Latest news with #Covid-infected
Hans India
a day ago
- Health
- Hans India
Study finds potential biomarker for long Covid
US researchers have identified a potential biomarker for long Covid that may help develop better diagnostics and potential treatments for the condition. Currently, clinicians confer a diagnosis of long Covid based upon a collection of symptoms that patients develop after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The study, reported in the journal Infection, details the detection of SARS-CoV-2 protein fragments within extracellular vesicles (EVs) -- tiny, naturally occurring packages that help cells share proteins, metabolites, and other materials. "If a patient arrives in clinic and they relate the persistence of typical signs and symptoms of long Covid, 12 weeks or more after Covid-19 infection, I give them a presumptive diagnosis, but I don't have any blood tests or biomarkers to confirm this diagnosis," said William Stringer, from the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Centre. The new biomarker could be the first specific and quantifiable indicator for confirming long Covid. The researchers collected and analysed blood samples from 14 patients over 12 weeks of aerobic exercise training (56 samples in all) in a clinical trial on long Covid. The team found 65 distinct protein fragments from SARS-CoV-2 inside the EVs. These fragments come from the virus's Pp1ab protein -- an RNA Replicase enzyme which is key to how the virus copies itself and makes other viral particles. This protein is found uniquely in SARS-CoV-2, and not in uninfected human cells, noted Asghar Abbasi, another researcher from Lundquist Institute. Significantly, the researchers found that these viral peptides were demonstrated in each subject, but not in each blood draw, in the EVs of long Covid patients and were not detected in a separate control group of pre-pandemic EV samples. Although the identified peptides originated from one of the virus's largest proteins, the researchers did not detect other comparably large proteins indicative of active viral replication. The peptides contained in the EVs may be just molecular "trash" left over after the formation of new viral proteins, they said. "We haven't run [our tests] on people without long Covid symptoms who are currently, or who were, infected with Covid," said Stringer. "This raises the question: is this just continuing to take out the trash from the Covid-infected cell, or is this really ongoing replication someplace? I think that's the mechanistic issue that needs to be resolved in future studies."
Leader Live
26-06-2025
- Health
- Leader Live
Matt Hancock back at Covid inquiry for probe into pandemic impact on care homes
Mr Hancock, who resigned from government in 2021 after admitting breaking social distancing guidance by having an affair with a colleague, has given evidence to the inquiry multiple times. He will return on Wednesday for a full-day session to face questions specifically about the adult social care sector. In a previous appearance before the inquiry he admitted the so-called protective ring he said had been put around care homes early in the pandemic was not an unbroken one and insisted he understands the strength of feeling people have on the issue. At a Downing Street press conference on May 15 2020, Mr Hancock said: 'Right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes.' Bereaved families have previously branded this phrase a 'sickening lie' and a 'joke'. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. However, there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until mid-April. This was despite growing awareness of the risks of people without Covid-19 symptoms being able to spread the virus. A lawyer for the families from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) campaign group described Mr Hancock's appearance as a 'seminal moment of the Covid inquiry that many of our clients have been waiting for'. Nicola Brook, from Broudie Jackson Canter which represents more than 7,000 families from CBFFJ, said: 'While Mr Hancock has given evidence to the inquiry before, this is the first time that he has been called early in a module, meaning he won't be able to simply respond to others' evidence. 'I only hope that he tells the truth about what he knew about the decision to discharge Covid-infected patients into care homes, which was the biggest scandal of the whole pandemic. Only then will our clients be able to get some form of closure.' From Monday, module six of the inquiry will look at the effect the pandemic had on both the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the UK. Among the issues to be examined will be decisions made by the UK Government and devolved administrations on moving people from hospitals into adult care and residential homes in the early stages of the pandemic. The module will also consider how the pandemic was managed in care and residential homes, including infection prevention and control measures, testing for the virus, the availability and adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the restrictions on access to such locations by healthcare professionals and loved ones. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said many older people in care homes 'had a truly terrible time during the pandemic'. She added: 'Those older people who survived and are still with us, and their families, have waited a long time for the pandemic inquiry to focus on their experiences but now their turn has finally come, so it's a big moment for them and for the inquiry too.' The CBFFJ group has written to inquiry chairwoman, Baroness Heather Hallett, to express their concern at some 'key decision-makers' not expected to be called in this module, including former prime minister Boris Johnson. They said: 'Without those who were responsible for critical policies like discharging untested hospital patients into care homes, the inquiry cannot deliver a full or credible account of what happened.' They insisted the module must be 'a turning point' rather than 'an afterthought'. 'What happened in the care sector during the pandemic is a national scar. To fail to learn the right lessons now would compound the injustice and place future lives at risk,' they added. Members of bereaved groups from across the UK are due to give evidence on Tuesday, while representatives of the National Care Forum and Royal College of Nursing will give evidence on Thursday. Public hearings for the care sector module are expected to run until the end of July.
Glasgow Times
26-06-2025
- Health
- Glasgow Times
Matt Hancock back at Covid inquiry for probe into pandemic impact on care homes
Mr Hancock, who resigned from government in 2021 after admitting breaking social distancing guidance by having an affair with a colleague, has given evidence to the inquiry multiple times. He will return on Wednesday to face questions specifically about the adult social care sector. In a previous appearance before the inquiry he admitted the so-called protective ring he said had been put around care homes early in the pandemic was not an unbroken one and insisted he understands the strength of feeling people have on the issue. At a Downing Street press conference on May 15 2020, Mr Hancock said: 'Right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes.' Bereaved families have previously branded this phrase a 'sickening lie' and a 'joke'. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. However, there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until mid-April. This was despite growing awareness of the risks of people without Covid-19 symptoms being able to spread the virus. Former health secretary Matt Hancock has given evidence to the Covid inquiry multiple times (Jordan Pettitt/PA) A lawyer for the families from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) campaign group described Mr Hancock's appearance as a 'seminal moment of the Covid inquiry that many of our clients have been waiting for'. Nicola Brook, from Broudie Jackson Canter which represents more than 7,000 families from CBFFJ, said: 'While Mr Hancock has given evidence to the inquiry before, this is the first time that he has been called early in a module, meaning he won't be able to simply respond to others' evidence. 'I only hope that he tells the truth about what he knew about the decision to discharge Covid-infected patients into care homes, which was the biggest scandal of the whole pandemic. Only then will our clients be able to get some form of closure.' From Monday, module six of the inquiry will look at the effect the pandemic had on both the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the UK. Among the issues to be examined will be decisions made by the UK Government and devolved administrations on moving people from hospitals into adult care and residential homes in the early stages of the pandemic. The module will also consider how the pandemic was managed in care and residential homes, including infection prevention and control measures, testing for the virus, the availability and adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the restrictions on access to such locations by healthcare professionals and loved ones. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said many older people in care homes 'had a truly terrible time during the pandemic'. She added: 'Those older people who survived and are still with us, and their families, have waited a long time for the pandemic inquiry to focus on their experiences but now their turn has finally come, so it's a big moment for them and for the inquiry too.' The CBFFJ group has written to inquiry chairwoman, Baroness Heather Hallett, to express their concern at some 'key decision-makers' not expected to be called in this module, including former prime minister Boris Johnson. They said: 'Without those who were responsible for critical policies like discharging untested hospital patients into care homes, the inquiry cannot deliver a full or credible account of what happened.' They insisted the module must be 'a turning point' rather than 'an afterthought'. 'What happened in the care sector during the pandemic is a national scar. To fail to learn the right lessons now would compound the injustice and place future lives at risk,' they added. Public hearings for the care sector module are expected to run until the end of July.
South Wales Argus
26-06-2025
- Health
- South Wales Argus
Matt Hancock back at Covid inquiry for probe into pandemic impact on care homes
Mr Hancock, who resigned from government in 2021 after admitting breaking social distancing guidance by having an affair with a colleague, has given evidence to the inquiry multiple times. He will return on Wednesday to face questions specifically about the adult social care sector. In a previous appearance before the inquiry he admitted the so-called protective ring he said had been put around care homes early in the pandemic was not an unbroken one and insisted he understands the strength of feeling people have on the issue. At a Downing Street press conference on May 15 2020, Mr Hancock said: 'Right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes.' Bereaved families have previously branded this phrase a 'sickening lie' and a 'joke'. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. However, there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until mid-April. This was despite growing awareness of the risks of people without Covid-19 symptoms being able to spread the virus. Former health secretary Matt Hancock has given evidence to the Covid inquiry multiple times (Jordan Pettitt/PA) A lawyer for the families from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) campaign group described Mr Hancock's appearance as a 'seminal moment of the Covid inquiry that many of our clients have been waiting for'. Nicola Brook, from Broudie Jackson Canter which represents more than 7,000 families from CBFFJ, said: 'While Mr Hancock has given evidence to the inquiry before, this is the first time that he has been called early in a module, meaning he won't be able to simply respond to others' evidence. 'I only hope that he tells the truth about what he knew about the decision to discharge Covid-infected patients into care homes, which was the biggest scandal of the whole pandemic. Only then will our clients be able to get some form of closure.' From Monday, module six of the inquiry will look at the effect the pandemic had on both the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the UK. Among the issues to be examined will be decisions made by the UK Government and devolved administrations on moving people from hospitals into adult care and residential homes in the early stages of the pandemic. The module will also consider how the pandemic was managed in care and residential homes, including infection prevention and control measures, testing for the virus, the availability and adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the restrictions on access to such locations by healthcare professionals and loved ones. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said many older people in care homes 'had a truly terrible time during the pandemic'. She added: 'Those older people who survived and are still with us, and their families, have waited a long time for the pandemic inquiry to focus on their experiences but now their turn has finally come, so it's a big moment for them and for the inquiry too.' The CBFFJ group has written to inquiry chairwoman, Baroness Heather Hallett, to express their concern at some 'key decision-makers' not expected to be called in this module, including former prime minister Boris Johnson. They said: 'Without those who were responsible for critical policies like discharging untested hospital patients into care homes, the inquiry cannot deliver a full or credible account of what happened.' They insisted the module must be 'a turning point' rather than 'an afterthought'. 'What happened in the care sector during the pandemic is a national scar. To fail to learn the right lessons now would compound the injustice and place future lives at risk,' they added. Public hearings for the care sector module are expected to run until the end of July.
North Wales Chronicle
26-06-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
Matt Hancock back at Covid inquiry for probe into pandemic impact on care homes
Mr Hancock, who resigned from government in 2021 after admitting breaking social distancing guidance by having an affair with a colleague, has given evidence to the inquiry multiple times. He will return on Wednesday to face questions specifically about the adult social care sector. In a previous appearance before the inquiry he admitted the so-called protective ring he said had been put around care homes early in the pandemic was not an unbroken one and insisted he understands the strength of feeling people have on the issue. At a Downing Street press conference on May 15 2020, Mr Hancock said: 'Right from the start, we've tried to throw a protective ring around our care homes.' Bereaved families have previously branded this phrase a 'sickening lie' and a 'joke'. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. However, there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until mid-April. This was despite growing awareness of the risks of people without Covid-19 symptoms being able to spread the virus. A lawyer for the families from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) campaign group described Mr Hancock's appearance as a 'seminal moment of the Covid inquiry that many of our clients have been waiting for'. Nicola Brook, from Broudie Jackson Canter which represents more than 7,000 families from CBFFJ, said: 'While Mr Hancock has given evidence to the inquiry before, this is the first time that he has been called early in a module, meaning he won't be able to simply respond to others' evidence. 'I only hope that he tells the truth about what he knew about the decision to discharge Covid-infected patients into care homes, which was the biggest scandal of the whole pandemic. Only then will our clients be able to get some form of closure.' From Monday, module six of the inquiry will look at the effect the pandemic had on both the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the UK. Among the issues to be examined will be decisions made by the UK Government and devolved administrations on moving people from hospitals into adult care and residential homes in the early stages of the pandemic. The module will also consider how the pandemic was managed in care and residential homes, including infection prevention and control measures, testing for the virus, the availability and adequacy of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the restrictions on access to such locations by healthcare professionals and loved ones. Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said many older people in care homes 'had a truly terrible time during the pandemic'. She added: 'Those older people who survived and are still with us, and their families, have waited a long time for the pandemic inquiry to focus on their experiences but now their turn has finally come, so it's a big moment for them and for the inquiry too.' The CBFFJ group has written to inquiry chairwoman, Baroness Heather Hallett, to express their concern at some 'key decision-makers' not expected to be called in this module, including former prime minister Boris Johnson. They said: 'Without those who were responsible for critical policies like discharging untested hospital patients into care homes, the inquiry cannot deliver a full or credible account of what happened.' They insisted the module must be 'a turning point' rather than 'an afterthought'. 'What happened in the care sector during the pandemic is a national scar. To fail to learn the right lessons now would compound the injustice and place future lives at risk,' they added. Public hearings for the care sector module are expected to run until the end of July.
