Sara Novak recently wrote about the study that found 20% of children have Long Covid, aka PASC (Post Acute Sequelae of Covid) that I discussed in August, but Novak brought in further backing from additional studies:
“In the most expansive study of its kind, researchers have for the first time shown serious and prevalent symptoms of Long Covid in kids and teens. The August study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association . . . which followed 5367 children, found that 20% of kids (ages 6-11) and 14% of teens met researchers' threshold for Long Covid. . . . By enrolling children who had been infected with acute COVID-19, as well as those who had not, researchers were able to isolate Long Covid symptoms in kids and teens. 'It allowed us to separate symptoms related to Long Covid with those that may have resulted from changes in a child's environment during the pandemic.' . . . For example, learning loss and mental health changes that were caused by the pandemic vs those that were caused by prolonged symptoms associated with Long Covid. . . . The new research found Long Covid affected nearly every organ system in kids and teens. And experts contend that pediatricians need to be on the lookout for GI complaints in kids as well as complaints of extreme fatigue and cognitive deficits or perceived changes in mental acuity in teenagers. . . .
Kids and teens also face higher risks for reinfection because they attend school and are constantly exposed to the virus. This, according to experts, means that their symptoms may worsen before they get better. An August 2023 study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences highlighted the increased risk for Long Covid after acute Covid reinfection, even in vaccinated individuals. . . . Postexertional malaise, a worsening of fatigue that occurs after even minimal exertion, often precludes kids from being able to participate in sports or after-school activities. This may take them away from the things that they enjoyed as well as their friend group. . . . 'Not only are kids not able to play the sports they once did, a lot of them have had to take weeks, months, or even whole years off from school. Other kids have had to switch to homeschooling. . . . A study recently published in the journal eClinicalMedicine showed that the symptoms of Long Covid in children significantly interfered with their lives, specifically their education and social interactions, which may lead to long-term developmental challenges down the line. Acknowledging that kids and teens are suffering is one thing, but we're still not doing nearly enough to help them, and the repercussions could be staggering."
Another Salon article reported about kids too sick for school, yet, at the same time, The Nation reported that some top universities are hosting health conferences full of people who want people more infected, following that nutty Great Barrington Declaration that suggests, in most Orwellian terms, sickness is health.
"Covid contrarians . . . thought we should 'let 'er rip' and get as many people infected as possible, with a performative not to protecting the vulnerable; suggested that vaccine and mask mandates were somehow akin to Nazi totalitarianism; told us not to worry about variants; and said we'd have herd immunity by April 2021. If you want just one piece of evidence about the kind of cranks we're talking about, consider this: A late addition to the Stanford meeting is a senior editor of the Epoch Times, a far-right publication that not only dabbles in Covid conspiracies but is a frequent purveyor of climate change denialism. . . . The architects of these meetings come with bags and bags of right-wing funding, some of it laundered through think tanks and other institutions. . . . These Covid contrarians have decided that the science has been turned into a 'dogmatic tool of oppression' for rejecting them. In their minds they are Galileos against the church, and now they are tilting their fury against the institutions themselves. . . . If you cannot convince your colleagues of the worth of your arguments, then you can cry out that you're being discriminated against for simply having 'differing views.' But things don't work like that in science: we don't teach intelligent design alongside evolution. . . . Many of the Covid contrarians' favorite claims have withered in the sunlight of scientific scrutiny. . . . And for anyone who thinks this is all academic, in mid-September, the surgeon general of Florida recommended against the use of mRNA Covid vaccines, just as we're heading into respiratory virus season, endangering the lives of the residents of the state with quackery and pseudoscience."
Fortune reported on Covid raising the states for heart attacks, strokes, and death long after initial infection, and TVO had an panel interview in which most of the panel disclosed wearing masks just prior to the tape rolling because it keeps others safe as well as themselves. Dr. Kwame McKenzie clarified,
"The more often you get Covid, the more likely you are to get Long Covid. . . . We have an escalating number of people with Long Covid. . . . Some of the public health measures in our arsenal are things we should be employing NOW to prevent a longterm problem."
I tweeted that, and a good 70% of comments indicated a strong belief that the virus is caused by the vaccine. That's the danger of giving a platform to scientists with dubious practices that don't hold up to scrutiny. According to Tara Moriarty's stats, Covid is currently affecting the excess death rates in Canada, which consistently average about 1,500 deaths each WEEK. We're currently doing worse than the US and UK. We're hovering around the 20% excess death now relative to the period from 2015-2019. For context, across Canada, vehicular collisions typically take about 1,700 lives each YEAR. If you still wear a seatbelt, and you consider yourself able to make some risk calculations, then consider also wearing a well-fitting mask.