{"id":1711,"date":"2024-03-11T14:55:40","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T15:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=1711"},"modified":"2024-03-12T21:05:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T21:05:05","slug":"7-covid-mysteries-scientists-are-starting-to-unravel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=1711","title":{"rendered":"7 Covid Mysteries Scientists Are Starting to Unravel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-1n0orw4 e1wiw3jv0\">Are superdodgers real? Is Covid seasonal? And what\u2019s behind its strangest symptoms? Here\u2019s what we\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"sizeMedium css-1d5j3k5\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\" data-testid=\"VideoBlock\">\n<div class=\"css-1xb94ky\">\n<div class=\"css-11kuxu4\" style=\"width:100%;padding-bottom:66.66666666666666%;overflow:hidden\">\n<div class=\"css-122y91a\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"css-1ifeaca e3rygrp0\"><span class=\"css-cch8ym\"><span class=\"css-1u46b97 e1z0qqy90\"><span>Erik Winkowski<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, nearly everything about the novel coronavirus was an open question: How was it spreading so quickly? How sick would it make people? Would a single bout buy you protection from future cases?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the four years since, scientists have unraveled some of the biggest mysteries about Covid. We now know far more about how it spreads (no, standing six feet apart isn\u2019t surefire protection), why it doesn\u2019t seem to make children as sick as adults and what\u2019s behind the strange symptoms it can cause, from brain fog to \u201cCovid toe.\u201d Here\u2019s a look at what we\u2019ve learned.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-kypbrf eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-1912223c\">Why do people\u2019s experiences with Covid vary so widely? And are superdodgers real?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">By now, most Americans have had Covid at least once. While the majority of those infected have been hit with <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/covid-symptoms-treatment.html\" title>flulike symptoms<\/a>, some have been hospitalized with serious respiratory issues, and others have had no symptoms at all.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Part of this can be explained by the amount of virus we are exposed to, but our bodies also play a big role. People who are older or have existing health problems tend to have more severe symptoms because their immune systems are already <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC7886785\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">weakened<\/a>. In some cases, the body can fight off the virus before it replicates enough to cause symptoms, or clear it so quickly that a person <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/06\/02\/well\/live\/covid-testing-household-transmission.html\" title>never tests positive<\/a>. There\u2019s also strong evidence that <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/nejmoa2107058\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">vaccination<\/a> makes illness less severe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Experts said that most likely, people who have never been infected are fully vaccinated, very cautious about avoiding exposures (through masking and avoiding crowds) or work from home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Scientists have been trying to investigate if there\u2019s something biologically unique about <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/goatsandsoda\/2022\/09\/07\/1121599445\/so-you-havent-caught-covid-yet-does-that-mean-youre-a-superdodger\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Covid superdodgers<\/a> that gives them immunity to infection. But the closest they have come is finding that mutations in the human leukocyte antigen \u2014 which signals to the immune system that cells are infected \u2014 can help clear out the virus so quickly that a person might be completely asymptomatic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F03%2F09%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fcovid-symptoms-mysteries.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F03%2F09%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fcovid-symptoms-mysteries.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F03%2F09%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fcovid-symptoms-mysteries.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2024%2F03%2F09%2Fwell%2Flive%2Fcovid-symptoms-mysteries.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are superdodgers real? Is Covid seasonal? And what\u2019s behind its strangest symptoms? Here\u2019s what we\u2019ve learned.Erik WinkowskiWhen the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic in March 2020, nearly everything about the novel coronavirus was an open question: How was it spreading so quickly? How sick would it make people? Would a single bout buy you protection from future cases?In the four years since, scientists have unraveled some of the biggest mysteries about Covid. We now know far more about how it spreads (no, standing six feet apart isn\u2019t surefire protection), why it doesn\u2019t seem to make children as sick as adults and what\u2019s behind the strange symptoms it can cause, from brain fog to \u201cCovid toe.\u201d Here\u2019s a look at what we\u2019ve learned.Why do people\u2019s experiences with Covid vary so widely? And are superdodgers real?By now, most Americans have had Covid at least once. While the majority of those infected have been hit with flulike symptoms, some have been hospitalized with serious respiratory issues, and others have had no symptoms at all.Part of this can be explained by the amount of virus we are exposed to, but our bodies also play a big role. People who are older or have existing health problems tend to have more severe symptoms because their immune systems are already weakened. In some cases, the body can fight off the virus before it replicates enough to cause symptoms, or clear it so quickly that a person never tests positive. There\u2019s also strong evidence that vaccination makes illness less severe.Experts said that most likely, people who have never been infected are fully vaccinated, very cautious about avoiding exposures (through masking and avoiding crowds) or work from home.Scientists have been trying to investigate if there\u2019s something biologically unique about Covid superdodgers that gives them immunity to infection. But the closest they have come is finding that mutations in the human leukocyte antigen \u2014 which signals to the immune system that cells are infected \u2014 can help clear out the virus so quickly that a person might be completely asymptomatic.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1713,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1711"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1714,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1711\/revisions\/1714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}