Aha! 🦠 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/22/long-covid-brain-fog-may-be-due-to-leaky-blood-brain-barrier-study

It's not just me, right ? 🧠

One thing I've specifically noticed in myself: recent news is less 'immediate' than long-held knowledge.

• shrinkage of brain volume and altered brain structure after infection.
• increased risk of cognitive deficits, such as memory problems.
• prolonged inflammation of the brain and changes that are commensurate with 7 years of brain aging.
• hospitalistaion -> cognitive deficits and brain damage equivalent to 20 years of aging.
• short-circuits brain electrical activity and compromises function.
• persistence of the virus in brain tissue (even after death)
• even mild, can still provoke inflammation in the brain and impair brain cell regeneration.
• disrupts the blood brain barrier (the shield that protects the nervous system) making it “leaky”
• 11 studies (covering millions of people): increased risk of new-onset dementia in people aged 60+

https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-shows-that-covid-19-leaves-its-mark-on-the-brain-including-with-significant-drops-in-iq-scores-224216

I'm seeing a flurry of new articles/papers ...

Free access PDF

https://twitter.com/VirusesImmunity/status/1803466011879903715

https://www.okdoomer.io/why-some-people-dont-get-covid-even-if-unvaccinated/

The study identifies 7 out of 36 individuals who didn't get sick with Covid, most likely thanks to their HLA-DQA2 gene activity.

Extrapolating, that could mean that as many as 20 percent of the population legitimately didn't get sick with Covid, and now we know why.

https://twitter.com/_CatintheHat/status/1802397238250938565

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/from-long-covid-odds-to-lost-iq-points-ongoing-threats-you-dont-know-about

https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/debilitating-a-generation-expert-warns-that-long-covid-may-eventually-affect-most-americans

Got my spring booster this morning, found out from a local FB group they'd started. Was [sort of] eligible due to my recovery from surgery and the pharmacist didn't query it. Same Moderna vaccine as last year (autumn?) as the virus hasn't evolved enough to need a new vaccine design. 

Speaking of which, I don't usually get colds, but I've got a cracker at the moment ... maybe COVID again, who knows? At this rate, my brain is gonna be mush !

Symptoms: felt off for a couple of days, then headaches and sinus blockage. Taken Sudafed (spray) for 2 days in a row - works incredibly well, but reluctant today cos it can cause dependency.