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[nowstomorrow]

Published May 31, 2024

Any common face mask provides significant protection against the virus that causes COVID-19, but N95 masks are most effective at slashing the amount emitted by infected people, according to a University of Maryland-led study released Wednesday.

So-called “duckbill” N95 masks scored highest in the study, which measured the exhaled breath of participants who were tested both masked and unmasked to measure comparative outputs of SARS-CoV-2. The inexpensive masks, which have two head straps and a horizontal seam, captured 98% of exhaled virus, according to the study published in eBioMedicine.

The researchers also found that—in what might come as a surprise to many—cloth masks outperformed the specific brand of KN95 mask that was tested. Surgical masks brought up the rear in performance out of the four types, but even they blocked 70% of the virus, the tests showed. (To reflect the general public's use of masks, study volunteers were not fit-tested for their masks or trained how to properly wear them.)

“The research shows that any mask is much better than no mask, and an N95 is significantly better than the other options. That’s the No. 1 message,” says the study’s senior author, Donald Milton, a professor of environmental health and a global expert on how viruses spread through the air.

[nowstomorrow]

What I Want You To Know About Long COVID

Well lads, I've been suffering from Long COVID for over a year now. My life is at a complete standstill. I'm 25 years old and I'm too sick to go back to school, I can't work, I had to move back in with my parents and I'm still stuck here.

Here are just a few things I wish people knew about Long COVID, including things I didn't know myself until I got it.

COVID destroys your immune system. Yes, even if you don't have Long COVID. Are you getting sick more often now? When you get sick, does it last longer? There are many studies showing that COVID causes t cell depletion, even in mild COVID cases! T cells are how your body remembers how to fight off infections you've had before so losing those cells? Bad news.

Your initial infection can be mild and you can still get Long COVID. Right from Yale Medicine, "Most people with Long COVID had mild acute COVID." (This is also a good link for a basic Long COVID overview).

There can be a gap of time between when you "get better" from the initial COVID infection to the onset of Long COVID symptoms. Some people get sick with an initial COVID infection and never get better. Some get better and then weeks or months later start developing Long COVID symptoms. Long COVID symptoms can even fluctuate over time, can go away for months and then suddenly come back.

So many people have Long COVID and don't realize it. Do you feel more tired lately but no matter how much you sleep, nothing helps? Is it harder to concentrate at work or school? Can you just not think like you used to? You could have Long COVID and not even know it. Even mild post-COVID symptoms are still Long COVID.

COVID can do anything to your body. Long COVID has over 200 recognized symptoms and can affect basically any part or system of your body. There is no one mechanism or cause of Long COVID which unfortunately also means there's no one cure either.

The effects of COVID are cumulative. Each COVID reinfection increases your chances of developing Long COVID. COVID is also affecting your body in other ways, yes, even if you're otherwise young and healthy! "Repeat COVID-19 infections increase risk of organ failure, death".

Once you have Long COVID, repeat COVID infections will make your symptoms worse. "80% [of Long COVID patients] saw their symptoms worsen [from reinfection]. In 60% of people who were in recovery or remission from Long COVID, reinfection caused a recurrence of Long COVID."

There is a lot more I want to say about Long COVID but I want to keep this post at least somewhat manageable to read. Like how when COVID is contracted during pregnancy, those COVID-exposed fetuses have a 6.3-fold increased risk of motor developmental delays, or that another study found 50% of babies exposed to COVID in utero had developmental delays.

You need to keep caring about COVID, for others around you and also for yourself even if you're "healthy". Everyone is at risk. And don't forget 40-60% of COVID infections are asymptomatic, which is why masking even if you feel fine is crucial. The only way right now to not get Long COVID is to not get COVID in the first place. It's not too late, if you've stopped masking it's never too late to start again! I know it's easy to get distracted by things in your life that seem more real than the possibility of getting sick some time in the future, and the peer pressure to not mask can be intense. But it only feels less real or less important until your entire life is having Long COVID. Trust me.

I know this is a complicated issue, many people can't afford to stay home when sick even if they want to because of their jobs, there are disgusting policies trying to ban wearing masks, but please if you can. Keep masking. Masking works, masking saves lives.

This post got a bit longer than I wanted so below the cut is a non-exhaustive list of my Long COVID symptoms and some of my experiences as one of the "healthy young people" who got "unlucky". cw brief mention of suicidal ideation.

Welcome to the Thunderdome that is my body with Long COVID. Keep in mind these are just my experiences and symptoms, Long COVID can cause any range of symptoms at varying severities.

Dysautonomia: Exercise intolerance, Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM), fatigue, and heat intolerance. What do those things mean? Here's some specific examples. Absolutely terrible circulation I am so cold all the time but also, if I get a little too warm I will pass out. Eating hot food makes my heart rate spike, I sweat, my body feels heavy. Blood pooling and pins and needles in my feet when I walk. Don't even think about exercising past walking, it's impossible. I used to work out an hour a day 4 times a week and now walking up one flight of stairs makes my heart pound and I can't breathe. Can't take even just warm showers anymore or I will pass out. Heat rashes from being in the sun for 10 minutes.

Digestive issues: Honestly too many to name but: constant bloating, extreme nausea, constipation, slow motility, lack of appetite, just so much cramping and pain. I lost 18 pounds from Long COVID, as someone who was already considered underweight their entire life, and almost had to get a shunt put into my chest to deliver nutrients because I was nearly completely unable to eat. For the first 6 months of Long COVID, if I could manage 600 calories a day, that was a good day.

Histamine intolerance: Oh boy. My worst symptoms, I don't even know where to start with it. If you know Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) it's very similar. I can only eat 19 foods. If i eat a single bite of something not on that list, it's 48 hours of absolute hell. Coughing, migraines, itchy eyes, such extreme nausea I cannot even describe it, panic/feeling of doom, racing heart rate, derealization, rash, uncontrollable muscle tremors. I only learned about histamine intolerance 5 months into having Long COVID so before that, I was experiencing these symptoms nearly every single day. Terrifying isn't even a strong enough word to describe how it felt to experience all this and have no idea what it was, how to stop it, or if it would ever stop. Really dark times.

Neurological issues: More of that derealization. Inability to concentrate. Anxiety. OCD-like symptoms such as thoughts getting "stuck" in my head, repeating 24/7 completely unable to stop them, genuinely felt like my brain had cracked open and I had lost my mind. Constant dizziness like I'm on a boat.

Sleep issues: I sleep like garbage. I have insomnia, I wake up dozens of times every night and every single time I sleep I have intensely vivid dreams. I can't sleep longer than 7 hours total no matter how exhausted I am. It is exhausting. I'm exhausted, I'm so so tired.

And finally. Just. Really intense suicidal ideation. My body, my health, my entire life has been stolen from me because someone else decided my life was worth less to them than wearing a mask or staying home if they feel sick. Before I got Long COVID, I was preparing to go to South Korea to teach English, then on to a PhD in neurolinguistics, I was supposed to meet my long distance partner and had already booked plane tickets when I got sick. All of that has been destroyed.

Most of us with Long COVID are stuck in a cycle of being extremely sick, then if you're lucky you'll slowly get better over months, just to get reinfected and go right back where you started or worse. Honestly, I'm not scared of dying from COVID. I'm scared of living for a long time, suffering from Long COVID the entire time. This isn't living.

I don't know how to end this now. I'm still fighting, I'm trying experimental treatments, I'm not giving up yet. I hope everyone reading this stays healthy and well.

[nowstomorrow]

Researchers have discovered that leaky blood vessels, together with a hyperactive immune system may be the underlying cause of brain fog in people with long covid. They suggest their discovery is important for the understanding of brain fog and cognitive decline – difficulty with thinking, memory or concentration – seen in some people with the condition. It is hoped the findings will help with the development of treatments in the future.

To Summarize:

Long Covid sufferers experience symptoms like forgetfulness and concentration issues due to leakiness in brain blood vessels, according to research findings.

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin and FutureNeuro confirm that Long Covid patients with brain fog have disrupted blood vessels in their brains, making the neurological symptoms measurable.

Blood vessel leakage in the brain, along with an overactive immune system, may be the key drivers of brain fog in Long Covid patients, leading to potential changes in understanding and treating post-viral conditions.

I can't find a single right-wing news source covering this.

[nowstomorrow]

giving even a single shit abt covid will actually make u feel fucking crazy sometimes lol

[nowstomorrow]

How to swab your nose properly.

[nowstomorrow]

COVID-19 is Killing Performers. And we fans must stop infecting them. | by Charles A. Waltz | Oct, 2023 | Medium

[nowstomorrow]

Let's talk about masking! 😷✨

The image description is in the alt text!

I'm hoping this flyer would help those that didn't already know the difference between masks, quality masks, and respirators, as well as some of the variety of options out there for quality, comfortable, breathable, snug-fitting masks & respirators!

Reblogs are tremendously appreciated, and please feel free to share this wherever you can! Print this, hang this up in your school, hang this up in your neighborhood, hang this up in public transportation, repost this, etc., etc., etc.!!!

[nowstomorrow]

We are collecting stories about Covid conversations to publish in an online anthology, and we want to hear from you. We know firsthand how difficult it is to talk to others about Covid mitigations, and how fraught these convos can be. We are aiming to collect stories from Covid-conscious people who have had these tough conversations and are willing to share some reflections. We want to create space for people to process feelings about these experiences, vent, reflect, and be heard. We also want to create space for all of us to learn from one another and process this ongoing collective trauma, this ongoing grief.

The deadline for submissions is Sunday, October 1, 2023!

The link was originally posted on Twitter.

[nowstomorrow]

Very interesting study on the amount of viral particles expired throughout infection!

“The vast majority of research on viral loads over the course of a COVID-19 infection has been based on nasal or oral swabs, which measure virus in the nose or throat,” said lead study author Gregory Lane, senior research project manager in Zelano’s lab. “However, SARS-CoV-2 is spread through breath, and virus on the breath may not match virus in the nose. The dynamics of viral shedding on breath over the course of infection are poorly understood, despite the fact that this is how the virus spreads.”

“For example, if we assume the infectious dose for COVID is 300 copies, then a person who is exhaling 1,000 viral copies per minute would exhale an infectious dose in 20 seconds (highly risky in an elevator), whereas a person who is exhaling two viral copies per minute would exhale an infectious dose in about two hours (probably safe in an elevator),” Lane said. It is not yet known what an infectious dose of viral airborne particles is.

“Once you can answer the question of how many viruses you are exhaling for each day after your symptoms start, critical pieces of the puzzle of how to avoid the spread of COVID-19 fall into place,” Lane said. “This information speaks directly to when someone with COVID-19 should isolate; when they are more likely to infect other people by breathing out virus into the air around them; and when they become much less likely to spread the infection. These two pieces of information are very important for infection control and for informing public health recommendations.” The study measured virus on breath from the first day symptoms start, which is day zero. From that day until day eight, infected people exhaled lots of virus, the scientists found. The amount varied, with peaks of 1,000 viral copies a minute, but the average was high. Then, on day eight, it dropped steeply to levels that hovered around the limit of detection (about two copies a minute), with few exceptions.

[nowstomorrow]

The issue we face is we may not know the full extent of harm until it is too late to remedy it, and in the context of a virus that has infected most of the global population, including children, and continues to circulate and reinfect, this would seem to be an unacceptable risk. Governments, particularly those in high income countries, need to take the lead and engage in an urgent effort to develop treatments that target any persistent viral reservoirs in the body, concurrent with research efforts into developing a better understanding of Long COVID and the roles of viral persistence and immune dysfunction in the condition. We cannot risk waiting for a complete understanding before beginning urgent efforts to clear any viral reservoirs that may exist.

In light of the accumulating evidence, we propose a new paradigm for COVID-19:

COVID-19 is a disease that has an acute and chronic phase. Both phases can be asymptomatic or symptomatic, and the severity and nature of symptoms in either phase depends on the host immune response, viral inoculum and location of infection. In the chronic phase, commonly known as Long COVID, many more people than those who exhibit symptoms of Long COVID, or perhaps everyone who has been infected by COVID-19, is on the same spectrum of T cell activation and may share as yet undiscovered characteristics of viral persistence or immune dysfunction, regardless of whether they experience Long COVID symptoms or not, and the experience of those symptoms, which may be associated with further immune perturbation on reinfection, may be related to the location and/or quantity of viral RNA/protein/replicating virus in persistent reservoirs.

[nowstomorrow]

We are in the worst global health crisis of our lifetimes. So why are we ignoring it?

As governments around the world surrender to COVID-19, people everywhere are told the virus is mild and the air is safe to breathe. We think they should know the truth.

~ We fight against deadly misinformation

~ We highlight corruption and incompetence

~ We promote empirical truth over convenient fantasies

[nowstomorrow]

"What about people who had mRNA doses previously but want to consider Novavax? There have been several studies now that found mixing the two, getting mRNA and then Novavax actually gave better results than just mRNA on its own.

One study found that getting Novavax as a booster after mRNA "may enhance the persistence and durability of vaccine-mediated immunity compared to mRNA options" with slower decay rate compared to an mRNA booster dose and less side effects than mRNA boosters.

A randomized controlled trial found that getting a Novavax dose after Pfizer mRNA elicited the highest humoral and peak cellular immune responses.

The mRNA + Novavax combination also had the lowest rate of breakthrough infections and the study also found fewer moderate and severe systemic adverse effects for Novavax than Pfizer mRNA.

Neutralising antibodies against Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 were higher with Novavax after mRNA compared to two mRNA doses."

- sources and graphs at the link:

[nowstomorrow]

Much needed visual representation to understand the process of mRNA vaccines in your body.

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"This thread explains how @Novavax is different from the #Moderna and #Pfizer #mRNA #vaccines and describes some of the benefits such as broadened #variant recognition, more durable #immunity, and fewer side effects."

[nowstomorrow]

I always ask them to do my left as a matter of course. I now feel lucky.

[nowstomorrow]

Not to get controversial here but the fact that young queers capitalize on the AIDS crisis like it personally happened to them while also doing less than nothing to address a current pandemic is so shallow and disturbing, especially since newer research is showing that covid has some connection to autoimmune deficiency syndromes, and all the actionless verbiage about the importance of disability justice and the inherent plight to social justice queers see themselves as having becomes so clearly actionless.

It’s frankly foul to hype yourself up with some audacious belief that you would’ve crawled up on the steps of the US capitol screaming for the US government to acknowledge AIDS and HIV as legitimate, and to take proper precautions when this shit is HAPPENING and you are beyond silent. You expect me to believe you’d be some raging social justice activist when you can’t even put a piece of cloth on your face now? Get over yourself for real lmfao