People who have had COVID-19 display signs of a weakened immune system 24 weeks following diagnosis, a doctor said on Wednesday.
The negative effects — including disruption of the normal mix of immune system cell types — can persist after recovery from COVID-19 and are particularly notable in people undergoing therapy for “long COVID,” Chiang Kuan-yu (姜冠宇), a doctor at Taipei City Hospital’s Zhongxing branch, wrote on Facebook, citing an Australian study published in January.
A study published in the US last month found that people experiencing long-term COVID-19 symptoms appear to have undergone changes to gene expression that decreases the potency of their “killer” T-cells, a key mechanism to fight off infections, Chiang said.
Instead of conferring immunity, exposure to COVID-19 might render a person more susceptible to subsequent infections by the virus or other pathogens, he said.
A study by Spain-based researchers published last month found that some people who have recovered from COVID-19 developed chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease, Chiang added.
The studies suggest that COVID-19 reinfections potentially cause progressive and cumulative damage to the immune system, which poses troubling implications for immunocompromised groups if they are accurate, he said.
Citing an article published on Monday in The Conversation — an online research news portal — by Australian epidemiologist Lara Herrero titled “I’ve had COVID and am constantly getting colds. Did COVID harm my immune system? Am I now at risk of other infectious diseases?” Chiang said that the resurgence of monkeypox and polio in some parts of the world might be connected to the pandemic, which might have weakened the immune systems of people who contracted COVID-19.
“Is the pandemic over or is something new emerging in its place?” he wrote. “I can only say that [US] President [Joe] Biden’s declarations [that the pandemic is over] are premature and [Biden’s chief medical adviser] Dr [Anthony] Fauci is right to give his rebuke.”
The medical community has yet to come to grips with minimizing the harm caused by COVID-19 and the governments of the world must be prepared for a long struggle, regardless of their choice to live with the disease or not, he wrote.
“The pathogen exists and it will continue to exist,” he wrote. “The right way of dealing with it depends on what we chose to value.”
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS