Category: Corona Virus

LOS ANGELES The risk of developing long COVID enduring, sometimes punishing symptoms that linger well after a coronavirus infection has decreased since the start of the pandemic, a new study found, with the drop particularly evident among those who are vaccinated.

But the dip does not mean the risk of developing long COVID has vanished. And given the rise in new infections, particularly during periods like now, when data indicate transmission is elevated, even a lower rate of prevalence means many Americans risk developing symptoms that can last months or years after their initial infection clears.

We have people in the clinic here with long COVID, and theyre significantly affected, and some of them are profoundly disabled, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri.

The study, published July 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that 10.4% of people who were infected early in the pandemic suffered from long COVID symptoms a year after their acute infection.

But during the omicron era, which began in mid-December 2021 when that variant became the dominant version of the coronavirus circulating worldwide, 3.5% of vaccinated people suffered from long COVID a year after their infection, as did 7.8% of unvaccinated people.

Its good news, said Al-Aly, a co-author of the study. Long COVID is on the descent. Its declining and has gone down over the course of the pandemic.

But its still a concern that long COVID rates remain as high as they are, Al-Aly said, especially as COVID is still affecting millions of people.

Three-point-five-percent is not zero, Al-Aly said. Thats still three to four individuals out of 100 of a disease that could be, in some instances, devastating.

The study was based on health records held by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which had data on more than 441,000 veterans who were infected with the coronavirus between March 1, 2020, and Jan. 31, 2022, and monitored for a year after their infection to track whether they experienced long COVID. The other co-authors are Yan Xie and Taeyoung Choi, who are also affiliated with the VA St. Louis Health Care System.

Whenever someone is infected with the coronavirus, there is a chance they will develop long COVID a catchall term used to describe a wide array of serious symptoms that can result in chronic disability, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some individuals have suffered from long COVID continuously since they were infected in the pandemics earlier days, while others have seen their symptoms resolve within months.

Long COVID symptoms include fatigue that interferes with daily life, brain fog and post-exertional malaise, in which symptoms worsen with physical or mental effort. Long COVID can also cause a fast-beating or pounding heart, dizziness when you stand up, depression and anxiety.

Millions of American adults and children have suffered or are still suffering from long COVID.

There are a few potential reasons why long COVID is rarer than it once was.

First, the coronavirus officially known as SARS-CoV-2 has changed significantly since it was first identified in December 2019.

We still call it COVID, but in truth, COVID has really shifted shapes on us, like, multiple times, Al-Aly said.

That would explain why the risk has actually declined even among unvaccinated individuals, Al-Aly said. So even without being touched by vaccines, just the virus itself has mellowed over time.

But as the study found, getting vaccinated did further reduce the risk of developing long COVID.

Vaccines do two things: They first reduce the severity of infection, Al-Aly said.

Second, they actually help your immune system get rid of the virus faster, Al-Aly said. They enhance the ability of the immune system to clear the virus and so there is less virus to wreak havoc on organs and bodily systems.

One leading theory of the root cause of long COVID is that the coronavirus persists in the body long after an acute infection is over, Al-Aly said. So, if getting a vaccine helps the immune system get rid of the virus faster, that could lessen the chance of developing the syndrome.

We know vaccine immunity wanes with time, Al-Aly said. Definitely keep up to date on your vaccination.

The severity of long COVID varies from person to person. Some might experience mild cognitive dysfunction or fatigue, but can still accomplish daily tasks like taking their children to school or walking the dog. Others can suffer such debilitating fatigue that theyre really, really, really profoundly disabled by it they cannot get out of bed they cannot literally perform their activities of daily living, Al-Aly said.

Long COVID can emerge, persist, resolve and reemerge over a period of weeks or months, according to the CDC.

There are other data suggesting that long COVIDs incidence has declined since earlier in the pandemic. Based on survey data, the prevalence of long COVID among U.S. adults was 7.5% in early June 2022, but had decreased to roughly 6% in early January 2023, according to a report published last summer by the CDC. Since then, the prevalence remained unchanged to mid-June 2023, shortly before that report was published.

About 1 in 4 adults who reported having long COVID when surveyed said they had significant limitations on their typical activities highlighting the importance of COVID prevention, including staying up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination, the report said.

COVID and long COVID remain a more significant public health threat than the flu. People sometimes get long-term complications after battling the flu, Al-Aly said, but there are definitely a whole lot more COVID cases than the flu. So youre much more likely to get COVID than the flu.

Even at this point, more people are dying from and being hospitalized with COVID than the flu, Al-Aly said. The CDC estimates that there have been at least 25,000 flu deaths nationally since the start of October, compared with at least 46,000 COVID-19 deaths reported over the same period. Updated death estimates for the past flu season will be available this autumn.

Besides getting vaccinated, other ways to help avoid long COVID include testing when youre sick to see if you have COVID. A confirmed diagnosis can help higher-risk people get a prescription for Paxlovid, antiviral pills that can help lessen the severity of infections and potentially reducing the risk of long COVID, Al-Aly said.

Other steps include wearing a mask in higher-risk situations. Al-Aly said he wears an N95 mask on planes, and masks strategically in higher-risk settings. Hes also more on guard about masking when theres an uptick in COVID, as there is now nationally. And dining at restaurants outdoors remains less risky than dining indoors.

The rest is here:

Long COVID risk has decreased but remains significant, study finds - The Seattle Times

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) A summer wave of Covid is sweeping the U.S. with a new, highly contagious variant fueling the surge.

Three new variants of COVID, KP.2, KP.3, and LB.1 are spreading across the United States and as of right now, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Massachusetts is considered to have a high level of infection. There are 21 states considered to have very high levels of Covid, including Connecticut and New Hampshire.

Symptoms of Covid are generally also the same as flu-like symptoms including fevers, coughs, aches and pains, or fatigue. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you are encouraged to get tested. People who test positive do not need to isolate for five days and since the virus has been around for a few years, there are now treatments for the virus either orally or through an IV.

If you are older or immuno-compromised, it is encouraged you possibly think about masking, less gathering of large numbers of people and doctors also encourage people to keep up with the vaccinations.

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

Continued here:

Summer wave of COVID sweeping across the U.S., Massachusetts ranks high - WWLP.com

Five players on Australia's women's water polo team for the Paris Olympics tested positive for COVID-19 this week. Paris is the first Olympics since the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021 and Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 were staged in COVID bubbles with rigorous testing protocols.Video above: A look at what it's like getting around Paris ahead of the 2024 OlympicsSo, what are the protocols for positive tests at the Games this year? A Paris 2024 spokesperson told CNN that the protocols recommend mask-wearing for people who test positive.We regularly remind athletes and all other Games stakeholders of the good practices to adopt should they experience any respiratory symptoms: wearing a mask in the presence of others, limiting contacts and washing hands regularly with soap and water or using hand sanitiser, the statement says.Hand sanitiser stations can be found at all the residential areas and also the restaurant of the Olympic Village, according to the statement. We continue to carefully monitor the public health situation in France, in conjunction with the relevant government ministry.Many of the national teams also may have their own safety protocols to protect their athletes, said Lucia Mullen, an associate scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a member of the World Health Organizations mass gathering expert group, which regularly works on these issues.For the COVID-19 cases, as with other respiratory diseases and also other gastrointestinal diseases, they will really promote hand hygiene and other basic hygiene measures so, keeping distance, reporting to the clinics to get tested if you are feeling unwell and certainly if youre displaying symptoms, Mullen said. Then, of course, isolating if you do test positive.The Australian water polo team is treating COVID-19 no differently than any other respiratory illness, said Anna Meares, the chef de mission for the Australian Olympic team.This is a high-performance environment, so we are being diligent, Meares said at a news conference Tuesday when the teams first COVID-19 case was announced.Were also having the fellow teammates wear masks and just adhere to social distancing measures as well meeting outside, those sorts of things, she said.She added that, when respiratory illnesses occur, the person is isolated until their symptoms subside and testing comes back clear.But I need to emphasize that we are treating COVID no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo, Meares said, referring to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, which were delayed by a year due to the pandemic and held without in-person spectators.Although the world is no longer under a public health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympic Games come as a wave of COVID-19 infections has hit the United States. Even President Joe Biden recently tested positive for the disease.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that, if you test positive for COVID-19, you stay home until you are fever-free without the help of fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours and your symptoms have been improving for 24 hours. It then recommends wearing a mask around other people for the next five days.Were in a time period where COVID is still circulating. We are seeing increases of cases again, Mullen said.And were probably underreporting levels. A lot of countries are reducing their surveillance measures, she added. We are expecting that there will be some people traveling to the Games whether its spectators or just to go visit Paris that may not know they have COVID and be sick, and of course, spread it on to others.The French capital is expected to welcome about 15 million tourists while it hosts the Olympic Games.Separate public health guidance for travelers attending the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games was released last week by WHO, the French Ministry of Health and Prevention, Sant publique France and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.The guidance recommends checking your vaccination status against common infectious diseases including measles, whooping cough, polio and COVID-19.Cases of measles are on the rise worldwide, including in Europe and in France, the guidance notes. Attending a mass gathering event increases your chances of being exposed to respiratory diseases, including whooping cough and COVID-19. If you have symptoms, such as a cough, fever or sore throat, stay at home or in your hotel if possible and consider wearing a mask when you leave your hotel or home.

Five players on Australia's women's water polo team for the Paris Olympics tested positive for COVID-19 this week.

Paris is the first Olympics since the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021 and Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 were staged in COVID bubbles with rigorous testing protocols.

Video above: A look at what it's like getting around Paris ahead of the 2024 Olympics

So, what are the protocols for positive tests at the Games this year?

A Paris 2024 spokesperson told CNN that the protocols recommend mask-wearing for people who test positive.

We regularly remind athletes and all other Games stakeholders of the good practices to adopt should they experience any respiratory symptoms: wearing a mask in the presence of others, limiting contacts and washing hands regularly with soap and water or using hand sanitiser, the statement says.

Hand sanitiser stations can be found at all the residential areas and also the restaurant of the Olympic Village, according to the statement. We continue to carefully monitor the public health situation in France, in conjunction with the relevant government ministry.

Many of the national teams also may have their own safety protocols to protect their athletes, said Lucia Mullen, an associate scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and a member of the World Health Organizations mass gathering expert group, which regularly works on these issues.

For the COVID-19 cases, as with other respiratory diseases and also other gastrointestinal diseases, they will really promote hand hygiene and other basic hygiene measures so, keeping distance, reporting to the clinics to get tested if you are feeling unwell and certainly if youre displaying symptoms, Mullen said. Then, of course, isolating if you do test positive.

The Australian water polo team is treating COVID-19 no differently than any other respiratory illness, said Anna Meares, the chef de mission for the Australian Olympic team.

This is a high-performance environment, so we are being diligent, Meares said at a news conference Tuesday when the teams first COVID-19 case was announced.

Were also having the fellow teammates wear masks and just adhere to social distancing measures as well meeting outside, those sorts of things, she said.

She added that, when respiratory illnesses occur, the person is isolated until their symptoms subside and testing comes back clear.

But I need to emphasize that we are treating COVID no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo, Meares said, referring to the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games, which were delayed by a year due to the pandemic and held without in-person spectators.

Although the world is no longer under a public health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Olympic Games come as a wave of COVID-19 infections has hit the United States. Even President Joe Biden recently tested positive for the disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that, if you test positive for COVID-19, you stay home until you are fever-free without the help of fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours and your symptoms have been improving for 24 hours. It then recommends wearing a mask around other people for the next five days.

Were in a time period where COVID is still circulating. We are seeing increases of cases again, Mullen said.

And were probably underreporting levels. A lot of countries are reducing their surveillance measures, she added. We are expecting that there will be some people traveling to the Games whether its spectators or just to go visit Paris that may not know they have COVID and be sick, and of course, spread it on to others.

The French capital is expected to welcome about 15 million tourists while it hosts the Olympic Games.

Separate public health guidance for travelers attending the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games was released last week by WHO, the French Ministry of Health and Prevention, Sant publique France and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The guidance recommends checking your vaccination status against common infectious diseases including measles, whooping cough, polio and COVID-19.

Cases of measles are on the rise worldwide, including in Europe and in France, the guidance notes. Attending a mass gathering event increases your chances of being exposed to respiratory diseases, including whooping cough and COVID-19. If you have symptoms, such as a cough, fever or sore throat, stay at home or in your hotel if possible and consider wearing a mask when you leave your hotel or home.

Go here to see the original:

What are the COVID-19 protocols at the 2024 Paris Olympics? - KMBC Kansas City

Sophia Cannonier and her husband, Michael Watson (File photograph by Akil Simmons)

A couple vowed to appeal their conviction for breaking Covid-19 emergency regulations all the way to the top after being found guilty in Magistrates Court yesterday.

Sophia Cannonier and Michael Watson, who were accused of breaching the islands public safety rules in July 2021, maintained that their challenge to the law made them a voice for others they said were treated unfairly under restrictions imposed during the pandemic.

The two refused to follow the Governments mandatory hotel quarantine for people who were not vaccinated against the infection after returning from a trip to Britain.

The couple argued that they had already developed a natural immunity to Covid-19 after contracting the illness.

Their trial sought to challenge the legitimacy of vaccination-based restrictions with a battery of medical evidence.

The case, argued by defence lawyer Marc Daniels, was embraced by opponents of the emergency measures rolled out by the Government during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo delivered his judgment and ordered social inquiry reports on Cannonier and Watson ahead of sentencing, which is likely to take place in September.

Sophia Cannonier, centre, with a hat and dressed in light blue, and Michael Watson, to the immediate right of her, with supporters outside Magistrates' Court (Photograph by Jonathan Bell)

Supporters outside the court, who said they were denied entry to the building when they arrived to attend the hearing, applauded the couples vow to fight on.

There was repeated criticism of the long wait to resolve the case, which Mr Tokunbo addressed in his written judgment.

He said that the glaring delay between the end of the hearing of evidence and the delivery of judgment in this case calls for some explanation.

He explained that an administrative dilemma arose after the final hearing and the filing of the defences written submissions, when it became clear that his judgment could not be delivered before his retirement in September last year.

The magistrate said that despite raising the issue with the appropriate administrative authority, there was no known action taken.

Mr Tokunbo said that he had been invited from retirement in May to prepare judgment.

Cannonier and Watson were accused of refusing to comply with a requirement to quarantine and failure to complete travel authorisation forms on July 11, 2021.

Both were also charged with breaking a quarantine order on July 20 by leaving their Devonshire home, with Cannonier further accused of allowing unauthorised people to visit a place of quarantine.

Alan Richards, for the Crown, brought evidence from 14 witnesses during the trial.

The couple called evidence from their family doctor, Henry Dowling, along with an expert witness from overseas, Christine Parks, supported by their medical records showing antibodies against the virus.

They maintained that Bermudas regulations discriminated against unvaccinated people and argued that natural immunity provided by antibodies was equal to or better than the protection conferred by vaccination.

The couple relied on a reasonable excuse defence to the charges, but the prosecution called their evidence irrelevant.

In his judgment, Mr Tokunbo agreed, ruling that it was not relevant to any of the charges they face.

He found: The law at the time required a set protocol/regime for vaccinated persons and another for unvaccinated.

It did not include antibody status or natural immunity.

The magistrate also found that both defendants were fully aware of the rules at the time, with Cannonier stating during cross-examination that quarantine was an unfair discrimination.

Mr Tokunbo noted that Watson had previously complied with quarantine, along with his two children, but told the court that on returning that July, I had in mind not to put the children through that again.

The magistrate said that both sought exceptional treatment after landing in Bermuda and that it is clear that the defendants were on a campaign, with the press and supporters waiting at LF Wade International Airport.

Mr Tokunbo said Cannonier made reference during the couples joint trial to civil disobedience.

He said a health officer, accompanied by police, went to the couples home on July 11 to arrest them for violating health restrictions.

Mr Tokunbo added: But this was eventually aborted due to non-co-operation of the defendants, the aggressive crowd present in support of the defendants, discussions with their counsel and consideration of the defendants young children.

The two were allowed to quarantine at home with police guards stationed on the property.

Cannonier refused to accept a letter from health officials and made no effort to discover the contents, Mr Tokunbo found.

The magistrate found they then wilfully used their court bail conditions as an excuse to breach their 14-day quarantine and leave home that July 20.

Juan Wolffe, then the senior magistrate, had ordered the two to remain at home until they received a clear test on July 19 as part of bail, highlighting that their mandatory quarantine by health officials was a wholly separate matter, since the courts had no legal power to impose a quarantine.

Mr Tokunbo ruled the couple could not reasonably believe, or have reasonable excuse to believe, that the court was varying their 14-day home quarantine when bail was granted.

He added: I am satisfied that they were not operating under any honest, mistaken belief or ignorance of the law.

Rather, they sought to clearly manipulate their legal predicament (home quarantine/court bail) to suit their own aims or objectives (ie, civil disobedience).

He noted Cannonier had admitted bringing visitors to the house on July 20, while still under quarantine.

Mr Tokunbo found: Finally, the defendants raise a defence referred to as a Hail Mary pass.

As I understand it, this asserts that the defendants, upon leaving the Bermuda airport, were no longer travellers and therefore not subject to the Quarantine (Covid-19) (No 3) Order 2020.

The most I will say is that there is no legal or factual foundation cited to support this and the court accordingly disregards it.

Cannonier told The Royal Gazette: Theres a lot of pressure on them to toe the line its a global situation. But its not over.

We will take it all the way to the top. I am a fighter.

Watson said the case had been consistently in the background for the couple.

He said: There isnt a day that goes by that we arent discussing aspects of it. But in spite of all this going on, we have thrived in other aspects of our lives.

Court has not stopped us from living. But we also recognise we are the voice for many people who could not say something.

Its important that we continue.

It is The Royal Gazettes policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case

UPDATE: this article has been updated with more information and comments

View post:

Couple who flouted Covid-19 rules were on a campaign - Royal Gazette

By Josephine Franks, News reporter @jos_franks

Tuesday 23 July 2024 14:56, UK

When Joe Biden announced he had tested positive for COVID last week, he joined the ranks of people falling sick this summer.

It seems everyone knows someone who is ill - and experts say the Euros could have had an impact.

But what do we know about case numbers, new variants - and what the symptoms are to watch out for?

What do we know about summer case numbers?

It is difficult to track COVID waves, assess the severity of different variants, and know how effective vaccines are because COVID surveillance is much less intensive than it used to be, Mark Woolhouse, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh, says.

Despite that, there was a "widespread impression" of a summer wave, likely heightened by people mixing to watch the football, he says.

"The waves continue to be driven by a combination of new variants and a partial waning immunity to infection," he adds.

Hospital admissions with COVID have remained high for several weeks, data from the UK Health Security Agency shows.

In the week to 14 July, people admitted to hospital testing positive for COVID increased slightly to 4.35 per 100,000 compared with 3.72 per 100,000 the week before.

Advertisement

Wastewater testing no longer takes place in England, but the data from Scotland can give insight into what's happening south of the border.

The latest data published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) for the week ending 7 July indicated there were 1,245 COVID cases in Scotland.

Dr Kimberly Marsh told BBC Radio Scotland the provisional data for the week ending 14 July showed the number of cases had fallen to 1,130, one of "some early signals that this wave may have peaked".

Professor Christina Pagel, member of the Independent Sage group and director of operational research at University College London, says while Scotland and England can have "different dynamics", July's decrease in cases in Scotland "suggests prevalence is on its way down".

What variants are circulating?

The newest group of COVID variants is known collectively as FLiRT.

These variants are descendants of JN.1, which traces back to Omicron.

The FLiRT variants have the same set of mutations that could make it easier for the virus to bypass protection from vaccines or prior infections.

However, the UKHSA says there is currently no evidence these variants are more severe than others in circulation.

This is a limited version of the story so unfortunately this content is not available. Open the full version

What are the symptoms to be aware of?

The official list of COVID symptoms has not changed, and includes:

a high temperature or shivering a new, continuous cough a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste shortness of breath feeling tired or exhausted an aching body a headache a sore throat a blocked or runny nose loss of appetite diarrhoea feeling sick or being sick.

Dr Paul Sax, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, tells Sky News' US partner NBC News that people testing positive in the summer wave are displaying symptoms across the spectrum.

"Some people have a very classic sore throat, runny nose, cough, and low-grade fever," he says.

"In others, it's mostly nausea and diarrhoea with very minimal respiratory symptoms. It can vary from A to Z and beyond."

Read more: UK pandemic preparation laid bare in COVID inquiry Long COVID leaves distinctive signs in blood

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Can you get a vaccine?

The NHS's spring booster programme closed at the end of June.

That means the only way to get a COVID vaccine is to pay for it privately.

Many pharmacies offer COVID vaccines to people aged 12 and over, with the cost varying between 45 and 99.

What's happening around the world?

In the US, infections are rising in 42 states, according to data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Wastewater data also shows high levels of COVID across the country.

COVID cases have also risen in other parts of Europe, with the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reporting higher rates in some countries, although COVID-related hospital admissions and deaths "remain low".

Originally posted here:

Are we seeing a summer COVID wave and what are the FLiRT variants? - Sky News

BOSTON - The number of COVID cases is spiking across the country, including here in Massachusetts, and the virus just isn't going away.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 40 states are reporting high COVID activity levels, including most of New England. Emergency room visits are at their highest for the coronavirus since February, and we're definitely seeing an uptick in cases in my urgent care clinic.

Many of you will ask - why now?

The coronavirus continues to mutate in an effort to evade our immune systems, so even if you get infected, after about three months your immunity to the virus begins to fade. That said, people who have some natural immunity from prior infection and those who stay up-to-date with their boosters are much less likely to get severely ill and wind up in the hospital or worse.

So what do you do if you get sick?

Current guidelines are to isolate yourself from others until you are fever-free for at least 24 hours without the help of fever-reducing medications and until your symptoms have improved. But even if you meet those criteria, you should continue to wear a mask for at least another five days to protect others.

People who are at high risk of complications if they get infected should wear a high-quality mask in public to reduce their chances of catching the virus.

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

Read More

See original here:

COVID cases are spiking again in Massachusetts. Here's why. - CBS Boston

For most healthy adults, a COVID infection means a few rough weeks of symptoms before recovery. But in at least 10% of all COVID cases, a few weeks stretches into months or years. Long COVID symptoms can make a return to normal life feel impossible. People who were once serious athletes cant jog around the block, and executives who led companies cant remember what they were doing 10 minutes ago.

Jeanette Brown, MD, PhD, who leads the Long COVID Clinic at University of Utah Health, says much has been learned since the first patients came forward with long COVID symptoms. But, she adds, research continues into what groups are most at risk for long COVID, how to treat it, and the range of symptoms and recovery.

Link:

What to Know About Long COVID - University of Utah Health Care

Headlines are again warning of a new COVID variant in Australia. This time its LB.1, or as some experts have dubbed it, D-FLiRT.

Emerging evidence suggests LB.1 could be more transmissible than earlier Omicron subvariants, though theres nothing to suggest it will cause more severe disease.

But before we look more closely at LB.1, how did we get here in the first place? The COVID virus is a crafty thing, continuing to evolve so it can keep infecting us.

Our current COVID vaccines are based on XBB.1.5, a subvariant of Omicron. Along with other XBB subvariants, XBB.1.5 caused a wave of COVID cases around the world in 2023.

In August 2023, a new subvariant called JN.1 was discovered in Luxembourg. Until that point, new Omicron subvariants only had small genetic changes from their predecessors (called genetic drift).

However, JN.1 was unusual in that it was 41 mutations away from XBB.1.5 (big changes like this are called genetic shifts). Because of these changes, it was expected that JN.1 would take off, and indeed, JN.1 caused another wave of infections in Australia and around the world at the end of 2023 and the beginning of this year.

JN.1 then mutated further, giving us the FLiRT subvariants such as KP.1.1, JN.1.7 and KP.2.

Proteins including the spike protein (a protein on the surface of the virus which allows it to attach to our cells) are made up of amino acids, essentially molecular building blocks. When scientists sequence new variants, they work out the exact order of amino acids in the spike protein, as this can change the behaviour of the virus.

Each amino acid has its own letter abbreviation. The FLiRT variants were named for two genetic mutations to the spike protein. The sequence changed from phenylalanine (F) to leucine (L) at position 456 (genetic mutation F456L), and from arginine (R) to threonine (T) at position 346 (R346T).

Research yet to be peer-reviewed suggests these genetic changes gave the FLiRT subvariants better capacity to evade our immune responses, but slightly poorer ability to establish an infection once they get into our cells (sometimes called binding efficiency).

The FLiRT subvariants have themselves now mutated. Some of these new subvariants are called FLuQE, and include KP.3, which along with KP.2 is currently dominating around the world.

These are similar to the FLiRT subvariants with additional genetic mutations. One is called Q493E hence the name FLuQE. Along with another mutation, F456L, these changes appear to have helped the virus regain some of its reduced ability to infect cells compared to FLiRT by increasing binding efficiency.

Reports suggest LB.1 was first detected in March 2024. LB.1 is similar to the FLiRT subvariants but with an additional mutation in the spike protein called S:S31del. The del refers to a deletion a genetic change where a part of the virus genetic sequence is removed or lost during replication. In this case, the 31st amino acid (serine) in the spike protein is removed.

For this reason, its been given the nickname D-FLiRT or DeFLiRT. This also covers other variants carrying the same mutations as FLiRT but with this deletion, such as KP.2.3.

Preliminary results from a research group at the University of Tokyo, who conducted modelling and lab experiments with these emerging subvariants, indicate the transmissibility of LB.1 and KP.2.3 may be higher than both KP.2 and KP.3.

LB.1 has been detected in multiple countries, including Australia, and is being monitored closely by bodies like the World Health Organization and the CDC.

In the United States, as of July 15, KP.3 accounted for about 37% of cases, KP.2 for 24% and LB.1 for another 15%, having been steadily rising over recent weeks.

KP.3 and its descendants such as KP.3.2 and KP.3.2.1 (FLuQE subvariants) are similarly dominating in Australia, accounting for at least 50% of cases. We dont know what proportion of cases LB.1 is making up in Australia at present. Its possible LB.1 infections are still negligible, but they may well grow over time.

While COVID cases appear to be declining after a recent wave in Australia, LB.1 may eventually out-compete KP.3, and between them, cause another wave of cases.

We are already seeing a bad season for respiratory viruses with both RSV and influenza cases higher than last year. So a variant with increased transmissibility could add to our winter woes.

The good news is theres no evidence to suggest LB.1 causes any different symptoms or more severe illness than previous Omicron subvariants.

The current vaccines based on XBB.1.5 should still give some cross immunity against LB.1, and oral antivirals such as Paxlovid and Lagevrio should still work. We will likely be getting an updated vaccine based on KP.2, probably towards the end of the year. That should provide better protection against these new subvariants since genetically, theyre very similar to KP.2.

Go here to read the rest:

LB.1, or D-FLiRT, is the newest COVID subvariant. What do we know about it? Where has it come from? - The Conversation

Coronavirus levels in Californias wastewater now exceed last summers peak, an indication of the rapid spread of the super-contagious new FLiRT strains.

California has very high coronavirus levels in its wastewater one of 21 states in that category, up from seven the prior week, according to estimates published Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That means about 155 million people nearly half of Americas population live in areas with very high coronavirus levels in sewage. Besides California, the other states with very high levels are Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. Washington, D.C., is also in that category.

Coronavirus levels in wastewater are also surging in Los Angeles County and the rate of increase has been accelerating. The county also has seen notable jumps this month in newly confirmed infections, coronavirus-positive hospitalizations and the share of emergency room visits attributable to COVID-19.

Nationally, overall viral levels in wastewater are considered high for the second straight week, the CDC said. The estimates are subject to change as more data come in.

Most Americans probably know a family member, friend, co-worker or acquaintance who has come down with COVID-19 recently, perhaps being infected while traveling or at a social gathering.

If you call I dont know 20 or 30 friends, youre very, very likely to find a bunch of them actually have COVID, or have had COVID recently, or are starting to be symptomatic, said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a COVID expert and chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri.

One notable recent case was President Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday while traveling in Las Vegas. Biden returned to Delaware to recover. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tested positive a few weeks ago, and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) said Tuesday that she was celebrating her birthday while recovering from COVID.

Our fight against COVID is not over! Lee said on social media.

Across the nation, COVID-19s shadow has become more pronounced lately, with the usual seasonal uptick in travel and socialization spawning a fresh spate of infections. Many cases are relatively mild, but nevertheless disruptive forcing trips or plans to be canceled.

Some recently infected people have described painful COVID symptoms, such as a throat that feels like its studded with razor blades. Overall, however, there are no indications the FLiRT subvariants are associated with increased illness severity that would trigger a substantial increase in hospitalizations.

The CDC estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 41 states, including California. There are no states where the coronavirus is declining or likely declining.

The COVID resurgence comes as the sprawling FLiRT family is increasing its dominance nationally. For the two-week period that ended Saturday, the CDC estimates that about 80% of the nations coronavirus specimens are of the FLiRT subvariants, up from about 65% for the same period a month earlier.

Across California, the rate at which COVID tests are returning positive results is also on the rise. For the week that ended July 15, 12.8% of tests came back positive. Thats up from 5.9% a month earlier and close to last summers peak of 13.1%, which was recorded at the end of August and early September.

For the 10-day period that ended July 6, the most recent for which data are available, coronavirus levels in Los Angeles County wastewater were at 36% of last winters peak, up from 27% for the 10-day period that ended June 29.

Newly confirmed COVID cases are rising faster, too. For the week that ended July 14, there were an average of 359 new cases a day in L.A. County, up from 307 the prior week. A month earlier, there were 154 cases a day.

Official COVID-19 case tallies are certainly an undercount, as those figures include only tests done at medical facilities, not those taken at home, and also dont account for the fact that fewer people are testing when they feel sick. But the overall trends are still helpful to determine the trajectory of the summer wave.

COVID hospitalizations are also ticking up, though they remain below last summers peak. For the week that ended July 13, there were an average of 287 COVID-positive people per day in L.A. County hospitals, up from 139 for the comparable period a month earlier. Last summers peak was the week that ended Sept. 9, when an average of 620 COVID-positive patients were in the regions hospitals per day.

For the week that ended July 14, L.A. County reported that 2.8% of all emergency room visits were COVID-related up from 1.8% for the comparable period a month earlier, but below last summers peak of 5.1%.

Coronavirus levels are also high in the sewage of Santa Clara County, the San Francisco Bay Areas most populous region and home to Silicon Valley. As of Friday, coronavirus levels were high in all of its sewersheds San Jos, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Gilroy.

Doctors say its important to get tested if you have COVID symptoms, such as fever, aches, sore throat, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose or headache, as well as less-common ailments such as vomiting, diarrhea and stomachache.

Most health insurance plans in California at least those regulated by the state are required to reimburse covered people for eight at-home test kits per month, if an in-network provider is used.

Additionally, if you have insurance, your health insurer is required to cover the entire cost of testing if a doctor orders the test. You do not need to have symptoms to request a test, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health.

Eligible individuals can also search for no-cost testing locations through a CDC website, testinglocator.cdc.gov. Those who have insurance may need to provide insurance information.

People who dont have health insurance in L.A. County can also get free COVID testing at the countys public health center nurse-only clinics and multi-service vaccination sites. Seniors age 65 and up who live in L.A. County, as well as residents who are unable to leave home, can also ask for two free test kits to be mailed to them by filling out a form online. Libraries in L.A. County, as well as food banks and senior centers, may also have free COVID test kits available.

Health officials also have urged people to consider asking medical providers for antiviral treatments, such as Paxlovid, to help battle an active COVID illness. Antivirals can be used to treat people with mild to moderate illness who are at risk of seeing their condition deteriorate.

Waiting for symptoms to worsen is not recommended, the California Department of Public Health says.

Health officials previously have said that antiviral drugs are underused and they implored healthcare providers to properly prescribe them when indicated.

In an advisory, the California Department of Public Health said, Most adults and some children with symptomatic COVID-19 are eligible for treatments. ... Providers should have a low threshold for prescribing COVID-19 therapeutics.

The state of California once made virtual medical COVID visits free for residents, but that program ended in March. The contractor that provided the service, sesamecare.com/covid, now offers those medical services for a fee, though with a discount for California residents.

There has been relatively low uptake of the updated COVID-19 vaccine, which became available in September. Since then, 36.7% of Californias seniors 65 and older have received at least one dose of the updated vaccine, as have 18.5% of adults age 50 to 64 and 10% of younger adults, up to age 49.

For people who havent received an updated COVID vaccine within the last year, you should think about getting it, especially if youre older and immune-compromised, said UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. People at highest risk of dying from COVID are those who are older or have weakened immune systems and havent been recently vaccinated.

Getting the 2023-24 vaccine now will still allow you to get the updated COVID vaccination that is on track to become available this fall. The CDC will recommend everyone 6 months and older get the updated 2024-25 version of the vaccine.

Follow this link:

COVID in California keeps rising: Wastewater levels worse than last summer - Los Angeles Times

Now, were at 22% positivity, and this trend is going up, Mannepalli said. There is definitely a surge going on.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer tracks COVID-19 case numbers but estimates the trend of the virus spread based on emergency room visits. According to the CDC, in the week that ended July 13, Georgia reported 1.1% of emergency room visits were diagnosed as COVID-19, a 40% increase from the previous week a high percentage that reflects a rise in the small number of emergency department cases. Nationally, 1.6% of all emergency visits were due to COVID-19, up 16% from the previous week.

Even President Joe Biden couldnt dodge the outbreak. The president was scheduled to return to the White House today after several days of isolation at his Delaware home following a diagnosis last week of COVID-19. The White House reported last week that his symptoms were mild and that he responded quickly to the antiviral Paxlovid.

The virus seems to be causing fewer emergency visits this summer than last year. During last summers peak, 2.5% of emergency department patients were diagnosed with COVID-19. It accounted for 3.5% of emergency patients in 2022, and 7% during summer 2021.

The CDC reports as of July 16 infections are growing or likely growing in 42 states and territories, including Georgia.

A summertime COVID-19 outbreak has become the norm since the pandemic, tied to people enjoying holiday travel and gathering indoors where its cooler. The virus has shown a seasonal surge twice each year, spiking in July and August, and again in December and January.

The CDC tracks a sample of over 300 hospitals in 13 states to estimate COVID-19 activity. For the week ended July 13, the agency reports a rate of 2 hospitalizations per 100,000 people. The highest rate of hospitalizations this year was reported for the week ended Jan. 6, when 7.6 hospitalizations per 100,000 people was reported.

Health experts and doctors have said they expect this summers COVID-19 illnesses to be milder than some past versions, but the latest iterations of the ever-evolving coronavirus seem to be more contagious.

At the Northeast Georgia Health System, Mannepalli said milder infections are the norm, with people presenting flu-like symptoms including coughing, runny nose, muscle aches, fever and sometimes sore throat. In more severe cases, shortness of breath can also be an issue.

COVID-19s greater transmissibility is a product of the new, more contagious strains of the virus.

There are new variants that keep evolving every few months. And as the new variants evolve, they (become) easily transmissible. Thats the way the virus tries to survive, Mannepalli said.

The FDA has announced a new COVID-19 booster shot is expected to arrive in August or September and will better target the more recent variants.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Credit: Miguel Martinez

For many people who have already had COVID-19, a reinfection is often milder. But those who are 65 and older, pregnant or immunocompromised remain at higher risk of serious complications from COVID-19.

Protocols for whether to isolate and wear a mask changed in March, when the CDC released new guidelines for people with COVID-19. They now recommend those with the infection treat it the same as the flu and RSV staying home while they have symptoms and fever. The agencys latest recommendation is that people can return to normal activities 24 hours after their fever has resolved and symptoms have improved.

The CDC encourages people recovering from COVID-19 or any other respiratory illness to wear a mask as part of an overall strategy to reduce transmission, but masks are not mandated. The CDC said the new guidelines are intended to make it easier for people to know how to protect others and take into account that other people might not know which virus they have.

Mannepalli said vaccination remains the number one precaution people can take, even as she allows that everyone gets confused whenever they hear about a new vaccine for COVID.

While newer vaccines might be more effective at blocking the variants now in circulation, Mannepalli recommends staying up to date with currently available vaccines rather than waiting for new boosters.

Especially if somebodys high risk of getting severe COVID or having complications from COVID, its so important that they stay up to date with the vaccination instead of delaying it, she said.

For those seeking to minimize their exposure to COVID-19, Mannepalli says masks are advisable, especially in crowded indoor settings with poor ventilation. And if somebody has symptoms, they should source a test, so they can take steps to avoid passing the virus onto others if a COVID-19 infection is confirmed.

I think the most important thing if somebody tests positive for COVID is to reach out to their primary care physician and talk to them, she said, so they can evaluate and see if they need to be started on antiviral medication.

Read more:

The summer COVID-19 surge is here. How to stay safe - The Atlanta Journal Constitution