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Good afternoon. This is Jonathan Spira, director of research at the Center for Long Covid Research, reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on its 1,442nd day.
In news we cover today, a study looking at health data for 99 million people vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 found that, while there’s a slight risk of a complication developing from the vaccine, the risk of severe complications from Covid itself was 600 times higher; a Census Bureau study found that 1 in 4 people who have Covid will develop Long Covid; and a near-decade long study of ME/CFS patients may give researchers a better understanding of Long Covid.
LONG COVID
A newly-published study whose research commenced seven years ago found notable physiological differences in the immune system, cardio-respiratory function, gut microbiome, and brain activity of patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, or ME/CFS, compared with a control group of 21 healthy study participants.
The study, which was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, may shed light on Long Covid and Long Covid research. That condition often includes symptoms that are similar or identical to those of ME/CFS.
All of the study participants with ME/CFS had the type that is preceded by an infection, similar to how Long Covid is preceded by a coronavirus infection.
The study was led by Dr. Avindra Nath, the chief of infections of the nervous system at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Nath told multiple media outlets that, “[W]hatever we learn from ME/CFS will benefit long Covid patients, and whatever we learn from long Covid will benefit ME/CFS patients, I think.”
A new study found that one in four adults in the United States who contracted SARS-CoV-2 later developed Long Covid. The study was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Long Covid is known by many names including Post Covid,, long-haul Covid, post-acute Covid-19, post-acute sequelae of SARS CoV-2 infection (PASC), long-term effects of Covid, and chronic Covid.
Patients with Long Covid may suffer a wide range of ongoing health problems and these conditions can last weeks, months, or years. It can be difficult to diagnose and some people might not realize that their symptoms are in fact indicative of having Long Covid. In addition, people who were not aware that they had an asymptomatic Covid-19 infection can contract Long Covid just as easily as someone who displayed symptoms for SARS-CoV.2
UNITED STATES
Health officials in California reported that SARS-CoV-2 hospitalizations in the state are at their lowest point in two months. The news is particularly welcome after a challenging winter marked by the tripledemic of influenza, Covid, and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.
GLOBAL NEWS
A new peer-reviewed study found that coronavirus vaccines from drug makers including Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca were linked to rare occurrences of heart, brain, and blood disorders. However, the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 greatly outweighed the risk of getting inoculated..
In what appears to be the largest Covid vaccine-related study to date, researchers from the Global Vaccine Data Network, a research arm of the World Health Organization, looked at observed rates of 13 medical conditions that were considered to be “adverse events of special interest” from vaccines in a study population of 99 million vaccinated people from eight countries.
While conspiracy theorists will likely take news this as vindication, they would be wrong: The study showed that the risk of developing a neurological problem from SARS-CoV-2 was more than 600 times higher than from the vaccine.
OTHER HEALTHCARE NEWS
The United States Food and Drug Administration warned people not to use smart watches or smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels using non-invasive measures.
The agency issued a safety warning shared on Wednesday saying that smart devices that claim to check blood sugar without piercing the skin can lead to errors in diabetes management, including taking too much or too little medication.
GLOBAL STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Wednesday, February 21.
As of Wednesday at press time, the world has recorded 703.56 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.04 million in the last 72 hours, and just under 6.99 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 674.33 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.03 million in the past 24 hours.
The reader should note that infrequent reporting from some sources may appear as spikes in new case figures or death tolls as well as the occasional downward or upward adjustment as corrections to case figures warrant.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Wednesday at press time is 22,244,995, an increase of 8,000 in the past 72 hours. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 22,209,291, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 35,704, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past 18 months.
Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has, as of Wednesday, recorded 111.4 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of 1.2 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, 45.03 million, and a reported death toll of 533,475.
The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of July 2022, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 823,623, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States. Rosstat last reported that 3,284 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in July 2022, down from 5,023 in June, 7,008 in May and 11,583 in April.
Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, with 40.14 million, and Germany is in the number four slot, with 38.82 million total cases.
Brazil, which has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 709,765, has recorded 38.41 million cases, placing it in the number five slot.
The other five countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with 34.57 million cases, as number six; Japan, with 33.8 million cases placing it in the number seven slot; and Italy, with 26.72 million, as number eight, as well as the United Kingdom, with 24.9 million, and Russia, with 23.96 million, as nine and ten respectively.
CURRENT U.S. COVID STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
In the United States, in the week ending February 10, 2024, the test positivity rate was, based on data released on February 16, 2024 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was 9.1%, and the trend in test positivity is -0.6% in the most recent week. Meanwhile, the percentage of emergency department visits that were diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2 was 1.8%, and the trend in emergency department visits is -5.3%.
The number of people admitted to hospital in the United States due to SARS-CoV-2 in the same 7-day period was 21,373, a figure that is up 0.8% over the past 7-day period. Meanwhile, the percentage of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 was 2.7%, a figure that is down 6.9% in the same period.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
Some 70.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Wednesday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 13.57 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 3,498 doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 32.7% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain at or below 10%.
In addition, with the beginning of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, 2023, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines in any significant number.
Anna Breuer contributed reporting to this story.
The Coronavirus Daily News Brief is a publication of the Center for Long Covid Research. www.longcov.org
If you have Long Covid and need to talk to someone, call the Long Covid Patient Peer Counseling Phone Line, or HOPELINE. The HOPELINE is our free, confidential support and information service.
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