News from the USA, United States of America

Bangor Daily News: '5 years and trillions of dollars later, we’re still unaware of the full extent of COVID'

'There is hope. Maine legislators will soon be asked to consider LR 2135 , a bill sponsored by Rep. Ambureen Rana that urges providers to seek continuing medical education focused on infection-associated chronic conditions like Long COVID and Lyme. LR 2135 could be life changing for patients and providers alike.'

'During this Long COVID Awareness Month, I implore all Mainers to consider not only the devastation wrought by this condition but also look to the hope and change that could be brought by supporting greater awareness of this and similar conditions.'
 
Previous post about Virax Biolabs:
Dakota15 said:
Contagion: 'Detecting T Cell Dysfunction in Post-Acute Infection Syndromes'

'At IDWeek, Nigel McCracken, PhD, COO of Virax Biolabs, discussed their work on developing a diagnostic test for early detection of T cell dysfunction in post-acute infection syndromes like Long COVID, chronic fatigue syndrome, and Lyme disease.'

[...]
Click to expand...


New press releases:

'Virax Biolabs Presents Data on T-Cell Dysfunction in Post-acute Infection Syndromes at the 19th World Immune Regulation Meeting'
LONDON, March 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Virax Biolabs Group Limited ("Virax" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: VRAX), an innovative biotechnology company focused on the detection of immune responses and diagnosis of viral diseases, today announced it has presented data evaluating the role of T-Cell dysfunction in post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS) at the World Immune Regulation Meeting (WIRM) in Davos, Switzerland.

PAISs are often associated with a dysfunction of the immune system, notably progressive T-Cell exhaustion. Chronic antigen stimulation following a chronic infection can cause upregulation of T-Cell exhaustion markers. Data demonstrated that repeated stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with SARS-CoV-2 and CMV peptide pools increases the proportion of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-Cells expressing exhaustion markers PD-1, LAG-3, TIGIT, TIM-3, and CD39 with each stimulation cycle. T-Cell exhaustion is well documented to correlate with reduced cytokine production, particularly of pro-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in impaired immune functionality. Additionally, preliminary data from the ViraxImmune™ PAIS assay showed significant changes in the levels of a number of cytokines investigated in patients with PAIS compared to healthy controls.

"This data highlights the critical role of T-Cell exhaustion in immune dysfunction, particularly in PAIS conditions like long COVID, ME/CFS and chronic Lyme disease," said Nigel McCracken, Chief Operating Officer at Virax Biolabs. "In conjunction, we have initiated a number of clinical validation studies to evaluate the performance our T-Cell-based diagnostic in assessing the link between T-Cell dysfunction and symptoms of chronic fatigue and cognitive impairment."

A link to the poster presentation can be found here on the Virax Biolabs corporate website.
Click to expand...
Virax_Poster_WIRM-1086x1536.png

'Virax Biolabs Enrolls First Patients in Clinical Study Assessing T cell Dysfunction in Post-acute Infection Syndromes'
LONDON, March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Virax Biolabs Group Limited (NASDAQ: VRAX) ("Virax" or the "Company"), an innovative biotechnology company focused on the detection of immune responses and diagnosis of viral diseases, announced today that it has started enrolling patients into its United Kingdom based, multi-center clinical study (NCT06731179).

Conducted in collaboration with the United Kingdom's National Health Service, investigators aim to assess the ViraxImmune™ FluoroSpot T cell assay performance in detecting T cell dysfunction in post-acute infection syndrome patients, including those with long COVID, post-treatment Lyme disease (PTLD), and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). As part of the regulatory approval pathway, up to 200 participants will be enrolled into the study, with initial data from this longitudinal assessment expected in Q2 2026.

"There are currently no reliable diagnostics for patients with these conditions associated with post-acute infection syndromes," said James Foster, CEO of Virax Biolabs, "The data generated from this clinical study will provide additional insights into the immune dysregulation in these conditions, enabling us to improve diagnostics and patient care. ViraxImmune™ has the potential to improve the assessment of immune health, ultimately paving the way for earlier treatment intervention and better patient outcomes."
Click to expand...
 
WGLT: 'Long COVID still mires some in the pandemic'

'Rachel Mesouani contracted COVID-19 early in the pandemic before there were vaccines. Its effects are still with her.'

'Lay recovered but has had it again and spent another month in what the Mayo Clinic calls a Long COVID crash.'

“It's a fatigue that’s hard to even comprehend," Lay said. "I went to the ER, and I could not keep my eyes open to tell the doctor what was happening. It was like dragging yourself out of like muck. The effort just to even say words was like a marathon."

“The most alarming thing I noticed in March was it started getting harder to hold complex logic in my head," she said. "And I'm a software developer, and I've got to hold complex logic in my head. And then after I got sick in August, that skill was almost completely gone."

"If she over-extends, she must lay down because she can’t even hold her head up."
 
3/19, Ologies with Alie Ward: Post-Viral Epidemiology (Long COVID) Part 2 with Wes Ely

Ely: “The brain fog..it’s really neuropsychological impairment. Our NIH-sponsored study, Reverse Long COVID, the funding is there…can we improve brain function..”

“it's a drug called baricitinib, which is already used to treat COVID, can help improve thinking and memory problems and reduce fatigue for people who have Long Covid. And this study is federally funded by the National Institutes of Health for now.”

“I absolutely believe that we can get the brain back, just like we've done with the ICU survivors. I think that this can happen for Long Covid patients too. And so I hope that people don't lose hope.”

“what we think is happening there is…the glial cells are injured. And then when the glial cells are injured, the neurons get injured. I did that analogy of the plants with the soil and the water. And as covered in part one, the non-neuronal glial cells help support and clean up the neurons of the brain. So they're like the soil and the plants are doing the thinking part.

The plant itself can wilt and the neurons themselves can die. And when you have that occur, you can lose actual brain tissue. The good thing about this is though, that the brain can come back and we can rehabilitate the brain and the brain cells and neurons can regrow.”

“The drug Metformin, studied by Carolyn Bramante, did have some predictive nature of reducing long Covid. We need more data in that regard. And actually, we have a grant that's being reviewed by the NIH to see if Metformin can be tested in a double-blind, placebo-controlled fashion in patients who have long Covid.”

“I think that it will be years in the making, unfortunately. I think that this is not months away for a treatment protocol to be widespread adopted.”
 
Dakota15 said:
3/19, Ologies with Alie Ward: Post-Viral Epidemiology (Long COVID) Part 2 with Wes Ely
Click to expand...

Highlighting also the interposed 8 minute piece by Dianna Cowern's (PhysicsGirl) husband Kyle from 20:48 to 28:22 [see audio part 2 at this link]. In particular, the ridiculous ER experience where they went due to symptoms indicative of pulmonary embolus. No relevant tests performed but she was subjected to around 60 other tests before she rightly discharged herself "against medical advice". This when she was severely ill. A week later she returned to have presumably a CTPA to confirm the PE and was finally treated appropriately with anticoagulants.

On leaving against medical advice: "you do that and the next time you go to the emergency room the doctors treat you like crap because you're somebody who doesn't listen to them."
 
Massapequa Herald (NY): 'Millions are sick and tired of being sick and tired'

'The long Covid community needs help immediately.'

'Benign-sounding terminology — fatigue, “brain fog,” “post-exertion malaise,” and even the name, long Covid — belie the condition’s severity. Millions of long haulers can’t work or even leave their beds.'

'Last Saturday’s International Long Covid Awareness Day highlighted the disorder’s devastating human toll. Children missing their formative years, and single parents unable to support their families, are just a few examples'

'In a rare show of unity, elected officials from both sides of the aisle, as well as scientists, doctors and policy experts, agree: America is failing the long Covid community.'

'At a January 2024 committee hearing, senators from both parties expressed frustration with federal efforts to find a cure.'

'We hope the new administration, including President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will take action commensurate with this growing crisis.'
 
WBEZ Chicago: 'One Chicagoan's battle with Long COVID'

'WBEZ’s Araceli Gómez-Aldana talked to one Chicagoan about her battle with Long COVID and what’s been helping'

"...I have to plan everything...living your life with a very short cell phone battery, that constantly needs to be plugged in..."

"...she practices radical resting...folks with Long COVID are very frustrated by the fact that our symptoms are invisible, and so it doesn't necessarily look that we are suffering..."

"there are folks who are bed-bound, home-bound, unable to have access to medical treatment..."

Second report here.
 
Last edited:
About a 25 min+ interview

13 News Now: 'Interview: Living with long COVID'

'Marta Berglund speaks with Rachel Beale, who has suffered from long COVID since 2021, and is hoping for answers and a cure.'

Beale: "If I'm in a crash...I don't move from the couch or the bed, I can't do anything.."

"I speak up because somebody needs to know about us"

Second report here.
 
Last edited:
NBC Chicago: '5 years after onset of COVID-19 pandemic, suburban mother remains impacted by long COVID'

'..a Tinley Park mother is speaking out on the continued impact of long COVID. NBC Chicago’s Patrick Fazio reports'

"I couldn't walk to the end of the block.."

Sue had to start using a wheelchair and noticed she lost brain function.

"I'm a calculus teacher and can't count by two's. What is happening here?"

She ended up having to quit her teaching job.

"The more people that can come forward and talk about it, the more help we can hopefully eventually get."
 
Long Covid office 'will be closing', Trump administration announces

The move comes as part of the administration’s reorganization of HHS, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO.

The Trump administration is shuttering HHS’ long Covid office as part of its reorganization, according to an internal email seen by POLITICO.

The email was sent Monday by Ian Simon, the head of the Office of Long Covid Research and Practice. It said the closing is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ reorganization.
LINK
 
Psychology Today: 'Why NIH Must Not Abandon Brain Fog Research'

By Jay K. Varma, M.D., a physician and epidemiologist with expertise in the prevention and control of infectious diseases. He is formerly with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

'Long-COVID brain fog affects millions—we need more research, not less'

'The leading theory for COVID-19-related brain fog is neuroinflammation—an immune response in the brain triggered by viral infection.'

Here are some key questions that we still do not have complete answers to:
  1. What are the precise biological mechanisms?
  2. Who is most at risk?
  3. How can we diagnose brain fog objectively?
  4. What treatments work?
'Past research on post-viral syndromes, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, has often been dismissed or underfunded until overwhelming evidence forced action. The COVID-19 pandemic has given scientists an unprecedented opportunity to study this problem. If we stop this work now, we risk missing an opportunity to help people who are suffering now and people who will suffer in the future.'
 
Last edited:
Greenfield Recorder: 'Angela Parker: A favor to ask — remember those fighting long Covid'

"I’ve a question for you. Will you please think of us with long COVID? We’d love you to include our illness in your protests. Long COVID issues are social justice issues. Seven million-plus children and adult Americans need you to know that we’re still here, and we are tired of fighting alone."
 
Last edited:
3/26/25, INIM: 'Long COVID Awareness Day | Dr. Nancy Klimas'

"Almost two billion dollars has been invested..in three years time there have been thousands - not hundreds - thousands of articles trying to understand the underpinnings of this illness.."

"..the answers will come for you and they are coming right now and they're coming fast and furious, so, I know it's hard to be patient - when you're so terribly ill - but take the hope you need to take. Because we're going to get this thing. We're going to figure it out. We're going to find the answers for you. We're going to keep at it until we do."
 
Penn Live: “Lives transformed, a world reshaped: Five years on, the COVID-19 imprint lingers”

‘Currently one in four people who have had COVID suffer from..long-haul COVID…”

“…like chronic fatigue syndrome, there’s no test for it. There’s no X-ray…”

“Those symptoms can impact respiratory, neurological and digestive systems, and often involve fatigue and exhaustion. Those who have long-haul COVID report having problems concentrating, persistent headaches, loss of taste or smell, shortness of breath, coughing, fatigue and heart palpitations.”

“If you have ongoing symptoms after having COVID, you may have this if they’re not explained by something else,” Maddox said. “It’s ill-defined, but it absolutely exists.”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom