The Road goes ever on and on ... Day 383 (883)

A new study has been published looking at covid and the brain. The study matched 401 covid patients with no-covid controls and looked at MRIs before and after covid infection. The major findings were post-covid cortical atrophy, cognitive decline, and reduction in global brain size. I find that last one quite interesting. If I were a stand-up comic, I might follow that list of three with the question why couldn't it be a reduction in hip size rather than brain size. 

Discussion continues to be given to certain points of the CDC's latest guidance. In terms of assessing risk, the CDC looks at hospitalization data, with the counterargument being that it should instead look at case data given asymptomatic or mild symptoms keeping many patients out of hospitals but very capable of spreading the virus. Currently, 39.7 percent of US counties are rated high transmission risk according to hospitalization data; using case numbers puts 94 percent of counties at high risk. CDC's philosophy of "living with covid" ignores much of the scientific evidence. In addition to the calculation of transmission risk mentioned above, the five-day isolation after testing positive is not based on any data of how long covid patients are infectious.  The Evusheld anti-viral that can prevent covid for six months so far has only been given to about six percent of immuno-compromised people. The CDC continues to define "full" vaccination as having had only the initial dose(s); boosters are considered an add-on. Finally, some experts say that the CDC is not giving long covid enough attention. 

Customers broke out of an Ikea store in Shanghai when faced with the prospect of being locked inside. A customer had been in contact with someone positive for covid, and health officials wanted to keep all those who might have been exposed in one place. The shoppers must now quarantine themselved for two days followed by five days of health monitoring. Other sites that have been locked down successfully include hot pot restaurants, gyms, and offices.

The UK has become the first country to approve a bivalent vaccine that targets the original viral strain as well as the Omicron variant. The one approved is Moderna's. Pfizer's is still in process; AstraZeneca is not updating their vaccine. The groups to be offered the bivalent booster in autumn are health and social care staff, everyone ages 50 and older, people over the age of five who are at greater risk, pregnant women, and people over the age of five who live with someone with a weakened immune system. I'm not going to try to guess when we will have a bivalent vaccine ready here.