A dreary wet and cold day. We may have bypassed autumn and gone straight to winter. By Son #1's metric of is The Family Dog wearing her coat, we are indeed in winter. The local community continues to recover from the events of Sunday night. The weather argues against another candlelight vigil on the lawn at the center of the university, as was held last night. Attendance was mentioned in one source as being in the thousands. No word has been given on whether the last two football games will be played. There is also no word on if the second injured victim was a football player. There is still a lot to learn.
Coronavirus is still here. Around 315 Americans die daily, and there are over 27,000 Americans in hospitals with COVID. Only half of the Americans eligible for boosters have gotten them, and only 10 percent have gotten their most up-to-date ones. I trust the people coming for Thanksgiving and won't mask then, but if I were eating out, even outside, I definitely would. Is it possible that the winter surge will not be as severe as in past years? That may well depend on whether a new variant arises.
A 2021 study reported that over half of American adults reported symptoms of major depressive disorder after having COVID. The risk of developing depression or some other mental health problems remains high for up to a year after the COVID infection. A clinical epidemiologist explains, "There's something about the coronavirus that really affects the brain. Some people get depression, while other people can have strokes, anxiety, memory disorders. and sensory disorders." Some people, of course, have no such symptoms.
One theory behind the development of mental health problems post-COVID is that the immune system may be overreacting and causing inflammation in the brain. One of the biggest risk factors for developing post-COVID mental health issues is having a diagnosed mental health disorder before getting sick. Other risk factors according the WHO include age; young people are at the greatest risk of suicide or self-harm. Women are more likely than men to report mental health conditions, but the psychologist in me asks whether this is because women develop more conditions or are more comfortable reporting them. Finally, people with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, cancer, and heart disease are at greater risk.
It's a good thing I can no longer be mistaken for a young person. If that were so, I'd check all four of the risk boxes: a woman who suffers from depression and who has asthma and high blood pressure.
1 comment:
i've given up now. The local rate per 100,000 is too small to report at under 3 cases. I'd like to say that this fills me with confidence but the reality is that you can't report what you don't test for. The Office for National Statistics is still doing their random testing and their most recent estimate is that 2.42% of the population have covid. They will pick up the asymptomatic too so it's always been a "better" figure than self testing of people who feel ill. In my village of 10,000 I suspect the number with covid would be closer to 200 than to 3.
What with the war, the energy crisis and the cost of living increases covid is nowhere near news worthy.
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