I got my booster very late as there was no real campaign here in Spain to get the under 65's to vaccinate. But in late december there was a big wave of respiratory viruses surging here, both flu and covid, and they were saying on a daily basis that you could rock up and get a vaccination on the spot. So I went the next day and was told to request an appointment, and they'd get back to me. When they didn't I rang up and was told to book on line, so I did and recieved a message my appointment was in ten minutes time which was quite a bit shorter than I thought. Turned up and was offered various alternatives so I had flu and covid, and apart from a sore arm for the weekend, no ill effects, and looks like I'll be doing the annual flu jab from now on.
Excellent article ME14 and a bit worrying that the vast majority of people think Covid has gone on holiday... I wish.
When I go to King's College Hospital there's hardly anybody wearing a mask now, only in the Haemotology and Liver clinics do you actually see the staff wearing a mask. All very well and good but you've just walked through loads of corridors and sections with people coughing and sneezing including the staff with no thought of protection for anybody and this is a hospital!
Getting your blood taken in phlebotomy is pretty shocking also, loads of people waiting with not a mask in sight...
Why are the hospital allowing this?
Unfortunately, it's seems to be the same everywhere and I doubt we will see any meaningful preventative measures being taken by the NHS again unless a serious infection comes along.
The only good news is that the Spring Covid booster will be available again and if you don't qualify I gather that Pfizer and Novavax vaccines will be offered via Boots and local Pharmacies for a price of course! I think it will be around £40 ish from what I'm reading.
Considering how worried I was when Covid first started, I rarely give it a second thought now. Being in a higher risk group, I’ll still have the booster available to me and will continue to take vitamin d and K2 though. Had it 3 times now and was only really rough the first time.
Excellent article ME14 and a bit worrying that the vast majority of people think Covid has gone on holiday... I wish.
When I go to King's College Hospital there's hardly anybody wearing a mask now, only in the Haemotology and Liver clinics do you actually see the staff wearing a mask. All very well and good but you've just walked through loads of corridors and sections with people coughing and sneezing including the staff with no thought of protection for anybody and this is a hospital!
Getting your blood taken in phlebotomy is pretty shocking also, loads of people waiting with not a mask in sight...
Why are the hospital allowing this?
Unfortunately, it's seems to be the same everywhere and I doubt we will see any meaningful preventative measures being taken by the NHS again unless a serious infection comes along.
The only good news is that the Spring Covid booster will be available again and if you don't qualify I gather that Pfizer and Novavax vaccines will be offered via Boots and local Pharmacies for a price of course! I think it will be around £40 ish from what I'm reading.
It’s interesting, my partner has regular hospital visits, and her doctor said she didn’t think they’d ever remove the mask mandate in the hospital as infections in the hospital had dropped right off, but as soon they were allowed to drop it they did.
When we’re next there I’ll ask if they’ve noticed any uptick in infections
Excellent article ME14 and a bit worrying that the vast majority of people think Covid has gone on holiday... I wish.
When I go to King's College Hospital there's hardly anybody wearing a mask now, only in the Haemotology and Liver clinics do you actually see the staff wearing a mask. All very well and good but you've just walked through loads of corridors and sections with people coughing and sneezing including the staff with no thought of protection for anybody and this is a hospital!
Getting your blood taken in phlebotomy is pretty shocking also, loads of people waiting with not a mask in sight...
Why are the hospital allowing this?
Unfortunately, it's seems to be the same everywhere and I doubt we will see any meaningful preventative measures being taken by the NHS again unless a serious infection comes along.
The only good news is that the Spring Covid booster will be available again and if you don't qualify I gather that Pfizer and Novavax vaccines will be offered via Boots and local Pharmacies for a price of course! I think it will be around £40 ish from what I'm reading.
It’s interesting, my partner has regular hospital visits, and her doctor said she didn’t think they’d ever remove the mask mandate in the hospital as infections in the hospital had dropped right off, but as soon they were allowed to drop it they did.
When we’re next there I’ll ask if they’ve noticed any uptick in infections
Just as a point of information really but I worked in a hospital when masks were mandatory from the moment you entered the building until the moment you left. Mostly eight hour shifts but quite often twelve hour shifts too. I can categorically inform everyone that having to wear a mask doing your job continuously for that long was absolutely horrendous. Masks definitely work in reducing infections but wearing them is no picnic.
The problem isn't about how ill you feel when infected, but the damage each infection does to the body. There is growing evidence of what damage it can do and it's not just the elderly, but children too. This idea that it's okay to catch multiple infections is so wrong.
It's a new virus and we don't know what long term damage is taking place but the line from Governments is that Covid is over and people are happy to believe it. We do know that the virus affects the vascular system which reaches every part of the body.
We have thousands of people who are too ill to work and people constantly being sick. The Government is running campaigns to tell people to send their children to school if ill, because they're worried about falling attendances. Perhaps they should question why children are ill so often, could it be the lack of ventilation allowing airborne viruses like Sars Cov-2 to infect everyone.
Vaccines definitely give some protection against Long Covid, but it is worrying that we seem to be going down the route of those able to pay for a vaccine being able to protect themselves, but the less well off having to take their chances against a constantly mutating virus.
I hope that in years to come, the young people of today, don't have to look back and say why did we let a virus ruin their health.
Having had Covid twice in a year both times after my latest booster, it's certainly no picnic. Neither event lasted very long and all of the symptoms cleared up within a fortnight or so. But for several days I was fit for nothing. My general health (touch wood) doesn't seem to have suffered. That's certainly not true for half of my colleagues. Previously healthy adults are now experiencing frequent relapses of superficially unrelated issues. Seen in isolation they are 'bad colds', 'stomach upsets', 'migraines', 'fatigue', 'allergies' but their frequency and intensity in 2024 is dramatically different to 2020. Coincidence? Possibly. There is lots of evidence and experience of how Covid freaks out many people's immune systems - it was a major factor in the early mortality rate. Catching covid isn't quite russian roulette but the growing evidence that repeated infections impacts are broader immune response is not something I'm going to ignore. If the current dimwitted policy of only funding covid booster and flu jabs for over 65's, is maintained, I'll be paying for jabs this autumn/winter if they become available. It's the same logic as getting PSA tested or bowel cancer screened (free and encouraged for over 50's) neither test is absolutely definitive - negative tests don't meant you'll never contract, positive tests don't mean you're in trouble but they both mitigate the chances of getting bad bad news too late to act. Covid boosters and flu jabs probably reduce the likelihood of ending up with something life limitingly nasty. And that makes all kinds of sense to me.
Dispiriting to see again this week that the division fomenting hate mongers are back peddling the drivel about "the covid vaccines never prevented transmission ergo they were all a scam". Farage jumping on that shabby bandwagon in the absence of any actual material or policy. For anybody still triggered by that particularly selective bullshit: vaccines never directly impact transmission cos obviously they can't - only behaviour/interaction can impact transmission - vaccines provide most recipients with a much more potent armoury in fighting the particular infection - just as they have since Jenner's genius leap of imagination 260 odd years ago - transmission can consequently be mitigated by fewer sick people coughing spluttering puking and spreading their germs about while they're infectious and people being infectious for shorter times as they recover more quickly than unvaccinated The current measles outbreak is working proof that vaccination rates directly impact the baseline infection rate Our current government's choice to ignore that for Covid is bang average cynical shithousery
Having had Covid twice in a year both times after my latest booster, it's certainly no picnic. Neither event lasted very long and all of the symptoms cleared up within a fortnight or so. But for several days I was fit for nothing. My general health (touch wood) doesn't seem to have suffered. That's certainly not true for half of my colleagues. Previously healthy adults are now experiencing frequent relapses of superficially unrelated issues. Seen in isolation they are 'bad colds', 'stomach upsets', 'migraines', 'fatigue', 'allergies' but their frequency and intensity in 2024 is dramatically different to 2020. Coincidence? Possibly. There is lots of evidence and experience of how Covid freaks out many people's immune systems - it was a major factor in the early mortality rate. Catching covid isn't quite russian roulette but the growing evidence that repeated infections impacts are broader immune response is not something I'm going to ignore. If the current dimwitted policy of only funding covid booster and flu jabs for over 65's, is maintained, I'll be paying for jabs this autumn/winter if they become available. It's the same logic as getting PSA tested or bowel cancer screened (free and encouraged for over 50's) neither test is absolutely definitive - negative tests don't meant you'll never contract, positive tests don't mean you're in trouble but they both mitigate the chances of getting bad bad news too late to act. Covid boosters and flu jabs probably reduce the likelihood of ending up with something life limitingly nasty. And that makes all kinds of sense to me.
Dispiriting to see again this week that the division fomenting hate mongers are back peddling the drivel about "the covid vaccines never prevented transmission ergo they were all a scam". Farage jumping on that shabby bandwagon in the absence of any actual material or policy. For anybody still triggered by that particularly selective bullshit: vaccines never directly impact transmission cos obviously they can't - only behaviour/interaction can impact transmission - vaccines provide most recipients with a much more potent armoury in fighting the particular infection - just as they have since Jenner's genius leap of imagination 260 odd years ago - transmission can consequently be mitigated by fewer sick people coughing spluttering puking and spreading their germs about while they're infectious and people being infectious for shorter times as they recover more quickly than unvaccinated The current measles outbreak is working proof that vaccination rates directly impact the baseline infection rate Our current government's choice to ignore that for Covid is bang average cynical shithousery
Thoughtful post. Long Covid is something that we won’t get to the bottom of for another fifty years if ever. There is so much anecdotal evidence but as yet not enough empirical evidence and data with which to reach conclusions. I would say though that yearly vaccinations for those under 50 seem unlikely to provide a significant benefit. Covid is now a very different proposition to earlier variants. It’s still very unpleasant for some but in terms of being life threatening, it’s passed into quite normal levels of severity for respiratory diseases. I can still see that yearly vaccinations for those over sixty and vulnerable groups being continued but I don’t think lowering the age for which vaccinations are provided free is something we’ll see again.
Having had Covid twice in a year both times after my latest booster, it's certainly no picnic. Neither event lasted very long and all of the symptoms cleared up within a fortnight or so. But for several days I was fit for nothing. My general health (touch wood) doesn't seem to have suffered. That's certainly not true for half of my colleagues. Previously healthy adults are now experiencing frequent relapses of superficially unrelated issues. Seen in isolation they are 'bad colds', 'stomach upsets', 'migraines', 'fatigue', 'allergies' but their frequency and intensity in 2024 is dramatically different to 2020. Coincidence? Possibly. There is lots of evidence and experience of how Covid freaks out many people's immune systems - it was a major factor in the early mortality rate. Catching covid isn't quite russian roulette but the growing evidence that repeated infections impacts are broader immune response is not something I'm going to ignore. If the current dimwitted policy of only funding covid booster and flu jabs for over 65's, is maintained, I'll be paying for jabs this autumn/winter if they become available. It's the same logic as getting PSA tested or bowel cancer screened (free and encouraged for over 50's) neither test is absolutely definitive - negative tests don't meant you'll never contract, positive tests don't mean you're in trouble but they both mitigate the chances of getting bad bad news too late to act. Covid boosters and flu jabs probably reduce the likelihood of ending up with something life limitingly nasty. And that makes all kinds of sense to me.
Dispiriting to see again this week that the division fomenting hate mongers are back peddling the drivel about "the covid vaccines never prevented transmission ergo they were all a scam". Farage jumping on that shabby bandwagon in the absence of any actual material or policy. For anybody still triggered by that particularly selective bullshit: vaccines never directly impact transmission cos obviously they can't - only behaviour/interaction can impact transmission - vaccines provide most recipients with a much more potent armoury in fighting the particular infection - just as they have since Jenner's genius leap of imagination 260 odd years ago - transmission can consequently be mitigated by fewer sick people coughing spluttering puking and spreading their germs about while they're infectious and people being infectious for shorter times as they recover more quickly than unvaccinated The current measles outbreak is working proof that vaccination rates directly impact the baseline infection rate Our current government's choice to ignore that for Covid is bang average cynical shithousery
Thoughtful post. Long Covid is something that we won’t get to the bottom of for another fifty years if ever. There is so much anecdotal evidence but as yet not enough empirical evidence and data with which to reach conclusions. I would say though that yearly vaccinations for those under 50 seem unlikely to provide a significant benefit. Covid is now a very different proposition to earlier variants. It’s still very unpleasant for some but in terms of being life threatening, it’s passed into quite normal levels of severity for respiratory diseases. I can still see that yearly vaccinations for those over sixty and vulnerable groups being continued but I don’t think lowering the age for which vaccinations are provided free is something we’ll see again.
I suspect the ‘Our future health’ project’ will mean that we will start identifying risks and causes of a lot of things, including Covid and its variants, at an accelerated pace. There are 500k of us that have already started participating in this and they are expanding it to a lot more people, if they want to sign up. With that much source data, identifying specific common factors to concentrate upon will be a far easier.
The link is to an article which has references to 122 different studies on the effects on the body of SARS_Cov-2 infection. The evidence of the damage that can be caused by infection continues to grow, despite the fact that governments all around the world try to ignore and down play those effects. The following is the concluding paragraph of the article, but the article itself has links to the individual studies.
The importance of Long COVID symptoms impacting many millions around the world is gaining recognition. (120) While symptomatic Long COVID affects 10-30% of those infected, and its widespread impact is great enough to affect macroeconomic conditions, (121) it is only part of the long-term consequences of SARS-COV-2 infections. Varied levels of organ damage from COVID-19 have been shown to occur in over 50% of those infected. Organ damage leads to reduced functional capacity and physiological reserve of organs that is consistent with reduced health, reduced life expectancy, and increased vulnerability to future infections and conditions. It is also manifest in acute events such as heart attacks, strokes, as well as recurrent infections of other kinds. Organ damage is an important substrate for Long COVID symptoms, and the symptoms of Long COVID may be considered the tip of the iceberg of multisystem and organ damage manifestations. What is important to recognize is that even the known severe consequences of Long COVID are only part of the long-term consequences of COVID-19. It is crucial to acknowledge that SARS-CoV-2 poses significant threats that are further exacerbated by reinfections, resulting in a detrimental impact on various aspects of health. As we continue to study these impacts to better address them we must take preventive measures to avoid repeated infections. (122)
Spectrum of COVID-19: From Asymptomatic Organ Damage to Long COVID Syndrome
So does one - A Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can. And that Jeremy is my final answer.
I never think about covid these days, so I don't take any precautions. There are plenty of people who have low immunity or who have conditions that would be exacerbated by covid though, so I fully respect their choices to be more cautious than me.
So does one - A Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can. And that Jeremy is my final answer.
I think people should be aware of the risks with each infection , but it's being ignored everywhere. People think it's all over.
Parents are being told to send their children to school even if sick because school absences are so high. Has anyone thought that perhaps there are so many absences because children are sick. Also what effect will so many infections have on children's future health.
We have millions of people unable to work through sickness. There needs to be a realisation that Covid is not 'over'.
At the very least we should be demanding better filtration of air, particularly in schools. Parents should not be told to send their children to school when unwell.
It's not right that everyone is being lulled into a false sense of security. A Covid infection still had the potential to do a great deal of damage and it's wrong that people are not being warned of the risks.
Covid isn’t over, it probably never will be, but the covid pandemic is over.
We shouldn’t be putting any restrictions on society now and we have to deal with it in a similar way to flu.
But it isn't 'flu so should not be treated in the same way. A Covid infection can cause damage to the whole body.
I'm not suggesting restrictions as in the early days of the pandemic, but sensible precautions like filtration of air in public places and not going into pubic places if you're not well and certainly not sending children to school if unwell.
Things have changed since pre 2020 and we now living with a virus that has the potential to affect every organ in the body. This should not be hidden from the public.
As the article I posted the link for stated, the increase in illness among the population will have economic consequences. The number of people in the UK with long term illnesses is already having a detrimental effect on the economy.
So does one - A Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can. And that Jeremy is my final answer.
I think people should be aware of the risks with each infection , but it's being ignored everywhere. People think it's all over.
Parents are being told to send their children to school even if sick because school absences are so high. Has anyone thought that perhaps there are so many absences because children are sick. Also what effect will so many infections have on children's future health.
We have millions of people unable to work through sickness. There needs to be a realisation that Covid is not 'over'.
At the very least we should be demanding better filtration of air, particularly in schools. Parents should not be told to send their children to school when unwell.
It's not right that everyone is being lulled into a false sense of security. A Covid infection still had the potential to do a great deal of damage and it's wrong that people are not being warned of the risks.
People with children know that children get sick, one of the joys of being a parent is that from November to March, at least 1 human in the house will be unwell with a cold etc.
Scarlet fever was the latest on our houses bingo card.
Long Covid may be no different from other post-viral syndromes such as those experienced after flu, according to new research from Queensland Health.
The lead author of the study, the state’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard, said it was “time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’” because they imply there is something unique about the longer-term symptoms associated with the virus, and in some cases create hypervigilance.
There are different definitions of long Covid but the World Health Organization defines post-Covid or long Covid as occurring in people still experiencing symptoms three months after their initial Covid-19 infection, when those symptoms can’t be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
The study surveyed 5,112 adults who had symptoms of a respiratory illness and underwent PCR testing between May and June 2022. Of those, 2,399 were positive for Covid-19, 995 positive for influenza and 1,718 negative for both.
A year after their PCR test, participants were asked about ongoing symptoms and impairment using a questionnaire delivered by SMS link.
Overall, 16% reported ongoing symptoms a year later, and 3.6% reported moderate-to-severe impairment in their daily activities.
The results of the study, which Gerrard will present next month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, found no evidence that those who had Covid-19 were more likely to have functional limitations a year on compared with those who did not have Covid-19 (3.0% v 4.1%).
The 3% of the study participants who had ongoing impairments after Covid-19 infection was similar to the 3.4% with ongoing impairments after influenza.
The study also looked at specific symptoms in the patients who had moderate to severe impairment, and found in both patients who were Covid positive and negative, the same percentage (94%) reported one or more of the commonly reported symptoms of long Covid: fatigue, post exertional symptom exacerbation, brain fog and changes to taste and smell.
Gerrard said long Covid may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of the high number of people infected with Covid-19 within a short period of time, rather than the severity of long Covid symptoms.
“We believe it is time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’. They wrongly imply there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus. This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hypervigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery.”
In a press conference on Friday, Gerrard said: “I want to make it clear that the symptoms that some patients described after having Covid-19 are real, and we believe they are real. What we are saying is that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in Covid-19 than it is with other respiratory viruses, and that to use this term ‘long Covid’ is misleading and I believe harmful.”
So does one - A Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can. And that Jeremy is my final answer.
I think people should be aware of the risks with each infection , but it's being ignored everywhere. People think it's all over.
Parents are being told to send their children to school even if sick because school absences are so high. Has anyone thought that perhaps there are so many absences because children are sick. Also what effect will so many infections have on children's future health.
We have millions of people unable to work through sickness. There needs to be a realisation that Covid is not 'over'.
At the very least we should be demanding better filtration of air, particularly in schools. Parents should not be told to send their children to school when unwell.
It's not right that everyone is being lulled into a false sense of security. A Covid infection still had the potential to do a great deal of damage and it's wrong that people are not being warned of the risks.
People with children know that children get sick, one of the joys of being a parent is that from November to March, at least 1 human in the house will be unwell with a cold etc.
Scarlet fever was the latest on our houses bingo card.
That proves my point, there should be better understanding of how infection is spread and good public health action taken.
So does one - A Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can. And that Jeremy is my final answer.
It isn't a binary decision, there are measures that can be taken that don't restrict normal life, but first there needs to be a recognition that having a Covid infection risks future ill health. Older people may think that risk is worth taking, but condemning children to a life of ill health is not right.
There has been an increase in sudden cardiac arrest in young, previously fit people and we know that having a Covid infection increases the likelihood of heart problems in the months following the infection, that is not in doubt
I know people want to think we are back to 'normal' but we aren't and instead of trying to hide that fact and actually telling people that they should send their children to school is unforgivable.
How many times have people had Covid in the last 4 years and how many times have they had flu in their lifetime, very few I suspect, so comparing the two is not correct.
Long Covid may be no different from other post-viral syndromes such as those experienced after flu, according to new research from Queensland Health.
The lead author of the study, the state’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard, said it was “time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’” because they imply there is something unique about the longer-term symptoms associated with the virus, and in some cases create hypervigilance.
There are different definitions of long Covid but the World Health Organization defines post-Covid or long Covid as occurring in people still experiencing symptoms three months after their initial Covid-19 infection, when those symptoms can’t be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
The study surveyed 5,112 adults who had symptoms of a respiratory illness and underwent PCR testing between May and June 2022. Of those, 2,399 were positive for Covid-19, 995 positive for influenza and 1,718 negative for both.
A year after their PCR test, participants were asked about ongoing symptoms and impairment using a questionnaire delivered by SMS link.
Overall, 16% reported ongoing symptoms a year later, and 3.6% reported moderate-to-severe impairment in their daily activities.
The results of the study, which Gerrard will present next month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, found no evidence that those who had Covid-19 were more likely to have functional limitations a year on compared with those who did not have Covid-19 (3.0% v 4.1%).
The 3% of the study participants who had ongoing impairments after Covid-19 infection was similar to the 3.4% with ongoing impairments after influenza.
The study also looked at specific symptoms in the patients who had moderate to severe impairment, and found in both patients who were Covid positive and negative, the same percentage (94%) reported one or more of the commonly reported symptoms of long Covid: fatigue, post exertional symptom exacerbation, brain fog and changes to taste and smell.
Gerrard said long Covid may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of the high number of people infected with Covid-19 within a short period of time, rather than the severity of long Covid symptoms.
“We believe it is time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’. They wrongly imply there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus. This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hypervigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery.”
In a press conference on Friday, Gerrard said: “I want to make it clear that the symptoms that some patients described after having Covid-19 are real, and we believe they are real. What we are saying is that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in Covid-19 than it is with other respiratory viruses, and that to use this term ‘long Covid’ is misleading and I believe harmful.”
Did you look at the article I posted yesterday, that gave links to 122 different studies on the effects of a Covid infection on the body, what you have quoted is only one study. I've posted the link again for reference:
Long Covid / Post Viral Syndrome. Does it actually matter what we call symptoms being experienced by people after Covid, Influenza or for that matter any virus. “Long Covid” is little understood just as in the same way all post viral illnesses are. They impact people in a variety ways and a variety of severity. It doesn’t diminish the significance for those suffering.
Long Covid / Post Viral Syndrome. Does it actually matter what we call symptoms being experienced by people after Covid, Influenza or for that matter any virus. “Long Covid” is little understood just as in the same way all post viral illnesses are. They impact people in a variety ways and a variety of severity. It doesn’t diminish the significance for those suffering.
The problem with Covid is that it hasn't yet set into a seasonal pattern like flu, and people are catching it multiple times. Each infection increases the likelihood of long term problems.
Until populations are informed that Covid poses risks to their health, this cycle will continue. It's appalling that we are not being informed of the risks by governments, and actually giving the advice that children should go to school if unwell, is unforgivable. I hope that in years to come, the children of today don't look back and say why weren't we told of the risks.
Long Covid may be no different from other post-viral syndromes such as those experienced after flu, according to new research from Queensland Health.
The lead author of the study, the state’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard, said it was “time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’” because they imply there is something unique about the longer-term symptoms associated with the virus, and in some cases create hypervigilance.
There are different definitions of long Covid but the World Health Organization defines post-Covid or long Covid as occurring in people still experiencing symptoms three months after their initial Covid-19 infection, when those symptoms can’t be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
The study surveyed 5,112 adults who had symptoms of a respiratory illness and underwent PCR testing between May and June 2022. Of those, 2,399 were positive for Covid-19, 995 positive for influenza and 1,718 negative for both.
A year after their PCR test, participants were asked about ongoing symptoms and impairment using a questionnaire delivered by SMS link.
Overall, 16% reported ongoing symptoms a year later, and 3.6% reported moderate-to-severe impairment in their daily activities.
The results of the study, which Gerrard will present next month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, found no evidence that those who had Covid-19 were more likely to have functional limitations a year on compared with those who did not have Covid-19 (3.0% v 4.1%).
The 3% of the study participants who had ongoing impairments after Covid-19 infection was similar to the 3.4% with ongoing impairments after influenza.
The study also looked at specific symptoms in the patients who had moderate to severe impairment, and found in both patients who were Covid positive and negative, the same percentage (94%) reported one or more of the commonly reported symptoms of long Covid: fatigue, post exertional symptom exacerbation, brain fog and changes to taste and smell.
Gerrard said long Covid may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of the high number of people infected with Covid-19 within a short period of time, rather than the severity of long Covid symptoms.
“We believe it is time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’. They wrongly imply there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus. This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hypervigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery.”
In a press conference on Friday, Gerrard said: “I want to make it clear that the symptoms that some patients described after having Covid-19 are real, and we believe they are real. What we are saying is that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in Covid-19 than it is with other respiratory viruses, and that to use this term ‘long Covid’ is misleading and I believe harmful.”
Did you look at the article I posted yesterday, that gave links to 122 different studies on the effects of a Covid infection on the body, what you have quoted is only one study. I've posted the link again for reference:
Long Covid may be no different from other post-viral syndromes such as those experienced after flu, according to new research from Queensland Health.
The lead author of the study, the state’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard, said it was “time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’” because they imply there is something unique about the longer-term symptoms associated with the virus, and in some cases create hypervigilance.
There are different definitions of long Covid but the World Health Organization defines post-Covid or long Covid as occurring in people still experiencing symptoms three months after their initial Covid-19 infection, when those symptoms can’t be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
The study surveyed 5,112 adults who had symptoms of a respiratory illness and underwent PCR testing between May and June 2022. Of those, 2,399 were positive for Covid-19, 995 positive for influenza and 1,718 negative for both.
A year after their PCR test, participants were asked about ongoing symptoms and impairment using a questionnaire delivered by SMS link.
Overall, 16% reported ongoing symptoms a year later, and 3.6% reported moderate-to-severe impairment in their daily activities.
The results of the study, which Gerrard will present next month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, found no evidence that those who had Covid-19 were more likely to have functional limitations a year on compared with those who did not have Covid-19 (3.0% v 4.1%).
The 3% of the study participants who had ongoing impairments after Covid-19 infection was similar to the 3.4% with ongoing impairments after influenza.
The study also looked at specific symptoms in the patients who had moderate to severe impairment, and found in both patients who were Covid positive and negative, the same percentage (94%) reported one or more of the commonly reported symptoms of long Covid: fatigue, post exertional symptom exacerbation, brain fog and changes to taste and smell.
Gerrard said long Covid may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of the high number of people infected with Covid-19 within a short period of time, rather than the severity of long Covid symptoms.
“We believe it is time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’. They wrongly imply there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus. This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hypervigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery.”
In a press conference on Friday, Gerrard said: “I want to make it clear that the symptoms that some patients described after having Covid-19 are real, and we believe they are real. What we are saying is that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in Covid-19 than it is with other respiratory viruses, and that to use this term ‘long Covid’ is misleading and I believe harmful.”
Did you look at the article I posted yesterday, that gave links to 122 different studies on the effects of a Covid infection on the body, what you have quoted is only one study. I've posted the link again for reference:
Long Covid / Post Viral Syndrome. Does it actually matter what we call symptoms being experienced by people after Covid, Influenza or for that matter any virus. “Long Covid” is little understood just as in the same way all post viral illnesses are. They impact people in a variety ways and a variety of severity. It doesn’t diminish the significance for those suffering.
The problem with Covid is that it hasn't yet set into a seasonal pattern like flu, and people are catching it multiple times. Each infection increases the likelihood of long term problems.
Until populations are informed that Covid poses risks to their health, this cycle will continue. It's appalling that we are not being informed of the risks by governments, and actually giving the advice that children should go to school if unwell, is unforgivable. I hope that in years to come, the children of today don't look back and say why weren't we told of the risks.
You are of course correct but the reality is that there is now no will and in my opinion real need to persist with restrictions or mitigations. You can be exposed to Covid, influenza or any transmissible disease at any point anywhere. It’s now impossible to not allow Covid to run its course regardless of eventual outcomes for good or bad. Pre Covid we all experienced people at work or on a bus or pub or anywhere that were full of a cold. People don’t care as long as they get on with their lives. We’re completely back to that point. Add Covid to the list of illnesses that you can expect to be exposed to and will at various point contract. We have to live in the real world.
So does one - A Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can. And that Jeremy is my final answer.
It isn't a binary decision, there are measures that can be taken that don't restrict normal life, but first there needs to be a recognition that having a Covid infection risks future ill health. Older people may think that risk is worth taking, but condemning children to a life of ill health is not right.
There has been an increase in sudden cardiac arrest in young, previously fit people and we know that having a Covid infection increases the likelihood of heart problems in the months following the infection, that is not in doubt
I know people want to think we are back to 'normal' but we aren't and instead of trying to hide that fact and actually telling people that they should send their children to school is unforgivable.
How many times have people had Covid in the last 4 years and how many times have they had flu in their lifetime, very few I suspect, so comparing the two is not correct.
Who is telling parents to send sick children to school? I’ve got two kids at primary school, the school regularly send out emails and I’ve seen nothing suggesting that.
We use common sense, if they’ve got a cough or cold but are ok in themselves they go to school.
So does one - A Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can. And that Jeremy is my final answer.
I think people should be aware of the risks with each infection , but it's being ignored everywhere. People think it's all over.
Parents are being told to send their children to school even if sick because school absences are so high. Has anyone thought that perhaps there are so many absences because children are sick. Also what effect will so many infections have on children's future health.
We have millions of people unable to work through sickness. There needs to be a realisation that Covid is not 'over'.
At the very least we should be demanding better filtration of air, particularly in schools. Parents should not be told to send their children to school when unwell.
It's not right that everyone is being lulled into a false sense of security. A Covid infection still had the potential to do a great deal of damage and it's wrong that people are not being warned of the risks.
People with children know that children get sick, one of the joys of being a parent is that from November to March, at least 1 human in the house will be unwell with a cold etc.
Scarlet fever was the latest on our houses bingo card.
That proves my point, there should be better understanding of how infection is spread and good public health action taken.
But it's normal and very much not new or a covid related issue.
Comments
The John Snow Project brings together many studies on the effects of SARS Cov-2 infection.
When I go to King's College Hospital there's hardly anybody wearing a mask now, only in the Haemotology and Liver clinics do you actually see the staff wearing a mask. All very well and good but you've just walked through loads of corridors and sections with people coughing and sneezing including the staff with no thought of protection for anybody and this is a hospital!
Getting your blood taken in phlebotomy is pretty shocking also, loads of people waiting with not a mask in sight...
Why are the hospital allowing this?
Unfortunately, it's seems to be the same everywhere and I doubt we will see any meaningful preventative measures being taken by the NHS again unless a serious infection comes along.
The only good news is that the Spring Covid booster will be available again and if you don't qualify I gather that Pfizer and Novavax vaccines will be offered via Boots and local Pharmacies for a price of course! I think it will be around £40 ish from what I'm reading.
It's a new virus and we don't know what long term damage is taking place but the line from Governments is that Covid is over and people are happy to believe it. We do know that the virus affects the vascular system which reaches every part of the body.
We have thousands of people who are too ill to work and people constantly being sick. The Government is running campaigns to tell people to send their children to school if ill, because they're worried about falling attendances. Perhaps they should question why children are ill so often, could it be the lack of ventilation allowing airborne viruses like Sars Cov-2 to infect everyone.
Vaccines definitely give some protection against Long Covid, but it is worrying that we seem to be going down the route of those able to pay for a vaccine being able to protect themselves, but the less well off having to take their chances against a constantly mutating virus.
I hope that in years to come, the young people of today, don't have to look back and say why did we let a virus ruin their health.
Catching covid isn't quite russian roulette but the growing evidence that repeated infections impacts are broader immune response is not something I'm going to ignore.
If the current dimwitted policy of only funding covid booster and flu jabs for over 65's, is maintained, I'll be paying for jabs this autumn/winter if they become available.
It's the same logic as getting PSA tested or bowel cancer screened (free and encouraged for over 50's) neither test is absolutely definitive - negative tests don't meant you'll never contract, positive tests don't mean you're in trouble but they both mitigate the chances of getting bad bad news too late to act. Covid boosters and flu jabs probably reduce the likelihood of ending up with something life limitingly nasty. And that makes all kinds of sense to me.
Dispiriting to see again this week that the division fomenting hate mongers are back peddling the drivel about "the covid vaccines never prevented transmission ergo they were all a scam". Farage jumping on that shabby bandwagon in the absence of any actual material or policy.
For anybody still triggered by that particularly selective bullshit: vaccines never directly impact transmission cos obviously they can't - only behaviour/interaction can impact transmission - vaccines provide most recipients with a much more potent armoury in fighting the particular infection - just as they have since Jenner's genius leap of imagination 260 odd years ago - transmission can consequently be mitigated by fewer sick people coughing spluttering puking and spreading their germs about while they're infectious and people being infectious for shorter times as they recover more quickly than unvaccinated
The current measles outbreak is working proof that vaccination rates directly impact the baseline infection rate Our current government's choice to ignore that for Covid is bang average cynical shithousery
The importance of Long COVID symptoms impacting many millions around the world is gaining recognition. (120) While symptomatic Long COVID affects 10-30% of those infected, and its widespread impact is great enough to affect macroeconomic conditions, (121) it is only part of the long-term consequences of SARS-COV-2 infections. Varied levels of organ damage from COVID-19 have been shown to occur in over 50% of those infected. Organ damage leads to reduced functional capacity and physiological reserve of organs that is consistent with reduced health, reduced life expectancy, and increased vulnerability to future infections and conditions. It is also manifest in acute events such as heart attacks, strokes, as well as recurrent infections of other kinds. Organ damage is an important substrate for Long COVID symptoms, and the symptoms of Long COVID may be considered the tip of the iceberg of multisystem and organ damage manifestations. What is important to recognize is that even the known severe consequences of Long COVID are only part of the long-term consequences of COVID-19. It is crucial to acknowledge that SARS-CoV-2 poses significant threats that are further exacerbated by reinfections, resulting in a detrimental impact on various aspects of health. As we continue to study these impacts to better address them we must take preventive measures to avoid repeated infections. (122)
Spectrum of COVID-19: From Asymptomatic Organ Damage to Long COVID Syndrome
https://whn.global/scientific/spectrum-of-covid-19-from-asymptomatic-organ-damage-to-long-covid-syndrome/?s=09&fbclid=IwAR3PaZwQDHThxEWSGcMIaiNaRHZD5cV1hU6Dqwj2LlI2DJfgi3RpUuAHGakA Spend the rest of their lives hiding away and or wearing a mask to prevent Covid infections or
B Live their lives to the full and enjoy themselves to the max whilst they can?
I'm B and living life to the full while I can.
And that Jeremy is my final answer.
Parents are being told to send their children to school even if sick because school absences are so high. Has anyone thought that perhaps there are so many absences because children are sick. Also what effect will so many infections have on children's future health.
We have millions of people unable to work through sickness. There needs to be a realisation that Covid is not 'over'.
At the very least we should be demanding better filtration of air, particularly in schools. Parents should not be told to send their children to school when unwell.
It's not right that everyone is being lulled into a false sense of security. A Covid infection still had the potential to do a great deal of damage and it's wrong that people are not being warned of the risks.
I'm not suggesting restrictions as in the early days of the pandemic, but sensible precautions like filtration of air in public places and not going into pubic places if you're not well and certainly not sending children to school if unwell.
Things have changed since pre 2020 and we now living with a virus that has the potential to affect every organ in the body. This should not be hidden from the public.
As the article I posted the link for stated,
the increase in illness among the population will have economic consequences. The number of people in the UK with long term illnesses is already having a detrimental effect on the economy.
Scarlet fever was the latest on our houses bingo card.
Long Covid may be no different from other post-viral syndromes such as those experienced after flu, according to new research from Queensland Health.
The lead author of the study, the state’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard, said it was “time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’” because they imply there is something unique about the longer-term symptoms associated with the virus, and in some cases create hypervigilance.
There are different definitions of long Covid but the World Health Organization defines post-Covid or long Covid as occurring in people still experiencing symptoms three months after their initial Covid-19 infection, when those symptoms can’t be explained by an alternative diagnosis.
The study surveyed 5,112 adults who had symptoms of a respiratory illness and underwent PCR testing between May and June 2022. Of those, 2,399 were positive for Covid-19, 995 positive for influenza and 1,718 negative for both.
A year after their PCR test, participants were asked about ongoing symptoms and impairment using a questionnaire delivered by SMS link.
Overall, 16% reported ongoing symptoms a year later, and 3.6% reported moderate-to-severe impairment in their daily activities.
The results of the study, which Gerrard will present next month at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Barcelona, found no evidence that those who had Covid-19 were more likely to have functional limitations a year on compared with those who did not have Covid-19 (3.0% v 4.1%).
The 3% of the study participants who had ongoing impairments after Covid-19 infection was similar to the 3.4% with ongoing impairments after influenza.
The study also looked at specific symptoms in the patients who had moderate to severe impairment, and found in both patients who were Covid positive and negative, the same percentage (94%) reported one or more of the commonly reported symptoms of long Covid: fatigue, post exertional symptom exacerbation, brain fog and changes to taste and smell.
Gerrard said long Covid may have appeared to be a distinct and severe illness because of the high number of people infected with Covid-19 within a short period of time, rather than the severity of long Covid symptoms.
“We believe it is time to stop using terms like ‘long Covid’. They wrongly imply there is something unique and exceptional about longer-term symptoms associated with this virus. This terminology can cause unnecessary fear, and in some cases, hypervigilance to longer symptoms that can impede recovery.”
In a press conference on Friday, Gerrard said: “I want to make it clear that the symptoms that some patients described after having Covid-19 are real, and we believe they are real. What we are saying is that the incidence of these symptoms is no greater in Covid-19 than it is with other respiratory viruses, and that to use this term ‘long Covid’ is misleading and I believe harmful.”
There has been an increase in sudden cardiac arrest in young, previously fit people and we know that having a Covid infection increases the likelihood of heart problems in the months following the infection, that is not in doubt
I know people want to think we are back to 'normal' but we aren't and instead of trying to hide that fact and actually telling people that they should send their children to school is unforgivable.
How many times have people had Covid in the last 4 years and how many times have they had flu in their lifetime, very few I suspect, so comparing the two is not correct.
https://whn.global/scientific/spectrum-of-covid-19-from-asymptomatic-organ-damage-to-long-covid-syndrome/?s=09&fbclid=IwAR3PaZwQDHThxEWSGcMIaiNaRHZD5cV1hU6Dqwj2LlI2DJfgi3RpUuAHGak
Until populations are informed that Covid poses risks to their health, this cycle will continue. It's appalling that we are not being informed of the risks by governments, and actually giving the advice that children should go to school if unwell, is unforgivable. I hope that in years to come, the children of today don't look back and say why weren't we told of the risks.
We use common sense, if they’ve got a cough or cold but are ok in themselves they go to school.