Covid-19 re-infections are rare unless you are over the age of 65

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The study, which looked at reinfection rates among 4 million people in Denmark, found that most people who have had Covid-19 for more than six months appeared to have protection against reinfection. At a follow-up after six months, the study found no evidence that protection was diminishing. But a check of the demographics of those who became reinfected showed that it was mostly people 65 and older, Jen Christensen reports.

The older age group had only about 47% protection against re-infection, compared to younger people who seemed to have about 80% protection against reinfection, the team wrote. The finding is not entirely unexpected, because as people age, their immune systems weaken.

“Given what is at stake, the results highlight the importance of people adhering to measures implemented to protect themselves and others, even if they have already had COVID-19,” study co-author Dr. Steen Ethelberg of the Statens Serum. Institut in Denmark said in a statement.

That advice is not heeded in some parts of the US, where governors are lifting measures to prevent spread. While nearly 1 in 8 Americans has been fully vaccinated, the country may be on the brink of a second wave as the number of cases declining in recent weeks seemed to be leveling off.

Chicago officials increased indoor capacity for bars, restaurants and other businesses earlier this month, while Baltimore leaders said yesterday they relaxed restrictions on places including religious facilities, retail stores, shopping centers and fitness centers.

“We are in a race to get the population vaccinated,” said Dr. Richard Besser, the former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told CNN on Wednesday. “At the same time, we are fighting the depletion of people with the restrictions imposed by public health, and we are fighting the move of so many governors to lift the restrictions that protect us all.”

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWER.

Question: I have a high BMI and I am a candidate for the vaccine. Does this mean that I am unhealthy?

A: Since obesity is a factor in qualifying for the Covid-19 vaccine, many Americans struggle to find out their body mass index, or BMI. But experts say the meaning behind those numbers – and how to bring them down – isn’t always that clear-cut.

The CDC lists obesity as an underlying medical condition and defines it as someone with a body mass index between 30 and 40.

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

However, having a high BMI does not necessarily mean that you are unhealthy. There are some rare instances where a healthy person can have an apparently unhealthy BMI. This includes strength trainers and those with an athletic build who have a lot of muscle, creating a high BMI number, 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’re unsure whether your high BMI is due to fat or muscle, Apovian recommends seeing a weight loss specialist for more specific tests.

Send your questions hereAre you a health professional fighting Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you are facing: + 1347-322-0415.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY

A Chinese woman in Guangzhou with her baby in 2016.

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

In the early 21st century, the Chinese city of Guangzhou – already a magnet for internal migrants – became a casual experiment in China’s multiculturalism, as loose immigration rules and factories producing cheap products attracted throngs of African entrepreneurs. Business boomed and by 2012 as many as 100,000 Africans from sub-Saharan Africa had come to the city, making it the largest African expatriate community in Asia, Jenni Marsh reports.

But the pandemic drove hundreds of Africans out of the city, sparked China’s most serious anti-black race conflict in decades and rebounded business, connecting Chinese factories directly to African customers through e-commerce platforms. Those that remain are rooted there thanks to their Chinese partners and children.

The EU continues to attack AstraZeneca as it unveils vaccine passports

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attacked AstraZeneca for alleged underproduction and under-delivery, partially accusing them of slow vaccine roll-out in Europe.

This comes as the EU drug regulator prepares to issue guidelines on the safety of the vaccine after many countries suspended their release following reports of blood clots. The regulator has already said there is no evidence of a link between the AstraZeneca injections and clots.

Von der Leyen stressed she trusted the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, but warned that an export ban introduced by the EU during its recent feud with the pharmaceutical company could be used if she felt other countries were not exporting sufficient quantities of vaccines .

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

The Tanzanian president, who undermined his country’s Covid-19 response, has died

After rejecting the severity of Covid-19, Tanzanian President John Magufuli died of heart disease in a hospital in Dar es Salaam. At the outset of the pandemic, Magufuli urged citizens to “pray away the coronavirus,” said the “satanic virus cannot live in the body of Jesus Christ,” blaming the growing number of positive cases for faulty test kits. .

In June, he claimed his country had eradicated the coronavirus ‘by the grace of God’, questioned the safety of foreign Covid-19 vaccines and made no plan to get injections for his country, but urged the use of herbal remedies and steam treatments. . Tanzania has not reported any Covid-19 figures since April 2020, prompting the World Health Organization to call on the East African country to publish data and step up public health measures.

ON OUR RADAR

  • Violence against Asian Americans has increased in the US to coincide with the Covid-19 pandemic. San Francisco police are now conducting more patrols following recent attacks.
  • Former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged US President Joe Biden to hold an emergency summit on the coronavirus as the country’s daily death toll of Covid-19 hit a new record.
  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s laissez-faire approach to the pandemic appears to be paying off politically.
  • US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday optimism predicted that fall would bring a school year “more like what it was before Covid,” but stressed that his focus this spring remains on resuming personal learning.

TODAY’S PODCAST

‘Like stepping on it [the] scale was not emotionally charged enough, I had to do it in a waiting room full of people. “- Madeleine Thompson, producer for CNN Audio

In many states, people with a certain BMI are eligible for vaccines. But because weight carries such a stigma, getting to an appointment may not be as easy as it sounds. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, hears from a colleague about her personal experience with vaccination and dealing with the complex relationship between weight and health. Listen now

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