The researchers also could not say if people had underlying health conditions and whether their new symptoms were direct effects of their coronavirus infection, corollary effects of medications they were taking to treat some of the symptoms, stress from other pandemic-related problems or other influences. Experts said the study’s findings reflect a cascade of issues driven not just by the virus itself but by the medical system’s struggle to grapple with Covid-19 and its long-term effects.
“We have hundreds of thousands of people with an unrecognized syndrome and we are trying to learn about the immune response and how the virus changes that response and how the immune response can include all the organ systems in the body,” said Dr. Eleftherios Mylonakis, chief of infectious diseases at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and Lifespan hospitals, who was not involved in the study. “The health system is not made to deal with something like this.”
We’ll start with drug pricing:
Pelosi pushes for drug pricing measure amid uncertainty from White House
There are indications the White House is dropping health care measures from its American Families Plan set to be unveiled next week, and not all Democrats are happy about it.
Among those pushing for the inclusion of a measure to lower drug prices is Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
House Democrats on Thursday reintroduced their signature legislation to lower drug prices, known as H.R. 3, and Pelosi pointedly noted in a statement that including it in Biden s proposal is important for Democratic lawmakers. The measure would allow the secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower drug prices, a long-held Democratic goal.
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Veterans who came down with COVID-19 who didn t require hospitalization still experienced a higher risk of death six months later, as well as increased use of certain medications, compared with veterans without the illness, researchers found.
In a cohort of more than 74,000 veterans, COVID-19 survivors who were not hospitalized and survived at least the first 30 days of illness had an increased risk of death versus those without COVID-19 (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.46-1.73), with an excess death rate of 8.39 per 1,000 COVID-19 patients at six months, reported Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, of VA Saint Louis Health Care System in Missouri, and colleagues.
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IMAGE: A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis shows that even mild cases of COVID-19 increase the risk of death in the six months following diagnosis. view more
Credit: Sara Moser
As the COVID-19 pandemic has progressed, it has become clear that many survivors even those who had mild cases continue to manage a variety of health problems long after the initial infection should have resolved. In what is believed to be the largest comprehensive study of long COVID-19 to date, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that COVID-19 survivors including those not sick enough to be hospitalized have an increased risk of death in the six months following diagnosis with the virus.
St. Clair County (IL) VA Clinic – 1190 Fortune Blvd., Shiloh, IL 62269
St. Charles County VA Clinic – 844 Waterbury Falls Drive, O’Fallon, MO 63368
Saturday, March 13, 2021 – Pfizer Vaccine:
Grand Hall on Chouteau – 2319 Chouteau Ave. St. Louis, MO 63103
To make an appointment:
Vaccine is free of charge; Veterans interested in getting vaccinated should send email to
STLCOVIDVetVaccine@va.gov with their name and phone number. Do not include any private information such as medical diagnoses or Social Security number. A member of the VA Vaccine Scheduling Office will call to screen and schedule the appointment.
The vaccine is administered in two doses, 28 days apart (Moderna) and 21 days apart (Pfizer). The side effects appear similar to those of other vaccines and are short-lived. The veterans’ next vaccine appointment will be scheduled once they receive their first dose.