For those who think we should stop worrying about COVID transmisison -

[Ms. Toad]

A new study compared the post-COVID brain injuries of ~150,000 vets to the contemporaneous records of 5.8 million who did not have COVID, and to 5.6 million just prior to the start of COVID. Here's what they found.

Brain and other neurological disorders occurred in 7% more of those who had been infected with COVID compared with a similar group of veterans who had never been infected.

. . .

Memory impairments, commonly referred to as brain fog, were the most common symptom. Compared with the control groups, people infected with COVID had a 77% higher risk of developing memory problems.

People infected with the virus also were 50% more likely to have an ischemic stroke, which is caused by blood clots, compared with the never infected group.

Those who had COVID were 80% more likely to have seizures, 43% more likely to have mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression, 35% more likely to have headaches and 42% more likely to suffer movement disorders, such as tremors, compared with the control groups.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/covid-raises-risk-long-term-brain-injury-large-us-study-finds-2022-09-22/

It's not just another seasonal respiratory illness, and we're only just beginning to find out the parameters of its aftermath. Until we know more, we should all be working on minimizing transmission - not just staying out of the hospital or preventing immediate death.

[JoeOtterbein]

1. K n R ! Thanks for posting! nt

[leftstreet]

2. DURec

Thanks for posting this

[PortTack]

3. I just got my bivalent booster and was totally knocked flat for 36 hrs. I can't imagine having covid

[ultralite001]

4. I feel your pain...

72 hours and I can barely raise my arm...

I was still having fever and chills at noon today...

Covid without protection must be terrible...

[PortTack]

5. Ughhh...hope it's over soon for you..and me!

[ultralite001]

6. Be well...

Hopefully, we won't require another booster until this time next year.

Cheers!!!

[LT Barclay]

20. It is. I had a reaction like yours to the second shot, I'm lucky I was able to drive home from work

it was like looking at the world through a tube with fuzz around the edges.
COVID was worse, Imagine about 4 times what you are experiencing for about 6 days. After that I had a residual headache where a beanie would sit, that is now just sensitive, but I'm also now experiencing balance issues.

[ultralite001]

24. That sounds miserable... and scary...

The headache knocked me off my perch for 1 1/2 days...
Not even a migraine was that miserable...

Feeling better now... hoping I can sleep through the night...

Please take care...

[Dorian Gray]

28. I had a friend

who was hit that badly, too. I'm sorry.

I got mine monday and nothing. I was even able to work out yesterday morning. I'm grateful for that.

[ultralite001]

44. Nice to hear you've fared so well...

I'm feeling nearly normal. Arm is still a bit tender.

Grateful I'm not contending with the woes Florida is experiencing right now...
All that destruction makes my discomfort seem petty.

Please take care...

[Dorian Gray]

50. I agree about Florida

but your discomfort post vaccine is also a real thing. Rest and hydrate and you'll be back to normal soon!

[Ms. Toad]

11. Waiting on the final clearance from COVID-induced immune deficiencies . . .

Immune markers are back to normal, so I expect to get the go-ahead this week.

COVID, itself, was a non-event for me. Unfortunately, the COVID-induced sequelae were life-threatening. Pancreatitis, chronic acalculous cholecystitis (gall bladder inflammation without stones), and multiple immune deficiencies.

It's the pancreatitis which is life-threatening. (I'm past it, and it was - fortunately - a relatively mild case.)

Chronic acalculous cholecustitis is a disease which only people who are on their death beds get and (unlike it's cousin with gall stones causes pancreatitis, this one doesn't). The pancreas/gall bladder specialist treating the pancreatitis believes it was misdiagnosed (since nothing but the test justifies the diagnosis) and is something else which was caused by COVID.

[electric_blue68]

21. Dang! Hope these issues will diminish, and go away sooner than later! Good luck!

[SheltieLover]

7. Kicking for visibility

Still masking with NIOSH N95s & no intention of stopping! 😷

[Hugin]

9. Another K. n/t

[electric_blue68]

22. Continuing w my KN95's and blue mask over that. Only really annoying when...

when it gets extra humid in the summer the mask gets too damp, - I had to take the subway, and I didn't have a replacement at that point.

[we can do it]

31. Same. May never stop masking.

[Calculating]

8. Well, what is the plan then?

Zero COVID is never going to happen, even authoritarian dictatorships like China cannot do it. We need a vaccine that actually STOPS transmission, the current one is good for minimizing symptoms but people still catch and spread it. The reason we were able to actually wipe out diseases like Smallpox and Polio is because you didn't still catch and spread it once vaccinated.

[Ms. Toad]

14. Part of getting a vaccination which stops transmission -

is doing enough to slow transmission that we stop creating new variants.

Among other things, that means continuing to mask in indoor spaces, watching the community transmission rate (not the currently touted community rate - and taking steps to minimize contact with others when community transmission rates are high, staying home until we test negative (and altering sick-leave policies so people aren't forced to go to work sick (or return early) in order to put food on the table). etc.

We're not going to stop transmission completely until we have vaccinations which prevent transmission - BUT - we can slow it down by focusing on things we need to do to prevent transmission, and doing so will slow down the creation of variants - which is a key to developing a vaccine which stops transmission.

[Hortensis]

26. +1000. WE limit spread and development of variants while science

works on the next miracles for this and the next pandemic pathogens that start cutting loose. Vaccines really good at preventing infection still apparently the most promising approach.

I'm afraid that, no matter how bad the next one(s?) to show up is, the same people will, at least initially, insist on continuing their malicious culture-war spreading behaviors, making early containment impossible.

[keep_left]

39. Who would have ever thought that a President, aided by the power of social media...

...and the most stupid and gullible among us would turn vaccination into another culture war. It is truly miraculous that the vaccines were developed in as short a time as they were, and yet even in blue states, often only half the population has received one booster. Social media is still full of idiots who think they are going to be the next Alex Jones by pushing ever more outlandish conspiracy theories. And if they do eventually get deplatformed, there are now brand new platforms that won't kick them out (Rumble, Bitchute). Some of them even find sugar daddies to fund their "careers" (Emerald Robinson on LindellTV).

[Hortensis]

42. Yes, who COULD have? If I were religious, I'd have to believe the hand of god

enabled the miracle advances in vaccine development just in time to block Satan's plan.

[ramen]

17. I hate to say it, but this does seem to be where we are.

COVID-19 is here. We are also here. It seems like we 'manage' it forever, meaning it becomes endemic and health consequences described in the OP are ongoing. The reservoir in the deer population in the US alone makes this seem inescapable, to me. It is a sad thing.

[SharonClark]

10. Tested positive for Covid this morning.

Starting feeling bad on Sunday but thought it was seasonal allergies. I feel better today.

Scheduled to get a booster on Friday.

[Ms. Toad]

12. I believe there is a waiting period after having COVID

before you can get a vaccination.

My spouse believed hers was allergies - and, in fact, initially tested negative. Then, before she tested positive, gave it to me. She had had several other allergy scares, none of which turned out to be COVID.

Hope you don't get any of the post-COVID presents.

[hamsterjill]

37. You should speak to your doctor.

Before getting the booster.

I had COVID in late July into early August and my doctor gave me specific instructions as to boosters. I’ll not list those instructions because so many here like to argue what MY doctor said versus what YOUR doctor said.

But you should consult your own before going forward in getting a booster.

[leftstreet]

13. Is anyone working on a vaccine that actually stops transmission?

I get that the vaccines minimize symptoms, but they do nothing to address long covid.

Where are all the brilliant scientists?

[Ms. Toad]

15. The intent, in vaccine development, is always to stop transmission.

Unfortunately, because of the nature of the vaccine and the rapid rate at which variants (which mutate the targeted proteins) are being created, the vaccine can't keep up. Aside from anything the scientists are doing, we have to help them by taking additional steps to stop transmission (to slow creation of variants, among other things).

Wear masks.
Know your community transmission rate, and limit your activities in crowded indoor spaces.
Stay home when you know you've been exposed, when you test positive, until you test negative.

[hamsterjill]

38. I'm surprised that there haven't been further steps

In developing mitigating agents. Yes, there been Paxlovid and the other equivalent, but that’s a whole other story.

I’m interested in the development of the nasal vaccines. There has been some progress, but I actuality very little and it’s been extremely slow.

It’s all about the money in my opinion.

[ProfessorPlum]

43. I also want a more effective vaccine - I just want to put in a good word for what

our scientists have accomplished so far. it is a fucking MIRACLE that we have vaccines we have now, so rapidly, and so effective. We had no right to expect anything nearly so great, and ten years ago we wouldn't have. And paxlovid is another miracle. Honestly, the pharm and vaccine developers have done themselves and the public proud. If only we had some public health capabilities to match them.

[love_katz]

16. Kicking for visibility.

[docgee]

18. Just a reminder that correlation is not causation.

[Ms. Toad]

35. It's a pretty strong correlation, in this case,

Since they were comparing the post-COVID group to both a pre-COVID group and a group of similar vets after COVID was around, and the correlation held.

But, sure, let's just continue to play with fire by ignoring the correlation until it can be proven that COVID is the cause. With a disease which appeared this quickly, this pervasively, and is so different from any disease we've known before (in terms of it's systemic impact), we don't have the luxury of waiting for proof that it is actually the cause before acting.

That failure to act on early correlation information is what brought us the initial "masks aren't helpful" advice, and the focus on exposure occurring only in real time (rather than from lingering aerosolized matter). It was a poor public health policy then, and still is.

[docgee]

40. Not really.

I completely agree with you about erring on the side of caution is better. It is also this kind of logic that makes people think ivermectim could save them.

As for the test, the scientists did not know if the group that did not show symptoms never had covid or had covid and did not show symptoms. That's why it is not a strong correlation.

[Ms. Toad]

41. That's why the pre-covid control group makes it stronger.

Those who had post-COVID incidents were known to have COVID. The pre-COVID group could not have had it (asymptomatic, or not), since COVID did not yet exist.

And no, it is not the same as the ivermectin. There was never any significant credible correlation, let alone proof that ivermectin would do anything to help COVID. Taking harmless steps known to prevent transmission, based on a strong correlation between having COVID and post-COVID sequelae is very different from rushing out to ingest potentially harmful substances (whether ivermectin or bleach) based on some crackpot theory popularized by media which didn't bother to do any research.

That isn't to say that it is never appropriate to engage in medical intervention/decision-making based on well-documented, correlation supported by at least a strong theroetical basis for using it as a treatment pathway. Especially with rare diseases, sometimes that is all that is available. But it needs to be based on medically established correlation, coupled with a rational theory for why the proposed treatment would work. Not popular journalism.

[LT Barclay]

19. Let's add balance issues (personal experience)

[H2O Man]

23. Recommended.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

25. I'm going to find an empty salt mine and move in.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

27. Plenty of people are still dying from it too.

My four siblings are all much older than me -- oldest sister is 21 years older and youngest brother is 7 years older -- and they've told me about their peers who were hospitalized and died from it... recently.

All of my siblings are retired now, btw.

[Meowmee]

30. around 400 per day

Last I heard. At what point did it become ok to have this many people dying from a virus.

[Ms. Toad]

32. When people got tired of wearing masks,

Or decided winning the next election was more important than those 400 people a day, since "they are all just those anti-vaxers anyway"

[Meowmee]

46. Yep

The real science got thrown into the trash can long ago.

[Meowmee]

29. My father had a lot of severe damage

he was never the same after, part of him was still there tg at times, he became a complete invalid. It affected his brain, heart, bladder, vascular system, mobility and much more.

He was a brilliant man, I had to watch him go crazy from this, I will never forgive what they did to him. Total negligence on the part of the US and the supposed hero caregivers who murdered him with negligence after negligence and abused us as well.

I have had longterm damage and had double pneumonia in the first wave at the very beginning. I was ill for weeks, to hospital twice, I fully expected I could die. I was told not to go back to hospital except unless near dead. That was what they were doing in the beginning. There was no real care being given to the average person. I got some inhalers and I had to beg for painkillers.

I had severe pain for 3-4 months, then I needed pt after for 4 months. It felt like I had a very tight rubber band around my torso and it was hard to breath. My p ox went low (78) when I slept but came back up fast. It was awful, and scary to say the least. I had severe headache, myalgia, exhaustion, crashing bg, and more. High bp and tachycardia. I think blood thinners and Zithromax saved me. Then much later found I now have heart damage too. In addition, it caused hair loss, worse asthma and breathing issue and fatigue. As well as ptsd. I still have not been treated or assessed to see what other damage might be.

I never want to go through that living hell again. My ribs still don’t feel the same and I get a milder version of the pain in my back when my bg crashes now.

This should have been much better a long time ago but it was never handled properly with masking, sd, stay at home etc. to help the vaccines from start until now. Each time something could have been done to keep spread lower they caved to political pressure and did the opposite.

We are still masking everywhere with n95 and sd as much as possible.

[Ms. Toad]

33. I'm sorry you and your father

Had to go through all of that. And there are so many who still insist the reports of post COVID sequelae are greatly exaggerated (both in quantity and quality).

[Meowmee]

45. Ty

I can tell them they are very real sadly.

[wiggs]

34. Thank you. Long covid will be a significant global health issue. It's already a labor issue too nt

[Ms. Toad]

36. Yes. And the only thing which prevents long COVID

Is not spreading COVID in the first place.

I'm a prime example. I was boosted for the second time 2-3 weeks before I contracted COVID. That booster (and all that came before it) made COVID, itself, a non-issue for me. Long COVID is another story. 3 days of hospitalization for pancreatitis (including sub voce accusations from the floor doc about lying about my alcohol use, since he was unaware that COVID can cause pancreatitis), a battery of expensive tests, which discovered two more conditions. Fortunately, my long-COVID was short-lived. My GI system is almost back to normal, and my immune system markers are, as well. So I hope that is the end of it.

But the best, most up to date, vaccinations in the world didn't save me from long COVID.

[maxsolomon]

47. Who are those who "think we should stop worrying about COVID transmission"?

Anti-vaxxers?

There are some who think we can stop worrying AS MUCH about Covid transmission. Since both death and cases have fallen significantly since last Winter's Omicron wave.

Of course, that's not me. I would never relax for a minute. I wear a mask driving in my car by myself, in the shower, walking the dog on a deserted street. So far so good...

[FreeState]

48. I wish the news would report the complete numbers

A 77% increase over what? Not once did I see a baseline in this whole article - just scary high numbers that don’t mean anything without a baseline number.

[Ms. Toad]

49. I'll see if I can track down the entire study.

My basic point is that this is another collection of post-COVID health consequences - and if all we are focusing on now is staying out of the hospital or preventing immediate death we are missing the big public health concerns.

But for now I'm off to take a test since, I'm back in classes as a retiree!

[Ms. Toad]

51. Here's a link to what appears to be the entire study -

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-022-02001-z

I'm not seeing the numbers quoted in the article in a quick scan. It's pretty dense reading - an my brain is stuck in UNIX/Linux mode at the moment. I'll try to take a closer read tomorrow.

(But you're absolutely right about how poorly a lot of the popular media reports on anything - let alone anything medical or legal.)