Covid19-Sources

Background The World Health Organization has recently recognized Long COVID, calling the international medical community to strengthen research and comprehensive care of patients with this condition. However, if Long COVID pertains to children as well is not yet clear. Methods An anonymous, online survey was developed by an organization of parents of children suffering from persisting symptoms since initial infection. Parents were asked to report signs and symptoms, physical activity and mental health issues. Only children with symptoms persisting for more than four weeks were included. Results 510 children were included (56.3% females) infected between January 2020 and January 2021. At their initial COVID-19 infection, 22 (4.3%) children were hospitalized. Overall, children had persisting COVID-19 for a mean of 8.2 months (SD 3.9). Most frequent symptoms were: Tiredness and weakness (444 patients, 87.1% of sample), Fatigue (410, 80.4%), Headache (401, 78.6%), Abdominal pain (387, 75.9%), Muscle and joint pain (309, 60.6%), Post-exertional malaise (274, 53.7%), rash (267, 52.4%). 484 (94.9%) children had had at least four symptoms. 129 (25.3%) children have suffered constant COVID-19 infection symptoms, 252 (49.4%) have had periods of apparent recovery and then symptoms returning, and 97 (19.0%) had a prolonged period of wellness followed by symptoms. Only 51 (10.0%) children have returned to previous levels of physical activity. Parents reported a significant prevalence of Neuropsychiatric symptoms. Conclusions Our study provides further evidence on Long COVID in children. Symptoms like fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, rashes and heart palpitations, and mental health issues like lack of concentration and short memory problems, were particularly frequent and confirm previous observations, suggesting that they may characterize this condition. A better comprehension of Long COVID is urgently needed..

Exploring potential mechanisms.

Models of COVID-19 outbreak trajectories and hospital demand

Knowing the age-specific rates at which individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop severe and critical disease is essential for designing public policy, for epidemic modeling, and for individual risk evaluation. In this study, we present the first estimates of these rates using multi-country serology studies, together with public data on hospital admissions and mortality. Our results show that the risk of severe and critical disease increases exponentially with age, but much less steeply than the risk of fatal illness. Importantly, the estimated rate of severe disease outcome in adolescents is an order of magnitude larger than the reported rate of vaccine side-effects; thus, showing how these estimates are relevant for health policy. Finally, we validate our results by showing that they are in close agreement with the estimates obtained from an indirect method that uses reported infection fatality rates estimates and hospital mortality data. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This work did not receive any specific funding. ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: This is an analysis of publicly available data, already used in previous studies. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All data and code used in this project are available [https://github.com/dherrera1911/estimate\_covid\_severity.git][1] [1]: https://github.com/dherrera1911/estimate_covid_severity.git

Original Article from The New England Journal of Medicine — Evaluation of mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Adolescents

Introduction & Background the SARS-CoV-2 infection determines the COVID19 syndrome characterized, in the worst cases, by severe respiratory distress, pulmonary and cardiac fibrosis, inflammatory cytokines release, and immunosuppression. This condition has led to the death of about 2.15% of the total infected world population so far. Among survivors, the presence of the so-called persistent post-COVID19 syndrome (PPCS) is a common finding. In patients who survived the SARS-CoV-2 infection, overt PPCS presents one or more symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea, memory loss, sleep disorders, and difficulty concentrating. The pathophysiology of PPCS is currently poorly understood, and whether epigenetic mechanisms are involved in this process is unexplored. Methods & Results In this study, a cohort of 117 COVID19 survivors (post-COVID19) and 144 non-infected volunteers (COVID19-free) were analyzed using pyrosequencing of defined CpG islands previously identified as suitable for biological age determination. Besides, telomere length (TL) and ACE2 and DPP-4 receptor expression were determined. The results show a consistent biological age increase in the post-COVID19 population (58,44 ± 14,66 ChronoAge Vs. 67,18 ± 10,86 BioAge, P

Nearly 1,600 kids with Covid-19 were hospitalized last week, according to the CDC — a new seven-day record and a 27 percent increase from the week before.

Nature - A study of patients with COVID-19 and healthy donors found CD4+ T cells that react to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 and human endemic coronaviruses; however, the effect of pre-existing...

This Medical News Quick Uptake examines the debate about a link between vitamin D and COVID-19 risk.

Original Article from The New England Journal of Medicine — Effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccines against the B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant

(2021). One year on: an updated systematic review of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 and audio-vestibular symptoms. International Journal of Audiology. Ahead of Print. There are multiple reports of hearing loss (e.g. sudden sensorineural), tinnitus and rotatory vertigo in adults having a wide range of COVID-19 symptom severity. The pooled estimate of prevalence based primarily on retrospective recall of symptoms, was 7.6% (CI: 2.5–15.1), 14.8% (CI: 6.3–26.1) and 7.2% (CI: 0.01–26.4), for hearing loss, tinnitus and rotatory vertigo, respectively. However, these could be an over-estimate because it was not always clear that studies report a change in symptom.

The spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 is marked by a short timeline. In this scenario, explaining or excluding the possible transmission routes is mandatory to contain and manage the spread of the disease in the community. In the recent pandemic, it is still unclear how coronavirus can end up in ocular fluids. Nevertheless, eye redness and irritation in COVID-19 patients have been reported, suggesting that a possible ocular manifestation of SARS-CoV-2 infection may be conjunctivitis. On the basis of epidemiological data provided by previous SARS-Cove infection, numerous theories have been proposed: (1) conjunctiva as the site of direct inoculation by infected droplets; (2) the nasolacrimal duct as a migration route of the virus to the upper respiratory tract, or (3) haematogenic infection of the tear gland. The demand for further investigations to verify ocular involvement in COVID-19 infection came out from the results of recent meta-analysis studies, so the eye cannot be completely excluded as a transmission route of the infection. Thus, healthcare personnel and all the people that enter in contact with infected or suspected patients must always use the prescribed protective equipment.

SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2) is a new coronavirus and identified causative agent of COVID-19 disease. They predominantly cause mild colds, but can sometimes cause severe pneumonia. While the molecular basis for the changes in lung tissue or multi-organ involvement has been described, the age-specific long-term consequences, especially in children and adolescents, are still largely unexplained and not understood. Early publications from the primarily affected Chinese provinces described rather mild, partly asymptomatic courses in children. This is consistent with the observation that the risk of severe COVID-19 disease increases steeply from the age of 70 years, and is also determined by the severity of obesity and other risk factors. Developmental expression of tissue factors may be one reason for the relative protection of younger patients from severe courses of the disease. However, it is now becoming increasingly clear that some individuals with milder initial symptoms of COVID-19 may suffer from variable and persistent symptoms for many months after initial infection - this includes children. A modern low-field MRI is located in Erlangen, Germany. This technique has already been used to demonstrate persistent damage to lung tissue in adult patients after COVID-19. The device with a field strength of 0.55 Tesla (T) currently has the world's largest bore (and is thus particularly suitable for patients with claustrophobia, among other things), a very quiet operating noise, and lower energy absorption in the tissue due to the weaker magnetic field than MRI scanners with 1.5T or 3T. This allows MRI imaging in a very wide pediatric population without the need for sedation. The purpose of this study is to assess the frequency of lung parenchymal changes using low-field magnetic resonance imaging (LF-MRI) in pediatric and adolescent patients with past SARS-CoV-2 infection detected by PCR.

Dank einem Medikament, das ursprünglich zur Bekämpfung von Herzerkrankungen entwickelt wurde, ist es einem Ärzteteam der Augenklinik (Direktor: Prof. Dr. Friedrich E. Kruse) des Universitätsklinikums Erlangen nun im Rahmen eines individuellen Heilversuchs erstmals gelungen, dass ein 59-jähriger Mann mit Long-COVID-Syndrom beschwerdefrei wurde. Ob der Wirkstoff BC 007 auch anderen Betroffenen hilft, soll bald in einer klinischen Studie überprüft werden. „Momentan können wir leider nicht mehr Menschen mit dem Medikament behandeln, da es noch nicht alle Zulassungsstudien durchlaufen hat“, sagt Prof. Dr. Christian Mardin, leitender Oberarzt der Augenklinik.

Background: Data on breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infections are limited.Methods: We studied breakthrough infections among healthcare workers of

Das Parasitenmedikament Ivermectin wird von manchen Lobbygruppen auch als Therapieoption gegen COVID-19 propagiert. Ein neuer Cochrane Review findet keine überzeugenden Studiendaten, die dies stützen würden. Allerdings ist die Evidenzlage noch unsicher, aktuell laufende Studien werden hier hoffentlich bald für Klarheit sorgen.

Clinical evidence for long-lasting immunity to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Resources for public health partners and health care providers to support implementation of COVID-19 vaccine programs.

The UCL scientist and ‘militant corona centrist’ on the risk of new variants, psychosomatic long Covid and when he expects the crisis to end

Much attention has been drawn to the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19. One notable feature of SARS-CoV-2 is a four-amino acid insert starting with proline (SPRRAR|S) at the junction of the receptor-binding (S1) and fusion (S2) domains of the spike protein. Following the release of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, several groups identified this insert as a potential cleavage site for the protease furin—the insert has also been referred to as a polybasic site and proposed to be part of the proximal origin of the ongoing pandemic.

How can a field faced with broken public and professional trust mend itself? A small foray into the fatal dangers of closed-mindedness and myopic thinking, and what can be done about it now.

Aim We investigated whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was associated with the occurrence of Kawasaki disease or with multi-inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Methods This national Finn...

AbstractBackground. Multiple SARS-CoV-2 superspreading events suggest that aerosols play an important role in driving the COVID-19 pandemic. To better understan

Long Covid Kids is a Parent & Patient Led Advocacy & Support Group. Raising Awareness of Long Lasting Covid Symptoms. Long Covid Research, Symptom Gallery, Member Stories, Resources and Peer to Peer Support Group.