Study: Higher Covid Risks For Adults With Down Syndrome
The lead author of the study said it emphasizes the need to vaccinate the population, many of whom live in group homes. News reports look at how wearing glasses can protect you from covid and more.
CIDRAP:
Adults With Down Syndrome 3 Times More Likely To Die Of COVID, Study Finds
Adults older than 40 with Down syndrome are about three times more likely to die of COVID-19 than the rest of the population, pointing to the need to prioritize coronavirus vaccination to this group, a study published yesterday in the Lancet's EClinicalMedicine has found. A team led by Emory University researchers conducted the international online survey of the clinicians or caregivers of 1,046 patients with Down syndrome diagnosed as having COVID-19 from April to November 2020. (Van Beusekom, 2/23)
Fox News:
Coronavirus Less Likely To Infect Glasses Wearers, Study Suggests
Good news, glasses wearers: Your spectacles may offer you some extra protection from the novel coronavirus, according to the findings of a new study. In a report published earlier this month on the pre-print site medRxiv, researchers said that those who wear glasses at least eight hours during the day are less likely to contract the novel disease because they touch their eyes less frequently than those who do not wear glasses. (Farber, 2/23)
Scientific American:
COVID Variants May Arise In People With Compromised Immune Systems
Last summer, as the second wave of COVID-19 cases was sweeping the United Kingdom, a man in his 70s was admitted to his local hospital where he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. He was sent home, but a month later he checked into the hospital at Cambridge University, unable to shake the virus. Like many people who develop severe COVID-19, the man was immunocompromised. He had lymphoma and had previously received chemotherapy treatment. Doctors gave him remdesivir, an antiviral drug used to treat COVID-19, but he showed little improvement. Two months after his illness began, as the patient continued to worsen, his medical team opted to treat him with convalescent plasma, a therapy derived from the blood of patients who have recovered from COVID-19, which contains antibodies to fight off the virus. (Sutherland, 2/23)
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Medical Mystery: Baby With High Viral Load Puzzles Researchers
Among the more than 2,000 youngsters treated for the coronavirus at Children’s National Hospital in D.C., one newborn was unusual. The baby was very sick, for one. Most infected kids barely show symptoms and even the hospitalized ones tend to have mild cases. But the real surprise came when doctors measured the infant’s viral load. It was 51,418 times the median of other pediatric patients. And when they sequenced the virus in the baby recently, they found a variant they hadn’t seen before. (Cha, 2/23)
