New studies show growing risk of chronic neurological diseases associated with Long COVID

New studies show growing risk of chronic neurological diseases associated with Long COVID

As the US enters the autumn, more than one million Americans continue to be infected with COVID-19 every day, with nearly every state registering high to very high rates of transmission. While transmission has declined slightly in recent weeks, it remains at the highest level for any September of the pandemic.

Modeling these trends, which are based on wastewater data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the PMC COVID-19 Forecasting Model predicts that a trough in infections will arrive in early November before climbing again during the winter holiday season. However, the lull in this scenario will remain a blistering 850,000 infections per day. Indeed, this 9th wave of infections has produced the highest rate of transmission for this time of year, underscoring that the virus that causes COVID is not seasonal and the ongoing pandemic has not set into a predictable pattern that could be described as “endemic.”

Graph showing daily new infections in the US based on wastewater modeling. [Photo by Dr. Mike Hoerger]

The latest PMC forecast notes:

The year-over-year comparisons suggest that we are experiencing the highest-level of transmission all-time during this time of year. The surge is both high and wide, meaning sustained high levels of transmission… Schools and businesses that lack multilayered mitigation (vaccines, masking, excellent indoor air quality, better-than-CDC isolation guidance, testing) should expect illness and absences. 

The authors warned about possible complacency upon entering the slow decline in transmission, noting:

Barring significant retroactive corrections, all evidence suggests that the 9th wave has peaked. However, remember that 50-60 percent of transmission often occurs on the back end of a wave, which is why ongoing mitigation remains important. Expect more than one million new infections per day for almost another month and most of the remaining year.

The fact that these warnings emanate not from the nation’s public health agency, but a collaborative organization based at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana—started early in 2020 with the mission of helping reduce COVID transmission—underscores the utter bankruptcy of the CDC and federal and state governments to address the ongoing pandemic. 

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