From October 15, Covid antigenic and PCR tests will become chargeable for non-vaccinated adults without a medical prescription. New elements on the long-term effects of the virus testify to neurological effects also in patients who have not suffered from serious forms. In addition, the pandemic would be responsible for the largest drop in life expectancy since the Second World War.
- Vaccinated persons and minors will continue to benefit from free testing.
- MRIs of the brains of patients infected with Covid-19 have revealed atrophy of the gray matter of the brain, which is usually observed with aging.
- 27 countries experienced reductions in life expectancy in 2020.
This is a new turning point in the management of the health crisis. From October 15, antigen or PCR tests will become chargeable. “It is no longer legitimate to pay excessively for comfort tests at the expense of taxpayers”, affirmed Jean Castex to the echoes this Sunday. More specifically, the end of free concerns so-called comfort tests. Thus, vaccinated people and minors will continue to benefit from their free treatment. “The logic is to reimburse tests linked to truly medical reasons, and to continue to encourage people to be vaccinated.”, confided the Prime Minister. Non-vaccinated adults will therefore be the only ones who need a prescription to obtain this reimbursement.
Vaccination up, hospitalizations down
Vaccination continues to gain ground. According to data from the Ministry of Health on September 23, 74.7% of French people received at least one dose of vaccine, and 71.6% received a complete vaccination schedule. At the same time, the decrease in the circulation of the virus is observed for the fifth consecutive week. At the hospital level, new admissions are also down with 2,527 new hospitalizations (-28%) and 636 new critical care admissions (-32%), according to Public Health France.
Covid-19, a factor in accelerated brain aging?
In the UK, preliminary research suggests infection with the virus could have neurological effects in patients who have not suffered severe forms of Covid-19. The results of several hundred MRI scans have revealed gray matter atrophy in the brain, which is usually seen with aging. Tissue thickness in the frontal and temporal lobes was found to be reduced in the Covid-19 group. These results were similar in people hospitalized because of Covid-19, and therefore having developed a severe form, and in people who only suffered from mild symptoms.
This study, pre-published on August 18, is based on the comparison of brain imaging data from more than 45,000 people collected since 2014 with those of patients who tested positive for Covid-19, taking into account age, sex, date reference test and study location, as well as common disease risk factors and socioeconomic status.
A drop in life expectancy
The pandemic that has plagued the world for nearly a year and ten months is believed to have caused the biggest drop in life expectancy since World War II. This is according to a research published on September 26 in theInternational Journal of Epidemiology by researchers at Oxford University. The latter collected a set of data on mortality in 29 countries, covering most of Europe, the United States and Chile.
Scientists found that 27 out of 29 countries experienced reductions in life expectancy in 2020. Women in 15 countries and men in 10 countries have lower life expectancies at birth in 2020 than in 2015. “For Western European countries such as Spain, England and Wales, Italy, Belgium, among others, the last time such large declines in life expectancy at birth have been observed in a single year was during World War II”, pointed out Dr. José Manuel Aburto, co-lead author of the study. What struck the authors of the study was the extent of the loss of life expectancy.
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