Long covid – the best thing that ever happened to functional disorders

CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock TOO many people are ill and can’t be properly treated. They have “functional disorders” like myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), aka chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), that are life-altering and often disabling, but with unclear causes. Doctors struggle to find anything out of the ordinary in blood tests and other investigations. All they can do is … Read more

Covid-19 news: Omicron immune response protects against BA.2 variant

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong and Alex Wilkins Covid-19 seen under the microscope Shutterstock / Naeblys Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 28 February Data suggests that people who’ve had the BA.1 omicron variant are protected … Read more

Covid origins: A detailed look at the coronavirus’s first days at a Wuhan market

Three recent studies give a detailed picture of how the coronavirus pandemic began and strengthen the case that the virus came from animals at the Huanan seafood market Health | Analysis 28 February 2022 By Michael Le Page Members of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team leave the closed Huanan seafood market in January 2020 … Read more

New Studies Support Wuhan Market as Pandemic’s Origin Point

Scientists have released three studies that reveal intriguing new clues about how the COVID-19 pandemic started. Two of the reports trace the outbreak back to a massive market that sold live animals, among other goods, in Wuhan, China and a third suggests that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spilled over from animals—possibly those sold at the market—into … Read more

What Is a Vaccinated Person’s Risk of Dying from COVID?

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Thankfully, most people who get COVID–19 don’t become seriously ill—especially those who are vaccinated. But a small fraction do get hospitalized, and a smaller fraction do die. If you are vaccinated and catch the coronavirus, what are your … Read more

Covid-19 news: 5.2 million children have lost a relative or caregiver

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong and Alex Wilkins White flags that are part of artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg’s temporary art installation, “In America: Remember” Brynn Anderson/AP/Shutterstock Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 25 February Around 3.3 … Read more

These Vaccines May Be Ready to Take On New COVID Variants

Pfizer aims to have an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine ready by March. Assuming it gains approval, it will mark the first revision of its messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine Comirnaty since the initial Emergency Use Authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Dec. 11, 2020. The variant-specific booster will also test the responsiveness of … Read more

Covid-19 news: Trust in UK government fell in 2021, study finds

By Michael Le Page, Clare Wilson, Jessica Hamzelou, Sam Wong, Graham Lawton, Adam Vaughan, Conrad Quilty-Harper, Jason Arunn Murugesu, Layal Liverpool, Carissa Wong and Alex Wilkins Britain’s health secretary Sajid Javid, prime minister Boris Johnson and chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak NEIL HALL/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Latest coronavirus news as of 12pm on 24 February Trust that … Read more

DIY treatments and clinical trials – one person’s tale of long covid

By MB Caschetta Illustration of a receptor on the surface of a B cell binding to SARS-CoV-2, as part of the body’s immune response. Anatomic Groove/Science Photo Library On Body Politic’s covid-19 support group, which uses the app Slack, my username says it all. I am MBCaschetta_May2020. I caught covid-19 on 15 May 2020 and … Read more

COVID Still Threatens Millions of Immunocompromised People

Iesha White is so fed up with the U.S. response to covid-19 that she’s seriously considering moving to Europe. “I’m that disgusted. The lack of care for each other, to me, it’s too much,” said White, 30, of Los Angeles. She has multiple sclerosis and takes a medicine that suppresses her immune system. “As a … Read more