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University of Nebraska Medical Center

Category: COVID

5 big questions we still need to answer about long covid (Opinion)

(Washington Post) We are nearly three years into the covid-19 pandemic, and the debate about the need for health measures such as vaccine and mask mandates is as hot as ever. One big reason for that: long covid. What even is “long covid”? Broadly speaking, the condition refers to any symptoms persisting weeks to months after […]

Dec 27, 2022

COVID isn’t just infecting you—it could be reactivating viruses that have been dormant in your body for years

(Fortune) You had COVID a few months ago and recovered—but things still aren’t quite right. When you stand up, you feel dizzy, and your heart races. Even routine tasks leave you feeling spent. And what was once a good night’s sleep no longer feels refreshing. Long COVID, right? It may not be so simple. A […]

Dec 27, 2022

As Covid Deaths Climb, Even Seniors Skip the Latest Booster

(NYT) Nearly all Americans over 65 got their initial Covid vaccines. But that immunity is waning, and this time, the government is offering far less support for new shots.

Dec 27, 2022

Long COVID: Could mono virus or fat cells be playing roles?

(AP) A British historian, an Italian archaeologist and an American preschool teacher have never met in person, but they share a prominent pandemic bond. Plagued by eerily similar symptoms, the three women are credited with describing, naming and helping bring long COVID into the public’s consciousness in early 2020.

Dec 27, 2022

Three years on, the pandemic — and our response — have been jolting. Here’s what even the experts didn’t see coming

(STAT – by Helen Branswell) People who study infectious diseases and who work in public health have long known a bad pandemic would one day come. They knew such an event would overwhelm hospitals, strain supply chains, and place stresses on society that we would be ill-equipped to meet. Countries like the United States have […]

Dec 27, 2022

China will end its COVID-19 quarantine requirement for incoming passengers

(NPR) China will drop a COVID-19 quarantine requirement for passengers arriving from abroad starting Jan. 8, the National Health Commission announced Monday in the latest easing of the country’s once-strict virus-control measures. Currently, arriving passengers must quarantine for five days at a hotel, followed by three days at home. That is down from as much […]

Dec 27, 2022

‘Tragic Battle’: On the Front Lines of China’s Covid Crisis

(NYT) Medical staff are outnumbered and working sick as the nation’s health care system buckles under the strain of a spiraling crisis. Slumped in wheelchairs and lying on gurneys, the sickened patients crowd every nook and cranny of the emergency department at the hospital in northern China. They cram into the narrow spaces between elevator […]

Dec 27, 2022

COVID infections surge in Beijing causing hospital shortages

(NPR) AUDIO For nearly three years, China focused on keeping the virus outside of its borders. But now COVID is spreading largely unchecked across the country, leaving hospitals filled and medical resources scarce. In Beijing, so many people are ill, there aren’t enough ambulances. NPR’s Emily Feng brings us this report.

Dec 27, 2022

China’s COVID-19 surge raises odds of new coronavirus mutant

(AP) Could the COVID-19 surge in China unleash a new coronavirus mutant on the world? Scientists don’t know but worry that might happen. It could be similar to omicron variants circulating there now. It could be a combination of strains. Or something entirely different, they say. “China has a population that is very large and […]

Dec 27, 2022

Higher-Dose Steroids Upped Risk of Death in Non-Ventilated COVID-19

(MedPageToday) Higher-dose corticosteroids increased the risk of death in patients with COVID-19 and hypoxia, and who were receiving either no oxygen or simple oxygen only, compared with usual care that included low-dose corticosteroids, an analysis of the randomized RECOVERY trial showed.

Dec 27, 2022