Coronavirus Updates: 5 covid mysteries

Antiviral-resistant covid found in organ transplant recipients ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Sign up for this newsletter Read online Important developments in the pandemic.       By Sabrina Malhi  Email Happy Friday! We're interested in knowing what aging well means to you. Send us your thoughts here.   The latest After 2½ years of studies of a virus that has killed 6.5 million people globally, coronavirus enigmas still plague scientists and the public. My colleague Mark Johnson recently explored some of the most pressing questions such as "where did the virus come from, and why has it been so successful?" and "why do some people develop long covid?" in his latest piece. The complexities of the virus have led researchers to publish more than 200,000 studies, which is four times more than the number of research papers written on the flu in the past century, Johnson reports. The U.S. government has spent almost $4 trillion in its response to the pandemic. New research shows that transplant patients treated with immunosuppressive drugs later tested positive for a coronavirus variant that is resistant to treatment. According to findings from researchers at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, two kidney transplant patients were treated with remdesivir after developing covid-19. They were readmitted to the hospital after developing symptoms including fatigue, cough and a fever, despite being vaccinated. When doctors tested the patients, they identified a gene mutation that wasn't previously present and appeared only after the patients took the antiviral treatment. The mutation made the virus more resistant to remdesivir. Remdesivir — developed initially to treat hepatitis C — is one of the few antiviral therapies approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat hospitalized coronavirus patients.  "In the future, physicians might also screen for such mutations before making treatment decisions for their most vulnerable patients," Adriana Heguy, one of the study authors, said in a statement. Other important news In recent weeks, many of our loyal readers have asked for Coronavirus Updates to include coverage of other important health issues, such as monkeypox and the flu. And we want to let you know that we're listening and incorporating additional information on other viruses into this newsletter. Additionally, if there are other health topics you would like to see us cover, please send a note to Sabrina.Malhi@washpost.com. Monkeypox cases are declining nationwide. Experts are cautiously optimistic but are "bracing for monkeypox to stick around as a background threat with periodic flare-ups," my colleagues Fenit Nirappil and Lena H. Sun report. They explore some of the most commonly asked questions surrounding the virus. All major cruise lines will drop their vaccine requirements. On Oct. 14, Disney Wish, Disney Dream, Disney Fantasy and Disney Wonder won't require the shot, but it's still "highly recommended," The Post's James Bikales reports.   Get breaking news alerts, offline reading lists and more. Download the app     Guide to the pandemic Track confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. and the spread around the world. U.S. vaccine distribution and delivery, tracked by state. Guides: Booster shots | Vaccines | Variants | Masks Submit a question and we may answer it in a future story or newsletter.   Your questions, answered How long does the coronavirus last on surfaces and linger in the air?  Gone are the days of vigorously wiping a piece of fruit before we ate it and dousing every surface with Lysol. The six feet of distance we were once advised to keep has seemingly shrunk. Being in enclosed spaces with an infected person increases the risk of contracting the virus, but the exact time it lives and the distance that needs to be maintained to prevent transmission remain unclear. The current science on SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19, finds that it spreads from one person to the next via large droplets or smaller ones called aerosols. This happens when someone coughs, speaks, sneezes or breathes. It can also be transmitted by touching mucosal membranes — your mouth, eyes and nose — that have come into direct contact with the virus. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance recommending that people maintain at least six feet of distance between each other stemmed from previous epidemiologic studies on airborne viruses. More recently, scientists have found that the air's humidity affects virus transmission. Research published in PNAS Chemistry in June found that in air with 50 percent humidity, there was a "near-instant loss of infectivity in 50 to 60% of the virus." Lower humidity levels were associated with a decrease in the ability of the virus to transmit or infect another person. Despite the ongoing research, no one can give a precise distance that needs to be maintained because many other factors contribute to whether transmission will occur, Ellen Foxman, an associate professor of laboratory medicine and immunobiology at Yale University, told The Washington Post in an email. She adds: "Focusing on how far away you must stand from someone to avoid getting covid is missing the big picture." Foxman advises everyone to combine mitigation efforts such as vaccines, masking and using well-ventilated places when gathering to reduce droplet and aerosol spread.   Today's top reads Women said coronavirus shots affect periods. New study shows they're right. By Amanda Morris ●  Read more »   Opinion  |  Covid-19 relief was plagued by fraud. Here is the right response. By Editorial Board ●  Read more »   Find more stories, analysis and op-eds about the pandemic on our coronavirus page.   We think you'll like this newsletter Check out Post Most for the most popular and interesting stories of the day, from politics to opinions to world news, to keep you in the know. In your inbox, every day. Sign up »

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