Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Scientists Identify How Damaging Covid Pneumonia Spreads, Lasts Longer
Philly Voice: COVID-19 Pneumonia Spreads Like Many 'Wildfires' In The Lungs, Northwestern Researchers Say
Scientists may have uncovered the reason pneumonia caused by COVID-19 lasts longer than pneumonia resulting from other pathogens. In a study published in the journal Nature, Northwestern Medicine researchers likened the way COVID-19 pneumonia spreads throughout the lungs to the way multiple wildfires overcome a forest. Other types of pneumonia tend to spread through large regions of the lungs quickly. A SARS-CoV-2 infection, however, starts in several small areas of the lungs and then hijacks the lungs' own immune cells to slowly spread the infection over a matter of days or weeks. (Romero, 1/12)
WGN-TV: Pneumonia In Severe COVID-19 Patients More Damaging
Pneumonia is an infection of the air sacs in the lungs, typically caused by a bug, bacteria, or influenza and now, SARS-CoV-2. But doctors say the virus leaves more severe damage in its wake. And now they believe they know why. It is knowledge that will lead to better treatments. Dr Benjamin Singer knows pneumonia. He’s been studying it for years. But with COVID-19, it’s different. “I think it’s not widely understood that at its heart severe COVID is a pneumonia,” he said. “What we found is the immune system responds to the pneumonia caused by COVID-19 in a different way than it responds to patients with pneumonia caused by influenza or bacteria.” (Bair and Czink, 1/12)
MedicalXpress.com: Why COVID-19 Pneumonia Lasts Longer, Causes More Damage Than Typical Pneumonia
Bacteria or viruses like influenza that cause pneumonia can spread across large regions of the lung over the course of hours. In the modern intensive care unit, these bacteria or viruses are usually controlled either by antibiotics or by the body's immune system within the first few days of the illness. But in a study published in Nature on January 11, investigators at Northwestern Medicine show COVID-19 pneumonia is different. Instead of rapidly infecting large regions of the lung, the virus causing COVID-19 sets up shop in multiple small areas of the lung. It then hijacks the lungs' own immune cells and uses them to spread across the lung over a period of many days or even weeks, like multiple wildfires spreading across a forest. As the infection slowly moves across the lung, it leaves damage in its wake and continuously fuels the fever, low blood pressure and damage to the kidneys, brain, heart and other organs in patients with COVID-19. (1/12)
In other science and research news —
CNN: Covid-19 Infection Grants Immunity For Five Months, UK Study Suggests
People who have been infected by Covid-19 may have immunity to the virus for around five months, according to preliminary findings in a new study led by Public Health England (PHE). The SIREN research examined the impact of infection on more than 20,000 volunteer health workers from across the UK and a pre-print of the study found only 44 cases of reinfection among 6,614 people. (Rahim, 1/14)
The New York Times: Coronavirus Will Resemble The Common Cold, Scientists Predict
As millions are inoculated against the coronavirus, and the pandemic’s end finally seems to glimmer into view, scientists are envisioning what a post-vaccine world might look like — and what they see is comforting. The coronavirus is here to stay, but once most adults are immune — following natural infection or vaccination — the virus will be no more of a threat than the common cold, according to a study published in the journal Science on Tuesday. (Mandavilli, 1/12)
