Category: Covid-19

Patients with chronic lung diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are significantly more likely to experience more severe outcomes and mortality risk within 30 days of having COVID-19, according to research published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. They are also less likely to experience a mild form of the virus than the general population.

A new study from a team of US-based investigators observed correlation between certain chronic lung diseases and worsened COVID-19 outcomes among the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) population. Though consistent with previous research into the association between pre-existing respiratory disease and risk of severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infection, the new findings add more insight into the absolute and relative risk of specific chronic lung diseases relevant to COVID-19.

A team of investigators led by Kristina Crothers, MD, of the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health System and the Department of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at University of Washington, sought to the determine the association of various chronic lung diseases with COVID-19 severitydefined as hospitalization risk, indicators of critical care, and 30-day mortality.

There is a known association between pre-existing respiratory disease and risk of severe disease from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

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Among the diseases they compared were COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, sarcoidosis and other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). As the team noted, previous research into the association of respiratory diseases with SARS-CoV-2 infection have given mixed results.

Asthma generally has not been associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes, except severe asthma may increase risk for hospitalizations, critical illness and death in some reports, they wrote. COPD has been more consistently associated with increased risk of mortality in those with COVID-19, but not all studies have found an association with mortality in fully adjusted models.

Previous research also found that COVID-19 is not linked to asthma developing in children, even though respiratory viral infections early in life are known to be a risk factor for asthma.2

Crothers and colleagues used the VHA, the largest national health system in the US, for the analysisciting both its robust data and the high prevalence of chronic respiratory disease among veterans. They conducted a multinomial regression analysis to determine the risk of 4 mutually exclusive outcomes from COVID-19 within 30 days of diagnosis: outpatient management; hospitalization; hospitalization with indicators of critical illness; and death. Eligible patients were diagnosed with any of COPD (mild or severe disease); asthma (mild, active or severe disease); idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; sarcoidosis; or other ILDs, and were treated for COVID-19 between March 2020 and April 2021.

The overall proportion for each outcome was calculated including absolute risk difference and risk ratios for each outcome between those with and without chronic respiratory disease. The team additionally sought to describe clinical and laboratory abnormalities per chronic disease type among patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

The final analysis included 208,283 veterans with COVID-19; among them, 35,587 (17%) were diagnosed with a chronic respiratory disease. The median age of patients with respiratory disease was 10 years older (70) versus those without (60). Patients with lung disease were additionally more likely to be White (71% vs 66%), with a smoking history (69% vs 52%), and possess high-risk comorbidities including coronary heart disease (50% vs 24%).

The most common lung disease in the cohort was COPD (12%), of which 29% had severe disease. Another 5.9% of the cohort had asthma, of which 52% had active disease. Only 1.1% of the cohort had any ILD, with nearly half having idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Investigators observed that veterans with chronic lung disease who were hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to report low body temperature, mean arterial pressure, oxygen saturation, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. These patients additionally were more likely to receive oxygen, mechanical ventilation and vasopressors to treat their COVID-19.

Whats more, veterans with chronic lung disease were significantly less likely to have a mild case of COVID-19 (4.5%; adjusted risk ratio [aRR], 0.94; 95% CI, 0.94-0.95) than those without. Additionally, they were more likely to report a moderate (aRR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.10-1.20) or critical (aRR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.32 1.45) case of COVID-19 than those without. The same patients were approximately 15% more likely to die from COVID-19 (aRR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.10-1.20).

Among the observed chronic lung diseases, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was most significantly associated with COVID-19 severity; such patients reported an aRR of 1.69 for mortality (95% CI, 1.46-1.96). Other ILDs, as well as both mild and severe cases of COPD, were also significantly associated with significant risk of fatal outcomes at 30 days post-COVID.

Interestingly, investigators observed less severe 30-day COVID-19 outcomes among patients with asthma, regardless of disease status.

Since the earliest months of assessment into COVID-19related comorbidity risks, COPD has frequently been identified as a key risk factor for mortality. Research from October 2020 suggested an up to 3-fold increased risk of mortality among patients with both COPD and COVID-19despite the prevalence of patients with COPD hospitalized due to COVID-19 was below average at the time.3

Indeed, the new research from Crothers and colleagues further elucidates the relative and absolute risk difference in severe outcomes and clinical manifestations of COVID-19 among patients with chronic lung disease, 4 years since such a concern was first raised.1

Veterans with [chronic lung disease] were older and had more comorbidities, and when hospitalized with COVID-19, were more likely to present with hypoxemia, a lower mean arterial pressure and hypo-inflammatory profile, with lower temperature, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, they concluded. Overall, our results provide insight into the relative and absolute risk associated with different [chronic lung diseases] for severity of COVID-19 outcomes and can help inform considerations of healthcare utilization and prognosis. Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, other ILDs and COPD should especially be encouraged to receive SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations, which can help reduce risk of severe COVID-19.

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IPF and COPD Associated With Poor COVID-19 Outcomes - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network

A nurse administers a pediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a girl at a L.A. Care Health Plan vaccination clinic at Los Angeles Mission College in the Sylmar neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, Jan. 19, 2022. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)

This fall, prepare for the latest round of COVID vaccine Whac-a-Mole. Like the old arcade game, no matter how many shots we get, the enemy always pops back up.

But heres why the new shot, recommended by FDA advisers last week, makes sense: It targets a new version of the virus, the FDA panel said. It bolsters your bodys ever-growing defense system. And its a lot better than getting very sick or hospitalized.

Last years shot isnt holding up. Protection against both infection and severe illness is waning.

Effectiveness has decreased, as the time since vaccination has increased and as new SARS-CoV-2 variants emerge, said biostatistician Danyu Lin of the University of North Carolina School of Global Public Health, who presented worrisome new data to the FDA advisory panel.

The old vaccines effectiveness peaked one month after the shot, Lins team found. After four weeks, the vaccines were 52.2% effective at preventing infection and 66.8% effective at preventing hospitalization. After 10 weeks, the effectiveness at preventing infection decreased to 32.6% while the effectiveness at preventing hospitalization decreased to 57.1%.

By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that with the annual influenza shot, during seasons when flu vaccine viruses are similar to circulating flu viruses, flu vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of having to go to the doctor with flu by 40% to 60%.

Last Wednesday, FDAs advisers, a panel of physicians from hospitals and universities around the nation, unanimously voted to recommend a new vaccine. Vaccine manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna say they were prepared to make updated vaccines available in August, pending final FDA approval. As in previous years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control will make specific recommendations for the elderly, immunocompromised, youth and other groups.

The new vaccine will target a variant of the ever-evolving coronavirus called JN.1. Last years vaccine was based on the XBB lineage of the virus.

Fortunately, the COVID virus isnt changing in a way that would make it a serious threat to most people turning it into something far deadlier, such as Ebola. Each new version is a subvariant of the omicron variant that first appeared in 2021 and, though highly transmissible, hasnt proven to be particularly virulent.

But it is drifting in smaller ways, complicating our vaccine strategy. The original virus first detected in Wuhan, China, was replaced by the alpha variant, which was replaced by the delta variant, which was replaced by the omicron variant. A subvariant called BA.1, then BA.2, became the most common circulating versions of omicron.

Since then, the virus family has continued to multiply and diversify. Theres an evolutionary arms race as the immune system makes new antibodies, the virus develops new mutations. Each iteration seeks to offer some sort of advantage, such as an ability to sidestep the immune system or extreme contagiousness.

Late in 2023, variant JN.1 overtook the XBB lineage.

Theres a wrinkle in the new vaccine strategy: By next fall, JN.1 may not be the dominant virus. Already, a subvariant called KP.2 is on the rise. But the new vaccine formula likely will be effective against both strains and, because manufacturing takes time, a decision must be made now.

When compared against results from the original shot, the benefit of the new shot may seem modest. Thats because the original vaccines were given to a completely unprotected population, with high risk of hospitalization and death, said Lin. Now, with four years of inoculations and infections, the general population has a wide range of vulnerabilities.

While the vaccine is free to both insured and uninsured individuals, this cost is still real. The federal government paid, on average, $20.69 per dose, and the cost of the new vaccine is likely to be higher. But vaccines save money by preventing hospitalization, lost productivity due to illness and potential Long COVID.

Powerful combination vaccines are on the horizon, easing the chore of multiple shots. On Monday, Moderna announced that, in a Phase 3 clinical trial, its combination COVID and influenza vaccine generated stronger immune responses in older adults than individual vaccines targeting those viruses individually. A combo shot could be on the market as early as autumn 2025.

The FDA news comes as Americans are vaccine-weary and increasingly indifferent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, as of March, a mere 28% of American adults have been vaccinated with the latest vaccine. Why bother with another shot? Medical experts say there are still many reasons to get the jab:

Protection from previous shots, especially the primary series, has waned so some people are getting very sick. Research shows that a large percentage of those hospitalized for COVID-19 had been vaccinated with the primary series but hadnt gotten an updated shot.

Each additional shot helps. There is evidence that each vaccine or infection, especially in the first few months after receipt, provides added protection against critical illness and hospitalization. Through multiple immunizations, your repertoire of immune cells expands, said Jeremy Kamil, a virologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport, who studies variant mutations. Your body learns to make these very potent antibodies that are active against multiple strains of the virus, so it becomes harder for the virus to wiggle away from them. Youre much better defended.

If you get infected, it will likely be less severe. Think of seatbelts and airbags they dont prevent car crashes, but they boost your chance of survival. Similarly, COVID vaccines are not 100% protective, but an immune response will be more vigorous, so your illness will likely be briefer. Furthermore, research shows that vaccines help protect against Long COVID.

Vaccines are easier on your body than infection. A sore arm and perhaps body chills are better than days of illness and perhaps hospitalization. Youre setting yourself up for success the next time you see the virus, said Kamil. Your immune system will say, oh, I gotcha. I know who you are.

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Another COVID vaccine? Yes, and heres why - The Denver Post

CHELAN Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the popular Chelan waterpark Slidewaters has agreed to pay a reduced fine for refusing to close its doors during the opening months of the public health emergency.

Washingtons Department of Labor and Industries fined the park more than $9,600 in July 2020 for reopening despite the governors order to close gathering places throughout the state.

The conservative nonprift Freedom Foundation stepped up to provide legal representation to the waterpar, which went on tofight the COVID rules in federal courtand lose in every venue as courts upheld Gov. Jay Inslee's emergency powers as constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the park's final appeal.

But the administrative fine remained unpaid, and was under appeal in Chelan County Superior Court until this week. Slidewaters and L&I agreed to a reduced penalty of just over $7,200, and asked the judge to dismiss the case.

Slidewaters must pay its fine in scheduled installments by July 2025.

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Slidewaters agrees to fine for COVID-19 closure violation - NCWLIFE News

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), in response to a request from the US federal government, has published a new consensus diagnosis for long COVID.

While working groups, national governments, and health organizations have all offered definition of long COVID, no general consensus exists.

"Inconsistencies in definitions have created challenges, and a consensus definition could promote consistency in diagnosis, aid awareness efforts, help patients access appropriate care, services, and benefits, and help harmonize Long COVID research and surveillance," the authors said.

Inconsistencies in definitions have created challenges.

The definition, which can be applied to both children and adults, reads: "Long COVID (LC) is an infection-associated chronic condition (IACC) that occurs after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is present for at least 3 months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state that affects one or more organ systems."

In a press release on the definition, Harvey Fineberg, MD, PhD, president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the chair of the authoring committee said, "The lack of a consistent definition for Long COVID has hampered research and delayed diagnosis and care for patients. Our committee hopes this single definition, crafted with input from across research and patient communities, will help to educate the public about this widespread and highly consequential disease state."

The NASEM emphasizes that long COVID can follow asymptomatic, mild, or severe cases of COVID-19.

"LC can be diagnosed on clinical grounds. No biomarker currently available demonstrates conclusively the presence of LC," the authors wrote.

The definition, and the term "long COVID," should be used by clinicians, researchers, drugmakers, employers, and educators, the authors said.

"Long COVID is a devastatingly persistent result of the COVID-19 pandemic that the medical community has yet to fully address," said Victor J. Dzau, MD, president of the National Academy of Medicine. "Serving this patient population through better-coordinated care, more definitive diagnoses, and more efficient and streamlined research are important next steps for addressing its impact.

Last week the NASEM issued a major report outlining findings in patients who have long COVID, including that more than 200 symptoms have been associated with the condition.

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New definition of long COVID aims to offer clarity, direction - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced a tough grilling from House GOP lawmakers Tuesday over his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes during the height of the pandemic.

Cuomo visited Capitol Hill for a closed-door interview with the House select subcommittee investigating the coronavirus pandemic.

Lawmakers zeroed in on a March 25, 2020, executive order by the governor that restricted nursing homes from refusing to admit or readmit residents "solely based on confirmed or suspect[ed] diagnosis of COVID-19."

A report releasedin March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo's Health Department "was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19deaths in nursing homes" and it "understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%" during some points of the pandemic.

CUOMO FINALLY FORCED TO TELL WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT COVID-19 DECISIONS THAT COST THOUSANDS OF LIVES

Rep. Brad Wenstrup, chairman of the COVID-19 select subcommittee, grilled former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo behind closed doors Tuesday. (Getty Images)

Cuomo has pushed back on these claims, insisting New Yorks health department was following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance issued by the Trump administration before Cuomos order.

A report releasedin March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Health Department "was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19deaths in nursing homes." (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

In his opening remarks, Cuomo said "any serious review must stop asking political questions and start asking fact-based ones." He pointed out that New York was "No. 39 in terms of pro rata nursing home deaths [despite the state] being ground zero for COVID."

He also accused the Trump administration of targeting Democrat-led states "despite both red and blue states issuing" the same guidelines.

GOP lawmakers held a post-hearing press conference at which they accused Cuomo of deflecting blame.

LIBERAL NY TIMES COLUMNIST ADMITS MEDIA, PUBLIC HEALTH WERE TOO DISMISSIVE ON LAB LEAK THEORY

"I felt like the governor was defensive throughout most of the day, often putting blame on other people rather than himself. [He] didnt seem to be taking a lot of responsibility for the things that were happening," Chair Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called Cuomo a "phony" and a "fraud" who "put our most vulnerable population at risk, resulting in the death of over 15,000 seniors.

"And it was Andrew Cuomo who covered it up," Lawler added. "It wasnt just the directive which was bad enough and idiotic and resulted in the death of the 15,000-plus seniors. It was Andrew Cuomo, for political purposes, who directed the state government to cover up the death toll."

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been accused of mishandling his state's response to COVID-19. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

GOP conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said Tuesday's deposition "was a step in delivering accountability and delivering long overdue answers to those families who are still mourning the loss of their loved ones."

Speaking to reporters after the deposition, Cuomo said the federal government was ultimately to blame for the severity of the pandemic.

"We have two very different opinions on what happened during COVID," Cuomo told a reporter. "I think the federal government failed this nation. And it was abysmal. How did COVID get to the U.S. in December and nobody knew? How did it take so many months before we had basic testing in place? How did we have a president running around saying, It's going to be gone when the weather gets warm?' who then admits to a reporter that he purposely downplayed it?"

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, told Fox News Digital the governor "presented fact-based evidence that New York, at the end of the day, was the 39th state for pro rata in nursing home deaths in 2020 despite the fact that it started off the hardest hit."

"We worked day and night to protect New Yorkers and save lives even though the experts kept changing the facts on the ground. We were grappling with international PPE shortages and no national response," Azzopardi said. "The fact that this partisan farce was allowed to go on, and they continue telling their fact-less stories, especially in order to help their marginal members who werent even at the hearing, tells you what a joke this was."

Wenstrup subpoenaed Cuomo in March to appear before his committee. A letter accompanying the subpoena said Cuomo's testimony "is vital to our investigation into the effectiveness of federal guidance and regulations implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the protection of nursing home residents."

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"Further, this investigation may inform legislation to enhance the federal scientific guidance process, including the drafting, publication, and implementation of guidances originating from CMS or CDC," the letter said.

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

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House GOP lawmakers grill ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over COVID nursing home deaths - Fox News

New findings from a USsurveyfrom Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) scientists concludes that 6.9% of US adultsor almost 18 million adultshave ever had long COVID as of early 2023, confirming the results of previous surveys.

AHRQ fielded the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to a sample of 17,418 adults, which extrapolates to 259 million adults. The research was published late last week in JAMA.

A total of 8,275 respondents reported a history of COVID-19 infection, of whom 1,202 said they had long-COVID symptoms, extrapolating to 17.8 million (6.9%) of all Americans.

Across age-groups, women were more likely than men to report having long COVID (8.6% vs 5.1%). Young and older adults were less likely than adults aged 35 to 64 years to report long COVID, which the authors said may be due to younger people's generally better health and high rates of COVID-19 vaccination and low COVID-19 rates among older people.

These findings support the CDCs definitionthat long COVID 'represents many potentially overlapping entities, likely with different biological causes and different sets of risk factors and outcomes.'

White and Hispanic adults had higher rates of long COVID than Black and Asian adults. Asians had the lowest long-COVID rate and the highest rate of COVID-19 booster receipt. Black respondents had the second-lowest incidence of both COVID-19 and long COVID.

Recipients of COVID-19 boosters reported lower rates of long COVID (5.8%) than those who had received only the primary vaccine series (8.7%) or had never been vaccinated (8.4%). "These findings suggest that booster shots may enhance protection against long COVID, possibly because booster shots reduce the risk of severe COVID-19," the study authors wrote. "MEPS did not find that booster shots were associated with a reduced risk of having had COVID-19 in general."

Long-COVID rates didn't differ significantly by household income level. Respondents who had certain chronic conditions, including obesity, reported higher long-COVID rates than other adults, with those with emphysema or chronic bronchitis reporting the highest rates (14% and 17%, respectively).

The results were comparable to those of the 2022 National Health Interview Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which found long-COVID rates of 6.9% and 6.4%, respectively, the researchers noted.

"These findings support the CDCs definitionthat long COVID 'represents many potentially overlapping entities, likely with different biological causes and different sets of risk factors and outcomes,'" they concluded.

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AHRQ survey: 7% of US adults reported having long COVID by early 2023 - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

WASHINGTON (WSTM-WTVH) Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill, testifying about how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been accused of misrepresenting the number of deaths reported inside state nursing homes during the pandemic.

Cuomo was peppered with questions from reporters as he walked into the closed interview with the Oversight Select Subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo maintains New York committed no wrongdoing following investigations by the Department of Justice.

Cuomo was the face of New York's response to the pandemic at its height in the spring of 2020 when the virus ravaged the country and hit New York particularly hard.

Tuesday, Congressional Republicans grilled Cuomo about the March 2020 advisory which barred New York nursing homes from rejecting patients who tested positive for COVID-19. Some people say they lost family members because of the policy.

Cuomo aimed to defend himself from accusations the nursing home directive led to the needless death of nursing home patients.

The former governor insists the state followed directives issued by the Trump administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] and CDC did very extensive instructive guidance," he said, "and the investigations say New York followed the federal guidance."

Cuomo also claimed there are "two very different opinions on what happened during COVID," saying New York performed well, but not the federal government.

The former governor called the criticism purely political, saying only blue states were investigated and not red states, which issued the same directives.

"It's ironic today that you hear complaints about the weaponization of the justice system, when they nuclearized the justice system against Democratic states," he insisted.

Republican representatives Claudia Tenney and Elise Stefanik of New York criticized Cuomo on social media on the eve of his testimony.

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Cuomo says New Yorkers 'should be very proud' on COVID-19, but 'federal government failed' - 13WHAM-TV

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A new study today in JAMA Network Open shows that pediatric hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) doubled during the 2022-2023 season compared to the prior year.

The population-based cohort study of children aged 5 years and younger in Ontario, Canada, looked at hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions for RSV from July 1, 2017, through March 31, 2023.

On average, 700,000 children per study year were included. Though the 2021-2022 season peaked a bit earlier than prepandemic seasons, the number of hospitalizations was similar, at 289.1 per 100,000 children in 2021-2022, compared to 281.4 to 334.6 per 100,000 in 2017 through 2020.

In 2022-2023, however, RSV season peaked a month earlier and resulted in more than twice as many hospitalizations (770.0 per 100000).

The RSV hospitalizations also led to more ICU admissions.

The proportion of children admitted to an ICU in 2022-2023 (13.9%) was slightly higher than prepandemic (9.6%-11.4%); however, the population-based rate was triple the prepandemic levels (106.9 vs 27.6-36.6 per 100000 children in Ontario)," the authors said.

The rate of mechanical ventilation use was also two- to three-fold higher in 2022-2023 compared with prepandemic years, the authors said.

During 2020 and 2021, cases of RSV dropped as COVID-19 mitigation measures, including masking and school closures, halted transmission of RSV. In Ontario, only 11 RSV hospitalizations and seven ICU admissions occurred during the 2020-2021 season. But in 2022-2023, a resurgence was seen as RSV, flu, and COVID-19 all co-circulated with most mitigation efforts removed.

The unexpected and widespread influences on seasonal respiratory viruses that followed the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the need for ongoing research.

"The unexpected and widespread influences on seasonal respiratory viruses that followed the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the need for ongoing research to understand the impact of pandemic mitigation measures and the unique factors of transmission for common pathogens to ensure societies are better prepared to respond to future pandemics," the authors concluded.

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Moderna reports promising findings for flu-COVID combo vaccine - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Using the popular COVID antiviral Paxlovid failed to significantly improve symptoms in 155 patients experiencing moderate to severe long COVID, according to a study published today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The findings are part of the STOP-PASC trial, and the study was conducted at Stanford University from November 2022 to September 2023. All enrollees reported at least 3 months of postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) symptoms.

The participants were randomized at a rate of 2:1 to treatment with oral nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) or with placebo twice daily for 15 days. Paxlovid is given as a 5-day course of pills during acute COVID-19 infections to prevent disease progression in those at risk of moderate to severe complications from the virus.

Some recent studies have suggested that using the antiviral during the acute phase of infection lowered risk of later developing long COVID. This is the first known study to formally look at Paxlovid as a treatment in patients with established long COVID.

The average age of participants was 42 years, and 153 of 155 reported having the primary COVID-19 vaccine series. The mean time between index SARS-CoV-2 infection and randomization was 17.5 months. Of the long-COVID patients, 102 received Paxlovid.

At 10 weeks post-intervention, participants were assessed on six main areas of long-COVID symptoms: fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, body aches, gastrointestinal symptoms, and cardiovascular symptoms. Participants were asked to rate the severity of each symptom in the past 7 days.

Although a 15-day course of Paxlovid was found to be safe, it didn't demonstrate a significant benefit in improving symptoms.

"Considering the 6 core symptoms together (fatigue, brain fog, body aches, cardiovascular symptoms, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal symptoms), there was no statistically significant difference in the pooled symptom severity," the authors said.

There was no statistically significant difference in the pooled symptom severity

Measurements of secondary outcomes, including a 1-minute sit-to-stand test and orthostatic vital signs, also showed no significant differences between the groups from baseline to 10 weeks.

"With the urgent need to find therapies for PASC, exploratory studies such as ours have pushed forward to simultaneously assess efficacy and safety while investigating biomarkers. We underscore the need to establish validated clinical and biological end points for PASC," the authors concluded.

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Paxlovid fails to improve long-COVID symptoms in small study - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Four years after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, state health officials are closing the last remaining COVID-19 community testing sites.

The Georgia Department of Public Health announced this week that the sites will close at the end of the month.

Theyve largely been replaced by kiosks that dispense testing kits for both COVID-19 and influenza.

A map of kiosk locations can be found at DPH.Georgia.gov/CovidTesting.

Free test kits are also available statewide at county health departments.

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Georgia to close remaining drive-through COVID test sites - Now Habersham