So, my son has tested positive for COVID-19. Again!
He is not alone. Many folks believed that, having been infected by COVID-19 once, they’d develop immunity to subsequent attacks.
Most of us know the VA (Veteran’s Administration) has a large agglomeration of patients. So, that agency affords us the ability to discern trends in disease and treatment. Which is exactly what three researchers at the VA St. Louis (Ziyad Al-Aly, Benjamin Bowe & Yan Xie) have done.
Continue reading Long Term Covid is here to stay
Are you like me- tired of hearing folks saying the pandemic is over?
Wishful thinking never makes something true.
Continue reading It’s still here, folks
Yan Xie and Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly (the latter is the Director of Research, VA St. Louis Health Care System) combed through the Veteran’s Affairs national database, examining the records of some 181, 280 participants who developed COVID-19 between 1 March and 30 September 2021, and survived at least 30 days of the illness. These were compared to two control groups- 4,118,441 during the same time frame and a similar one (4,286,911 from 1 March 2018 and 30 September 2018) that manifested no evidence of COVID-19. None of the participants had diabetes before inclusion in the cohorts.
Continue reading What Comes After COVID
An early warning system.
First, I’ll describe it. Then, I’ll tell you why this adds fuel to my admonitions that many in power love to disregard.
Continue reading Waning? Waxing?
Here we are again. Shaking in our boots because of COVID-19.
Sure, this new variant (omicron) seems far less lethal, but it’s more prone to infect us. (That’s what happens when the SARS-CoV-2 virus adopts characteristics of the common cold virus. That’s what can happen when an uninoculated subject is invaded by the SARS-CoV-2 virus while suffering from – or about to – the common cold.)
Continue reading Masks, yet again
How best to introduce this blog post? I have pondered for days- which is why this has remained in my queue for so long. Well, cerebrations and deliberations are over…
Continue reading The shot heard round the world?
We’ve discussed antibiotic resistance here often.
It comes about because we feed animals antibiotics to improve their yield. Yet, it also gives the microbes a chance to find ways to beat the antibiotic’s actions.
Continue reading Oh, my… (no, omicron)
It probably won’t surprise you that my friends consider me the keeper of the data. About all sorts of obscure things. Mostly because it’s true.
Continue reading Masked Man. And Woman!
Now that we had those two interruptions (Memorial Day and my blogiversary), let’s go back to the discussion we were having last Friday.
Continue reading The new normal- not for all of us!