There wasn’t much good general news today. There were some technical papers, but most were either overly technical or said things we already knew (boosters work! Omicron is vax-resistant!). The non-technical materials were mostly OMG BA.2 IS COMING/HERE WHY DOES EVERYBODY ACT LIKE IT IS NO BIG DEAL?!?!?!?!
Long COVID
This preprint says that using MRI, they found that 19% of people with Long COVID had cardiac impairments which lasted at least a year. Interestingly, the normal blood markers used to recognize cardiac damage (like troponin) don’t find these cardiac problems.
This article reports on a study in Italy on Long COVID which found that the symptoms differed between Alpha and Delta-induced Long COVID. Alpha patients had more shortness of breath, muscle pains, anxiety, depression, and brain fog symptoms than Delta patients had. Delta patients had more loss of smell and taste than Alpha patients had.
One interesting thing: people with Type 2 diabetes were 60% less likely to develop Long COVID.
This article reports that scientists have found markers (elevated levels of C-reactive protein, serum amyloid A, and vascular endothelial growth factor in case you care, which you don’t) in spinal fluid from Long COVID patients with brain fog. This isn’t as good as a blood test for coming up with diagnostics, but it might lead to a diagnostic!
Vaccines
If you hear someone worrying that vaccines aren’t safe, tell them this story about a German man who got 87 vaccinations. (He was selling his proof of vaccination to people who didn’t want to get a shot.) He’s FINE (aside from being arrested for fraud).