Scientists have identified a persistent change in a handful of blood proteins in people with long Covid that indicates that an important part of their immune system remains on high alert for months after an acute infection.
The findings, published Thursday in the journal Science, could help explain what causes the persistent fatigue, brain fog and other debilitating symptoms of long Covid, as well as pave the way for diagnostic tests and potentially, a long-awaited treatment, experts say.
Rates of long-term major adverse cardiovascular events (CVEs) fell after the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020 and remained lower over the next year among commercially insured New England patients seeking care, and the incidence of congestive heart failure (CHF) and angina (chest pain) remained lower than expected.
As Covid rises again, killing about 1,500 Americans each week, medical researchers are trying to understand why so few people are taking Paxlovid, a medicine that is stunningly effective in preventing severe illness and death from the disease.
