Reuters: Recurrence of COVID more dangerous than first infection, study finds The risk of death, hospitalization and serious health problems from COVID-19 increases significantly with re-infection compared to a first bout with the virus, regardless of vaccination status, according to a study published Thursday. . “Reinfection with COVID-19 increases the risk of both acute outcomes and long-term COVID-19,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “This was evident in unvaccinated, vaccinated and boosted people.” (Lapid, 11/10)
CIDRAP: Repeated COVID infections appear to predispose patients to disease, repeated SARS-CoV-2 infections carry a significant additional risk of adverse multiorgan medical conditions and poor outcomes such as hospitalization, diabetes, kidney disease, mental illness, death, and diseases that affect the lungs, heart, brain, blood and musculoskeletal system, suggests a study published yesterday in Nature Medicine. (11/11)
Two variants have taken over — NPR: Omicron Variants BQ.1 And BQ.1.1 Now Dominant In The U.S. Two new omicron subvariants have become dominant in the United States, raising fears that they could fuel another wave of COVID-19 infections, according to estimates released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stein, 11/11) Reuters: COVID-BQ.1/BQ.1.1 variants account for 44% of US cases – CDC The two variants, which are closely related to the Omicron BA.5 subvariant that drove the earlier US cases of COVID-19 within the year, they made up less than 10% of the country’s total cases last month, but have now surpassed Omicron’s BA.5, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (11/11) More on the spread of covid — Reuters: Global COVID-19 cases to rise in coming months, but at a slower pace – Report Daily global COVID-19 infections forecast to rise slowly to about 18.7 million by February from 16.7 million on average today term daily cases, due to the northern hemisphere winter months, said the University of Washington in an analysis. According to the report, far fewer infections are expected than the estimated daily average of about 80 million cases last winter in January 2022 due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. (11/11) CNN: Cruise ship with 800 passengers positive for Covid docks in Sydney A cruise ship with hundreds of passengers positive for Covid has docked in Sydney, Australia, after being hit by a wave of infections. The Majestic Princess cruise ship was about halfway through a 12-day voyage when an outbreak of cases was noticed, Carnival Australia president Margaret Fitzgerald told reporters at a news conference on Saturday. (Law, Khalidi and Maruyama, 11/13) CIDRAP: Infant COVID Hospitalizations—But Not Serious Cases—Increased Amid Omicron COVID-19 hospitalization rates among US infants younger than 6 months increased during the Omicron variant prevalence compared to the Delta period, but indicators of severe infection no, according to a study published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly. (Van Beusekom, 11/10) CIDRAP: Children at similar long-term risk as adults, study finds A large study today from Germany shows that children and adolescents are at the same relative risk of developing COVID-19 symptoms 90 days or more after acute infection with adults, according to findings in PLOS Medicine. (Soucheray, 11/10) CIDRAP: Long recovery, brain damage, effect of stressors with long COVID Four new long-term COVID studies reveal that 10% of French patients infected early in the pandemic still had symptoms 1 year later, SARS-CoV-2 can deeply damage the brain for months and very stressful events worsen persistent symptoms. (Van Beusekom, 11/11) Also – Reuters: US public health emergency over COVID-19 to remain in place The United States will maintain a public health emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing millions of Americans to still get free tests , vaccines and treatments, two Biden administration officials said. Friday. (Aboulenein and Mason, 11/11) This is part of KHN’s Morning Update, a roundup of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
