A Gene May Make You More Susceptible To Severe Covid

Bloomberg: Covid-19 News: Scientists Discover Gene That Increases Risk Of Dying From Virus
Polish scientists have discovered a gene that they say more than doubles the risk of falling severely ill with, or even dying from Covid-19. The Health Ministry in Warsaw expects the discovery to help identify people who are most at risk from the disease, which has already killed more than 100,000 people in Poland alone. It also plans to include genetic tests when it screens patients for potential Covid-19 infections as soon as the end of June. The research from the Medical University of Bialystok estimates that the gene could be present in about 14% of the Polish population, compared with around 9% in Europe and 27% in India. It’s the fourth most important factor determining the severity of the illness after age, weight and gender, it said. (Krasuski, 1/14)

In other covid research news —

Stat: Unvaccinated Pregnant People Are At Higher Risk For Covid Complications
Unvaccinated pregnant people who get Covid-19 are at much higher risk for complications from the disease and death of their babies than their vaccinated counterparts, according to a new study from Scotland. Authors of the population-level study, published Thursday in Nature Medicine, examined data from all pregnant people across Scotland between December 2020 and October 2021 that included information on Covid-19 vaccination status and infection. Almost all of the pregnant people who needed critical care for Covid-19 — 102 out of 104 overall — were unvaccinated. There were over 450 total fetal and newborn deaths that coincided with Covid-19 — all among unvaccinated mothers. (Gaffney, 1/13)

The Washington Post: Nearly All Teens In CDC-Backed Study Needing Intensive Care For Covid-19 Were Unvaccinated 
Nearly all teenagers needing intensive care for covid-19 were unvaccinated in a study of more than 1,000 hospital patients in the United States. The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine prevented 94 percent of hospitalizations and was 98 percent effective at keeping patients out of intensive care (ICU) or from requiring life support, per the peer-reviewed analysis published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Timsit, 1/13)

CIDRAP: Less Mobility In COVID-19 Patients Over 50 Noted, Even With Milder Disease
New data from a longitudinal study on aging Canadians shows that COVID-19 in those 50 and older led to decreased mobility, even when cases were mild to moderate and patients avoided hospitalization. The study was published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. ... adults with probable or confirmed COVID-19 had an 89% higher risk of problems doing household activity, a 91% higher risk of decreased physical activity, and a 133% higher risk of experiencing problems when standing from a seated position. (1/13)

Fox News: Man Claims COVID-19 Made His Penis Shrink
An anonymous man in his 30s who had to be hospitalized after contracting COVID-19 last July now claims that the disease left him with a shrunken penis and erectile dysfunction. "When I got out of the hospital, I had some erectile dysfunction issues. Those gradually got better with some medical attention, but I seem to be left with a lasting problem. My penis has shrunk," the man wrote in a letter to Slate's "How To Do It" podcast. "Before I got sick, I was above average, not huge, but definitely bigger than normal. Now I've lost about an inch and a half and become decidedly less than average." (Best, 1/13)

Axios: What "Mild" Really Means When It Comes To Omicron 
The Omicron variant doesn't cause as much severe illness as other variants have, but its "mild" symptoms can still be pretty unpleasant. The way health care professionals and doctors differentiate between "mild" and "severe" illness may not align with a layperson's understanding of those terms. "To a health care professional, 'mild' means you're not getting hospitalized," said Megan Ranney, academic dean at the Brown University School of Public Health. But, she said: "Omicron symptoms can range from absolutely no symptoms to a really mild cold to something where you are in bed with shakes and chills, and have a horrible cough and are fatigued and headachy for weeks. Those are all 'mild.'" (Reed, 1/14)

Also —

Bloomberg: Glaxo, Lilly Medicines Get WHO’s Endorsement To Treat Covid
Eli Lilly & Co.’s rheumatoid arthritis drug and GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s monoclonal antibody won the backing of World Health Organization experts for treating Covid-19 as new infections surge across the globe. There’s evidence that Lilly’s baricitinib can improve survival rates and reduce the need for ventilation in severely ill patients, the WHO said in a statement, advising a combination with corticosteroids. Two other drugs in the same class, known as JAK inhibitors, shouldn’t be used for Covid, the agency said. (Fourcade, 1/13)