Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
These 4 Things May Raise Your Chance Of Getting Long Covid, Researchers Say
The New York Times: New Research Hints At 4 Factors That May Increase Chances Of Long Covid
It is one of many mysteries about long Covid: Who is more prone to developing it? Are some people more likely than others to experience physical, neurological or cognitive symptoms than can emerge, or linger for, months after their coronavirus infections have cleared? Now, a team of researchers who followed more than 200 patients for two to three months after their Covid diagnoses report that they have identified biological factors that might help predict if a person will develop long Covid. (Belluck, 1/25)
NBC News: Who Will Get Long Covid? Study May Offer Clues
A blood test may someday help determine a person's risk for long Covid, new research suggests. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, found that people who go on to develop long Covid have lower levels of certain antibodies in their blood soon after they are infected with the coronavirus. (Edwards, 1/25)
USA Today: Is Long COVID A Syndrome Or A Series Of Coronavirus Complications?
Long COVID largely remains a mystery, experts say, but a few clues are starting to emerge. With symptoms ranging from breathlessness to blood clots to lack of smell, what has been called long COVID might actually be a constellation of problems not one overarching condition. Calling it one thing is like saying someone has "cancer," rather than specifying "pancreatic cancer" or "skin cancer," said Dr. Nir Goldstein, a pulmonologist and director for The Center for Post-COVID Care and Recovery at National Jewish Health in Denver. (Weintraub, 1/25)
Bloomberg: Scientists Identify Factors That Appear Linked To Long Covid
People who have circulating fragments of the coronavirus, specific antibodies directed against their own tissues or organs -- known as auto-antibodies -- and a resurgence of the Epstein-Barr virus appear more at risk, researchers said in an article in the scientific journal Cell. Scientists are racing to better understand and predict long Covid, in which patients still confront a wide range of health problems months after recovery. The team of more than 50 researchers found some markers that could be identified early and appeared to correlate with lasting symptoms, regardless of whether the initial infection was severe. (Fourcade, 1/26)
Also —
The Washington Post: CDC Is Asked To Release Race And Gender Data On Long Covid
A pair of Democratic House members asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a letter Tuesday to release data on the number of Americans who suffer lingering symptoms of coronavirus infection, including breakdowns along race, gender and age. The National Institutes of Health and the CDC have launched detailed studies of long-term covid, often shortened to “long covid,” but those examinations are expected to take years. In the meantime, policymakers lack good information about how many people in the United States and worldwide suffer from long-term, debilitating effects of the disease. (Rowland, 1/25)
In related news about side effects —
CIDRAP: 75% Of COVID ICU Survivors Have Physical Symptoms 1 Year On
One year after 246 COVID-19 survivors were treated in 1 of 11 intensive care units (ICUs) in the Netherlands, nearly 75% reported lingering physical symptoms, more than 26% said they had mental symptoms, and upwards of 16% still had cognitive symptoms, according to a study yesterday in JAMA. (Van Beusekom, 1/25)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Heart Function Returns To Normal Within 3 Months For Children With COVID Inflammatory Syndrome, CHOP Study Finds
Some good news for young COVID-19 patients who develop dangerous inflammation in multiple organs: After three months, their heart function generally has returned to normal, according to a new study from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. That’s not to say this condition, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), isn’t serious. Children have died from it, and while most survive, the symptoms can linger for months. Some type of heart injury is usually part of the mix. (Avril, 1/25)
