A mild covid infection at the beginning of the pandemic upset Jeanine Hays’ immune system, she said, flagging ailments like the way her husband’s drug ads list side effects.

Chronic hives. Hair loss. Tinnitus. Severe nerve pain. Extreme fluctuations in blood pressure. Allergic reactions to synthetic fabrics and processed foods.

The couple keeps an air purifier and EpiPen in every room of their home; They both travel together. And Hays always carries an extra suit of clothes in case what he’s wearing becomes unbearably itchy. “I definitely still feel like a toddler that way,” she said.

“Bryan and I are learning to live with long Covid,” the 45-year-old said of his high school sweetheart turned husband. “Our lifestyle is very different.”

It’s been four years since Covid began burdening people with persistent symptoms that were often dismissed by mysterious medical providers who were suspicious and unwilling to help, according to clinicians and public health researchers — especially when treating patients of color.

For patients of color, this is an all-too-familiar and maddening story.

Health experts and medical studies have found that racist myths that black people are more resistant to pain, combined with doctors’ biases, mean black patients are more likely to be seen as drug addicts and described negatively in electronic medical records. This is true when it comes to routine diagnoses, and clinicians and public health researchers believe the same is true of long covid, although its definition is largely a work in progress.

It’s bad enough for patients of color to cope with a debilitating disease, they said. They said it was even more devastating to feel like they were being erased from medical records, public imaginations and policy considerations. In many cases, people aren’t even formally diagnosed, meaning they’re suffering and can’t get help, researchers say.

Estimates of the prevalence of long covid vary widely. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that nearly 1 in 14 adults say they will experience long-haul covid in 2022.

While the coronavirus took its toll on diverse communities, especially at the dawn of the pandemic, research has suggested that the misery of long covid is falling more evenly across diverse communities. A 2023 analysis of nearly 5 million U.S. patients by The Washington Post and research partners found virtually no difference in the percentages of Black, White and Hispanic patients seeking medical care for long covid-related symptoms within months of being infected couldn’t find it.

But public health experts warn those numbers almost certainly don’t tell the whole story. The data, they warned, can tell a lot about who their provider trusts, who can shop until they are taken seriously, and who has the language to describe their symptoms to medical staff.

“All of these things were happening in people’s bodies, but they hadn’t heard the term ‘long coronavirus’ from a doctor,” said Linda Sprague Martinez, a professor and health equity researcher who has studied the impact of long coronavirus on Black and Latino communities in Massachusetts.

As part of its research, Sprague Martinez’s team conducted 11 focus groups last year: two in English and nine in total in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Cape Verdean Creole. According to her, in focus groups conducted in languages ​​other than English, it turned out that most people had not heard of long Covid until that day. The main reason, she says: a lack of health information in languages ​​other than English, as well as language barriers in health care settings and on the Internet.

As the average of new COVID-19 cases reached a record high on Tuesday, the region has now seen more than a quarter of a million total cases since the pandemic began.

On Tuesday, the seven-day average hit 2,100 per day, according to data maintained by The Star. Officials in the area — which includes Kansas City and Jackson, Platte, Clay, Wyandotte and Johnson counties — have reported 14,839 new cases within the past week, bringing the full tally to 252,126 since the start of the public health crisis.

Forty more people have also died within the past week, The Star reported. The death toll for the area currently stands at 3,429.

CHILDREN’S MERCY SEES NEW HIGH OF COVID-19 PATIENTS

Children’s Mercy reported that 27 kids were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, the highest child patient load the hospital has seen since the start of the pandemic.

Cases across the area and the nation have been largely driven by the omicron variant. Dr. Angela Myers, the Infectious Diseases Division director at Children’s Mercy, said that because of how highly contagious omicron is, more people overall will become hospitalized “even if it causes less severe disease overall.”

Medical experts recommend eligible children get the vaccine to prevent getting COVID-19. Children under 12 are still ineligible for a booster shot, while those younger than 5 currently can’t get vaccinated against COVID-19 at all. For this reason, Myers recommends a variety of safety measures to keep kids from being infected.

“Encouraging your kid to wear a mask, even if it’s not required in school, I think is really critical,” she said. “[So is] washing your hands frequently, sneezing and coughing in your elbow, staying home when you’re sick, [and] getting tested if you have symptoms, even if your symptoms are mild.” (The Kansas City Star)

The Food and Drug Administration authorization of Merck’s molnupiravir comes one day after the agency cleared a competing drug from Pfizer. That pill, Paxlovid, is likely to become the first-choice treatment against the virus, thanks to its superior benefits and milder side effects.

As a result, Merck’s pill is expected to have a smaller role against the pandemic than predicted just a few weeks ago. Its ability to head off severe COVID-19 is much smaller than initially announced and the drug label will warn of serious safety issues, including the potential for birth defects.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized Merck’s drug for adults with early symptoms of COVID-19 who face the highest risks of hospitalization, including older people and those with conditions like obesity and heart disease. The U.K. first authorized the pill in early November.

Known as molnupiravir, the Merck drug will carry a warning against use during pregnancy. Women of childbearing age should use birth control during treatment and for a few days after while men should use birth control for at least three months after their final dose, the FDA said.

The restrictions were expected after an FDA advisory panel only narrowly endorsed the drug last month, warning that its use would have to be strictly tailored to patients who can benefit the most.

The Pfizer pill works differently and doesn’t carry the same risks. Additionally, Pfizer’s drug was roughly three times more effective in testing, reducing hospitalization and death by nearly 90% among high-risk patients, compared with 30% for Merck’s.

Some experts question whether there will be much of a role for the Merck drug in the U.S.

“To the extent that there’s an ample supply of Pfizer’s pill, I think it won’t be used,” said Dr. Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic, referring to the Merck drug. “There would be no reason, given it has less efficacy and a higher risk of side effects.”

For now, the FDA decision provides another potential option against the virus that has killed more than 800,000 Americans, even as health officials brace for record-setting cases, hospitalizations and deaths driven by the omicron variant. Antiviral pills, including Merck’s, are expected to be effective against omicron because they don’t target the spike protein where most of the variant’s worrisome mutations reside.

The FDA based its decision on results showing nearly 7% of patients taking the drug ended up in the hospital and one died at the end of 30 days. That compared with 10% of patients hospitalized who were taking the placebo and nine deaths. (TAMPA BAY TIMES)

The Department of Public Health estimates there are currently 98.317 active cases of the highly contagious virus in the commonwealth.

The 5,657 new cases reported Saturday bring the total number of confirmed cases in Massachusetts since the pandemic began to 444.028. Another 142 probable cases were reported, for a combined confirmed and probable tally of 465.726.

Another 112,120 tests were also reported Saturday, for a total of nearly 12.3 million.

The seven-day average positivity was 6.2%. With testing at higher education institutions removed, that average was 7.4%.

There are 2.197 patients currently hospitalized due to the virus, down from more than 2.200 earlier in the week and from more than 2.400 last week. As of Saturday, there were 433 patients in intensive care units and 294 who were intubated.

The 74 new fatalities bring the state’s confirmed COVID-19 toll to 13.305. With deaths linked to probable cases included, that rises to 13.583.

Long-term care facilities have now reported 7.747 deaths linked to COVID-19. There are 418 facilities that have reported at least one confirmed or probable case, and 32.661 residents and health care workers who have been sickened.

More than 2 million people have now died from COVID-19 worldwide as the U.S. approaches its own grim milestone of 400.000. There have been 94 million coronavirus cases reported worldwide, including more than 23 million in the U.S., according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. (BOSTON HERALD)

Sunday’s thank-you gathering turned into a small rally against gentrification when a man wheeled a wireless speaker to the lawn and handed the mayor-elect a microphone.

“We can’t just be building new things. We’ve got to be helping people who live in the homes right now. I’m all about neighborhood planning at the neighborhood level,” Levine Cava said, standing before a backdrop of herself, a campaign mural featuring the candidate. “We’ll find a way. With your help. And with God’s help.”

Elected after a campaign centered on her status as a Democrat in a blue-leaning county, Levine Cava, 65, now faces the challenge of scoring victories on the governance side of county politics as she succeeds Republican Carlos Gimenez as the government’s top administrator.

An environmentalist who donned a sequined “Water Warrior” cape for campaign ads on climate change, she inherits the nearly $900 million Water and Sewer budget that’s at the center of her plan to accelerate converting septic tanks to the municipal sewer system before sea-level rise swamps them.

An outsider during her two terms on the county commission, Levine Cava was left out of leadership posts and committee chairs by the board she now must corral for legislative wins.

“I think the pandemic does make it difficult to build relationships with new commissioners,” said Raquel Regalado, a former school board member and one of five incoming commissioners elected to seats left open by the first wave of retirements required by term-limit rules voters approved in 2012. “In a normal world, we’d all be sitting down and having coffee with her. And she’d be building a coalition.”

A former nonprofit executive and social-work administrator, Levine Cava has staked much of her success on building consensus.

Gimenez spent most of 2020 in a public feud with local mayors over COVID orders and CARES Act funding. The day after she beat fellow commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo Jr. by eight points in the mayoral election, Levine Cava joined Miami Mayor Francis Suarez for a Miami food-distribution event. (Miami Herald)

Bağımsız düşünce kuruluşu Vergi Adaletinden Yana Amerikalılar’ın (ATF) yayımladığı ‘İki krizin hikayesi: Milyarderler kazanırken salgının acısını çalışanlar hissediyor’ başlık rapora göre ülkede koronavirüs kısıtlamalarının başladığı 18 Mart ile 19 Mayıs arasında milyarderlerin toplam servetinde 434.5 milyar dolarlık artış yaşandı.

YÜZDE 15 ARTIŞ

Böylece 600’ü aşkın ABD’li milyarderin toplam serveti 3 trilyon 382 milyon dolara ulaştı. Bu servetlerini sadece 2 ayda koronavirüse rağmen yüzde 15 artırdıkları anlamına geliyor.

HİSSELERDEN GELDİ

ATF’nin yayımladığı verilere göre ülkenin en zengin 5 ismi: Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett ve Larry Ellison’un toplam serveti bu dönemde 75.5 milyar dolar arttı. Sadece Amazon Kurucusu Bezos ile Facebook Kurucu CEO’su Zuckerberg’in toplam serveti 2 ayda 60 milyar dolar yükseldi. Bu servet artışlarının önemli bir kısmı milyarderlerin elinde bulunan hisselerden geldi.

MİLYONERE VERGİ İNDİRİMİ

ATF raporda zenginlerin yıllarca vergi avantajları sayesinde servetlerine servet kattığına dikkat çekerek “Bu durum 2. Dünya Savaşı’ndan bu yana yaşanan en büyük krizde de devam ediyor. Salgın sebebiyle son olarak getirilen vergi düzenlemesi sayesinde ülkedeki 43 bin milyoner ortalama 1.6 milyon dolar vergi indirimine hak kazanacak” değerlendirmesinde bulundu.

Raporda görüşlerine yer verilen ATF Direktörü Frank Clemente “Salgın ABD’de artan gelir uçurumunun ölümcül sonuçlarını ortaya serdi. Milyarderler de bu ekonomik adaletsizliğin parlayan sembolleri” ifadelerini kullandı. (Habertürk)

Derlenen bilgilere göre, salgın nedeniyle mart ayında hava yolu ulaşımında kademeli olarak uçak seferleri durdurulmuştu. Salgının tüm dünyada yayılması üzerine Bilim Kurulunun önerisiyle ülke yurt dışı uçuşlara kapatılırken, yurt içi uçuşlara da ara verilmişti.

Kovid-19 salgınının yavaş yavaş gerilemeye başlamasıyla Ramazan Bayramı sonrasında ulaşımda normalleşme adımları atılacak.

Bu kapsamda biletleri daha önce satışa çıkarılan hava yolu sektöründe seferlerin 4 Haziran itibarıyla başlaması öngörülüyor. İlk etapta iç hat daha sonra dış hatlarda uçak seferlerinin başlaması bekleniyor.

DEMİR YOLUNDA BİLETLER SATIŞA ÇIKTI

Demir yolu sektöründe ise konvansiyonel ve YHT hatlarında 28 Mayıs itibarıyla başlaması planlanan seferler için hazırlıklar sürdürülüyor. Bu tarih itibarıyla yapılacak tren seferleri için biletler bugün satışa sunuldu.

Normalleşme sürecinde YHT’ler 28 Mayıs’tan itibaren Ankara-İstanbul, Ankara-Eskişehir, Ankara-Konya, Konya-İstanbul hatlarında günde toplam 16 sefer yapacak.

Tren biletleri öncelikle temassız olarak mobil uygulama/internet sitesinden ya da gişelerden satın alınabilecek. Çağrı merkezi ve acentelerden bilet satışı yapılmayacak.

Marmaray ve Başkentray gibi şehir içi hatlarında bu süreçte seferler durdurulmazken, sefer sayılarının yavaş yavaş artırılması öngörülüyor.

Hem hava hem de demir yolunda bilet satış işlemleri yolcuların Kovid-19 ile ilgili durumlarını tetkik etmek amacıyla Sağlık Bakanlığı bilişim sistemleri veri tabanı üzerinden Hayat Eve Sığar (HES) koduyla gerçekleştirilecek. Giriş çıkış yasağı olan iller için ise “seyahat izin belgesi” alınması da gerekiyor.

As the United States heads into Memorial Day weekend, flags around the country will be at half staff for the victims of the virus.

President Donald Trump said he was ordering the flags to be lowered Friday through Sunday “in memory of the Americans we have lost to the CoronaVirus.” Flags will be at half staff Monday “in honor of the men and women in our Military who have made the Ultimate Sacrifice for our Nation,” Trump tweeted.

Meanwhile, Americans itching to get out of the house this weekend “can be outside” if they take proper social distancing precautions, Dr. Deborah Birx advised Friday. “You can play golf. You can play tennis with marked balls. You can go to the beaches” while keeping at least six feet apart, she said.

Roughly 96,000 people have died from the virus in the United States, more than a quarter of the 338,000 deaths worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard. There are more than 5.2 million confirmed cases around the globe, with 1.6 million in the United States alone.

NBA legend and Georgetown coach Pat Ewing hospitalized with the virus
Georgetown men’s basketball coach and Hall of Fame player Patrick Ewing has tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Friday evening.

Georgetown said in a news release that Ewing, 57, is isolated and receiving care at a Washington hospital. He chose to announce his diagnosis “to emphasize that this virus can affect anyone,” the school said. He is the only member of the team to test positive.

An 11-time All-Star as a player with the New York Knicks, Ewing transitioned to coaching in 2002, serving as an assistant with several NBA teams before accepting the head coaching job at Georgetown before the 2017-18 season.

ABD Hastalık Kontrol ve Önleme Merkezleri (CDC) tarafından yayımlanan raporda, 11 Mart ile 2 Mayıs arasında New York’ta gerçekleşen ölümler incelendi. Çalışmada, söz konusu tarihler arasındaki toplam 32 bin 107 ölümden 24 bin 172’sinin beklentinin üstünde gerçekleştiği, bu rakamdan da 18 bin 879’unun direkt veya dolaylı Covid-19 bağlantılı olduğunun tespit edildiği kaydedildi.

Raporda, geriye kalan 5 bin 293 ölümün ise kayıtlarda virüs ile bağlantısı olup olmadığının tanımlanmadığı belirtilerek, “Bu fazladan ölümlerin Covid-19 ile direkt veya dolaylı bir bağı olup olmadığı bilinmemektedir ve daha fazla araştırma yapılması gerekmektedir.” ifadelerine yer verildi. Covid-19 salgınına ilişkin güncel verilerin derlendiği “Worldometer” internet sitesine göre, New York’ta 345 bin 817 vaka ve 26 bin 874 can kaybı bulunuyor. (Kıbrıs Gazetesi)

Dünyanın en büyük çip üreticisi Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC),Arizona’da 12 milyar dolar değerinde bir fabrika kurmayı planladığını açıklayarak, Trump yönetiminin küresel teknoloji tedarik zincirlerini Çin’den çıkarma stratejisi için zafer niteliğinde bir adım attı.

Gerçekleşmesi halinde ABD’ye gelen en büyük yatırımlardan biri olacak fabrika 1.600’den fazla istihdam yaratacak. Tayvanlı şirket yatırım planını ABD Başkanı Donald Trump’ın Çin’in ticaret politikaları ve Beijing’in koronavirüs sürecini yönetmesine yönelik eleştirilerini artırdığı sırada açıkladı.

Trump uzun süredir imalat sektörünün Çin’i terk edip tekrar ABD’ye gelmesini istiyordu. Koronavirüsün neden olduğu ekonomik tahribat sonrası ABD devleti imalat sektörü ile tedarik zincirinin Çin’e olan bağımlılığını sona erdirme politikasına öncelik veriyor.

ABD Ticaret Bakanı Wilbur Ross anlaşmayı “Başkan Trump’ın politika gündeminin Amerikan imalatında bir rönesansa yol açtığının bir başka göstergesi” olarak nitelendirdi. TSMC, Huawei Technologies Haberin Orjinali İçin Tıklayın gibi Çinli şirketlerin yanı sıra Apple Inc ve Qualcomm Inc gibi ABD teknoloji devlerinin ana tedarikçisi konumunda. TSMC, “Bu proje, önde gelen ABD şirketlerinin en yeni yarı iletken ürünlerini ABD içinde üretmelerini sağlayan canlı ve rekabetçi bir ABD yarı iletken ekosistemi için kritik ve stratejik öneme sahip” dedi.