Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Long Covid Symptoms Might Depend On Which Variant You Had, Study Finds
Fox News: Long COVID Symptoms May Depend On The Variant A Person Contracted
Different variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, may give rise to different long COVID symptoms, according to a study that will be presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2022) in Lisbon next month. Italian researchers suggested that individuals who were infected with the alpha variant of the virus displayed different emotional and neurological symptoms compared to those who were infected with the original form of SARS-CoV-2, an early release from the ECCMID regarding the study. (McGorry, 3/27)
CIDRAP: Different Variants Produce Varied Long COVID Symptoms, Study Suggests
Pre–Delta variant data to be presented next month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) meeting in Portugal suggest that different variants of COVID-19 may produce different symptoms in people who develop long COVID. ... The authors found a change in long COVID symptoms when comparing patients who had Alpha variant to those infected with the original, wild-type strain. Myalgia, insomnia, brain fog and anxiety and depression significantly increased with the Alpha strain, while anosmia (loss of smell), dysgeusia (difficulty in swallowing), and impaired hearing were less common. (3/25)
In other covid research —
AP: Scientists: COVID-19 May Cause Greater Damage To The Heart
Scientists now believe that COVID-19 patients suffer more than respiratory issues. Several studies have revealed that the virus can also damage the heart. For those with a heart condition, the threat is even greater. A September 2020 study found that the risk of a first heart attack increased by three to eight times in the first week after a COVID-19 infection was diagnosed. The study, published by medical journal The Lancet, followed nearly 87,000 people in Sweden infected over an eight-month period. Their risk of stroke increased up to six times. (O'Donnell, 3/27)
Press Association: People With Covid-19 And Flu At Greater Risk Of Severe Illness And Death - Study
Adults in hospital with Covid-19 and the flu at the same time are at much greater risk of severe disease and death compared with patients who have Covid-19 alone or with other viruses, according to new research. Scientists found that patients who had both SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, and influenza viruses were more than four times more likely to require ventilation support and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they just had Covid-19. (Cameron, 3/25)
CIDRAP: Delta, Omicron COVID-19 Variants Caused More Cases In Pregnant Women
The highly transmissible Delta and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants caused triple and 10 times the rate of COVID-19 infections in pregnant women compared with other strains, with most cases among unvaccinated mothers and their newborns, finds a prospective study yesterday in JAMA. University of Texas researchers studied the outcomes of pregnant women diagnosed as having COVID-19 at a Dallas healthcare system. The study spanned the pre-Delta period (May 17, 2020, to Jun 26, 2021), the Delta period (Jun 27 to Dec 11, 2021), and the Omicron era (Dec 12, 2021, to Jan 29, 2022). COVID-19 vaccines became available in December 2020. (3/25)
The Washington Post: How Covid Brain Fog May Overlap With ‘Chemo Brain’ And Alzheimer’s
People with “chemo brain” and covid brain fog could not seem more different: Those with “chemo brain” have a life-threatening disease for which they’ve taken toxic drugs or radiation. Many of those with covid brain fog, in contrast, describe themselves as previously healthy people who have had a relatively mild infection that felt like a cold. So when Stanford University neuroscientist Michelle Monje began studies on long covid, she was fascinated to find similar changes among patients in both groups, in specialized brain cells that serve as the organ’s surveillance and defense system. (Cha, 3/27)
