Electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19
Coronavirus, COVID, Infectious Disease

Three in five long COVID patients have organ damage a year after infection

From this first set of scans, we found 331 participants (62%) had organ damage. Impairment of the liver, pancreas, heart and kidneys were most common (affecting 29%, 20%, 19% and 15% of participants respectively). These 331 participants were followed up six months later with a further MRI scan.

We found that three in five of the original study participants (59%) had impairment in at least one organ a year after infection, while just over one in four (27%) had impairment in two or more organs. So, for the vast majority of participants who had organ damage at six months, it was sustained until at least 12 months.

While in some cases participants with organ damage were no longer experiencing symptoms, organ impairment was associated with a higher likelihood of persistent symptoms and reduced function at 12 months.

Illustration of a woman with a face mask
COVID, Prevention, Public Health

Yes, masks reduce the risk of spreading COVID, despite a review saying they don’t

An updated Cochrane Review published last week is the latest to suggest face masks don’t work in the community.

However there are problems with the review’s methodology and its underpinning assumptions about transmission. Well-designed real-world studies during the pandemic showed any mask reduces the risk of COVID transmission by 50–80%, with the highest protection offered by N95 respirators.

Measles, Public Health, Vaccines

NEW CASE OF MEASLES IN KING COUNTY

The individual was at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Providence Swedish First Hill while infectious. Anyone who was at these locations within the time span that this person passed through may have been exposed to measles.

Child Health, Measles, Vaccines

Child Vaccination Rates, Already Down Because of COVID, Fall Again

Child vaccination rates dipped into dangerous territory during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were shuttered, and most doctors were only seeing emergency patients. But instead of recovering after schools reopened in 2021, those historically low rates worsened. Experts fear that the skepticism of science and distrust of government that flared up during the pandemic are contributing to the decrease.

woman sleeping on a sofa in a darkened room
Coronavirus, COVID, Women's Health

Most long COVID cases had mild initial infections, UW study finds

Study found that a staggering 90% of people living with long COVID initially experienced only mild illness with COVID-19. After developing long COVID, however, the typical person experienced symptoms including fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive problems such as brain fog – or a combination of these – that affected daily functioning. These symptoms had an impact on health as severe as the long-term effects of traumatic brain injury. Our study also found that women have twice the risk of men and four times the risk of children for developing long COVID.

Coronavirus, Immunology, Public Health, Vaccines

COVID in 2023 and beyond – why virus trends are more difficult to predict three years on

So how will the pandemic be felt in 2023? This question is in some ways impossible to answer, given a number of unknowns. In early 2020 the scientific community was focused on determining key parameters that could be used to make projections as to the severity and extent of the spread of the virus. Now, the complex interplay of COVID variants, vaccination and natural immunity makes that process far more difficult and less predictable.