COVID-19 News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

‘Government Just Made it Worse’

23 February 2023

New research will reveal fresh evidence of the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on disabled people from black and ethnic minority communities.

Byline Times has seen initial findings from the national Commission on COVID-19, Disablism, and Systemic Racism, which reflect the harmful effect of the Government’s neglect of social care and its confused approaches to navigating the Coronavirus.

The commission’s forthcoming report, to be published by the summer, incorporates six months of evidence-gathering among disabled people, families, carers and social care staff. The commission is led by Voluntary Organisations Disability Group and chaired by Disability Rights UK chief executive Kamran Mallick.

“The pandemic highlighted the inequality that already existed, and the decisions the Government made just made those worse,” Mallick said.

As this newspaper has reported previously, Government inaction or indecision included an initial failure to vaccinate learning disabled people, despite their greater risk of death from the virus; and support staff going without personal protective equipment.

https://bylinetimes.com/2023/02/23/gove ... -revealed/

[caltrek]

Long-term Intermittent Fasting Reduces COVID-19 Heart Failure Complications and Death in Patients with Previous Heart Disease
March 6, 2023

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) Intermittent fasting, especially when done over the course of decades, can have positive effects on metabolic and cardiovascular health. Now, a new study by researchers at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City finds that it may also add an extra layer of protection from heart-related COVID-19 complications in people who had already sought cardiac care.

“We already know that regular fasting over long periods of time can lead to overall health improvements. Here we found that it may also lead to better outcomes in COVID-19 patients who required a cardiac catheterization,” said Benjamin Horne, PhD, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at the Intermountain Health. “Fasting won’t necessarily stop a cardiac event from happening, but it may prevent someone from developing heart failure after.”

In the study, Intermountain researchers examined patients who enrolled in the INSPIRE registry, a voluntary registry at Intermountain Health, who were also undergoing cardiac catheterization from February 2013 to March 2020.

Of that group, 464 patients had been diagnosed with COVID-19 between March 6, 2020, and April 8, 2022, of those, 135 reported that they fasted routinely — on average for 42.7 years.

Researchers found that those who practiced regular fasting had a lower rate of heart failure-related hospitalization, complications, and death than COVID-19 positive patients in the study who did not fast.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/981252

[raklian]

[erowind]

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[wjfox]

I still somehow haven't gotten covid to my knowledge. I could be asymptomatic I guess, but after seeing other people my age who are even more healthy experience really awful symptoms I kinda doubt it.

Same here.

Masks work folks.

Not just those leaky surgical masks, but properly fitting N95, or even better N99/FFP3.

[raklian]

I still somehow haven't gotten covid to my knowledge. I could be asymptomatic I guess, but after seeing other people my age who are even more healthy experience really awful symptoms I kinda doubt it. Masks work folks.

I'm in the same boat. I don't think I've caught it yet. I've been pretty meticulous about my preventative strategy. I truly hope it stays that way, at least until we have a much better understanding of Covid and its long term effects.

[caltrek]

Three Years Into Covid Pandemic, World Leaders Say 'Never Again' to Vaccine Apartheid
by Brett Wilkins
March 10, 2023

Around 200 current and former world leaders, Nobel laureates, health and faith leaders, and activists this week marked the third anniversary of the World Health Organization's Covid-19 pandemic declaration by taking aim at the "vaccine apartheid" that according to one advocacy group was responsible for one death every 24 seconds during the outbreak's first year alone.

A letter led by the People's Vaccine Alliance notes that three years have passed since "the World Health Organization (WHO) first characterized Covid-19 as a pandemic" on March 11, 2020 and implores governments to "never again" allow nationalism and capitalist greed to supersede human needs."

"We have seen extraordinary feats of scientific innovation and an enormous mobilization of public resources to develop effective vaccines, tests, and treatments," the letter continues. "But we have also seen a global response held back by profiteering and nationalism."

(For Never Again Twitter site:

https://twitter.com/peoplesvaccine/stat ... partheid)

The signers asserted:

We are hopeful that an end to the acute stage of the Covid-19 pandemic may be in sight. Thus, the world is at a critical juncture. Decisions made now will determine how the world prepares for and responds to future global health crises. World leaders must reflect on mistakes made in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic so that they are never repeated.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/vaccine-apartheid

[caltrek]

New Study from Japan Shows SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 Variant Is Highly Transmissible and Infectious
March 15, 2023

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) COVID-19 has caused significant global panic after its rapid emergence more than 3 years ago. Although we now have highly effective vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, scientists continue to study emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants in order to safeguard public health and devise global preventive strategies against emerging variants. A team led by Japanese researchers has recently discovered that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, prevalent in the Western hemisphere, has high transmissibility and infectivity.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for millions of deaths worldwide. Although scientists have designed novel vaccines to counter COVID-19, they are constantly on the lookout for emerging variants that can bypass vaccine resistance and potentially jeopardize global public health. A team led by Japanese researchers has recently been successful in characterizing the new SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant, which was first detected in October 2022. Their findings were published on January 31, 2023 in volume 23 of The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Says senior author Prof. Kei Sato from the Division of Systems Virology, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Japan, “Because the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant can spread more rapidly than previous variants and has a potential to cause the next epidemic surge, we should carefully monitor it to safeguard public health.”

While studying emerging variants of the SARs-CoV-2 Omicron lineage, the research team made a startling discovery: the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron XBB.1.5 variant has a novel mutation in the spike (S) protein—the protein that anchors the virus firmly to the human angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor, thus facilitating the invasion of human cells. The serine-to-proline amino acid mutation noted at residue no. 486 in the S protein is virologically concerning because of a variety of reasons.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/982316

[caltrek]

COVID-19 Could Be Robbing People of Their Ability to Recognize Faces
by Tessa Koumoundouros
March 15, 2023

Introduction:

(Science Alert) When Annie reunited with her family for the first time a few months after being ill with COVID-19, it was clear the disease was not yet done with her.

"My dad's voice came out of a stranger's face," Annie told the researchers investigating her case.

Annie (a pseudonym to protect her privacy) had normal facial recognition before she was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March 2020. A few days later she started to recover, only to relapse after several months. Now her case study suggests we can add 'face blindness' (prosopagnosia) to a long and growing list of brain problems caused by the disease.

The new study surveyed more than 50 other patients struggling with long COVID and most were finding it harder to identifying familiar faces, since their infections.

"Faces are like water in my head," Annie explained, describing how trying to remember a face is now like being asked to replicate a Chinese character after one viewing when you're unfamiliar with the language.

Read more here: https://www.sciencealert.com/covid-19- ... ze-faces

[wjfox]

The Reality Gap

John Snow Project Editorial
21 March 2023

The failure to recognise the ongoing severity of COVID-19 is creating a reality gap that is being filled by groups peddling misinformation.

On 30 November 2022, a UK scientific team published a pre-print on the correlates of protection against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. In it they said:

“Although there are societal impacts and risks to some individuals associated with ongoing transmission, breakthrough infection could be an efficient immune-boosting mechanism for subgroups of the population, including younger healthy adults, who have low risks of adverse consequences from infection.”

This is dangerously misleading.

It is in fact difficult to know which subgroups of the population have low risks of adverse consequences from breakthrough infection or reinfection, nor is it established that such subgroups exist, to begin with. People of all ages can develop debilitating Long COVID following SARS-CoV-2 infection, even after vaccination. Current evidence suggests infected adults and children are at greater risk of new onset diabetes, adults are at increased risk of cardiac problems and the long-term impact on children’s cardio-vascular health is uncertain10. In addition, people can experience kidney injury, liver damage, erectile dysfunction, hearing loss, immune dysfunction, brain and memory dysfunction, ocular damage and dermatological complications. In fact there are few organs that SARS-CoV-2 can’t harm, largely because COVID-19 is a vascular disease with immune-mediated severity impacting multiple organs. SARS-CoV-2 is an airborne virus that is transmitted via the respiratory system, but the disease it causes is not localized to the respiratory tract with its multi-organ, multi-system impacts stemming from its vascular nature, the associated immune perturbation, and other systemic effects.

Children, the subgroup that is widely believed to be least at risk from SARS-CoV-2 infections, also experiences harm. A large Danish study of children showed the highest risk of Long COVID is in those aged <5 years, who are not eligible for vaccination in that country36. Other countries like the UK and Australia also deny vaccination for children <5 years unless severely immunocompromised.

Read more: https://johnsnowproject.org/insights/the-reality-gap/

[weatheriscool]

Pfizer's Covid drug Paxlovid may reduce the risk of developing long Covid, study says
Source: CNBC

People who take Pfizer ’s Covid antiviral treatment Paxlovid shortly after infection may reduce their risk of developing long Covid, regardless of their age, vaccination status or infection history, new research suggests.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on Thursday, found that people who took Paxlovid within five days of a positive Covid test saw a 26% lower risk of long Covid compared with those who didn’t receive it. More than 35,000 people took the oral Covid pill in the study, while 246,000 did not.

The study only enrolled people who are eligible for Paxlovid under emergency use authorization. That includes adults over 50, or those who have an underlying medical condition such as high blood pressure or diabetes. The findings suggest the benefits of Paxlovid may go beyond what the drug is designed for, which is to treat adults and children who are at a higher risk of ending up in the hospital or dying from a Covid infection.

The drug still demonstrated that intended benefit in the study, lowering the risk of death by 47% and hospitalization by 24% about a month after initial infection. The new study comes as researchers work to fill the knowledge gap about long Covid, an often debilitating condition with limited data and no proven treatment available.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/24/pfizer- ... study.html

[caltrek]

Former DeSantis Spokesperson Blames World Hunger on Trump's Surgeon General
March 26 , 2023

Introduction:

(Alternet) Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' (R) former spokesperson, Christina Pushaw, recently suggested COVID-19 "lockdowns" caused "starvation in poor countries," and blamed former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

Adams served under DeSantis' political foe former President Donald Trump.

Pushaw shared her criticism of Adams after he tweeted, "No one should go hungry in America. We regularly throw away more food than it would take to feed everyone who can't eat. Why can't / won't billionaire geniuses like @elonmusk take on a logistical / innovation problem like this, instead of, well- you fill in the blank…"

The Purdue Health Equity Director continued, "And FTR, I'm not hating on @elonmusk here. But he is one the richest, smartest, and most visible people in the world. So why not take on a solvable societal problem like starving kids (we have the resources!) vs blue check marks?"

In response to his question, Pushaw retweeted Adams' tweet, writing, "Lockdowns, which you advocated for as Surgeon General, caused starvation in poor countries around the world while doing nothing to stop Covid. Countless lives ruined by hubris and media-imposed groupthink."

Read more here: https://www.alternet.org/fdesantis-spo ... er-adams/

caltrek’s comment: What is striking is the way that these comments come at Trump from both the right wing and the left:

Right wing: “suggested COVID-19 ‘lockdowns’ caused starvation in ‘poor countries.’"

Left wing: “Why can't / won't billionaire geniuses like @elonmusk take on a logistical / innovation problem like this, instead of, well- you fill in the blank…?"

[wjfox]

COVID complacency as virus becomes third most deadly

April 6, 2023

COVID-19 has skyrocketed to become the third leading cause of death among Australians in 2022, raising a dire warning from experts who insist the pandemic is not over despite widespread messaging to the contrary.

Over 20,000 more people died last year than would have if there was no pandemic, according to figures released by the Actuaries Institute on Thursday.

The number of people dying from COVID-19 is much higher now than at any other point during the pandemic, following the scrapping of most prevention measures at the end of 2021.

Raina MacIntyre, head of the biosecurity research program at the University of NSW’s Kirby Institute, said a key issue now is the relaxed approach most people are taking towards getting booster vaccinations.

“COVID is worse than ever, and we’re doing less than ever about it,” Professor MacIntyre said.

https://www.aap.com.au/news/covid-compl ... st-deadly/

[caltrek]

Researchers Say Spread of COVID-19 in Households is Linked to Virus on Hands and Surfaces
April 6, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A new Imperial College London-led study provides the first empirical evidence for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via people’s hands and frequently touched household surfaces.

The research sheds new light on the spread of COVID-19 in households, where most transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs, and it is the first to link the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on people’s hands and frequently touched household surfaces to the risk of infection among contacts. The findings support the use of interventions at home when someone has an infection, in particular frequent handwashing, regular surface disinfection, and physical distancing as well as the use of masks to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The study of 279 households in London, published in The Lancet Microbe, was conducted at the height of the pandemic during the alpha and pre-alpha waves. The research was carried out at the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Respiratory Infections, a research partnership between Imperial College London and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Professor Ajit Lalvani, lead author of the study, and Director of NIHR HPRU in Respiratory Infections, said: “There’s no doubt that if you have COVID-19 you’re emitting the virus into the air as micro-aerosols as well as large droplets that land on your hands and the surfaces around you. What hasn’t been shown, until now, is that the presence of the virus on people’s hands or household surfaces predicts transmission to contacts.

“Our real-life study in London households provides the first empirical evidence to show that the presence of SARS-CoV-2 on people’s hands and surfaces contributes significantly to spread of COVID-19. Since we didn’t systematically sample household air, we cannot rule out airborne transmission occurring in parallel.”

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/985190

[weatheriscool]

Biden ends COVID national emergency after Congress acts
Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency.

The national emergency allowed the government to take sweeping steps to respond to the virus and support the country’s economic, health and welfare systems. Some of the emergency measures have already been successfully wound-down, while others are still being phased out. The public health emergency — it underpins tough immigration restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border — is set to expire on May 11.

The White House issued a one-line statement Monday saying Biden had signed the measure behind closed doors, after having publicly opposed the resolution though not to the point of issuing a veto. More than 197 Democrats in the House voted against it when the GOP-controlled chamber passed it in February. Last month, as the measure passed the Senate by a 68-23 vote, Biden let lawmakers know he would sign it.

The administration said once it became clear that Congress was moving to speed up the end of the national emergency it worked to expedite agency preparations for a return to normal procedures. Among the changes: The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s COVID-19 mortgage forbearance program is set to end at the end of May, and the Department of Veterans Affairs is now returning to a requirement for in-home visits to determine eligibility for caregiver assistance.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-co ... 26c27b3b39

[weatheriscool]

Over 1 Million Lives Saved Across Europe by COVID-19 Vaccines
https://scitechdaily.com/over-1-million ... -vaccines/
By European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases April 16, 2023
COVID Vaccine Success

New research presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) reveals that COVID-19 vaccinations have saved at least 1,004,927 lives in Europe between December 2020 and March 2023. The majority (96%) of the lives saved were individuals aged 60 years and older, with the first booster accounting for 64% of lives saved in this age group. The Omicron wave saw the largest number of lives saved, with at least 568,064 deaths prevented. Despite these promising figures, many vulnerable individuals in the WHO European Region remain unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, underscoring the need for countries with low vaccination coverage to prioritize older adults.

New research shows that 96% of all lives saved were in adults aged 60 and older.

COVID-19 vaccination directly saved at least 1,004,927 lives across Europe between December 2020 and March 2023, according to new research being presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (April 15-18).

The new estimates by WHO/Europe and presented at the conference by Dr Margaux Meslé, Epidemiologist at WHO/Europe highlight the striking impact of COVID-19 vaccine programmes and also underscore the urgent need for countries with low vaccination coverage to fully vaccinate their older adults.

Since the emergence and subsequent spread of SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020, over 2 million COVID-19 laboratory-confirmed deaths have been officially recorded by WHO/Europe.

Countries in the WHO European Region (which includes all countries in the European Union and European Economic Area) have introduced COVID-19 vaccine programmes to protect vulnerable groups from severe disease with several waves of variants of concern (VOC).

[weatheriscool]

FDA authorizes 2nd dose of updated Covid booster for older adults
Source: NBC News

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized a second dose of the updated Covid booster for older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

Those 65 and older can get a second dose of the updated versions of Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s Covid booster at least four months after their last dose, the FDA said in a statement. Most people who are immunocompromised can get an additional dose at least two months after their last dose, according to the agency.

The FDA also authorized using the bivalent formula in all Covid vaccines moving forward and is doing away with the multi-dose primary series for people who have not yet been vaccinated. That means people who haven’t been vaccinated yet would get a single dose of the updated vaccine.

The FDA’s decision will now be handed off to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has scheduled a meeting with its panel of outside advisers for Wednesday. If the panel votes in favor of the additional boosters, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, signs off, immunizations could begin immediately.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-n ... -rcna79568

[wjfox]

[erowind]

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[weatheriscool]

9th Circuit upholds Biden's vaccine mandate for federal contractors
Mark Joseph Stern
@mjs_DC

An extremely satisfying 9th Circuit decision—authored by Judge Bennett, a Trump appointee—upholding Biden’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors while rejecting a contrary (and excruciatingly incoherent) decision from the 5th Circuit. https://documentcloud.org/documents/23783734-22-15518 h/t @MikeSacksEsq