COVID-19 News and Discussions

[wjfox]

Long-COVID study reveals immunological improvement two years after infection

Yesterday

Immune abnormalities have largely resolved at 24 months in a cohort of patients with long COVID, providing optimism that long COVID can resolve over time.

Biomarkers for long COVID that were present in patients at eight months have largely resolved by 24 months among a cohort of people who contracted COVID-19 during Australia’s first wave.

Jointly led by the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney and St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney and published today in Nature Communications, the research provides optimistic insights to suggest that long-COVID abnormalities can resolve over time.

The ADAPT study followed people who contracted COVID-19 during Australia’s first wave, as well as a matched control group, for up to two years. It combines systematic self-reported health information collected from patients with detailed analysis of blood specimens in the laboratory.

In January 2022, the Kirby Institute research team were the first globally to show that long COVID clinical symptoms were consistent with biomarkers showing a sustained inflammatory response at eight months following infection, providing a clear biological basis for the syndrome of long COVID.

https://www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/news/2 ... -infection

[firestar464]

Significant global variation in COVID-19 guidelines: Most countries recommend at least one treatment that doesn't work

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04- ... lines.html

[Time_Traveller]

Scientists report longest known ‘extreme’ Covid infection in 72-year-old man

6 hours ago

Doctors reported the case of a 72-year-old patient in the Netherlands who suffered from the novel coronavirus infection for 613 days, marking the longest SARS-CoV-2 infection duration to date.

They discovered extended evolution of the virus in the patient with compromised immunity in whom a highly mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2 evolved.

While healthy patients infected with the coronavirus tend to clear it within a period of days to weeks, immunocompromised individuals may develop a persistent infection with prolonged viral replication and evolution.

The latest findings highlight the importance of close genomic surveillance of the virus in this subpopulation of patients.

“The duration of SARS-CoV-2 infection in this described case is extreme, but prolonged infections in immunocompromised patients are much more common compared to the general community,” doctors wrote.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/scie ... 33826.html

[Time_Traveller]

AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, citing surplus of newer vaccines

Wed 8 May 2024 03.18 BST

AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” that target new variants of the virus.

The announcement follows the pharmaceutical company in March voluntarily withdrawing its European Union marketing authorisation, which is the approval to market a medicine in member states.

On 7 May, the European Medicines Agency issued a notice that the vaccine is no longer authorised for use.

In a statement, AstraZeneca said the decision was made because there is now a variety of newer vaccines available that have been adapted to target Covid-19 variants. This had led to a decline in demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

“According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over 3bn doses were supplied globally,” the statement said.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/ar ... r-vaccines

[wjfox]

N95 Masks Nearly Perfect at Blocking COVID, UMD Study Shows

By Fid Thompson
May 31, 2024

Any common face mask provides significant protection against the virus that causes COVID-19, but N95 masks are most effective at slashing the amount emitted by infected people, according to a University of Maryland-led study released Wednesday.

So-called “duckbill” N95 masks scored highest in the study, which measured the exhaled breath of participants who were tested both masked and unmasked to measure comparative outputs of SARS-CoV-2. The inexpensive masks, which have two head straps and a horizontal seam, captured 98% of exhaled virus, according to the study published in eBioMedicine.

https://today.umd.edu/n95-masks-nearly- ... tudy-shows

[Time_Traveller]

N95 Masks Nearly Perfect at Blocking COVID, UMD Study Shows

By Fid Thompson
May 31, 2024

Any common face mask provides significant protection against the virus that causes COVID-19, but N95 masks are most effective at slashing the amount emitted by infected people, according to a University of Maryland-led study released Wednesday.

So-called “duckbill” N95 masks scored highest in the study, which measured the exhaled breath of participants who were tested both masked and unmasked to measure comparative outputs of SARS-CoV-2. The inexpensive masks, which have two head straps and a horizontal seam, captured 98% of exhaled virus, according to the study published in eBioMedicine.

https://today.umd.edu/n95-masks-nearly- ... tudy-shows

I was wearing them close to just over 2 years between the start of the pandemic until around January/February 2022, until my work started giving them out to staff prior to when I started in late 21' and I was wearing the Tesco version for 2/3 months after I was starting to run out of them.

[firestar464]

Study: High excess death rates in the West for 3 years running since start of pandemic despite containment and vaccines

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06- ... years.html

[wjfox]

I was wearing them close to just over 2 years between the start of the pandemic until around January/February 2022, until my work started giving them out to staff prior to when I started in late 21' and I was wearing the Tesco version for 2/3 months after I was starting to run out of them.

I still mask, but only occasionally now, e.g. when getting a crowded train to visit my elderly parents (I don't have a car).

I was masking in Jan-Feb this year, when the UK had a winter spike in flu/Covid. But case numbers have been very low since then.

[Time_Traveller]

I was wearing them close to just over 2 years between the start of the pandemic until around January/February 2022, until my work started giving them out to staff prior to when I started in late 21' and I was wearing the Tesco version for 2/3 months after I was starting to run out of them.

I still mask, but only occasionally now, e.g. when getting a crowded train to visit my elderly parents (I don't have a car).

I was masking in Jan-Feb this year, when the UK had a winter spike in flu/Covid. But case numbers have been very low since then.

However, I will be keeping my current masks on hand (currently in my wardrobe) if needed until the next pandemic.