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"The summer COVID wave has descended and we are now in a lull of COVID transmission. Of course, winter is coming and with that, the winter respiratory season should be kicking off soon. RSV is just starting to rise in the United States. Rhinovirus which causes the common cold is moderately high now. The CDC respiratory virus surveillance dashboards have not been updated in 5+ weeks due to the government shutdown. The CDC also removed important data including Emergency Department visits for COVID broken down by age prior to the shutdown.
From: https://data.wastewaterscan.org/
"Caitlin Rivers is posting national and state trends for respiratory illness on her blog that her team is compiling using state health department information. Emergency Department visits for RSV are increasing in multiple regions for children under the age of 5. Test positivity for flu and RSV are very low, but are just starting to rise in California per Caitlin Rivers.
"Other countries are experiencing an early Flu season and so we probably will too. It is important to get your flu vaccine now if you haven’t gotten it already. In England, hospitalizations for Flu are rapidly rising, as hospital admissions for COVID continue to fall. Flu season has started early across the United Kingdom. Flu cases have surged across Spain with the sharpest rise seen in children 1 to 4 years of age. In the Southern Hemisphere, Mike Honey reports that for Australia, Influenza “reported cases have been holding at a stubbornly high plateau. This [Influenza] wave has run much longer than in previous years.”
"The CDC data blackout is in its 5th week. According to JP Weiland, “BIOFIRE and WWScan both show the lowest readings since Pirola (BA.2.86*) swept two years ago. We’re in a good [COVID] lull right now.” Mike Hoerger reports that every 1 in 162 people is infected with COVID now, which works out to about 300,000 new COVID cases per day in America. COVID levels in wastewater in Europe is decreasing in most countries and levels in UK countries are low.
"The US CDC COVID variant tracker last reported months ago on 8/28/25. However, WastewaterSCAN shows that XFG makes up 98% of variants seen in wastewater. Raj Rajnarayanan reports that globally, XFG lineages continue to make up the majority of COVID cases now. The updated COVID vaccines should work against XFG. Vaccines help to protect against infection for about 2 months, but importantly, they protect against severe COVID infection and hospitalizations for 6 months.
"The BA.3.2 COVID variant is being followed closely as it has spread to 4 continents. This week, COVID cases of BA.3.2 were reported in Slovenia (BA.3.2.2), the Netherlands (BA.3.2.1), and Scotland (BA.3.2.2). Ryan Hisner notes that the BA.3.2.2 variant in Scotland has a notable new mutation called N:N126K.
"The latest COVID mRNA vaccines are against LP.8.1 which is a descendant of JN.1 and the Novavax vaccine is directed against JN.1. Since BA.3 is on a different branch, if it takes off, we would most likely need a new updated vaccine against that branch.
"As mentioned last week, GISAID is still not updating SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences for COVID variants.
From: 11/6/25 https://x.com/LongDesertTrain/status/1986569141914939514
"In a study of almost 98% of all children and teens under age 18 in England (>13 million EHR records), COVID infection was found to be significantly more dangerous to children’s hearts than COVID vaccination. While both infection and vaccination were associated with very low absolute risks of heart conditions like myocarditis, pericarditis, blood clots and inflammatory events, the risk after COVID infection was substantially higher and longer-lasting than after vaccination.
"Figure 3: Estimated AER (per 100 000) of cardiovascular and inflammatory outcomes after 6 months of COVID-19 diagnosis or vaccination
From: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(25)00247-0/fulltext#fig3
"Teens need access to COVID vaccinations to help prevent Long COVID and acute COVID infection. Researchers analyzed data from adolescents aged 12-17 years (724 vaccinated vs. 507 unvaccinated) enrolled via the RECOVER‑Pediatrics initiative to assess whether vaccination reduced the risk of Long COVID after infection. They found that vaccination in the 6 months before first documented SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with a 36% lower risk of developing Long COVID in the adolescent age group. This is an important reason for teens to have access to COVID vaccines.
"New research from the University of Alberta involving 78 patients with Long COVID and ME/CFS versus a control group of 62 individuals who had completely recovered after COVID infection showed marked sex-specific differences in immune, hormonal, and gene-expression profiles. Women with Long COVID showed greater immune activation (e.g., elevated neutrophils/monocytes, reduced regulatory T cells), signs of gut barrier dysfunction, disrupted erythropoiesis (leading to fatigue), neuroinflammatory signatures and hormone imbalances (lower testosterone). There was an inverse correlation between testosterone levels and clinical symptom scores in women with Long COVID. Men with Long COVID exhibited low estradiol and distinct interferon/mitochondrial stress gene signatures.
"Men with Long COVID and ME/CFS were found to have increased Gal-9, Artemin, and Reelin in their blood compared to controls. Women with Long COVID and ME/CFS also had increased Gal-9, Artemin, and Reelin, but in addition had high levels of I-FABP, and LPS-BP in their blood.
"These findings suggest that Long COVID with ME/CFS may require different diagnostic markers and therapeutic approaches for women and men.
From:https://www.cell.com/cms/10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102449/asset/e7c02170-69ff-45fc-8d3c-b64c42da6cbb/main.assets/fx1_lrg.jpg
"Researchers at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) studied the heart rate and blood pressure responses of 26 patients with Long COVID, finding that most experienced symptoms during tilt table testing and had a higher heart rate, even if their results did not fit the classic criteria for POTS. The way Long COVID affects the autonomic nervous system is complex and may require new diagnostic approaches to validate patients’ symptoms.
"Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by joint hypermobility, chronic pain, and soft or mildly stretchy skin due to abnormalities in collagen function. It often causes joint instability, fatigue, and autonomic symptoms like dizziness, but unlike other EDS types, it currently lacks an identified genetic marker.
"Using U.S. electronic health-record data from over 23 million patients, researchers identified nearly 30,000 individuals with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) and found that although rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection were similar to matched controls, those with hEDS had significantly higher odds of developing Long COVID, especially if they also had autonomic dysfunction, mast-cell activation, or chronic fatigue. In addition, many hEDS diagnoses occurred after a COVID infection (or Long COVID presentation), suggesting that viral infection may unmask previously undiagnosed connective-tissue dysfunction in genetically predisposed individuals.
"There were 5 new avian flu outbreaks noted in ducks and turkeys in three states last week. “In Michigan, 113,000 birds were affected in an outbreak on a turkey farm in Ottawa County, the state’s third detection in commercial turkeys in less than a week.”
"As of November 4, 2025, a total of 1,681 confirmed measles cases were reported in the United States, with 12% of cases hospitalized (203 of 1681), and 3 confirmed deaths from measles. “The measles outbreak along the Utah-Arizona border continues to grow and is now at 158 cases.”
"A comprehensive new review shows that in addition to treating diabetes and obesity, GLP-1 RA medications can significantly reduce inflammation in the heart, kidney, liver and joints via direct immune modulating and neuroimmune pathways. The authors highlight both preclinical and clinical evidence showing that a substantial portion of the anti-inflammatory effect is independent of metabolic changes.
"Figure 1 Anti-inflammatory actions of GLP-1 medicines across organs.
From: https://www.jci.org/articles/view/194751
"A longitudinal cohort study in Korea followed 1,441 adults over 8 years using in-home sleep studies and brain MRIs to assess whether severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was linked to incident cerebral microbleeds (CMBs). They found that those with moderate-to-severe OSA had more than two-fold higher risk (RR 2.14) of developing new microbleeds compared with those without OSA, even after adjusting for APOE ε4 status and vascular risk factors. “No significantly increased risks were observed at 4 year follow up or in the mild OSA group at any time.”
"Reuters reports that internal documents from Meta (Facebook, Instagram) show that the company projected that 10% of its 2024 revenue (about US $16 billion) came from advertising tied to known scams and banned goods. The company estimated that it posted around 15 billion high-risk scam ads per day. Documents reveal Meta charged higher rates (“penalty bids”) to advertisers flagged as likely scam operators.
"The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025 finalists have been chosen and winners will be announced on December 9, 2025. You can see all of the finalist photos here.
From: Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2025
"Have a good week,
"Ruth Ann Crystal MD"
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