Different Takes: Virus Causes More Problems Than Just Long Covid; Who Should Get The Second Booster?
Opinion writers weigh in on these covid related issues.
Bloomberg:
How Does Covid Affect Diabetes, The Brain And Long Covid?
As we move into the post-pandemic, living-with-the-virus era, more research is surfacing about the ways even mild Covid cases leave lingering effects on health in some people. Three conditions in particular are capturing scientists’ attention due to the large number of sufferers: increased rates of diabetes, neuropsychological problems and the illness known as Long Covid. Researchers have found associations between Covid infections and each of these issues, but we don’t know enough yet to establish causality. (Therese Raphael and Sam Fazeli, 3/30)
Bloomberg:
To Boost, Or Not To Boost, That Is The Complicated Question
The Food and Drug Administration has authorized a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccines — a second booster — for people 50 and older. But is a fourth dose really necessary, or beneficial? This is a question that health officials worldwide are scrambling to answer. European regulators have said there’s no need yet for fourth shots, but European countries are setting their own schedules for extra doses. Sweden is giving the additional shot to people over the age of 80, while Germany set the bar at 70. (Lisa Jarvis, 3/29)
The Washington Post:
FDA’s Booster Decision Allows Individuals To Manage Their Own Covid-19 Risks
The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on Tuesday to authorize a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose for Americans older than 50 heralds a new approach to the pandemic. Instead of the federal government prescribing actions that everyone should take, it is providing tools so that individuals can choose their own level of protection. (Leana S. Wen, 3/29)
Stat:
No Return To Normal For Millions Of Children Orphaned By Covid
Forgotten in the calls for a “new normal” and the shuffle toward it are the millions of children around the world whose parent or guardian has died from Covid-19. Their post-pandemic lives will be anything but normal. In a study published recently in the journal Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, we and several co-authors estimated that, in the first 20 months of the pandemic, more than 5 million children have lost a parent or other caregiver living in the home, such as a grandmother or grandfather. By the two-year anniversary of the pandemic in March 2022, the Covid-19 orphanhood calculator shows this number has grown to more than 7 million children. (Seth Flaxman and Susan Hillis, 3/30)
The Washington Post:
It’s Time To Rethink When We Should Reimpose Covid Restrictions
As the pandemic worsens in Europe and elsewhere, there is already talk about when public health officials in the United States should reimpose covid-19 measures such as mask mandates. But they should be wary about setting rigid “on-ramps” back to restrictions.If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that predetermined thresholds for public health policy don’t work well in practice and risk undermining the public’s trust. (Shira Doron, Westyn Branch-Elliman and Elissa Perkins, 3/29)
The Tennessean:
Drop Of COVID-19 Cases Doesn't Take Away From Its Danger
It is perplexing that we have transitioned so quickly from a mind-boggling killer pandemic that required masks, tests, distancing and vaccinations to a care-free society of no COVID-19 restrictions. Like others, I’m weary of shots, masks and mandates, but I also want to be safe. And I want the children around me to be safe, as well as the elders and those whose health is compromised. (Lynn Norment, 3/29)
