We are failing to protect workers in retail, people in prisons, older adults, and more
Bonus The WHO finally gets it right on airborne transmission -- or does it?
Welcome to the latest issue of the Covid-Is-Not-Over newsletter!
Our mini-theme today is the forgotten and the left behind. Workers in retail, people in prisons, older adults. All forgotten and left behind in the “return to normal.” People with long covid? It’s all in your head. Immunocompromised? Just a kid? Tough it out.
Fortunately, there are also some ideas here about how not to leave anyone behind: vaccines, clean air clubs, better technology to clean the air. Let’s all work on that instead.
If anything, the one item that I would really like to highlight is the last one that’s excerpted, the one by Julia Doubleday for her Substack newsletter: The WHO's claim that COVID wasn't airborne cost millions of lives. Now, they're changing the definition of airborne. I’ve been collecting commentary on the WHO airborne shift and will probably have a supplemental list of what I’ve gathered in the next issue or two. This piece in The Gauntlet nicely summarizes the whole story while nicely skewering the WHO.
I highly recommend that everyone subscribe to and support The Gauntlet! It’s probably the best continuing source of information and commentary about what it’s like being in the middle of an active pandemic that we have right now.
This week’s musical interlude nicely encapsulates the theme: Don’t Be a Fool. Stick around until the very end and enjoy.
As most have probably noticed, there is no paid subscription option for this newsletter. However, Substack does have an option where subscribers can pledge to subscribe “just in case” and a few kind subscribers have made that pledge. I very much appreciated the vote of confidence in what I’m doing here. What I’ve decided to do on a trial basis is to set up a “tip jar” on the Ko-fi platform. I’m not anticipating a huge surge of income from using Ko-fi but whatever revenue I do end up with, I plan to spend on supporting artists on Bandcamp. Sadly, who knows how long that will seem like a good idea.
Top Articles Everyone Should Read on Covid
Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Airborne Transmission: Science Rejected, Lives Lost. Can Society Do Better? by Lidia Morawska, William Bahnfleth, et al. / Clinical Infectious Diseases
Real Impact of COVID-19 Infection and Why We Should Care by Jeff Gilchrist, PhD
What COVID-19 Does To The Body (Fourth Edition, March 2024) / Pandemic Accountability Index
Let's Face It, Covid Trashed Our Immune Systems by Jessica Wildfire / OK Doomer
Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including with significant drops in IQ scores by Ziyad Al-Aly / The Conversation
What It’s Really Like to Live With Long COVID by Meryl Davids Landau / Prevention
Substantial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through casual contact in retail stores: Evidence from matched administrative microdata on card payments and testing by Niels Johannesen, Alessandro Tang-Andersen Martinello, et al., PNAS
The recent Covid-19 pandemic highlighted that understanding the channels of disease transmission is crucially important for public health policies. However, measuring transmissions occurring through casual contact in the public space is highly challenging as researchers generally do not observe when infected individuals intersect casually with noninfected individuals. We overcome this methodological challenge in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic by combining card payment data, indicating exactly where and when individuals visited stores, with test data indicating when they were infected. We document that exposure to an infected individual in a store is associated with a significantly higher infection rate in the following week. Our estimates imply that transmissions between retail shoppers made a substantial contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic.
How the US failed people in prisons during Covid: ‘Really important to learn from what happened’ by Anna Flagg, Jamiles Lartey and Shannon Heffernan / The Guardian
When the Covid-19 pandemic began, it wasn’t hard to predict that incarcerated people would be at higher risk. Many prisons and jails are crowded, dirty places with inconsistent access to healthcare – breeding grounds for the highly infectious virus. But the job of documenting the deaths has fallen to a patchwork of research groups and reporters.
Now, a national study from one of these collaborations, between the University of California, Irvine and Brigham and Women’s hospital, shows that at the peak of the pandemic in 2020, people inside prisons died almost three and a half times more frequently than the free population.
More than 6,000 incarcerated people died in the first year of the pandemic, researchers found, using numbers they collected from state prison systems and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. A Marshall Project analysis of data the researchers released shows that the overall prison mortality rate spiked at least 50%, and potentially exceeded 75%, with roughly 50 or more people dying per 10,000 in prison in 2020.
‘An epidemic of loneliness’: How the pandemic changed life for aging adults by Lisa Marshall / CU Boulder Today
Years after the U.S. began to slowly emerge from mandatory COVID-19 lockdowns, more than half of older adults still spend more time at home and less time socializing in public spaces than they did pre-pandemic, according to new CU Boulder research.
Participants cited fear of infection and “more uncomfortable and hostile” social dynamics as key reasons for their retreat from civic life.
“The pandemic is not over for a lot of folks,” said Jessica Finlay, an assistant professor of geography whose findings are revealed in a series of new papers. “Some people feel left behind.”
The study comes amid what the U.S. Surgeon General recently called an “epidemic of loneliness” in which older adults—especially those who are immune compromised or have disabilities—are particularly vulnerable.
“We found that the pandemic fundamentally altered neighborhoods, communities and everyday routines among aging Americans, and these changes have long-term consequences for their physical, mental, social and cognitive health,” said Finlay.
Zurich Insurance’s responsible investment head resigns because of long Covid by Sarah Praetorius / CityWire (LinkedIn Statement used for quote below)
There are too many stories to tell or thank yous to leave.
So I will only mention one: when it first became clear I might be suffering from long COVID, everyone had my back. From family and friends, my team, my boss, my organisation, the industry associations I was involved with up to even conferences in planning - we all hoped I was young, previously healthy and energetic enough to move past this within a couple of months. So they stepped in, split up my work and kept my seat at the table, to allow me to fully focus on healing. I can't express how deeply grateful I am for that experience. I'm convinced this is one of the main reasons my trendline is upward sloping. I am a lot better than I was then - but not well enough to return to work yet.
4 years into the pandemic and despite millions missing there is still no curative treatment for long COVID. So, until further notice I will keep focusing on finding a way to heal the ecosystem of "me" before I can return to my sustainability work.
I choose to share this with you today, because the reality is: my chance to recover significantly depends on the collective choices we’ll make about preventing further cases, accurately measuring the disease burden, and finally learning to heal post-viral sequelae. Choices made especially by those still healthy.
If you or a loved one are suffering from long COVID: I see you. I believe you. And I feel you more than you can imagine.
Examining the effects of voluntary avoidance behaviour and policy-mediated behaviour change on the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2: A mathematical model by Gabrielle Brankston, David N. Fisman, et al. / Infectious Disease Modelling
Given the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 in a pre-vaccine era, individual avoidance behaviour in the absence of government action would have resulted in a moderate reduction in disease however, it would not have been sufficient to entirely mitigate transmission and the associated risk to the population in Ontario. Government action during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario reduced infections, protected hospital capacity, and saved lives.
Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous by Dave Kang, Maria Cheng / AP
The hunt for the origins of COVID-19 has gone dark in China, the victim of political infighting after a series of stalled and thwarted attempts to find the source of the virus that killed millions and paralyzed the world for months.
The Chinese government froze meaningful domestic and international efforts to trace the virus from the first weeks of the outbreak, despite statements supporting open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation found. That pattern continues to this day, with labs closed, collaborations shattered, foreign scientists forced out and Chinese researchers barred from leaving the country.
The investigation drew on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews that showed the freeze began far earlier than previously known and involved political and scientific infighting in China as much as international finger-pointing.
COVID vaccination in kids protects against serious outcomes, but it wanes over time, new data show by Stephanie Soucheray / CIDRAP
Today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers examine the durability of COVID-19 vaccination during Omicron circulation among kids 5 to 18 years and find that two doses of the original monovalent (single-strain) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was 52% effective against pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization and 57% effective against critical illness, if the vaccine was administered no longer than 4 months preceding hospitalization. …
"Protection from original vaccines was not sustained over time, necessitating increased coverage with updated vaccines," the authors wrote. "Most children and adolescents in this analysis who were hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated, and few had received updated vaccine doses despite a high prevalence of underlying comorbidities associated with more severe disease."
72-year-old dies after living with Covid for record 613 days, virus mutated over 50 times / WION
A Dutch man lost the battle for life after suffering from coronavirus (COVID-19) for a record 613 days during which the virus mutated multiple times turning into a unique new variant, Time reported, citing research from the University of Amsterdam. The 72-year-old unnamed patient's condition surprised the medical researchers, who said that it is the longest time anyone has been infected with the virus
The report said that the patient succumbed to an underlying illness, after a weakened immune system due to the virus. …
The scientists at the University of Amsterdam's Centre for Experimental and Molecular Medicine said that Covid in his body later acquired over 50 mutations. Some specimens also suggested that the virus developed an enhanced ability to evade immune defences in the man's body.
As quoted in the report, the authors said, "This case underscores the risk of persistent SARS-CoV-2 infections in immunocompromised individuals. We emphasize the importance of continuing genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 evolution in immunocompromised individuals with persistent infections."
Risk of death 3 times higher in Brazilian kids with COVID-19 than with other respiratory viruses, study finds by Mary Van Beusekom / CIDRAP
Among children hospitalized for severe respiratory infections in Brazil, those who had COVID-19 were at highest risk for in-hospital death within 30 days, with underlying medical conditions a risk factor for all viral strains, finds a study published today in Pediatrics.
Clean Air Club Is Organizing Musicians to Make COVID-Safer Shows and Spaces by Mary Retta / Teen Vogue
Chicago-based folk singer Kara Jackson, who has been vocal about COVID safety precautions at concerts and elsewhere since the beginning of the pandemic, has partnered with Clean Air Club to bring both far-UVC lights and air purifiers to her shows.
“I played probably 40 shows last year, and I didn’t get sick in any of my shows — knock on wood,” Jackson told Teen Vogue. “It’s not foolproof protection, but I like having the added security of something like an air purifier or a far-UVC light. I think it also sets a different precedent of, this is what shows could look like in a 'post-COVID’ world,” she added, making air quotes around “post-COVID” in reference to the ongoing pandemic.
Jackson has a point: According to reporting from NPR, musicians including experimental artist SPELLLING, punk-rock act Bikini Kill, and the American rock band Blondie, among others, have gotten sick or had to cancel part of their tour due to the virus. Canceling tours is not only devastating for artists and fans, but also a big financial hit for artists, many of whom make the majority of their living from selling concert tickets, which is all the more reason for better COVID precautions onstage.
Conversely, Clean Air Club has worked with artists like Squirrel Flower, Sen Morimoto, Hemlock, and others to spread its reach. “As a musician, I have the opportunity to create environments at my shows that look like the world I want to live in,” Ella Williams, the singer-songwriter behind Squirrel Flower, told Teen Vogue via email. “That means inclusive spaces, accessible spaces, spaces where people of all sorts can come and enjoy and experience music.”
Ranking technologies for managing indoor pathogen transmission / EU Science Hub
In a JRC-HERA study published today, well-established filtration and ventilation topped the list of the highest-impact current technologies for capturing and cleansing germs that spread through the air indoors. UV radiation and nucleic acid amplification came next in the impact ranking.
The foresight study also pinpointed other promising technologies, which require more development or are expected to appear in the future. From these, the impact of plasma-based inactivation, aerosol samplers, biosensors, and direct identification through physico-chemical properties came out on top. …
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the damage that airborne pathogens can cause. Other airborne diseases, such as the flu or RSV are also a threat to patients and health systems.
Preparedness for the next wave of infections is crucial. Knowing which technologies are the most impactful can help policymakers and the health industry channel funding the most efficiently.
Indeed, the authors identified investment/funding as the primary driver of change influencing such technologies, followed by regulatory guidance.
Harmonised standards, building codes, and trained personnel were named among the drivers and enablers that shape development and adaption.
Furthermore, in a detailed set of recommendations, the authors stressed the need to come up with a comprehensive strategy for indoor air quality. For this, multisector communities, healthcare workers, building architects, scientists, regulators and civil society representatives should cooperate.
This strategy should provide guidance on healthy concentration limits for pathogens in indoor air. Too many disease-causing agents would harm individuals and communities exposed, but completely stamping out pathogens could harm the human microbiome and immune system.
The WHO's claim that COVID wasn't airborne cost millions of lives. Now, they're changing the definition of airborne by Julia Doubleday / The Gauntlet
The damage of the WHO’s false claims continue to reverberate today. Doctors and hospitals continue to infect their patients with flu, RSV, strep, and now COVID as infection control measures like HEPA filtration go completely unmentioned in the new guidance document. Hospitals continue to place highly infectious patients close to COVID-negative patients, falsely believing that curtains and a few feet of distance will protect vulnerable sick people. Doctors and nurses continue to lack proper PPE, while acquiring Long COVID at high rates and dealing with out-of-control hospital crowded all over the world. And perhaps most damaging at all, the public has been lulled into a sense of complacency and encouraged to believe that COVID simply cannot be controlled. Unaware that the protocols implemented in 2020 were plainly incorrect for mitigation and elimination, the defeatist refrain rings out everywhere, “COVID is here to stay, there’s nothing we can do.”
The WHO has a responsibility to engage seriously with the science of airborne infection control and make recommendations that minimize the spread airborne disease- not recommendations that seek instead to minimize its own embarrassment and responsibility.
What Are We Even Doing: Bad Takes on the Pandemic
Covid Made Heart Disease Deadlier, Puzzling Scientists - Bloomberg
Dr Phil rattles The View hosts with rant against Covid closures | The Independent
As a Doctor, I Don't Fear Covid as I Once Did. But I Carry Its Grave Lessons Forward.
Don’t Be a Fool by Gregory Porter.