SARS-CoV-2. The gift that keeps on giving. Today's distressing news, at least to me, is that a new study published in The Lancet found that almost half of hospitalized covid patients were still experiencing at least one lingering symptom one year after becoming ill. That's one year, folks. The study tracked 1,276 Chinese covid patients discharged between January 7 and May 29, 2020, with a median age of 57. Patients were assessed six months out and one year out. Patients, well, survivors, were given a physical exam, lab tests, and a six-minute walking test of endurance and aerobic capacity; they were also interviewed.
One year out, 49 percent had at least one lingering problem. Compared with people who had not had covid but who had similar pre-existing conditions, covid survivors had worse health overall 12 months later. Covid survivors were much more likely to be experiencing pain or discomfort, anxiety or depression, or mobility problems. Seventy-five percent of patients had needed supplemental oxygen in the hospital but had not needed intensive care, a ventilator, or even nasal oxygen. Women were more likely than men to have lingering symptoms. Some issues such as shortness of breath were more common in people who had been more severely ill, but other issues did not correlate with severity of covid.
From an editorial that The Lancet published about the study: "The need to understand and respond to long Covid is increasingly pressing. Symptoms such as persistent fatigue, breathlessness, brain fog, and depression could debilitate many millions of people globally, Long Covid is a modern medical challenge of the first order."
That was enough detailed news. Here are a few quick items from around the country, Hawaii is seeing a record number of hospitalizations with vaccinations static. Overall, 62.1 percent of Hawaii is fully vaccinated, but only an estimated 40 percent of native Hawaiians are. Many native Hawaiians harbor a distrust of the government since the US-supported overthrow of the monarchy in 1893. Natives make up 21 percent of the population and, until July 10, 2021, accounted for 21 percent of covid cases. From July 11 to August 16, they accounted for 28 percent.
Calls to poison control centers have increased three-fold compared to before the pandemic started, with most of those calls right now being about ivermectin. An Arkansas doctor is being investigated for prescribing the drug thousands of times. That number seems high to me, but I'm just reporting what I read. The prescriptions must have been issued electronically because I can't imagine signing my name that many times.
Illinois has issued a statewide indoor mask mandate. Educators there are already subject to a vaccine mandate. The Maryland Board of Education has issued a statewide mask mandate. Oregon has seen a 10-fold increase in hospitalizations since July 9, the highest ever since the pandemic started. Educators and health care workers there must get vaccinated or lose their jobs.
The US Open tennis tournament starts on Monday open to a full house of spectators. Arthur Ashe Stadium will be considered an outdoor space even when the roof is closed. Evidently, the ventilation system is that good. There will be no entry requirements, and no masks required outdoors. I'm not feeling too optimistic about this.
1 comment:
Wimbledon was one of the test events for mass gatherings and tennis fans are obviously the right sort of people because it wasn't a spreading event (unlike the football). It's even less risky if you watch it on tv.
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