Reimer calls findings from COVID fog study 'alarming'
The medical lead of Manitoba’s Vaccine Implementation Task Force said a new study on COVID fog out of New York’s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is “alarming.”
According to Dr. Joss Reimer, the study looked at the 185 million documented COVID-19 cases worldwide and found neurological symptoms – including persistent cognitive impairment -- in one in four people.
“That’s a really alarming finding,” she said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Reimer noted the symptoms were more common in severe cases that required hospitalization; however, even people with mild symptoms experienced higher rates of lasting cognitive dysfunction.
“When I say cognitive dysfunction I mean that a person has persistent concentration difficulties, has problems with verbal or non-verbal learning, has short-term or working memory loss, and many other symptoms related to the brain – all of which can significantly affect their daily life at home, at school and at work,” Reimer said.
Reimer added that long-COVID cognitive syndrome, referred to as COVID fog, also includes increased rates of anxiety, depression, disordered sleep and fatigue.
Reimer explained some other recent scientific findings found a link between having severe COVID-19 that required hospitalization and having a neuro-inflammatory response.
“That means swelling of brain tissues, and this might explain how COVID fog happens,” she said.
Reimer noted that people can do their part to prevent the symptoms associated with long COVID by protecting themselves to the fullest extent possible.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
School police chief receives blame in Texas shooting response
The police official blamed for not sending officers in more quickly to stop the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting is the chief of the school system's small police force, a unit dedicated ordinarily to building relationships with students and responding to the occasional fight.

Fact check: NRA speakers distort gun and crime statistics
Speakers at the National Rifle Association annual meeting assailed a Chicago gun ban that doesn't exist, ignored security upgrades at the Texas school where children were slaughtered and roundly distorted national gun and crime statistics as they pushed back against any tightening of gun laws.
'Mom, you gotta carry on': 58-year-old Winnipegger inspired to graduate high school by late son
Fifty-eight-year-old Vivian Ketchum is set to receive her high school diploma at a graduation ceremony at the University of Winnipeg next month. It is a moment that is decades in the making.
Truth tracker: Does the World Economic Forum influence governments like Canada’s?
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos was met with justifiable criticisms and unfounded conspiracy theories.
She smeared blood on herself and played dead: 11-year-old reveals chilling details of the massacre
An 11-year-old survivor of the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, feared the gunman would come back for her so she smeared herself in her friend's blood and played dead.
Girl told 911 'send the police now' as cops waited 48 minutes, official says
Students trapped inside a classroom with a gunman repeatedly called 911 during this week's attack on a Texas elementary school, including one who pleaded, 'Please send the police now,' as officers waited more than an hour to breach the classroom after following the gunman into the building, authorities said Friday.
Broken comet could trigger visible meteor shower Monday
Fragments of a comet broken nearly 30 years ago could potentially light up the night sky Monday as experts predict an 'all or nothing' spectacle.
Three Canadian cities rank among the world's best for work-life balance
A new report says Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto rank among the top 20 cities around the world when it comes to work-life balance.
Feds aiming to address airport 'bottlenecks' in time for summer travel season
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says the federal government is working with groups on the ground to resolve air travel 'bottlenecks' in time for a busy summer.