2024-09-02 If you think you have “a cold” right now, it’s almost certainly COVID-19 and not a cold. Nothing Else is Circulating (Much) There’s very little circulation of any upper respiratory diseases except COVID-19 right now. The BC Pathogen characterization page stopped reporting in April because the trend was going so low, but you can… Continue reading It’s not a Summer Cold, it’s COVID
Category: COVID-19
2024-08-31 General
COVID-19 I’m going to put stars ⭐ next to papers that I think are particularly exciting. My Bad! I have, in the past, referred to the nucleocapsid as the “ball” part of the spiky ball that is a SARS-CoV-2 virion. I was wrong: the “ball” part is called the “envelope”. Inside the envelope is the… Continue reading 2024-08-31 General
2024-08-26 General
This post is shorter than normal because Life. And because I spent a lot of time on the Novavax post. Which the literal next day became irrelevant to Canadians, sigh. Long COVID This older case study (2022-02-07) reports that two women with Long COVID got back like 90% of their pre-Long COVID function by taking… Continue reading 2024-08-26 General
Novavax 2024-08-23
Addendum 2024-08-24: Canada is not going to get any Novavax, per this private communication (not to me) (emphasis mine): Thank you for contacting the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) inquiring about the availability of Novavax’s JN. 1 COVID-19 vaccine in Canada. PHAC is working with manufacturers and provinces and territories to ensure the most… Continue reading Novavax 2024-08-23
2024-08-18 General/BC
This article reports that the World Health Organization has declared mpox to be a pandemic, so I guess I will occasionally cover mpox as well. Honestly, world, can we stop having so many pandemics?!?! This article (2024-08-13) reports that World Health Organisation has added Black Death, H5N1 and mpox to its priority pathogens list. That… Continue reading 2024-08-18 General/BC
2024-08-11 General
Mitigation Measures I have had good results with the Readimask, as mentioned before, but I have also occasionally had trouble with a gap forming under my chin. This post describes another method of sticking it on the face, which testing showed was far far superior. I tried it (though I haven’t done a DIY fit… Continue reading 2024-08-11 General
2024-08-03 General
COVID-19 Pathology This paper from France (2024-08-02) reported that they found SARS-CoV-2 in semen. They got positive tests from 11% of subjects who’d had mild COVID-19 infections. In one man’s semen, they were able to find replication-competent virus (i.e. it wasn’t just virus RNA fragments) after 90 days! Transmission This preprint from USA (2024-07-31) (also… Continue reading 2024-08-03 General
2024-07-19 General
COVID-19 This is going to be really short because I am travelling today. Long COVID This paper using Quebecois electronic records data (2022-10-21) found that patients who got dehydrated during hospitalization were more likely to get physical Long COVID. They were no more likely to get mental Long COVID, though. This paper from USA (2024-07-17)… Continue reading 2024-07-19 General
2024-07-14 General/BC
COVID-19 Personal Recommendation Y’know how I sung the praises of the Readimask a few weeks ago? I need to admit that I’ve had some trouble with a gap forming under my chin, especially in hot (i.e. sweaty) weather. I still like the Readimasks, and have fixed the problem for me with a piece of medical… Continue reading 2024-07-14 General/BC
2024-07-07 General
Long COVID This paper from USA (2024-07-03) reports that they find SARS-CoV-2 hangs out in the bodies of people who had COVID-19. They’ve got a technique where they do PET scans with a tracer that can show where in the body T cells are active. They see a lot of activation in Long COVID patients… Continue reading 2024-07-07 General