Epidemiology & Impact (Deaths, Hospitals, Cancer, Alzheimer's etc)

September 20, 2022 — Children and adolescents who have either recovered from COVID-19 or have long COVID show persistent lung damage on MRI, according to a

An infectious etiology of Alzheimer’s disease has been postulated for decades. It remains unknown whether SARS-CoV-2 viral infection is associated with increase...

The neurological deficits caused by COVID-19, which were first reported in the early months of 2020, continue to intrigue neurologists and health-care professionals worldwide. As two new studies highlight, these manifestations are frequent and are expected to increase the burden of morbidity and mortality in the acute and chronic phases of COVID-19.

COVID-19 can result in neurological manifestations and animal models could provide insights into the mechanisms. Here, the authors describe neuroinflammation, microhemorrhages and brain hypoxia in SARS-CoV-2 infected non-human primates, including in animals that don’t develop severe respiratory disease.

This cross-sectional study examines trends in expected vs observed rates of cancer diagnoses in the US during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the pandemic, there has been a rise in new cancer cases, including rare and aggressive, late-stage cancers — and some physicians and researchers believe that COVID-19 may be behind this increase. Here's what you need to know.

On any given day in B.C., the large majority of people in hospital intensive care units are unvaccinated. On Nov. 5, 59 of 64 COVID patients age 59 and younger in I…

Viruses like HSV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 might trigger Alzheimer’s disease.

‘Herd immunity is an elusive concept and doesn’t apply to coronavirus,’ says Dr. Don Milton at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

The decision, after weeks of foot-dragging and citing numbers that weren’t backed up, was the latest in a string of moves that give comfort to the anti-vaccine community.

Once, people were asking to be exempted from measures that kept the public safe. Now the reverse is happening.

In the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic, only a small number of the more than 6,000 hospitals in the U.S. let journalists inside.

Both the Canadian and Ontario medical associations believe that intentional bullying directed at physicians and health-care workers is a crime and should be actively prosecuted.

A lack of testing data and government guidance led many to avoid the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy, unwittingly increasing their chances of a stillbirth.

Montana’s GOP-led COVID response brought waves of patients to a Helena hospital, forcing health care workers to make difficult care decisions for COVID and non-COVID patients alike.

Professor Massimo Hilliard and Dr Ramon Martinez-Marmol have discovered viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 can cause brain cells to fuse, initiating malfunctions that lead to chronic neurological symptoms.

Millions of people worldwide are getting infected or re-infected with highly transmissible Omicron subvariants. And yet millions of people in low and middle-income nations are still lacking access to vaccines and tools. World leaders have failed to unite against the virus.

A manifesto urging reliance on “herd immunity” without lockdowns was warmly received by administration officials. But the strategy cannot stem the pandemic, many experts say.

January 7, 2021 Introduction: In recent months, there has been a great deal of discussion about herd immunity.  This became a hot topic during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the notion of…

Measles once killed millions every year. Vaccines changed this, preventing disease, long-term immune damage, and deadly outbreaks.

In St. Thomas, Ontario, Asmaa Hussain is on the frontlines treating unvaccinated patients. As vaccine refusal grows in Canada, she wonders if other preventable diseases are next.

Purpose Although COVID-19 typically presents with respiratory symptoms, it can also lead to severe neurological manifestations in children. While case reports of COVID-19–associated encephalopathy (including acute necrotizing encephalopathy) have increasingly appeared, gaps remain regarding optimal management strategies and outcome predictors for children with rapid-onset neurological decline. This report aims to underscore the critical need for standardized clinical approaches to severe pediatric COVID-19–related encephalopathy. Methods In this case report, We detail the case of an 8-year-old girl who presented with fever, rash, headache, and recurrent seizures. Her diagnostic workup included polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for SARS-CoV-2 and a range of neurological assessments: contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) to evaluate structural changes, transcranial Doppler ultrasound to assess intracranial hemodynamics, and electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor electrical activity. Intensive therapeutic measures—encompassing mechanical ventilation, hemodynamic support, antimicrobial agents, and corticosteroids—were initiated. In addition, a targeted narrative literature review of pediatric COVID-19–associated neurological complications was conducted to contextualize this presentation. Results The patient tested positive for COVID-19;imaging revealed brain edem, and EEG suggested brain death. Despite aggressive critical care interventions, her condition did not improve, ultimately resulting in brain death. Our review of current literature revealed several reported instances of acute necrotizing encephalopathy in pediatric COVID-19, highlighting a growing body of evidence on the potential for severe central nervous system sequelae. Conclusion This case highlights the importance of early recognition and close neurological surveillance in pediatric patients with COVID-19. Although accumulating evidence describes COVID-19–related neurological complications such as acute necrotizing encephalopathy, uncertainties persist regarding definitive treatment protocols and long-term outcomes. Greater understanding of the underlying mechanisms and standardized management pathways is imperative to improve prognosis in this vulnerable population. Clinical trial Not applicable.

Pediatric long COVID is more common than many thought, and we keep letting kids be reinfected with new variants

Public health authorities say the Covid-19 vaccines have saved lives, but a Canadian report shared across platforms estimates the shots have killed 17 million people globally. This is false; government agencies and independent experts worldwide told AFP the findings are flawed and that only a minuscule percentage of deaths among the vaccinated can be attributed to the jabs.

Here we go again – bad published research tries to convince us that COVID-19 rates are unrelated to the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in several countries

The COVID-19 Monitor measures the ongoing impact and implications of the novel coronavirus pandemic. It includes unique indicators that offer robust insights into societal health and well-being.

Explore this post and more from the skeptic community

Of the 400 cases, 398 were people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.

Explore this post and more from the Coronavirus community