COVID-19 News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

Florida surgeon general altered key findings in study on Covid-19 vaccine safety
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/2 ... e-00093510

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo personally altered a state-driven study about Covid-19 vaccines last year to suggest that some doses pose a significantly higher health risk for young men than had been established by the broader medical community, according to a newly obtained document.

Ladapo’s changes, released as part of a public records request, presented the risks of cardiac death to be more severe than previous versions of the study. He later used the final document in October to bolster disputed claims that Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were dangerous to young men.

The surgeon general, a well-known Covid-19 vaccine skeptic, faced a backlash from the medical community after he made the assertions, which go against guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and American Academy of Pediatrics. But Ladapo’s statements aligned well with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stance against mandatory Covid-19 vaccination.

Researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and University of Florida, who viewed Ladapo’s edits on the study and have followed the issue closely, criticized the surgeon general for making the changes. One said it appears Ladapo altered the study out of political — not scientific — concerns...

[wjfox]

Mild Covid can lead to long-term impact on cardiovascular health, study claims

Scientists compared pre- and post-Covid infection levels of arterial stiffness, which can indicate cardiovascular health.

23 hours ago

Mild cases of Covid-19 can have long-term detrimental effects on cardiovascular health, according to new research.

A team of scientists including those from the University of Portsmouth were part of the study which compared pre- and post-Covid infection levels of arterial stiffness which can highlight ageing and how healthy the arteries are.

[...]

Professor Ana Jeroncic, from the University of Split, who led the study, said: “Given the number of people infected with Covid-19 worldwide, the fact that infection can have harmful effects on cardiovascular health in young people who had a mild form of the disease warrants close monitoring.

“The question remains as to whether this harmful effect is irreversible or permanent, and if not, for how long it lasts.”

Dr Perissiou added: “This study, while small, does support the prediction amongst vascular physiologists that we’ll have an increase in cardiovascular disease in the future as a result of Covid-19 infections.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/ ... 76840.html

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

WHO says Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency

Updated 9:44 AM EDT, Fri May 5, 2023

CNN — Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee discussed the pandemic on Thursday at its 15th meeting on Covid-19, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred that the public health emergency of international concern, or PHEIC, declaration should end.

“For more than a year the pandemic has been on a downward trend,” Tedros said at a news conference Friday.

“This trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19,” Tedros said. “Yesterday, the emergency committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice.”

The organization declared the coronavirus outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern in January 2020, about six weeks before characterizing it as a pandemic.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/05/heal ... index.html

[wjfox]

Worth noting that WHO didn't remove the "pandemic" classification, just that it's no longer an emergency.

[raklian]

Worth noting that WHO didn't remove the "pandemic" classification, just that it's no longer an emergency.

Very weird.

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

What is long covid? For the first time, a new study defines it.

The findings are expected to help standardize the definition of long covid and influence how the condition is diagnosed and studied

May 25, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. EDT

More than 200 lingering symptoms have been reported in patients who suffer ongoing health problems after a covid infection. Now a new study has identified 12 key symptoms that best define the debilitating condition known as long covid.

The findings, published Thursday in JAMA, are based on 9,764 participants in a study called the RECOVER initiative, which stands for researching covid to enhance recovery, a four-year, $1.15 billion study of long covid funded by the National Institutes of Health.

The research is expected to help standardize the definition of long covid and have a significant impact on how the condition is diagnosed and studied, said Leora Horwitz, a physician and co-principal investigator for the RECOVER Clinical Science Core at NYU Langone Health.

“If you look up simple questions like ‘how many people get long covid,’ the answers are all over the place because people define it differently,” Horwitz said. “To really advance the science, we need a common language.”

In addition to identifying the key symptoms of long covid, the study used a point scoring system based on how likely the symptom was a true signal of long covid versus another condition.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness ... -4fVAtHdq4

[JamesWilson]

The World Health Organization ended the global emergency status for COVID-19 more than three years after its original declaration, but I can say that some people still continue wearing masks. In my city, I see people with masks every day. And on Wednesday, I had a long trip from Poland to France by bus, and there were a few people wearing masks the whole trip. And it's curious how long it will continue. I mean, it's understandable that COVID is still here, and I think it will never disappear, but it's just like the flu or other diseases. You can't wear masks forever, and it will not actually save you.

[toromash]

In my city (it's a capital), i have seen probably 4 or 5 persons with masks throughout 2023. half of them were asian turists, and half were elderly people. Covid is non existent in life, in conversations, in politics, everywhere. Only outside of my country does it seem to matter.