Some emerging evidence suggests that microclades may be a factor in prolonged Covid- A study In August 2023, they even suggested that they could contribute to the cognitive problems experienced by many long-term Covid patients – and researchers now worry that we may be headed to see a further increase in chronic cases. However, it can be difficult to distinguish whether this is the result of new variation or waning population immunity.
“Studies from the March-Summer 2020 period show that in any case the risk of prolonged Covid, was about 10%,” says Danny Altman, professor of immunology at Imperial College London. “Now we have more infections, and the risk of long-term Covid seems to have decreased, not because of mild variation, but because of the degree of protection from vaccine doses. A paper in BMJ In a national cohort in Sweden, protection increased with each additional dose.”
All of this points to the importance of keeping people of all ages up to date with vaccine boosters, but while politicians have long been eager to move on from Covid, Strain says it's vital to monitor how different variants continue to affect us.
“Symptoms seem to shift from one variant to another,” he says. “The initial symptom for us is headache, for others it's more gastrointestinal. We'll all go back to normal, but the truth is, Covid isn't going anywhere.”
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What happened to “Covid Call”?
In the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports began to emerge of an unusual and confusing symptom of the disease — patients developing painful or excruciatingly itchy sores on their feet and hands. These are Swelling and reddening of the skin, similar to a chilblain Commonly known as “Covid Call”.
Doctors and scientists were confused – how did the respiratory virus cause such a strange symptom in the extremities of the body?
Tests of samples taken from people with Covid-19 toenails have failed to detect the virus that causes Covid-19, SARS-CoV-2, in the chilblains, suggesting the virus is not directly responsible. Instead, a number of hypotheses have been advanced that could be a consequence Interferon is an overreaction by a part of the immune system that produces a protein called IFN-1It helps the immune system target cells infected by viruses.
Others have suggested it may not be specific to Covid-19 Rather, it is a response to people who are exposed to thrills anyway.
Another theory is that lockdown rules mean more people Not wearing enough shoes around their homes and sitting still for too long.
Interestingly, as the virus evolves and lockdowns are lifted, these skin problems also become apparent. A study by scientists at King's College London in the UK, which examined the symptoms of more than 348,000 people who recorded their Covid symptoms through a mobile app, revealed the presence of a Covid call and associated skin complaints. In recent waves of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it has declined.
They are reported by 11% of people during a wave caused by an omicron variation, compared to 17% during a delta variation wave, and symptoms also last longer.
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