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Among the many complicated aspects of Covid-19, long Covid is one of the most puzzling. It describes the wide range of symptoms—including respiratory, neurological, and heart conditions—that patients who had Covid-19 still report months after their diagnosis. The variety and intensity of those symptoms are so broad that the main way long Covid is diagnosed is by ruling out other options.
But a new study, the largest of long Covid yet, is at least starting to give us some insight. It followed more than 1,200 hospitalized Covid-19 patients for a year after the onset of their symptoms. The patients, 53% of them male and with a median age of 59, returned to the hospital for six- and 12-month follow-ups, where they underwent testing and answered questions about their symptoms and quality of life.
The findings were striking: Six months after catching Covid, 68% of patients still had at least one symptom; a year after the disease, half did. The most common were fatigue and muscle weakness, which affected 52% of patients after six months, and 20% after a year. Women were more likely to suffer from fatigue and weakness, as were people of both sexes who had been treated with corticosteroids to reduce inflammation.
A third of patients reported respiratory problems a year after their initial illness, especially shortness of breath. The study also found that, after a year, 25% of patients who had been moderately ill and 54% of those who had been gravely ill still hadn’t gained back full lung capacity. Almost a third of patients also reported lingering pain and discomfort.
It’s not a lot to go on. But by giving doctors more information about the most common symptoms of long Covid, this study can help identify potential patterns—such as the link between corticosteroid drugs and fatigue. Those can be used to inform therapy during hospitalization or after, with the goal of reducing the incidence or severity of long-term symptoms. —Annalisa Merelli
Talking points
🔎 South Africa’s scientists are monitoring a new variant. The C.1.2 variant is active in seven other countries across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific regions.
📉 The Federal Reserve’s real fear is disinflation. Despite the US economy’s current situation (a bit inflation-y), the structure of the world economy lends itself to falling prices.
📱 Kenyans are sharing vaccine info their government won’t. The arrival of vaccine shipments tends to be highly publicized, but Kenyans head to social media for actual access to doses.
💉 The FDA’s Pfizer approval is an invitation. Vax advocates hope it will provide greater political cover for company and government officials to introduce more mandates.
📋 Finding the mandate that’s right for you. If you’re considering requiring vaccines at your company, here’s what to know from a legal, HR, and management perspective.
🚗 Cities that favored pedestrians over cars are reversing course. From automated crosswalks to “slow streets,” pandemic measures are being reversed all over the US.
🚫 No vaccine? No green card. Starting Oct. 1, the Covid-19 vaccine joins a long list of required shots for US green card applicants, as well as visa applicants at US embassies and consulates abroad.
🛍️ The Delta variant is cramping American spending. Growth in US consumer spending slowed to 0.3% in July, even though household incomes rose by 1.1% and inflation pressures are easing.
You asked
Has Covid-19 gone from pandemic to endemic?
The WHO describes a pandemic as the “worldwide spread of a new disease.” Pandemics also tend to be characterized by “high attack rates” (the proportion of people getting sick with the disease), “explosive spread” in a short period of time, lower levels of immunity, and higher levels of contagiousness. Covid-19 checks all those boxes.
Endemic diseases, like chicken pox or malaria, are not novel, and the rates of infection within a given population are fairly predictable. The CDC says that endemic refers to “the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area.” Covid-19 is starting to check some of those boxes.
That wasn’t a foregone conclusion: The hope was that vaccines might create a level of herd immunity that would stomp out the virus almost entirely. But because the delta variant spreads so quickly, most experts think herd immunity is no longer realistic, and Covid going endemic is now more than probable.
How to name your vaccine
Here are some ground rules for naming a drug or vaccine in the US:
- A name should be memorable and sufficiently unique.
- But not so unique that a doctor can’t spell it.
- It can refer to the drug’s underlying technology.
- It can’t refer to the drug’s active ingredients.
- It can’t overstate or appear to overstate the drug’s effectiveness.
- But it should hold some promise of the drug’s positive effects.
These aren’t idle guidelines: Every year, the FDA rejects up to a third of proposed names for drug brands. Perhaps that’s how we ended up with something as tortured as Comirnaty (koe•mir’•na•tee), Pfizer’s FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccine. The name is an agglomeration of the words “Covid-19 immunity” and “mRNA,” and is intended to evoke “community.” …Sure.
Zoom, in
“There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to returning to the office.” —Kelly Steckelberg, Zoom’s chief financial officer
Even Zoom executives are seeking light at the end of the WFH tunnel. Last week, the pandemic’s video-conferencing app of choice said it would start “strategically mixing remote and in-office work” for employees.
An internal poll at Zoom found that only 1% of employees want to be in the office full-time, 25% are for total WFH, and more than half favor a hybrid approach. Zoom staffers, they’re just like us.
Elsewhere on Quartz
- Netmesis: China’s top internet regulator is now its tech giants’ worst enemy.
- Feeling perky: We asked the top US financial firms to disclose their employee benefits.
- Preppers: Here are the cities most prepared for climate change.
- Passing gas: The last country using leaded gasoline just finished its supply.
- Brain drain: The flight from Afghanistan could decimate its healthcare system.
- The hours: China’s top court says 996 overtime culture is illegal.
Our best wishes for a healthy day. Get in touch with us at needtoknow@qz.com, and live your best Quartz life by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s newsletter was brought to you by Annalisa Merelli, Sarah Todd, Samanth Subramanian, Michelle Cheng, and Kira Bindrim.