Survey highlights greater burden of long COVID in Native Americans

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Workers in corn field — USDA / Flickr cc

From 2021 to 2023, American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIANs) reported higher rates of COVID-19 and long COVID than their non-AIAN counterparts, according to a non–peer-reviewed study published on the Research Square preprint platform.

Led by a researcher from the US National Bureau of Economic Research, the study team surveyed more than 20,000 adult respondents, including public-use files (datasets stripped of identifying information) and an oversample of AIANs, to the California Health Interview Survey from 2021 to 2023.

The goal was to estimate associations between demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics and COVID-19 infection, long-COVID symptoms, vaccination status, testing behavior, food insecurity, job loss, and fewer work hours.

By the end of 2020, “AIAN communities had approximately 1.6 times the number of confirmed cases, 2.4 times the number of hospitalizations, and twice the mortality rates associated with COVID-19 relative to the U.S. population overall,” the authors noted.

Symptoms tied to food insecurity, job loss

About 47% of AIAN respondents reported having COVID-19, and 40% said they had long COVID, compared with 30% among non-AIAN adults. Obesity and poverty were risk factors for both infection and long COVID.

Lower vaccination rates among rural AIAN respondents further highlight structural barriers to preventive care that have been documented in previous studies, including geographic isolation, limited health care infrastructure, and historical mistrust of health institutions.

AIAN adults were less likely to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 than their non-AIAN peers. Vaccination was tied to lower odds of job loss and reductions in hours or income in only public-use files, while persistent symptoms were linked to severe food insecurity and job loss.

“Lower vaccination rates among rural AIAN respondents further highlight structural barriers to preventive care that have been documented in previous studies, including geographic isolation, limited health care infrastructure, and historical mistrust of health institutions,” the researchers wrote.

Long-COVID symptoms such as fatigue can reduce work capacity and limit workers’ ability to maintain employment. “These effects may be particularly consequential for workers in occupations requiring in-person interaction or physical labor, which are more common in some AIAN communities and may also increase exposure to infectious disease,” the authors wrote.

“As a result, persistent health effects associated with COVID-19 may reinforce existing economic vulnerabilities in communities that already experience higher rates of poverty and limited access to health care resources,” they added.

Idaho investigates spike in illnesses related to raw milk consumption

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Stephanie Soucheray, MA

Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) said it’s investigating a spate of illnesses tied to raw, or unpasteurized, milk. Since May 15, department officials said almost 60 people have been identified as having illnesses after drinking raw milk, and at least 45 of those people tested positive for campylobacteriosis, a bacterial infection.

Most of the sickened people reported getting raw milk from two different milking operations, one in northern Idaho and one in southern Idaho.

“Both milking operations are working in collaboration with DHW and local public health agencies to identify and fix any potential sources of contamination,” DHW said.

Campylobacteriosis can appear two to five days after exposure. Symptoms include diarrhea (sometimes bloody), fever, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting. Infections can be more severe in young children, the elderly, and those who are immunocompromised, but most people recover within one week of symptom onset.

Quick takes: Second NWS case in Texas, US measles elimination status in doubt, polio in 3 nations

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Chris Dall, MA

The Food and Drug Administration’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed a second case of New World screwworm (NWS) in Texas. APHIS said late last week that the case was found in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County, more than five miles from the first confirmed infection. Caused by the larvae of Cochliomyia hominivorax, a parasitic fly, NWS is a serious threat to livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases, people. The larvae burrow into living tissue, causing severe wounds. APHIS said other samples collected from the surrounding area have been tested and were negative.
An analysis of over 1,800 whole genome sequences from US measles cases suggests the nation is likely to lose its measles elimination status, ProPublica reports. The analysis, which includes sequences from measles cases released as recently as last month, shows the measles virus currently spreading in Utah—the largest current outbreak in the United States—is very closely related to the strain that spread in West Texas beginning in January 2025. Mutations found in cases in Texas and Utah were also present in sequences from infected patients in other states. Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, but continuous transmission over a 12-month period threatens that status. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting its own sequencing analysis and will present its findings to the Pan American Health Organization later this year.
Three African countries reported polio cases last week, according to the latest update from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Central African Republic confirmed its first two cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) this year, with onsets of paralysis on April 20 and 26. Malawi reported a cVDPV2 case with paralysis on December 22, 2025, for its first case of 2025. Nigeria reported a cVDPV2 case with paralysis onset on May 2, marking its 25^th case this year.