The following report is from The New Zealand Herald:
A top heart specialist is warning we face a “tsunami” of long Covid after the Omicron outbreak subsides, with a tidal wave of heart disease and strokes and myriad other debilitating symptoms.
Cardiologist Professor Harvey White fears New Zealanders are too blasé about the risk of Omicron infection, which has been painted as mild for most people.
In a letter to the editor in today’s Herald, White – who is director of cardiovascular research at Auckland DHB – says even “mild” initial infections can lead to serious long Covid symptoms, including higher risk of heart attack and stroke.
He fears the long-term complications of Covid will put major stress on our health system, and is urging people to get boosted and try to avoid catching the virus.
Long Covid covers a range of symptoms, from brain fog and impaired thinking to memory loss, anxiety and fatigue, heart disease and stroke.
Between 10 to 30 percent of people infected with Covid-19 may develop long Covid.
Omicron can acutely attack the heart but long-term after recovery, blood pressure may go up, heart rhythms may become abnormal, and decreased pumping function of the heart with heart failure and shortness of breath may occur.
White writes, adding that a tidal wave of heart disease is also on its way.
White hasn’t yet seen a surge in Covid-related heart disease at work, but he expects it’s imminent. A recent study in the US of 153,000 veterans found heart disease risk increased substantially in the year following an infection, even in mild cases.
That could be due to secondary reasons like stress and people putting off medical care, but could also be directly due to Covid, White said. Those who had had Covid had a 63 percent increased risk of heart attacks and 52 percent increased stroke risk.
World Health Organisation Covid expert Dr Maria Van Kerkhove said earlier this month she had seen no evidence that Omicron caused less long Covid than previous variants.
Long Covid is defined as symptoms arising three months after the initial infection, White told the Herald.
Omicron was only discovered in November so we’ve barely had three months to collect data – but everything suggests it’s likely to be the same [as previous variants].
There were 14,940 cases of Covid confirmed on Sunday alone, bringing New Zealand’s total to 85,667 since the pandemic began, according to the Ministry of Health.
Extrapolating from the veteran study, White said if one million New Zealanders caught Omicron, he would expect 300-900 additional heart attacks and 400-1200 extra strokes in the year after they were infected.
That was based on the estimates of 10-30 percent of Covid cases developing long Covid. And some of those heart attacks and strokes would happen in people whose infection was “mild”, meaning they did not go to hospital for their initial infection.
Covid could cause organ damage throughout the body, including to the heart and blood vessels. It could also make the immune system go haywire and attack itself, creating “autoantibodies”, and could reactivate underlying viral illnesses that were caught earlier in life, White said.
Even the fact that there were now more than 300 people in hospital with Omicron showed catching the virus was “not trivial”.
People could help decrease the tidal wave by trying to avoid infection and getting vaccinated and boosted, which provided good protection against long Covid.
But White was concerned about a large group of eligible people who had not taken up the booster vaccinations, as well as those who remained unjabbed.
People aren’t getting revaccinated, boosted to the highest rate. They’re not taking care, in my view, with mass gatherings and wearing masks and so forth.
To see this explosion of Covid cases and to keep telling people that it’s mild, I think that’s wrong. Individually, we have to really avoid it.
He also said anyone who developed heart symptoms after catching Omicron should see their GP immediately.
In a statement, a Ministry of Health spokeswoman said the long-term physiological and psychological effects of Covid-19 were not yet known.
However, new evidence around long Covid-19 continues to evolve around the globe and the ministry is continuing to watch developments very closely. Part of that evidence includes the long-term health impacts of long Covid-19.
The ministry had published guidelines around the rehabilitation for people after an acute Covid infection which would be updated to include long Covid.
It had also completed a comprehensive literature review and planned to establish an expert advisory group to advise on what long Covid meant for New Zealand.
And the ministry had funded an Impacts of Covid-19 in Aotearoa study at Victoria University of Wellington to understand the “lived experiences” of people impacted by Covid-19, including long Covid.
The outcomes of the study will be used to advise health officials.
Meanwhile, Dr David Welch from the Centre of Computational Evolution said the idea that Omicron infection was inevitable “so we should just get on with it” was incorrect and could be dangerous for the healthcare system and the economy.
The majority can avoid being infected during this Omicron wave and we should all do as much as we reasonably can to avoid infection.
Actions we take do help us to stop getting sick and protect our health system and economy.
Welch said in hard-hit places, around 50 percent of people avoided infection and 80 per cent in places where the virus was controlled better.
The actions we take over the next three to five weeks will determine whether the outbreak is manageable or not.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
For every time this report says “long Covid,” or “Omicron:” replace or add the word “vaccine” to that sentence. For example:
[The] Covid [vaccine]couldwill cause organ damage throughout the body, including to the heart and blood vessels. Itcouldwill also make the immune system go haywire and attack itself, creating “autoantibodies”, andcouldwill reactivate underlying viral illnesses that were caught earlier in life, [and create new ones], White said.
Once again, the media must coverup for the fact that it is the vaccinated (anyone who received at least one dose of this death shot) who are keeling over, getting hospitalized, and dying like crazy. The WinePress has warned and more than proved this many times over, and will continue to do so as this gets worse, when the handlers then relaunch the Covid war, or some new “pandemic.”
[12] But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge. [13] But the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath: they cry not when he bindeth them. [14] They die in youth, and their life is among the unclean.Job 36:12-14
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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In a recent news article in the NZ herald Joeli Vidiri was reported to have travelled to America, caught covid and then of course he died in the arms of his bride to whom he went there to marry. He apparently had three consecutive cardiac arrests due to catching the virus and of course it was painted rather strongly that he was NOT vaccinated. My head went in a whirl of trying to understand this as he was a fit former rugby player with his whole-life ahead of him and I only really associated cardiac problems with the vax itself! Then the following day I decided to revisit the article and saw a different one now where he had had a kidney transplant and had ill- health due to the complications of that. No mention of Covid in the latter article or affiliation with being unvaxxed to the cause of his death. Felt so annoyed that they are blatantly lying and coercing us with these fear tactics. I should have known as there have been several times that I have viewed articles that mysteriously pop up claiming an unvaxxed person has died of Covid and yet in the next moment it has mysteriously vanished despite tirelessly searching. I mean in New Zealand we are being told of such a vast degree of symptoms associated with this that if you wake up in the morning with a tender lower back ( which I do sometimes) that can be a symptom of covid. This of course breeds paranoia which can actually make people suspect they may have it and rush to a testing station. Psychologically this paranoia likened to a hypochondriac can induce symptoms but they are psychological. I’m so blessed I have Jesus and trust in him against this bullysome government! Kia kaha New Zealand
That’s pathetic. All over the world now they are trying to do everything they can to get people to think this is all “normal.” It’s sickening.
People who work in psychology and drug addiction don’t see this as a harmful relationship of codependency. Anyone with some sense would associate this like a dealer slinging dope to get people hooked on their product. Just the blindness of it all is stunning.
There is no way someone with the flu can have heart issues like this. It is unheard of with the regular flu or cold, in my life’s experience at least. They are obviously lying to everyone’s face. But people fall for it. Sigh…
There is already adds for this
https://youtu.be/LI-WOGPpW5k