ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:05 am
I'm heading to Dallas for business on Wednesday - it'll be fun to compare mask wearing in Dallas to Belfast!
Pretty much the same, except I had no comments (to my face) on my mask wearing. I didn't see any masking in Dallas, which isn't terribly surprising. Fortunately the weather was pretty nice so I was able to eat mostly outside.
Now I can compare notes again this week when i go back to Dallas on Wednesday!
Growing evidence suggests that symptoms associated with post-COVID-19 condition (also known as long COVID) can affect multiple organs and systems in the human body, but their association with viral persistence is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in diverse tissues at three timepoints following recovery from mild COVID-19, as well as its association with long COVID symptoms.
...
Our findings suggest that residual SARS-CoV-2 can persist in patients who have recovered from mild COVID-19 and that there is a significant association between viral persistence and long COVID symptoms. Further research is needed to verify a mechanistic link and identify potential targets to improve long COVID symptoms.
The Yale School of Public Health released quite a presentation last week on what is currently known about COVID-19, but for some reason it doesn't seem to be easily sharable. I keep waiting for that to happen so I can.
For some reason the Yale stuff is on their Facebook page, but not being shared in a format that's easily disseminated. I did find this this image that someone put together of all the slides; hopefully it's legible.
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 10:41 pm
I have not seen a single mask anywhere in two years.
Do you leave the house? I live in a red state and I still see masks on the regular, including people walking their dog outside by themselves.
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 10:41 pm
It would almost be justice if COVID ended up being the cause of the collapse of humanity.
Covid needs to get in line. Humanity does a lot of weird/bad/evil stuff that can lead to our inevitable collapse.
"The world is suffering more today from the good people who want to mind other men's business than it is from the bad people who are willing to let everybody look after their own individual affairs." - Clarence Darrow
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 10:41 pm
I have not seen a single mask anywhere in two years.
Do you leave the house? I live in a red state and I still see masks on the regular, including people walking their dog outside by themselves.
Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 23, 2024 10:41 pm
It would almost be justice if COVID ended up being the cause of the collapse of humanity.
Covid needs to get in line. Humanity does a lot of weird/bad/evil stuff that can lead to our inevitable collapse.
It's not a line. It's more like a jumping in - they have us surrounded, and it's more of a question of who delivers the final blow. COVID weakening our entire body, compromising our immune systems, putting a huge chunk of the population into a semi-functional state, and leaving us in a brain fog is unlikely to be that final blow - but it's one hell of a set-up for something else.
Not really surprising, the WHO is recommending an update to the vaccine to match the current dominant strain that is circulating. The FDA meets in ~2 weeks to discuss their plans for the Fall 2024 vaccination effort.
I remember when these things were (1) exciting and (2) important.
ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2024 10:05 am
I'm heading to Dallas for business on Wednesday - it'll be fun to compare mask wearing in Dallas to Belfast!
Pretty much the same, except I had no comments (to my face) on my mask wearing. I didn't see any masking in Dallas, which isn't terribly surprising. Fortunately the weather was pretty nice so I was able to eat mostly outside.
Now I can compare notes again this week when i go back to Dallas on Wednesday!
I saw two other company people wearing masks! (Total attendance in the 900-1000 range.)
The work conference was at the same hotel and at the same time as the EarthX 2024 conference. When i got there on Wednesday, I learned that their keynote speaker that night was some environmental lawyer who goes by the name Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I was wondering whether I'd get any grief for masking from those attendees, but I even saw a few of them wearing masks so it was all cool.
Today, researchers from the University of Minnesota published evidence that the common diabetes drug metformin decreases the amount of SARS-CoV-2 in the body and helps reduce the risk of rebound symptoms if given early in the course of non-severe illness.
The study, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, suggests metformin may also help prevent long COVID.
The researchers tested metformin against a placebo in 999 adults infected with COVID-19. More than 50% of the study enrollees were vaccinated, and treatment took place when the Omicron variant was the most dominant strain in the United States.
Of note:
Moreover, according to Carolyn Bramante, MD, principal investigator of the study and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, the study participants represented a standard- risk population, a group that currently lacks effective treatment options for the novel coronavirus.
"This is not a high-risk population," Bramante told CIDRAP News. Instead, participants were 30 years or older, had a body mass index of 25 or higher (overweight), and did not require hospitalization for their COVID-19 infection.
For those unaware:
What exactly does metformin do?
Metformin works by helping to restore the body's response to insulin. It decreases the amount of blood sugar that the liver produces and that the intestines or stomach absorb.
