Nothing Exciting To Report
Hospitalisations and deaths largely unchanged, but deaths dropped a little in Germany and France
Why are deaths remaining unchanged in the USA but they are dropping in Germany and France? Maybe it has to do with the lower vaccination rate in the US.
Speaking of vaccination, from here on I will no longer report vaccination numbers because there is no dramatic change to expect, particularly so, as the WHO just suggested that annual boosters are not necessary. Things may change if a new variant should arise but there is little evidence that this might happen any time soon.
I am kind of glad I just had Covid-19 because I have now at least two months where I can take a bath in the masses. This probably includes flying since it seems as if there is a high chance that there is somebody on a flight or in a train who has the virus (ars technica, PDF) and could then pass it on to you.
Continuing my series about health repercussion of Covid-19, there has been recent talk about mental health, especially affecting children and young adults (as in the long lockdowns in China). In the USA, the NIH is dedicating resources to this (PDF of web site).
There seem to be two issues at hand: the effects of long periods of confinements and the effect of the virus on the brain.
Mental health issues are much harder to enumerate than other health effects. They are not instantly detectable or easily measurable as diabetes or heart conditions or even fatigue, not to mention the shame associated with it in many societies.
For this reason, good studies based on reliable data cannot be found yet on the subject but they are bound to be published in the near future and will hopefully guide us through future lockdowns.
