COVID-19 Updates
Important Updated Information about COVID-19 (Coronavirus):
Long Covid Symptoms Create a Greater Burden of Disability Than Heart Disease or Cancer, New Study Shows
By Brenda Goodman, CNN Published 11:13 AM EDT, Mon August 21, 2023
CNN — People who survived Covid-19 early in the pandemic, before there were vaccines, continued to be at higher risk for a slew of health problems for up to two years after they got over their initial infections, a new study finds, and that was especially true if they were hospitalized. These health problems include heart problems, blood clots, diabetes, neurologic complications, fatigue and difficulties with mental health and have come to be known collectively as long Covid. When researchers tallied the risks for more than 80 different complications that are associated with long Covid, they translated the collective toll into a metric called a disability adjusted life year, or DALY. Each DALY represents one year of healthy life lost to illness. They found that long Covid generated more than 80 disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs, for every 1,000 people who weren’t hospitalized for their initial infection. That means long Covid creates a higher burden of disability than either heart disease or cancer, which cause about 52 and 50 DALYs for every 1,000 Americans, respectively, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease study.
“When I looked at that initially, I was really shocked,” said study author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, who is director of the clinical epidemiology center at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System. “That’s actually a huge number. “We did the analyses multiple times and, and then it just always can come back to be to be the same.”
After considering their findings, though, Al-Aly said it really shouldn’t be such a huge surprise that long Covid is so disabling, because it affects so many different parts of the body.
Al-Aly said his study should be a wake-up call.
“I think that we need to understand that infections lead to chronic disease and we need to take infection seriously,” even when it seems to be mild, Al-Aly said.
The study, which was published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, looked at the medical records of nearly 140,000 veterans who survived for 30 days after getting a Covid-19 infection in 2020, and compared their health outcomes to nearly 6 million other patients in the VA health system who had no evidence of infection.
The study has some important caveats. On average, the people in the study were older, in their 60s, and almost 90% were male, so the findings may not translate to those who are younger or to women.
None of the people in the study were vaccinated at the time they were infected because the vaccines had not been developed yet, and there weren’t yet antiviral treatments targeted to Covid-19. Studies have since shown that vaccination and early treatment can help curb long covid risk.
The researchers only included people in the Covid-19 infection group if they had a positive test, but tests were slow to roll out early in the pandemic, and the researchers say many people may have had the infection with no test results recorded in their medical records. That may have resulted in some people being included in the control group when they should have been in the infection group. If that was a large number of people, the study authors say, their results may be an underestimation of the true risks people faced post-infection.
Al-Aly said he used this group because he wanted to learn more about the long-term outcomes for people who get Covid-19, and he needed to find patients who were more than two years past their infections, so these risks may have gone down over time as vaccines and better treatments were developed.
Still, the study paints a sobering picture of how long people faced physical consequences from early infections.
The study found people who were not hospitalized with Covid-19, still had an elevated risk of death for about six months after they first got sick.
Over the two years, their risk of having many long Covid symptoms went down, but it remained elevated for about one-third of the 77 ailments that were studied. Some of those lingering problems included blood clots, a slower than normal heartbeat, fatigue, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems, sleep problems, muscle and joint pain, headache, hearing and smell loss, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
People in the group who had to be treated in the hospital for an initial Covid-19 infection fared even worse. They remained at increased risk for death and hospitalization for at least two years after they recovered from their acute symptoms. Out of 77 different long Covid issues studied, people who were hospitalized remained at elevated risk for about two-thirds of them even two years later. These included heart problems, stomach problems, memory and thinking difficulties, blood clots, diabetes and lung problems. They were also more likely to have a substance use disorder, including for alcohol and opioids. They were also more likely to report contemplating suicide.
“Our findings highlight the substantial cumulative burden of health loss due to long Covid, and emphasize the ongoing need for health care for those faced with long Covid,” said Al-Aly.
“It appears that the effects of long Covid for many will not only impact such patients and their quality of life, but potentially will contribute to a decline in life expectancy, and also may impact labor participation, economic productivity, and societal well-being.”
News source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/21/health/long-covid-disease-burden/index.html
CDC and FDA clear the way for COVID vaccines for kids under 5
For Immediate Release:
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include use in children down to 6 months of age.
- For the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, the FDA amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) to include use of the vaccine in individuals 6 months through 17 years of age. The vaccine had been authorized for use in adults 18 years of age and older.
- For the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, the FDA amended the EUA to include use of the vaccine in individuals 6 months through 4 years of age. The vaccine had been authorized for use in individuals 5 years of age and older.
Key points:
- The FDA’s evaluation and analysis of the safety, effectiveness and manufacturing data of these vaccines was rigorous and comprehensive, supporting the EUAs.
- The agency determined that the known and potential benefits of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines outweigh the known and potential risks in the pediatric populations authorized for use for each vaccine.
- Prior to making the decision to authorize these vaccines for the respective pediatric populations, the FDA’s independent Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee was consulted and voted in support of the authorizations.
Read More: fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/covid-19-vaccines
Disability Rights Florida (DRF) has joined other disability service providers across the country to encourage vaccinations among older adults and people with disabilities through education, connection to available services and removing barriers to accessible vaccines. Through a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL), DRF will help individuals with disabilities, their families and direct care providers by offering:
- Assistance with scheduling vaccination appointments
- Arrange accessible transportation to a vaccination appointment
- Provide a reminder for a second vaccination appointment
- Connection to in-home vaccination options
- Answer questions regarding COVID-19 vaccinations
Accessible Vaccination Sites
DRF will be partnering with local health departments and other disability service providers to hold fully accessible vaccination pop-up sites in various rural communities throughout the state of Florida.
The sites will feature:
- ADA compliant locations
- In-person American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters
- Helpful staff and volunteers to accommodate all disabilities
- Vaccinations administered by your local Health Department
- Proof of disability is not necessary
- Two dose or one dose vaccine options available
COVID-19 Vaccine Assistance for Floridians with Disabilities (Source: disabilityrightsflorida.org/disability-topics/disability_topic_info/covid_19_vaccine_assistance_for_floridians_with_disabilities)
ASL Video COVID-19 Vaccine Assistance for Floridians with Disabilties (Source: youtube.com/watch?v=e1vqbnFpFa8&list=TLGGIfILfOX06rowMjA0MjAyMg
If you have any questions, need help finding a vaccine, or any other COVID-19 questions, please contact our office for assistance:
850-595-5566 (office)
Sorenson VRS: 850-208-3106
Relay: 711
Email: info@cilnwf.org
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Link
Florida Department of Health Link
COVID-19 virus continues to evolve. CIL of Northwest Florida is committed to developing ways to provide services for people with disabilities in the safest, most efficient manner possible. We understand there are needs in our community that is not being met and we are working to close that gap.
In the meantime, the CIL of Northwest Florida staff will continue our current operating method of not meeting with consumers in our office. We will be managing day to day activities by appointment and remotely during our normal business hours, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. You can reach us by calling 850-595-5566 or by email at info@cilnwf.org.
We will do everything we can to assist individuals with urgent matters in a timely manner. Thank you everyone for helping our communities stay safe and healthy during these difficult times.
For more information on COVID-19 and Disability link to Southeast ADA Center for Disability and Covid-19
Featured Links & Updates
- Vaccination Policy and COVID-19
- Long COVID
- American Sign Language (ASL) and COVID-19
- The ADA and Face Mask Policies (updated on a continuous basis)
Source: Southeast ADA Center
For more information from Disability Rights Florida COVID-19 Resources (Source: disabilityrightsflorida.org/disability-topics/category/covid_19)
Update by County
