are immunocompromised or have other risk factors that increase their susceptibility to COVID-19 complications seek health care and encounter an unmasked clinician. Individuals who have such conditions are considered disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Those disabled patients nowadays must embark on a “personal crusade for public health” to have their needs met.

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long COVID

‘This isn’t a life’: The crushing burden of Long Covid

Published November 17, 2023

Published by: Newsroom
Published on: November 17, 2023
By Marc Daalder

Ashleigh was saving up to travel overseas in the near future. Now, she’s housebound at 28, sometimes even bedbound, unable to drive or walk more than a short distance. “My mum has had to take care of me a lot this year, and I feel a bit bad for her experience as well.”

Michael, 32, was a busy Crown prosecutor. Now he’s been disabled for more than 18 months, taking long stretches off work and struggling with his mental health and damaged relationships. “It’s probably the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.”

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Australia

WA public hospitals strengthen mask-wearing requirements in response to surging COVID cases

Published November 17, 2023

Published by: ABC News
Published on: November 17, 2023
By Kate Christian

Surging COVID cases in Western Australia has seen the first public health measures introduced since the state’s COVID-19 ‘state of emergency’ declaration was dropped.

From Monday, all staff and patients in high-risk hospital clinical areas must wear masks.

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British Columbia

COVID-19 numbers down, flu and RSV up in B.C.

Published November 17, 2023

Published by: CBC News / The Canadian Press
Published on: November 17, 2023

New data suggests that COVID-19 activity in British Columbia is trending downward, while influenza and RSV are on the rise.

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Ontario

COVID outbreak reported in hospital unit

Published November 17, 2023

Published by: KenoraOnline
Published on: November 17, 2023
By Tim Davidson

Lake of the Woods District Hospital is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.

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Yukon

COVID-19 : la justice rejette la contestation de la loi sur les mesures d’urgence au Yukon

Published November 17, 2023

Published by: Radio-Canada
Published on: November 17, 2023

A Yukon judge rejected legal challenges to the Territorial Civil Emergency Measures Act (CEMA) that was used to implement and enforce health rules during the…

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Ontario