-------------------------------------------
"This week, the CDC removed key data from its website including Emergency Department visits for COVID broken down by age and by state. By replacing its full dashboard with a pared-down version showing fewer metrics, it appears that the CDC is trying to make widespread transmission appear less concerning. But, we are at the peak of a COVID wave now and transmission is HIGH, no matter how the new CDC tries to spin the data.
"JP Weiland: The CDC quietly neutered the best Covid data on the planet yesterday. ED data visualization has been stripped of age stratification, and state-by-state trends. ED data has been far better for state by state trends than WW. Poof.
"JP Weiland estimates that there are about 600,000 new COVID infections per day in the US and that every 1 in 55 is currently infected. Mike Hoerger’s modeling is higher and he estimates 1,000,000 new COVID cases per day in the US with 1 in 49 people currently infected. Hoerger estimates that every 1 in 21 people in California is infected now. With such high levels of COVID in California now, Mike estimates that in a group of 6 people, there is a 25.6% chance that someone is currently infectious. It is definitely time to mask up, test, and take precautions.
From: https://x.com/michael_hoerger/status/1966732128642629990
"Test positivity and Emergency Department visits for COVID both peaked around September 1 according to JP Weiland, and he expects wastewater levels for SARS-CoV-2 will peak soon as well. Michael Hoerger believes that we will peak very soon at about 1.3 million new COVID infections daily in the United States.
"Wastewater SARS-CoV-2 is HIGH to VERY HIGH in the United States now per the CDC:
From: https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-national-data.html
"This agrees with HIGH levels of WastewaterSCAN data on SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.
From: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/
"Coeur d’Alene, ID has astronomical levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at about 15,000 PMMoV. The next highest COVID levels in wastewater are W. Boise 1963 PMMoV, Tallahassee FL 1666 PMMoV, Lewiston ME 1686 PMMoV, Harrisburg PA 1335 PMMoV, and W. New Orleans 1133 PMMoV.
"XFG continues to be the main variant causing COVID infection around the world now. The latest updated vaccines should cover this variant.
"A group from the NIH used advanced nanoscale imaging to show that clusters of heparan sulfate on cell surfaces serve as docking platforms for SARS-CoV-2, facilitating viral attachment and entry, even before interaction with ACE2 receptors. The findings suggest targeting these heparan sulfate clusters could offer a novel strategy to block infection early.
"The Durham County Department of Health shared some nice graphics depicting COVID myths and truths here.
"According to a University of Utah study of 154,565 children aged 8 to 17 years in 2021, kids who had a COVID infection had a 40% to 59% higher risk for new-onset depression or anxiety, which correlated with the severity of their COVID infection.
"By scanning electronic medical notes from 10,618 children with artificial intelligence (AI), researchers from the RECOVER consortium uncovered hidden patterns of Long COVID symptoms in children that had not been captured by diagnostic billing codes.
"Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams wrote an op-ed on why he is planning to get the updated COVID vaccine this season: to protect himself, his community, and help model trust in public health. Vaccination remains a key tool to reduce severe disease and hospitalizations, risk of Long COVID, and COVID spread to others. Plus, most American adults have risk factors for severe COVID whether they realize it or not, he said.
"Pfizer reported that a Phase III study shows that its new 2025-2026 (LP.8.1) COVID vaccine increased neutralizing antibodies at least four-fold in adults age 65+ and those 18 to 64 with underlying health risks, and was safe.
"Jon Douglas wrote an excellent article on why we need combination treatments (monoclonal antibodies, antivirals, JAK inhibitors, gut therapies, etc) to treat Long COVID. Long COVID is a complex disease with multiple causes. Treatments should be tailored to the patient’s LC phenotype and should probably include a cocktail of drugs, as targeting the virus from different angles has been successful with other infections like HIV.
"The NIH RECOVER program announced that it will create new Long COVID trials on drugs like GLP-1 receptor agonists, low-dose naltrexone, baricitinib, and nerve block therapies after patient advocates asked for more medication-based treatments instead of rehabilitation and behavioral interventions.
"German researchers used advanced MRI scans and AI on 120 patients (89 with Long COVID and 38 recovered controls) and found consistent microstructural changes in white matter across multiple brain regions in Long COVID. These changes correlated with fatigue, memory issues, and cognitive dysfunction, suggesting a potential imaging biomarker for Long COVID.
From: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-18962-3
"Researchers from Emory reviewed neurocognitive sequelae in Long COVID stating that “Long COVID remains a prevalent and debilitating chronic condition, affecting up to 400 million people worldwide with limited evidence-based clinical guidance… Over 75 % of Long COVID patients experience substantial impact on their health and quality of life, resulting in up to 20% experiencing unemployment in some countries.” In addition, “40% of Long COVID patients who deny cognitive complaints have been found to have cognitive impairment on screening exams, underscoring the underestimated burden of cognitive sequelae in this population.”
"To improve detection and guide referrals to specialized care, the Emory group recommends making a simple, efficient tool to screen for cognitive problems in Long COVID such as a modified Everyday Cognition Scale. This tool could be used in primary care, requiring minimal training, while avoiding overtaxing patients. On a personal note, when I was working with the Stanford Long Covid REACH (Research and Education to Advance Community Health) project, doctors from the community and from federally funded health centers told us that they were looking for exactly that- a screening tool that patients could quickly fill out to help identify Long COVID and its sequelae.
"In women with neuropsychiatric (NP) Long COVID with cognitive and mood changes, Yale researchers found a unique genetic fingerprint in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) related to cellular oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species, and P53 response, that was not found in the blood. NP-Long COVID patients were also found to have dysregulated pathways related to androgen response, MTORC1 signaling, and lipid metabolism in both the CSF and in blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
"University of Michigan, Yale, and others conducted a meta-analysis of 442 studies (429 meta-analysed) covering confirmed COVID cases, with follow-ups of at least two months. They estimated that worldwide, about 36% of people who had COVID develop Long COVID. Most common Long COVID subtypes were respiratory or fatigue, psychological, and neurological. The strongest risk factors for Long COVID included being unvaccinated, having pre-existing comorbidities, and being female.
"Reviewing 39 studies worldwide, researchers found consistent evidence that Long COVID patients develop diverse autoantibodies against immune and tissue targets. The patterns mirror other post-viral syndromes and suggest autoimmunity may drive some persistent symptoms. Antinuclear antibodies, autoantibodies targeting G protein-coupled receptors, and chemokine autoantibodies were particularly common in some Long COVID patients.
"Using samples from over 500 US patients in the NIH IMPACC cohort, researchers identified a “multi-omics recovery factor” that predicted which hospitalized COVID patients would develop Long COVID. Signatures of persistent inflammation, anemia, and stress erythropoiesis were linked to poor recovery, offering biomarkers and possible treatment targets.
"As of September 9, 2025, there have been a total of 1,454 confirmed measles cases reported in the United States, with 12% of cases hospitalized (180 of 1454), and 3 confirmed deaths from measles.
"A school-aged child in Los Angeles County has died from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a fatal brain disorder caused by measles. The child was too young to be vaccinated at the time of measles infection and SSPE appeared years later, leading to progressive neurological decline. Health officials stressed the case underscores the importance of widespread vaccination to protect vulnerable infants and others from measles.
"Congress is not backing down on supporting mRNA vaccine technology. After RFK Jr. cut $500M in grants, the House Appropriations Committee just moved to fund $1.1B for BARDA which would include money for mRNA vaccine research. While the funding is not guaranteed because the appropriations process is ongoing and the administration may resist, it shows strong bipartisan interest in continuing mRNA research despite Kennedy’s opposition.
"RFK Jr is expected to try to link acetaminophen (Tylenol) used during pregnancy to autism, but a large study of almost 2.5 million children in Sweden shows that "Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analyses."
"Dr. Oz plans to make Medicare patients in six states require prior authorization before medical procedures or medications deemed necessary by their doctors. In addition, the pilot program may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to decide what to cover. Critics argue that this is a disaster waiting to happen
"This week, I read an interesting blog post from Dr. Ryan McCormick entitled The Great Longevity Filters. In it, he talks about human longevity and also the universe. He brought up the CDC’s April 1999 post about “Ten Great Public Health Achievements” for the United States from 1900-1999. It is sad to see how many of these great achievements are now being threatened.
From: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056796.htm
"Dr. Eric Topol wrote a recent Bluesky post about how the “gut microbiome and its metabolites have much more impact than anticipated” and how it affects our response to amphetamines, motivation for exercise and even sugar cravings. The gut microbiome's role in health and disease is fascinating to me and I have learned a lot recently about the gut-brain axis and how the gut microbiome influences the brain in Long COVID, ME/CFS, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, ALS, Autism, Depression, and HPA-axis rhythmicity. This is part of the reason why I co-founded VivaBiome.
"In 2024, we found out that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is implicated in Multiple Sclerosis. A new study shows that autoimmunity in Sjogren’s disease is related to Vientovirus. Researchers found that the capsid protein of vientovirus can mimic human autoantigens, triggering immune cross-reactivity that contributes to Sjögren’s disease. This discovery provides a direct viral link to autoimmunity, offering new insights into mechanisms driving chronic inflammatory conditions.
"A man who received a genetically engineered pig kidney has survived six months with good graft function, marking the longest known survival after xenotransplantation. The report highlights progress in overcoming immune rejection and infectious risks, bringing pig-to-human organ transplants closer to clinical reality.
Tim Andrews leaving hospital in January after he received a genetically modified pig kidney.Credit: Kate Flock/Massachusetts General Hospital
"African giant pouched rats have an excellent sense of smell and can be trained to sniff out landmines and infections like tuberculosis. Carolina, an African giant pouched rat trained by APOPO in Tanzania, spent seven years detecting tuberculosis cases that clinics had missed. She identified over 3,000 additional TB infections, helping to prevent tens of thousands more. A public health rat-hero, Carolina has now retired.
From: APOPO’s Facebook
"Have a great week,
"Ruth Ann Crystal MD"
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment