The effects of coronavirus on the heart aren’t fully known.
Along with all the other unknowns about the coronavirus is whether it has long-term effects on the heart.
Dr. Jeffrey Goldberger, a cardiologist and chief of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, says many COVID-19 survivors even those who experienced mild or no symptoms have ongoing heart inflammation as a result of their infections. Complications may include arrhythmia or heart failure.
“We don’t know for sure how this is going to heal. Everything about this virus is sort of new,” Goldberger says. “In five years, are we going to be seeing people who had COVID and now have some lingering scarring in their heart and are at risk for arrhythmia? It’s possible.”
Thursday s Daily Pulse | 2/11/2021
White House looks at domestic travel restrictions as COVID mutation surges in Florida
The Biden administration is considering whether to impose domestic travel restrictions, including on Florida, fearful that coronavirus mutations are threatening to reverse hard-fought progress on the pandemic. Outbreaks of the new variants including a highly contagious one first identified in the United Kingdom, as well as others from South Africa and Brazil that scientists worry can evade existing vaccines have lent urgency to a review of potential travel restrictions within the United States, one federal official said. [Source: Miami Herald]
A pandemic plus: Florida suicides plummeted. Experts worry it won’t last
Tuesday s Afternoon Update | 2/9/2021 Smart Machines: AI technology s impact on Florida s business sectors
AI can’t replace humans, but the technology is making inroads in more and more business sectors. The leaps forward have been made possible by powerful computer processing engines and advances in machine learning techniques. Computers with enough horsepower can crunch large data sets and use a series of algorithms to extract patterns and glean insights from that information. More from Florida Trend.
Buccaneers’ Super Bowl win fills sails of Tampa Bay businesses
During the build-up to this year’s National Football League championship at Raymond James Stadium, local business owners had feared the worst about what a pandemic Super Bowl might cost them. But as jubilant Bucs fans hit the streets before and after the team’s 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the picture looked and certainly felt a lot rosier. More from the Tampa Bay Times.
Wednesday s Afternoon Update | 2/10/2021
Will a more contagious virus reverse Florida’s recent downturn in COVID cases?
Even with two vaccines and COVID cases waning from a winter peak, Florida’s pandemic future has been obscured in recent weeks by the rapid spread of a new and more contagious variant of the virus. The state has become ground zero in the U.S. for the B.1.1.7 variant of the COVID virus, or the ‘”U.K. variant” one of several spin-offs that have raised alarm in the scientific community. The more infectious version of the virus, scientists worry, could accelerate severe disease and deaths before public health officials get enough people vaccinated. More from the Miami Herald and WFIT.
Tuesday s Daily Pulse | 2/9/2021
When will Florida see the impact of coronavirus vaccinations?
when will we start to see results? The most obvious change to look for would be a decline in the number of new cases. But the statistic being watched most closely by experts is the number of people hospitalized. Hospitalizations should plummet if the vaccines perform as expected, scientists say, taking pressure off healthcare systems that have strained for nearly a year under the weight of their COVID caseloads. Another result should be a decline in deaths, since the elderly account for 83% of Florida’s fatal cases and have received the majority of vaccinations. [Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel]