Most COVID Lung Abnormalities Heal Over Time—New Guidelines Confirm
However, new guidelines on treating long COVID confirm that lung abnormalities usually stabilize or even improve over time.
'The lungs are an organ, like skin, that are in constant contact with the environment. Because of that, they have a significant amount of stem cells in reserve and cells ready for healing,' Dr. Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonary and critical care medicine physician and an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Medicine, told The Epoch Times.
Recovery Takes Time
Researchers found that in patients with lung damage following a COVID-19 infection, around 90 percent who continued to show lung abnormalities at the time of hospital discharge began to see improvements one to three years after infection.
After a COVID-19 infection, roughly six in 100 people are estimated to develop persistent symptoms that can last for months to years—a condition known as long COVID. Common complaints include fatigue, joint and muscle aches, breathlessness, headaches, and difficulty concentrating, often called 'brain fog.' Symptoms typically improve over time—usually within four to nine months.
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Chicago Tribune
11 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, shifting federal guidelines spark widespread confusion over vaccine eligibility
Aaron Hardwick woke up one Tuesday in June and immediately knew something was wrong. He felt hot, and his stomach hurt. He soon tested positive for COVID-19. 'The fever, the insomnia and the chills, and the shaking, was out of this world,' said Hardwick, 45, of Rogers Park. 'That was something I've never had before in my life.' Hardwick said he was last vaccinated for COVID-19 in 2023. He'd like to get vaccinated again in the future to avoid reliving his recent illness. But he isn't sure if that's possible. 'I don't know what we're supposed to do,' Hardwick said. 'Can we get the shot? Are we supposed to? Who knows?' With fall approaching and COVID-19 activity rising across the country, confusion over vaccines is widespread. Mixed messages from the federal government have left patients, doctors and public health leaders uncertain about how and which COVID-19 vaccines will be administered to whom in coming months, and what health insurance will cover. The shots can cost more than $100 each without insurance. Though COVID-19 vaccines released last year are still available at the moment and covered by insurance, the uncertainty surrounds who will be able to get updated vaccines in coming months — shots created to protect against more recent strains of COVID-19. Like flu vaccines, COVID-19 vaccines are updated regularly. 'I think there's still a lot of confusion among people who would be in the know about what to order, how much to order and the fact we don't know what's covered,' said Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at UChicago Medicine, about ordering updated COVID-19 vaccines for the fall. 'It's very difficult to make decisions about what to order if you don't know how many of your patients are going to qualify for a certain treatment or vaccine.' Some doctors say they are already starting to get questions from patients about COVID-19 vaccines for the fall, as students head back to school and cases of the illness seem to be rising. Landon and a number of other doctors are recommending people get the most updated vaccines that they can in the fall, and local health departments are moving forward with plans for vaccine clinics, where they hope to offer updated shots to anyone over the age of 6 months who wants them. As of Aug. 5, COVID-19 infections were growing or likely growing in 45 states, including Illinois, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. In recent years, each summer has brought with it a wave of the illness. Nimbus, also known as 'razor blade throat,' was the most prevalent strain of COVID-19 in the U.S. as of June, according to the CDC. Though Nimbus can cause a very sore throat in some people, experts say it doesn't seem any more severe than previous variants. Hardwick's bout with what he believes to be Nimbus was harrowing, he said. He had vivid nightmares and a headache at the base of his skull that was strong enough to completely block out his hearing. About three weeks after he tested positive for COVID-19, he experienced Bell's palsy, which is when a person has sudden weakness or paralysis on one side of their face. The condition can follow viral infections. 'It's still pretty serious,' Hardwick said of COVID-19. 'I wish we would take it a little more seriously than we are.' Confusing COVID-19 vaccine guidance Typically, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices makes vaccine recommendations in June for the fall respiratory season. Those recommendations help determine who receives vaccines and whether insurance plans will cover them. That committee, however, has not yet made recommendations regarding COVID-19 vaccines for the fall. All of the committee members were recently replaced at the direction of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also not approved any updated COVID-19 vaccines for this fall, though those approvals typically come at the end of August or early September. Instead, individual federal health leaders have made sometimes contradictory remarks about what to expect in the fall when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines. In May, leaders of the FDA published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine saying that, moving forward, the FDA would approve COVID-19 vaccines only for people ages 65 and older and younger people with underlying conditions. They wrote that the vaccines would only be approved for healthy adults after 'randomized, controlled trial data evaluating clinical outcomes.' The policy 'balances the need for evidence,' wrote the paper's authors, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and Dr. Vinay Prasad, who recently resigned from the FDA as a top official over vaccines . The trouble is that clinical trials take time, and the COVID-19 virus is constantly changing, Landon said. 'Clinical trials are not feasible because you don't know what strains to make it for until the strain is here,' Landon said. Further complicating matters, a week after the New England Journal of Medicine article was published, Kennedy announced in a video posted to social media that the CDC would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. 'Last year the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children,' Kennedy said. The CDC no longer recommends the vaccine for healthy children, but says it may still be given as part of a 'shared decision-making clinical process' between doctors and parents. Kennedy's announcement also seemingly contradicted the New England Journal of Medicine article which said the FDA would likely approve the vaccines for people at high risk of developing severe COVID-19, including pregnant women. A CDC immunization schedule now says 'no guidance/not applicable' when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women. '(Kennedy) just came out and said these two populations don't need the COVID-19 vaccine, which is completely ridiculous,' said Dr. Tina Tan, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Lurie Children's Hospital and president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. The Itasca-based American Academy of Pediatrics and five other medical organizations sued Kennedy and other federal health care leaders in early July over the changes. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that with the COVID-19 public health emergency over, it's time for a new phase in response to the virus. 'A rubber-stamping approach to approving COVID boosters in perpetuity without updated clinical trial data under the Biden Administration is now over,' the statement said. Illinois health leaders making plans Illinois health care leaders and pharmacies — where many people typically receive COVID-19 vaccines — say they're moving forward with plans to administer updated COVID-19 vaccines but won't know exactly how that will look until they receive further guidance. The Chicago Department of Public Health hopes to administer updated COVID-19 vaccines to anyone who wants them, said Dr. Alexander Sloboda, medical director of immunizations and emergency preparedness for the Chicago Department of Public Health. 'At this time, we don't plan to limit (the vaccine) to any particular groups, really anyone 6 months and older should be getting the updated vaccine, but there are some unknowns at the federal level of what the final recommendations will be, what will be available, what the coverage will look like,' Sloboda said. The Cook County Department of Public Health also hopes to make updated COVID-19 vaccines available to anyone ages 6 months and older, said Dr. Kiran Joshi, chief operating officer at the Cook County Department of Public Health. CVS Health said in a statement that, 'If approved (by the FDA), we plan to carry the updated COVID-19 this fall' cautioning that 'patient eligibility will be defined by the FDA and CDC.' Walgreens also plans to administer updated COVID-19 vaccines this fall, and is also awaiting guidance on who will be eligible for them, said Samantha Picking, senior director of immunizations at Walgreens. The Illinois Department of Public Health plans to release an advisory regarding COVID-19 vaccine recommendations as it gets closer to the fall respiratory season, after consulting with the state's Immunization Advisory Council, state health leaders and national experts, the state health department said in a statement. States typically follow CDC recommendations, but that could change given all the disagreement over vaccines this year. When asked whether providers could follow state recommendations rather than federal ones, if the two differ, a spokesperson for the state health department said in an email: 'Yes. As always, health care providers should use evidence-based practice and patient-centered clinical judgment to make individual patient-care decisions.' But even if providers choose to give updated COVID-19 vaccines to healthy, younger adults, questions remain about whether health insurance will cover the shots. Federal law requires insurers to cover vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and adopted by the CDC director, according to KFF, a nonprofit organization focused on health policy. It's unclear whether that committee will recommend updated COVID-19 vaccines for everyone. Without insurance, COVID-19 vaccines can cost as much as about $130 or $140 a dose, according to the CDC. The largest health insurer in Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, said in a statement it has not made any changes to its coverage for COVID-19 vaccines, but it is monitoring 'any activity that may impact preventive care recommendations and will communicate any changes to recommendations that may impact standard coverage of preventive services.' Health insurance industry group AHIP said in a statement in late June that, 'We are committed to ongoing coverage of vaccines to ensure access and affordability for this respiratory virus season.' The many lingering questions have left people like Roger Naglewski, 55, wondering if they'll be able to get COVID-19 vaccines in the fall. Naglewski runs the Facebook group Chicago Vaccine Hunters, which started several years ago when finding scarce doses of COVID-19 vaccines felt akin to winning the lottery. 'I want to get one at the next opportunity I can,' Naglewski said of COVID-19 vaccines. Even though more treatments for COVID-19 are available now than several years ago, 'I just don't want to get sick for 10 days and get knocked off my feet. In addition, I don't want to have any of the issues people have had with long haul COVID.' He worries, however, that many people won't get vaccinated against COVID-19 this year, given all the confusion and upheaval. About 59% of adults surveyed by KFF say they will 'probably not' or 'definitely not' get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall. That would be in line with COVID-19 vaccination trends in recent years. As of the end of June, only about 12% of Illinois residents had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine updated for the 2024-25 season, according to the state health department. 'This administration has basically been putting out nonscientific information and what's happening is this is causing severe confusion among the public,' said Tan, with Lurie and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 'What the public needs to do is you need to speak to your health care provider that you have a good relationship with to get sound scientific information on why getting vaccinations is so important.'
4 hours ago
CDC shooter believed COVID vaccine made him suicidal, his father tells police
ATLANTA -- A Georgia man who opened fire on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters, shooting dozens of rounds into the sprawling complex and killing a police officer, had blamed the COVID-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday. The 30-year-old shooter also tried to get into the CDC's headquarters in Atlanta but was stopped by guards before driving to a pharmacy across the street and opening fire late Friday afternoon, the official said. He was armed with five guns, including at least one long gun, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose was mortally wounded while responding. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose skepticism of vaccines has been a cornerstone of his career, voiced support for CDC employees Saturday. But some laid-off CDC employees said Kennedy shares responsibility for the violence and should resign. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation named Patrick Joseph White as the shooter, but authorities haven't said whether he was killed by police or killed himself. The suspect's father contacted police and identified his son as the possible shooter, the law enforcement official told AP. The father said his son had been upset over the death of the son's dog, and he had also become fixated on the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the official. The family lives in Kennesaw, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of CDC headquarters. A voicemail left at a phone number listed publicly for White's family wasn't returned Saturday. The shooting left gaping bullet holes in windows across the CDC campus, where thousands work on critical disease research. Employees huddled under lockdown for hours while investigators gathered evidence. Staff was encouraged to work from home Monday or take leave. At least four CDC buildings were hit, Director Susan Monarez said on X. Sam Atkins, who lives in Stone Mountain, said outside the CVS pharmacy on Saturday that gun violence feels like 'a fact of life' now. 'This is an everyday thing that happens here in Georgia.' 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at CDC's Atlanta campus that took the life of officer David Rose,' Kennedy said Saturday. 'We know how shaken our public health colleagues feel today. No one should face violence while working to protect the health of others.' Some rejected the expressions of solidarity Kennedy made in a 'Dear colleagues' email, and called for his resignation. 'Kennedy is directly responsible for the villainization of CDC's workforce through his continuous lies about science and vaccine safety, which have fueled a climate of hostility and mistrust,' said Fired But Fighting, a group of laid-off employees opposing changes to the CDC by President Donald Trump's administration. Under Kennedy, CDC has laid off nearly 2,000 employees. Trump proposes cutting the agency's budget in half next year, moving some CDC functions into a new Administration for a Healthy America. Kennedy has a history as a leader in the anti-vaccine movement, but he reached new prominence by spreading distrust of COVID-19 vaccines. For example, he called it 'criminal medical malpractice' to give COVID-19 vaccines to children. Kennedy parlayed that attention into a presidential bid and endorsement of Trump, leading to Trump naming him secretary. Kennedy continues to undercut the scientific consensus for vaccines, ordering $500 million cut from vaccine development funding on Tuesday. Fired But Fighting also called for the resignation of Russell Vought, noting a video recorded before Trump appointed him Office of Management and Budget director with orders to dismantle much of the federal government. 'We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,' Vought said in the video, obtained by ProPublica and the research group Documented. 'When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work, because they are increasingly viewed as the villains.' A request for comment from Vought's agency wasn't returned. This shooting was the 'physical embodiment of the narrative that has taken over, attacking science, and attacking our federal workers,' said Sarah Boim, a former CDC communications staffer who was fired this year during a wave of terminations. A neighbor of White told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that White spoke with her multiple times about his distrust of COVID-19 vaccines. Nancy Hoalst, who lives on the same street as White's family, said he seemed like a "good guy' while doing yard work and walking dogs for neighbors, but he would bring up vaccines even in unrelated conversations. 'He was very unsettled, and he very deeply believed that vaccines hurt him and were hurting other people.' Hoalst told the Atlanta newspaper. 'He emphatically believed that.' But Hoalst said she never believed White would be violent: 'I had no idea he thought he would take it out on the CDC.' Rose, 33, was a former Marine who served in Afghanistan, graduated from the police academy in March and 'quickly earned the respect of his colleagues for his dedication, courage and professionalism,' DeKalb County said. 'This evening, there is a wife without a husband. There are three children, one unborn, without a father,' DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said. Senior CDC leadership told some staff Saturday that they would do a full security assessment following the shooting, according to a conference call recording obtained by the AP. One staffer said people felt like 'sitting ducks' Friday. Another asked whether administrators had spoken with Kennedy and if they could speak to 'the misinformation, the disinformation' that 'caused this issue.' It is clear CDC leaders fear employees could continue to be targeted. In a Saturday email obtained by the AP, CDC's security office asked employees to scrape old CDC parking decals off their vehicles. The office said decals haven't been required for some time.
San Francisco Chronicle
7 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
UCSF doctor reinstated at FDA less than 2 weeks after resigning amid MAGA backlash
A divisive UCSF oncologist has reportedly been reinstated at the FDA less than two weeks after he resigned amid criticism from President Donald Trump's allies. Multiple media outlets on Saturday cited Health and Human Services Department officials confirming the reinstatement of Dr. Vinay Prasad, which was first reported by Endpoints News, a biotech-focused news organization. Spokespeople for HHS, which oversees the Food and Drug Administration, did not immediately respond to inquiries from the Chronicle about the news. Prasad resigned as the FDA's chief medical and scientific officer in late July after right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer and former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., accused him of being too liberal. He also drew backlash for criticizing the FDA's 2023 approval of a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative muscle disease that affects boys, who often do not survive past their 20s. In his role at the FDA overseeing vaccines, Prasad announced in May that the agency would limit updated COVID-19 vaccine access to seniors and people with certain people with certain medical conditions. Previously, the FDA had recommended annual COVID shots for all Americans over 6 months old. On social media, Loomer criticized Prasad's reinstatement, calling him a 'longtime progressive Marxist.' 'In the coming weeks, I will be ramping up my exposes (sic) of officials within HHS and FDA so the American people can see more of the pay for play rot themselves and how rabid Trump haters continue to be hired in the Trump administration,' she wrote. 'Should be a good time.'
