- Multiple infectious “hits” from viruses and bacteria may increase long-term neuroinflammatory damage, like fatigue and cognitive dysfunction, in people with Long Covid, a new study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found. Authors also found that brain exposure to SARS-CoV-2 may make people more vulnerable to different forms of autonomic dysfunction (or dysautonomia), including increased heart rate.*
- A new modeling study in JAMA Health Forum found that Covid-19 precautions, like mask mandates and vaccine requirements, could have saved as many as 250,000 lives in the United States by reducing excess deaths, or deaths that occur above what researchers predict for a typical time period. “If all states had imposed restrictions similar to those used in the 10 most restrictive states, excess deaths would have been an estimated 10% to 21% lower than the 1.18 million that actually occurred during the 2-year analysis period,” the study’s author wrote.
- The National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER initiative has announced a new program, called “RECOVER-Treating Long Covid (RECOVER-TLC).” This program will enable a new phase of clinical trials, building on the existing network of RECOVER researchers and led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Prior RECOVER trials have garnered extensive criticism from the Long Covid research and patient communities for failing to test promising treatment options; the new program will “apply lessons learned” from these initial trials, NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli said in a statement on Twitter/X last week.
*Editor’s note: The PolyBio Research Foundation, which supported this study, like The Sick Times, has received support from the Balvi and Kanro funds. Our newsroom operates independently of financial supporters.
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