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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.