Wednesday, September 28, 2022

It Can Be Devastating

We're not done with COVID. And it's not done with us. Andrew Nikifork writes:

This question demands to be top of mind: What can COVID do to our brains?

Add to a growing stack of relevant research a controversial report published last week by Nature Medicine.

It suggests that seven out of 100 COVID cases could lead to serious brain problems that may last a lifetime.

The authors, led by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, used U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical records to track the brain health of 154,000 people who had tested positive for COVID.

Their conclusion, as summed up in a press release: “Those who have been infected with the virus are at increased risk of developing a range of neurological conditions in the first year after the infection.”

The lingering effects can be severe:

They include strokes. Cognitive and memory problems. Migraine headaches. Epileptic seizures. Involuntary muscle contractions. Hearing and vision abnormalities. Balance and co-ordination difficulties. Depression and anxiety. And symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease.

“We’re seeing brain problems in previously healthy individuals and those who have had mild infections,” said lead researcher Al-Aly.

“It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, female or male, or what your race is. It doesn’t matter if you smoked or not, or if you had other unhealthy habits or conditions.”

Dr. Wes Ely, an ICU doctor and expert in long COVID at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, called the results “shattering” and “insane” in a TikTok video.

The study has its critics. But, nonetheless, it raises several red flags:

Ely noted: “This VA Study is very large and even though it is 70 per cent white males who were unvaccinated, we already have data showing that vaccinated patients are still at risk for neurological and cardiological complications months after acute and mild COVID.”

Other research shows, for example, that even mild COVID infections can result in significant shrinkage of grey matter as well as lasting damage to neurons essential for sensory and motor function.

The virus can also penetrate the blood-brain barrier and ignite central nervous system inflammation. The blood-brain barrier is a sort of immunological roadblock that prevents infections in the blood from entering the brain.

A Danish study also found that risk of ischemic stroke, which blocks blood flow to the brain, was more frequent in COVID-positive patients than in those with respiratory infections.

“There have been several studies by other researchers that have shown, in mice and humans, that SARS-CoV-2 can attack the lining of the blood vessels and then trigger a stroke or seizure,” Al-Aly said in the news release. “It helps explain how someone with no risk factors could suddenly have a stroke.”

So don't throw away that mask. And don't listen to the morons who tell you that the mask is an infringement on your personal freedom.

Image: healio.com

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Getting rid of indoor mask mandates was one of the most stupid and irresponsible policy decisions governments have made. Cheap surgical masks protect others more than the wearer. To be useful most everyone has to be wearing them. Since most people aren't wearing them, an N95 is the best option for personal protection.

Cap

Owen Gray said...

Masks provide simple and cheap protection, Cap. Those who refuse to recognize that fact are fools.

Anonymous said...

A very worthwhile reminder for all of us, Owen. Here's another reminder: there is some danger with such necessary warnings as yours. Taken to extreme, they can become debilitating for people who become so preoccupied with them that it greatly reduces their enjoyment of life and subsequent health. We do live in what seems a precarious time. War. Climate change. Cost of living. Inadequate medical help. Now this. Taken together, it's enough to drive ourselves crazy isn't it? As with any serious challenge, we need to maintain our balance.

CD

Owen Gray said...

When we're buffeted by challenges from all around, CD, it's easy to lose one's sense of balance.

the salamander said...

We have Polls now, Owen..
& they tell us what we believe ..
It’s uncanny.. the degree of accuracy..

🦎

Owen Gray said...

What's weird, sal, isn't the numbers. It's what we believe.

e.a.f. said...

iT JUST cracks me up when people say masks are an infringement of our rights and freedoms. O.K. they said that about seat belts also. they said it about no smoking areas when they started. All were considered an infringement of our rights and freedoms. Perhaps it is, but really if we keep going on our rights and freedoms, I'd like the right to drive 100 mph when ever I like and hit the highway at 140 mph. NO you say, its against the law. but my rights and freedoms.,.....

In a civilized society there are trade offs. One of them are rules and regulations to keep society functioning. Its why we have speed limits, age restrictions on driving and drinking, guns, all sorts of rules. Why can't I mug someone when I want their money? For a thief that may be their living and to ban their rights to steal is a restriction of their rights and freedoms.

COVID shots, no one is going to force you to get one, there were just rules that if you wanted to do specific things or go specifc places you needed those shot and mask. If you didn't want them, fine, you just don't go a whole lot of places.

The effects of COVID were immediate, millions dying of it. The fact we now have long covid, is no surprise. For those of us old enough, before polio vaccines were created, people who had polio died or spent their lives disabled and in iron lungs.
,
Still am wearing a mask when I'm in public buildings, etc. Havent' changed any of my protocols since covid started--still using hand sanitizer, frequent washing of hands, etc.

Was 5 when I understood what polio was and what it could do to you. Then as an adult we were visited by AIDS. Knew people who died of it. Knew about the Spanish flu--stopped at a small cemetry one road trip, it was full of babies, young men, etc. Then realized the dates on the crosses meant they died during the Spanish flu

When the news reported coivd was in China it was understandable it would spread through out the world. Once it was reported what protections we could use, got on with the agenda, several weeks before it come to our town. I'm keeping up with those protocols. With long covid, its not so much that you die, but its if you don't' die. Having long covid will make a lot of people wish they had died.

Wearing a mask is not a big deal. If that is the hill some people want to die on, figuratively and literally, then go for it, but don't take us with you. If some are so "interested" in a cAUSE, HOW about child poverty.

Owen Gray said...

There are all kinds of things that require effort to fix, e.a.f. Wearing a mask doesn't take much effort at all.

Genrik Yagoda said...

We definitely want all of you to keep boosting and masking for good. Ignore any all that dis-info, probably Russian, about adverse effects and waining efficacy.

Just enjoy your safety Kult, and may Kommunism rule over you with great authority.

'Cuz $cienti$m.






Derek H. Burney said...

As the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic recede, there are some candid admissions by public health officials that their performance failed the test. Widespread skepticism about the efficacy of vaccines, mandates, lockdowns and masks has sapped public trust in the credibility of public health officials. Once lost, public trust is hard to regain.

In the United States, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged that it “did not reliably meet expectations” — a profound understatement. Although CDC Director Rochelle Walensky stated that the goal was “accountability, collaboration, communications and timeliness,” her review acknowledged failure on each aspect.

There has been no accountability for the CDC’s slow and confused response, nor for the mixed, often contradictory, messaging on masks, mandates, social distancing and testing. Nor was there any analysis of the damage caused by haphazard CDC guidelines, school closures and lockdowns. UNESCO estimates that over 1.5 billion students were impacted by school closures. The consequences were most pronounced for young and disadvantaged students.

Because medical treatments and screenings were delayed due to pandemic guidelines, there were also sharp increases in rates of depression, anxiety, obesity and the fatal abuse from alcohol and drugs.

The CDC’s review acknowledged that its guidelines were “confusing and overwhelming.” Walensky asserted that the failures were attributable to inadequate staffing and funding, but not a word about the lack of diligent leadership.

Canadian public health officials made similar mistakes — unsound messaging not grounded in science, and with responsibility often blurred between federal and provincial authorities.

To quell fear, officials in both countries made some decisions that seemed more political than scientific. They might have acknowledged upfront that they were operating in unknown territory where uncertainty and change were inevitably part of the solution.

A higher priority should have been given to the elderly who were, by far, the most vulnerable.

Derek H. Burney said...

Cont'd...

"Once a hub for vaccine production, Canada was late getting vaccines and attempts to produce a Canadian vaccine for COVID proved disastrous. Initial attempts were thwarted by an embarrassingly failed joint venture with China. And while the prime minister promised vaccine production at a National Research Council site in Montreal by November 2020, we are still waiting. Ultimately, we relied on imports. Why was no effort made to collaborate with the U.S. on Operation Warp Speed?

There is much to learn from the relative success of Hungary, Singapore, Israel, Sweden and Taiwan, whose people believed that their government’s handling of the pandemic highlighted their country’s political strengths. Those in most other countries believed that their government’s COVID management revealed political inadequacies.

The most indefensible example of overreach in Canada came, not from public health officials, but from the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to quash protests from the trucker convoy against a vaccine mandate that was crippling their incomes. The evidence underpinning this move was flawed. Banks meekly succumbed to pressure to block funds for protesters. Fundamental civil rights were abused, and yet, to date, no one has been held accountable for this stain on Canada’s democratic values.

Lockdowns and mask mandates were the most radical experiments in the history of public health. Experts like Dr. Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci think they failed because they did not go far enough. The Wall Street Journal concluded that Fauci’s “legacy will be that millions of Americans will never trust government health experts in the same way again.”

Actual results belie the advocates of more stringent measures. U.S. states with the most restrictive policies fared no better on average than those with a less restrictive approach.

Florida and Sweden were severely criticized for keeping schools and businesses open without mask mandates, yet their policies have largely been vindicated. Florida’s excess mortality rate is lower than that of California, which endured one of the nation’s strictest lockdowns. A Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of global studies concluded that lockdowns “had little to no effect on COVID mortality.”

Donald Henderson, an American epidemiologist who directed the successful international effort to eradicate smallpox, once stated that, “Experience has shown that communities faced with epidemics or other adverse events respond best and with the least anxiety when the normal social functioning of the community is least disrupted.” A staggering expression of common sense, which was ignored by COVID authorities.

It is also patently obvious that the vaccines and vaccine mandates were not a universal panacea preventing the spread of COVID-19, as had been hoped. They may well have tempered some effects from the virus. But U.S. President Joe Biden, who’s fully vaccinated and doubly boosted, was afflicted twice this past summer. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and many others had similar experiences.

Precarious before the pandemic, Canada’s health system is worse today. The fallout from the pandemic should trigger bold political and structural changes on a system that has more in common with that of the former Soviet Union and North Korea than with any industrialized democracy.

It is time for governments, with a degree of humility, to conduct a comprehensive, independent review intended to ensure that we are better prepared for the next pandemic. A shakeout of those deemed most responsible for the botched handling of COVID-19 would be a good start.

Derek H. Burney is a former career diplomat who served as ambassador to the United States from 1989-1993

the salamander said...

.. somewhere along the Mainstream Media road..
Evidence Based Medicine was kidnapped..
🦎

Owen Gray said...

Communism, Genrik? Enjoy the virus.

Owen Gray said...

As one of the elderly, I agree with you, Derek. I also agree that mistakes have been made by our governments. On the other hand, my wife and I received our fifth shots yesterday. We are both grateful for the work both of our governments did to get them to us.

Derek H. Burney said...

Looks like you missed some.

Cont'd...

"Once a hub for vaccine production, Canada was late getting vaccines and attempts to produce a Canadian vaccine for COVID proved disastrous. Initial attempts were thwarted by an embarrassingly failed joint venture with China. And while the prime minister promised vaccine production at a National Research Council site in Montreal by November 2020, we are still waiting. Ultimately, we relied on imports. Why was no effort made to collaborate with the U.S. on Operation Warp Speed?

There is much to learn from the relative success of Hungary, Singapore, Israel, Sweden and Taiwan, whose people believed that their government’s handling of the pandemic highlighted their country’s political strengths. Those in most other countries believed that their government’s COVID management revealed political inadequacies.

The most indefensible example of overreach in Canada came, not from public health officials, but from the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to quash protests from the trucker convoy against a vaccine mandate that was crippling their incomes. The evidence underpinning this move was flawed. Banks meekly succumbed to pressure to block funds for protesters. Fundamental civil rights were abused, and yet, to date, no one has been held accountable for this stain on Canada’s democratic values.

Lockdowns and mask mandates were the most radical experiments in the history of public health. Experts like Dr. Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci think they failed because they did not go far enough. The Wall Street Journal concluded that Fauci’s “legacy will be that millions of Americans will never trust government health experts in the same way again.”

Actual results belie the advocates of more stringent measures. U.S. states with the most restrictive policies fared no better on average than those with a less restrictive approach.

Florida and Sweden were severely criticized for keeping schools and businesses open without mask mandates, yet their policies have largely been vindicated. Florida’s excess mortality rate is lower than that of California, which endured one of the nation’s strictest lockdowns. A Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis of global studies concluded that lockdowns “had little to no effect on COVID mortality.”

Donald Henderson, an American epidemiologist who directed the successful international effort to eradicate smallpox, once stated that, “Experience has shown that communities faced with epidemics or other adverse events respond best and with the least anxiety when the normal social functioning of the community is least disrupted.” A staggering expression of common sense, which was ignored by COVID authorities.

It is also patently obvious that the vaccines and vaccine mandates were not a universal panacea preventing the spread of COVID-19, as had been hoped. They may well have tempered some effects from the virus. But U.S. President Joe Biden, who’s fully vaccinated and doubly boosted, was afflicted twice this past summer. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and many others had similar experiences.

Precarious before the pandemic, Canada’s health system is worse today. The fallout from the pandemic should trigger bold political and structural changes on a system that has more in common with that of the former Soviet Union and North Korea than with any industrialized democracy.

It is time for governments, with a degree of humility, to conduct a comprehensive, independent review intended to ensure that we are better prepared for the next pandemic. A shakeout of those deemed most responsible for the botched handling of COVID-19 would be a good start."

Owen Gray said...

I agree that our healthcare system is presently operating on fumes, Derek. I'm not at all convinced that the invocation of the Emergencies Act was an overreach. Perhaps that's because I was living in Quebec at the time of the October Crisis. Trudeau Sr. was accused of the same thing. I believe he was the right man in the right place at the right time.

When it came to being prepared, particularly for vaccine production, I take your point, Derek. The economic paradigm of the day -- that goods should be produced where they can be manufactured at the lowest price -- is obviously flawed. The sale of Connaught Labs left us vulnerable.

There are some things we have to be prepared to do for ourselves -- even at higher costs.

jrkrideau said...

There are some things we have to be prepared to do for ourselves -- even at higher costs.

I blame the economists.

Owen Gray said...

You're not the first, jrk.

e.a.f. said...

It does make you wonder about manufacturing of drugs and vaccines. We ought to have more of it in our country, as should every country. It means you don't have to rely on supply chains and transportation outside of a country's control.

There is one large company in Canada which made generic drugs. However, its owner and his wife were murdered, (the Shermans). The news is now reporting the company is being bought out by another corporations. The murder has not yet been solved. It is doubtful it ever will. When the news broke, my first thought was, some body or something wasn't happy with the company and its owner.

Just look at the opiod crisis. It was all about the money.

Owen Gray said...

We have lots of things to fix, e.a.f.

Lev Davidovich Bronstein said...

The Shermans were hit for a couple of reasons:

They'd been subpoenaed and just about to testify in a case involving a dinner party they'd hosted for a rising Justin Trudeau, which apparently involved serious violations of campaign laws. After they were professionally taken out and the keystone cops were finished wrongly identifying their deaths as suicides, the federal-campaign-law investigation ended and Justin was able to skate on to bigger things.

Also, via their company Apomex and facilities in India, the Shermans had the capacity to manufacture massive amounts of a very inexpensive anti-viral medicine, namely Hydroxy-chloroquine, known for decades to be effective in preventing and/or treating infection from virii, including corona. Problem was, the "Emergency Use Authorization" which was granted for the use of the untested mRNA vaccines was subject to there being no known alternative. Hence, the very idea of HCQ had to be cancelled from the public narrative.

As 'Rona$ Campaign was being rolled out, the remaining members of the Sherman family tried donating a huge stock-pile of HCQ in the hopes of helping the public in the midst of what they were told was a terrible pandemic; however, anonymous federal agents accepted the gift and only to disappear it...forever...while the media were paid $600million to chirp like crickets.

R.I.P. Bunny and Barry.

Owen Gray said...

Interesting, Lev. The murder seems to have fallen off the radar.