Young Brazilians are dying of covid – Coronavirus Fact vs. Fiction

Young Brazilians are dying of covid – Coronavirus Fact vs. Fiction

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More young Brazilians now appear to be seriously ill and dying from Covid-19, doctors say, amid a national increase in daily deaths and cases that are increasing global numbers as well.

Nearly a dozen ICU doctors and nurses since mid-January in various hospitals in Brazil say their ICU beds are occupied by more young people than ever before.

“We have healthy patients between the ages of 30 and 50, and that is the profile of most patients,” said Dr. Pedro Archer, a 33-year-old intensive care physician at a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro. “That is the big difference in this latest wave.”

The question is: why? There is little data available to explain this, but experts are analyzing whether the P1 variant first detected in Brazil is infecting younger people and making them sicker. A recent study shows that it can be up to 2.2 times more contagious. Experts also point to an increase in parties around the new year and after the carnival holidays.

“The death for a person in their 30s is very, very painful,” said Dr. Maria Dolores da Silva, a 42-year veteran of intensive care in São Paulo. “They have their whole lives ahead of them and Covid takes that.”

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWER.

Q. Many parents are being vaccinated, but their children still cannot. Can grandparents visit if children are not vaccinated?

ONE. Vaccinating parents is very important. This reduces your own chance of illness, as well as your likelihood of transmitting the coronavirus to others, including your children, says Dr. Leana Wen. It also makes visits by other family members safer.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that fully vaccinated people may visit another family in which not everyone has been vaccinated, as long as those who have not yet been vaccinated are not at high risk for serious illness caused by Covid-19. This means that it is good for grandparents to visit their children and grandchildren, and stay with them, have dinner with them indoors, hug them and not wear masks. Read here for more tips from Dr. Wen.
Submit your questions here. Are you a healthcare professional battling Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you are facing: +1 347-322-0415.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY

AstraZeneca reviews effectiveness data

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca updated its data on how its coronavirus vaccine works, saying it is 76% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19, after the US independent Data and Security Monitoring Council said the company was using results outdated clinical trials.
The revision is small – it fell from 79% – and for those over 65, the company revised its data upwards, from 80% to 85%. He says his injection is 100% effective in preventing serious illness and hospitalizations. The data disaster is the latest of many missteps that have questioned the management of AstraZeneca, writes Julia Horowitz.

Vaccine nationalism to be focus of EU summit

European Union leaders will meet at a virtual summit today to define plans to control vaccine exports, in an ongoing dispute with the United Kingdom over the supply of doses, especially for AstraZeneca.

The EU is struggling to get enough doses to implement effective inoculation programs, but other countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have also largely maintained doses made in their own countries. The President of the United States, Joe Biden, is expected to attend the meeting, at the invitation of the EU.

India has temporarily suspended all major exports of AstraZeneca shots by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to meet domestic demand, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources. SII was manufacturing AstraZeneca vaccines for much of the developing world. CNN contacted the SII and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment, but received no response.

Boris Johnson’s latest gaffe could threaten vaccine launches in Britain

The prime minister of the United Kingdom, prone to gaffe, has made frantic attempts to counter his comments that the successful launch of the vaccine in his country was “because of capitalism, because of greed, my friends”.

The timing of these comments – made in a private liaison with Conservative Party supporters on Tuesday – could be worrying for the PM. European Commission leaders are trying to unite the 27 EU member states to see the UK as the villain and tighten vaccine export controls that will affect the country, writes Luke McGee.

India detects new ‘double mutant’ variant

It is unclear how many infections in India have been associated with this newly discovered variant, or whether the strain is more dangerous. However, the health ministry said that such variants typically increase infectivity and can “confer immune escape”, meaning that people may be less able to fight infection.

A “double mutant” variant is a strain that carries two mutations. India made the discovery as infections grew there, heightening fears of a second wave.

ON OUR RADAR

Funeral directors lower the coffin of a person who died of Covid-19 at the Glen Forest cemetery in Harare, Zimbabwe, on January 14, 2021.
  • Covid-19’s second wave hit Africa much more strongly than the first, a new analysis showed.
  • British TV anchor Kate Garraway talks about her husband’s distressing ordeal with Covid-19, which has left him hospitalized since last March.
  • The Covid-19 pandemic changed our sense of mortality. “That vague inevitability that I assumed would happen in the distant future crushed me in the head like an anvil in an old cartoon,” writes Allison Hope
  • Dr. Anosh Ahmed of Loretto Hospital resigned after discovering that the hospital was improperly distributing the Covid-19 vaccine at Trump Tower in downtown Chicago.
  • Seven out of 10 people hospitalized by Covid-19 have not yet fully recovered five months after discharge, a study concluded.

TIPS

If you have been eating more and gaining weight during the pandemic, you are not alone. Recent research has shown that some people may have gained more than 1.5 pounds on average per month during Covid-19 blocks in March and April last year.

So what do you do about it? “Definitely give yourself time,” says CNN health and nutrition contributor Lisa Drayer, adding that it is natural to seek comforting foods in times of stress. But Drayer recommends some small changes that can make a big difference: eat small, frequent meals, include protein in your plate and walk at least 30 minutes a day. Read here for more Drayer tips.

TODAY’S PODCAST

“Health experts repeatedly say: the problem is what you do when you get there, regardless of … the way you are traveling.” – CNN correspondent, Pete Muntean

As more and more people in the U.S. get their vaccinations, some are making travel plans and airports are getting more crowds. CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta speaks to Muntean, who covers aviation and transport, about the latest guidance on travel restrictions and how to take a safe vacation. Listen now.

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