Reassuringly, older, non-expired exams do nonetheless appear to be selecting up new variants of the virus (though it’s value taking into consideration that we don’t know the way future variants may evolve). However they’ve by no means been 100% correct, they usually nonetheless aren’t. (Antonio reviewed just a few of the exams again in 2021 and had blended outcomes.)
A research revealed a few days in the past discovered that symptomatic folks ought to actually take two exams, 48 hours aside. And individuals who suppose they may have been contaminated however don’t have signs ought to check 3 times.
A few months in the past, the WHO declared that covid was now not a public well being emergency of worldwide concern. Which sounds nice, till you understand it’s as a result of it’s now “a longtime and ongoing well being difficulty.” Oh, and it’s nonetheless a pandemic.
There can nonetheless be big spikes in case numbers, like final winter, when the WHO recorded over 44 million instances on December 19. And whereas deaths have fortunately declined, they do nonetheless occur. The latest knowledge now we have means that 497 folks died of covid within the week ending July 3. Deaths have been a lot increased in January of this 12 months, with 20,000 to 40,000 each week. Once more, these are simply the recorded covid deaths. The true numbers are more likely to be increased.
Personally, I’m not as anxious about covid-19 as I used to be through the early days of the pandemic. That’s partly as a result of I’m absolutely vaccinated and have already had covid no less than twice. I’m additionally lucky sufficient to not have a situation that makes me weak to extreme illness.
However the elephant within the room is lengthy covid—one other hotly contested matter. (There was a very intense debate surrounding lengthy covid in youngsters, as I lined right here.) The situation continues to trigger lasting ache and struggling to an unknown however vital variety of folks. Scientists imagine it’s doable to develop the situation after any an infection with the coronavirus.
So I’m retaining my unexpired exams for now, simply in case.
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mRNA vaccines helped us by means of the pandemic. However they may additionally assist defend in opposition to many different infectious illnesses, provide common safety in opposition to flu, and even deal with most cancers, as I lined in a chunk exploring what’s subsequent for this know-how.