The risk of long COVID was two to three times higher after the initial infection (14.8%) than after first (5.8%) or second (5.3%) reinfections.
Plaque growth can lead to a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, and other life-threatening cardiovascular events for as long as 1 year.
Post-exertional malaise, or exercise intolerance, was seen in 36% of those with long COVID.
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In other news, Americans, regardless of vaccination status, can visit nursing home residents again.
A real-world Mayo Clinic study shows a link between vaccination with two doses of an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine—either Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna—and an 80% lower risk of asymptomatic infection.
The relative risk for death rose 64%, but the absolute risk climbed from 2.5 to just 4.1 deaths per 1,000 cases.
Of COVID patients, 52% received antibiotics in spite of only 29% having a bacterial infection.
Included in the stimulus bill is $14 billion for vaccine distribution and $130 billion for schools.
Racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 infection rates were significant among Americans younger than 25 years early in the pandemic, particularly for Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic people, according to a study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Cases were up 2% last week, following a 7% increase the week before, the WHO says.
The rate of anaphylaxis after 1 dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine was well under 0.1%.
Also, 21% of adults polled say they think they'll be able to return to normal by summer.
In other developments, some hot spot countries report rising COVID-19 hospitalization and ICU levels.
