- The possibility of a new coronavirus exists, WHO cautions – Fortune: The WHO has extended the COVID-19 global health emergency status for another three months, but noted that the pandemic may be nearing an inflection point. However, everyone is still at risk until no one is at risk of the virus, which continues to evolve and affect different countries differently. Omicron subvariant BA.5 has been identified as a potential cause of increased transmission in some areas.
- COVID test kits, treatments and vaccines won’t be free to many consumers much longer: The White House has announced that the national public health emergency declared in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic will expire on May 11th. This means that many policies designed to combat the virus’s spread, such as free-to-consumer COVID-19 vaccines, at-home test kits and treatments, will no longer be available. People will still be able to get these vaccines at low or no cost, but they may have to pay more for them in the future.
- A Crucial Group of Covid Drugs Has Stopped Working – WIRED: In March 2020, Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers tracked down some of the first known Covid-19 patients in North America and asked for blood samples. After isolating hundreds of antibodies, they identified two particularly powerful neutralizing antibodies that could bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and prevent it from entering cells and causing infection.
- Long COVID: where are we now? – SPICe Spotlight: Since June 2021, the number of people in Scotland reporting long COVID has increased from 79,000 to 175,000, an increase of 122%. Long COVID is a condition where people have signs and symptoms that develop during or after an infection that is consistent with COVID-19 and continue for more than four weeks. Common symptoms include fatigue, breathlessness, chest pain, and muscle pain.
- Opinion The pandemic after the pandemic: Long covid haunts millions of people: Long covid is a series of symptoms that continue or develop after the initial infection, persisting for three months or more. Symptoms can include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive dysfunction, pain, difficulty sleeping, racing heart rate, and gastrointestinal problems. Research is providing new information about the prevalence and long-term impact of long covid on society.
- Long COVID Is Keeping So Many Young People Out of Work | SELF: Long COVID is affecting a lot of people, with at least 1 in 13 adults in the US experiencing symptoms that have lasted at least three months. Common symptoms include fatigue, headaches, and brain fog, but they can vary greatly from person to person. More research is needed to better understand the condition.
- One-and-done injection halves risk of COVID hospitalization in large trial | Live Science: A late-stage trial has shown that a one-time injection of an experimental drug called pegylated interferon lambda (PEG-lambda) within one week of developing COVID-19 symptoms can reduce the risk of hospitalization by up to 65%. Unvaccinated individuals who received the injection within the first three days of developing symptoms had an 89% lower risk of hospitalization.
- Antiviral treatment cuts covid-19 hospitalisation rate in half | New Scientist: A new antiviral injection for covid-19 has been found to halve the number of people needing hospital treatment. The medicine is effective against all variants of the virus, including the omicron variant, and in vaccinated people. It was tested in a trial of nearly 2000 people.
Daily News Pulse for March 13, 2023
Summary: Princeton students have seen an overall improvement in course satisfaction since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Japan, many people are still wearing masks despite the government’s easing of guidelines.
