awwww, man…
Congenital Long Covid. Fuckin’ A, man, can we not catch a break? Please?
An update to the story a month ago…
References some bad news from a May 26 preprint:
Cell culture experiments showed that BA.2.12.1 and BA.4/5 replicate more efficiently in human alveolar epithelial cells than BA.2, and particularly, BA.4/5 is more fusogenic than BA.2. Furthermore, infection experiments using hamsters indicated that BA.4/5 is more pathogenic than BA.2.
I hadn’t really followed the “Russian flu” thread that pops up in the news…
The result was that by the middle 1890s the image of a nation of convalescents, too debilitated to work or return to daily routines and plagued by mysterious neurological symptoms, had become central to the period’s medical and cultural iconography.
There was an article in May 2020 pointing to “Long COVID” already as a possibility:
Damn… hindsight, eh?
Additionally, another recent preprint study by researchers at Columbia University reported that BA.4 and BA.5 are better able to thwart immune responses in vaccinated and boosted people than BA.2 and BA.2.12.1. Specifically, BA.2.12.1 was 1.8-fold more resistant to the antibodies from vaccinated and boosted people than BA.2. But, BA.4 and BA.5 were collectively 4.2-fold more resistant. Though vaccines and boosters continue to provide strong protection against severe disease and death, the authors concluded that the rise of BA.4 and BA.5 “is likely to lead to more breakthrough infections in the coming months.”
That’s not good.
I had to stop myself from checking the news on BA.5 effects in Portugal.
We have it coming.
Ugh… we re-elected the Progressive Conservative government in Ontario 
this month as well… “why?!” is a complicated question apparently slightly dissociated from what some might call “reality”, but there it is.
Perhaps 
it’s my being a 6’8" skinhead with a practiced dead-eyed glare, but nobody seems to object to my continuing to wear a mask. 
Glad to see people pushing back on this:
Yeah, UVA just dropped the testing prior to procedures requirement. I don’t even know what to say anymore.
Had imaging done earlier today, and although the facility required masks they did not ask a single COVID screening question. So, a place where many more patients are treated every day felt less secure than my doctor’s office.
Just went for my semiannual flex sig and did not have test but they still require masks. They also asked the usual questions. I always laugh when they ask if i have had any possible covid exposures. “Only every day.”
I dunno whatcha talkin bout, Doc. Say what?
Anyway, on topic: I just yesterday had people complaining about mask requirements in a clinic.
Said people are in said clinic because of long-term effects of their COVID-19. They also complained about weekly (once a week!) testing requirements, nasally only, POC lateral flow only.
I kept my temper, and my mouth shut, except that I said that masks still make sense, and FFP2 do add a non-neglectable amount of security for the wearer compared to standard masks. No argument ensued, as I hoped. But I am still shocked.
Ok, not that shocked.
One of them seriously started a sentence with “Since the pandemic is over now”, and this basically sums up everything.
Flex sig = flexible sigmoidoscopy = pooper camera.
I had colorectal cancer 4 years ago and have to go for a flexible sigmoidoscopy every 6 months to watch for local recurrence. Sounds worse than it is, but still, looking forward to the 5 year mark when I can ease back on the close follow-up.
Pooper Snooper
Surprise…
Not
About that “Greatest Country on Earth” BS…
We are the richest country in the world. Why can we not afford these vaccines?
In March, the administration requested $22.5 billion in pandemic funds to cover vaccines, domestic testing, treatments, and other resources. But Republican lawmakers balked at the bill. Though a bipartisan group of senators later agreed on a significantly slimmed down $10 billion deal, even that stalled out when Republicans tried to tie it to an immigration policy.
Because Republicans still view it as a Democrat killer and a political issue, rather than a survival issue. And because they are assholes.
