Re-infections with Covid-19 are rare unless you are over 65 years of age

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The study, which looked at reinfection rates in 4 million people in Denmark, found that most people who had Covid-19 appeared to have protection against reinfection for more than six months. After six months of monitoring, the study found no evidence that protection was declining. But a check on the demographics of those who became infected again showed that it was mostly people 65 years of age or older, Jen Christensen reports.

The older age group had only about 47% protection against repeated infection, compared to younger people who appeared to have about 80% protection against reinfection, the team wrote. The finding is not completely unexpected, because as people get older, their immune system weakens.

“Given what is at stake, the results highlight how important it is for people to adhere to the measures put in place to keep themselves and others safe, even if they have already had COVID-19,” he said. Dr. Steen Ethelberg of the Statens Serum Institute in Denmark said in a statement.

This advice is not taken into account in some parts of the United States, where the government is lifting measures to prevent its spread. Even though almost 1 in 8 Americans are fully vaccinated, the country could be on the verge of a second increase, after the number of cases that fell in recent weeks seems to be declining.

Chicago officials raised the indoor capacity of bars, restaurants and other businesses earlier this month, while Baltimore leaders said yesterday they were reducing restrictions on places, including religious facilities, retail stores, malls and fitness centers. .

“We are in a race to vaccinate the population,” Dr. Richard Besser, former interim director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told CNN on Wednesday. “At the same time, we are fighting against the exhaustion of the people with the restrictions that public health has implemented and we are fighting against the movement by so many governors to remove the restrictions that keep us all safe.”

YOU ASKED. I ANSWERED.

Q: I have a high BMI and qualify for the vaccine. Does that mean I’m unhealthy?

A: With obesity a factor in the eligibility of the Covid-19 vaccine, many Americans are struggling to find out their body mass index or BMI. But experts say the meaning behind these numbers – and how to lower them – is not always so clear.

The CDC lists obesity as a basic medical condition and defines it as someone who has a body mass index between 30 and 40.

Having a BMI over 30 can lead to serious health problems such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and obesity increases the risk of having a more severe reaction to Covid-19.

Having a high BMI, however, does not necessarily mean that you are unhealthy. There are a few rare cases in which a healthy person may have a seemingly unhealthy BMI. This includes weight trainers and people with athletic bodies who have a lot of muscle on them, creating a large number of BMIs, said Dr. Caroline Apovian, co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.

If you are not sure if the high BMI is due to fat or muscle, Apovian recommends that you consult a weight loss specialist to do more specific tests.

Send your questions here. Are you a medical worker fighting Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you face: +1 347-322-0415.

WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY

A Chinese woman in Guangzhou with her baby in 2016.

Covid-19 drove hundreds of Africans out of Guangzhou. A generation of mixed race children is their legacy

At the beginning of the 21st century, the Chinese city of Guangzhou – already a magnet for internal migrants – became an accidental experiment in multiculturalism in China, as immigration rules and factories producing cheap products attracted many African entrepreneurs. Business flourished and by 2012, up to 100,000 sub-Saharan Africans had gathered in the city, making it the largest community of African expatriates in Asia, reports Jenni Marsh.

But the pandemic drove hundreds of Africans out of the city, triggered the most severe anti-black racial clashes in China in decades, and reopened trade operations, with Chinese factories connecting directly with African customers through e-commerce platforms. Those who remain have their roots there thanks to their Chinese partners and children.

The EU continues its attack on AstraZeneca while revealing vaccine passports

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has attacked AstraZeneca for alleged by-products and under-deliveries, partially accusing them of slowing down vaccines in Europe.

This is happening as the EU Medicines Regulatory Authority prepares to issue vaccine safety guidelines after many countries have suspended their launch following reports of blood clots. The regulator has already said there is no evidence of a link between AstraZeneca blows and clots.

Von der Leyen stressed that he trusts the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, but warned that an export ban that the EU has recently introduced with the drug company could be used if it is felt that other countries do not exports a sufficient number of vaccines.

The EU also unveiled its proposal for a “digital green certificate” or vaccine passport to allow safe and free movement inside the block during the pandemic. The certificate confirming that a person has been vaccinated against Covid-19, has received a negative test result or has recovered from Covid-19 can be used in all 27 Member States.

Tanzanian president, who undermined his country’s Covid-19 response, dies

After rejecting the gravity of Covid-19, the President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, died at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, due to a heart disease. At the beginning of the pandemic, Magufuli urged citizens to “pray the coronavirus away”, said that “the satanic virus cannot live in the body of Jesus Christ” and blamed the growing number of positive cases on defective test kits.

In June, he claimed that his country had eradicated the coronavirus “by the grace of God,” questioned the safety of Covid-19 foreign vaccines, and made no plans to procure a shot for his country. pressures for the use of herbal medicines and steam treatments. . Tanzania did not report Covid-19 figures from April 2020, prompting the World Health Organization to ask the East African country to publish data and step up public health measures.

ON OUR RADAR

  • Violence against Asian Americans has increased in the United States, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic. San Francisco police are now stepping up patrols following recent attacks.
  • Former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has urged US President Joe Biden to convene an emergency summit on coronavirus, while the country’s daily death toll has reached a new record.
  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ laissez-faire approach to the pandemic seems to be bearing fruit politically.
  • US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on Wednesday projected optimism that autumn will bring a school year that is more like what it was before Covid, but stressed that his focus remains on the resumption of personal learning this spring.

TODAY’S PODCAST

“It simply came to our notice then [the] the ladder was not emotionally charged enough, I had to do it in a crowded waiting room. “- Madeleine Thompson, associate producer of CNN Audio

Many states make people with a certain BMI eligible for vaccines. But because the weight carries such a stigma, presenting at a meeting may not be as easy as it sounds. CNN’s chief correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, hears from a co-worker about the personal experience of vaccination and about navigating the complex relationship between weight and health. Listen now.

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