COVID keeps the brain cloudy for at least half a year, according to a UCSD study

The neurological impact of a COVID-19 infection often persists after clearing up other symptoms, according to an initial round of research published Wednesday by scientists at UCSD. The majority of patients in the study, published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, reported symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, memory impairment and decreased concentration for up to six months after a mild or moderate COVID-19 case. Some also had problems with coordination and cognitive function. While symptoms generally improved after half a year, only one-third of participants said they had completely resolved by that point. None of the subjects in the study had a history of pre-existing neurological conditions before their infections. “It is encouraging that most people showed some improvement in six months, but that was not the case for everyone,” said senior author Jennifer S. Graves, an associate professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and a neurologist at UC San Diego Health. . “Some of these participants are high-level professionals who would expect to score above average in cognitive assessments, but months after the onset of COVID-19, they still score unusually.” A handful of study participants experienced a set of previously unidentified symptoms that included cognitive deficits, tremors, and difficulty balancing. “These are people who did not have neurological problems before COVID-19 and now have a disorientation of their body and a possible disorientation of their thoughts,” Graves said. “We did not expect to find this, so we want to know the word in case other doctors see it.” The research team said it would continue to monitor the subjects of the study annually for the next 10 years.

Florida only states that it will not pre-order vaccines for younger children

Every state except Florida has pre-ordered the COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5 from the federal government in anticipation of the vaccines being made available to the last unsuitable age group next week, the Miami Herald reports. Government officials missed the pre-order deadline on Tuesday, which means there is likely to be a delay for families accessing the vaccine from pediatricians’ offices, children’s hospitals, pharmacies and health centers. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Landapo, who was elected by Republican Gov. Ron de Sandis, said Tuesday he was opposed to giving children access to life-saving shots. “From what I have seen, there is simply not enough information to inform children of the benefits and risks. “I think that’s very clear,” Ladapo, who also heads the Florida Department of Health, told reporters in Tallahassee, according to Orlando Weekly.

Fewer people get the flu vaccine because of polarizing COVID vaccines, the letter suggests

The politically charged push against COVID-19 vaccines is affecting flu vaccination rates, according to a letter from UCLA researchers published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the susceptibility analysis found that while influenza vaccine intake remained relatively stable during the first pandemic influenza period, when COVID-19 vaccines became widely available, influenza vaccine was still available. from adaptations to pandemic-related changes in access to health care. “Our findings suggest that following the widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines, factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination rates (eg, safety concerns and skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines or “They may have spread to influence flu vaccination rates,” the authors wrote.

Infectious Diseases specialist at Stanford, Abraar Karan, said Wednesday that the current rise in COVID-19 in the bay area is causing staff disruptions in the local health care system. “In one of the hospitals where I work, several residents are ill, resulting in a reduction in the staff of our highly busy infectious disease service,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. Karan said he became infected for the second time last month, a pattern he sees with increasing frequency. “However, you may feel the seriousness of Covid, and whether it’s a problem worth solving or not, having multiple unemployed doctors sick at the same time is not good. “And that many times in a year,” he said. Karan added that with the rise of more contagious variants, it is not enough for public officials to rely on individual responsibility for mitigating the spread of the virus. “We need solutions at the community level – both at the policy level and in engineering controls.”

Most of the world is “high risk” for travel, says the CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises Americans to “avoid traveling” to some of the most popular destinations around the world this summer as most countries in Europe, South America, Asia, North America and Ocean is referred to as “high risk” for COVID-19 in the Agency’s updated map. This is the second worst level in the CDC ranks, behind the “special occasion” classification. Of the 235 sites monitored by federal officials, 135 were placed in the “high-risk” category as of Tuesday, indicating that they reported 100 new cases per day per 100,000 residents in the last 28 days.

FDA Advisors Recommend Pfizer and Modern Vaccines for Children Under 5

The US Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine Advisory Committee on Wednesday unanimously recommended the FDA’s emergency authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old. The three-dose vaccine is 3 micrograms each – the second is given three weeks after the first and the third is given eight weeks after the second. The commission also recommended that the Moderna vaccine be approved for children under 5 years of age earlier Wednesday. Despite support for the approval of the Pfizer vaccine, many vaccine scientists on the committee expressed concern that the vaccine did not appear to provide adequate protection after two doses and that the evaluation of efficacy after the third dose – 80% in preventing symptomatic COVID – was based on just 10 cases. They are concerned, since the Pfizer vaccine was released last year as a two-dose vaccine for adults, that parents may not realize that their children will not have full protection until after three doses. The Moderna two-shot regimen uses doses of 25 micrograms each, smaller than the doses of 100 micrograms and 50 micrograms for adults and older children, respectively. The recommendations of Pfizer and Moderna are gradual steps that are likely to lead to the full approval of the two vaccine brands by the FDA, after which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will review safety and efficacy data for both. The CDC is due to make its decision over the weekend and the shootings could begin to take hold from next week. If one or both vaccinations are allowed, it would mean the first time younger Americans could be vaccinated. Children under the age of 5 are the last remaining age group in the US to be vaccinated and many parents are anxiously awaiting the action of the Food and Drug Administration to protect their young.

Fauci tested positive for COVID-19

Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s top pandemic adviser, tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated, has double boosts and presents with mild symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases. “Dr. “Fauci will be isolated and will continue to work from home,” he said, noting that he was not considered to have close contact with President Biden or other senior government officials. “Dr. “Fauci will follow the guidelines for COVID-19 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the medical advice of his doctor and will return to the NIH when a negative test comes out,” the statement added.

Recovery infections from Paxlovid remain rare, according to a study

A recently published study found that of the nearly 500 high-risk COVID-19 patients treated with the Paxlovid antiviral pill, few showed signs of recovery, according to data published Tuesday in Clinical Infectious Diseases. In the study from February to April in 483 fully vaccinated individuals, Mayo Clinic researchers identified four patients who had symptoms, generally mild, of recovery infection within nine days of Paxlovid treatment. None ended up requiring additional treatment directed at COVID-19, the study said. Common features among those with symptoms were pre-existing health conditions and that they had received the most recent vaccine dose three or more months earlier. But researchers say more research is needed to determine the cause.

Study: Mild COVID can cause persistent cognitive symptoms

COVID-19 survivors often experience prolonged neurological symptoms resembling cognitive impairment associated with cancer treatment, according to research published Monday in Cell. There are clear similarities between COVID’s “brain fog” and cancer’s “chemist”, according to Stanford neuroscientist Michelle Monje, who co-authored the study with local colleagues and…