What We Know About the New COVID-19 Variant BA.2

Since the onset of the pandemic well over two years ago, several variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been identified. Variants of COVID-19 – and all RNA viruses, for that matter – occur when there is a mutation in the virus’s genetic makeup. They are a common and an expected part of a virus’s natural cycle. For example, the influenza (flu) virus mutates roughly every year. Last summer, the COVID-19 Delta variant spread through the world at a mind-boggling speed....

Long COVID: What You Need to Know

Most COVID-infected people look forward to the day they can get back to their symptom-free life. However, for some people, that day seems to keep running further away. With over 426,624,859 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (February 2022), enough evidence has shown that some people face long-term health effects from the virus. By now, it’s clear that each person experiences COVID, and its recovery, differently. Most people who catch the coronavirus disease recover completely within a few weeks. However, that is...

Sunlight Exposure Linked to Fewer COVID-19 Deaths, Study Finds

We’ve already talked about the health benefits of breathing fresh air in another post (which you can read here). Among others, they include cleaner lungs, improved mood, and faster healing times. But as it turns out, clean air is not the only wellness benefit you can reap from heading to the great outdoors; a new study published in the British Journal of Dermatology reported that increased exposure to sunlight could protect against severe COVID-19 and COVID death, serving as a...

Poor Gut Health Might be Connected to Severe COVID-19

For decades, scientists have been studying the role the human microbiome plays on health. The gastrointestinal tract, or simply the “gut,” is made up of a series of organs essential for breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, and excreting waste. But it also harbors a vibrant, complex community of trillions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that together make up the gut microbiome. In addition to controlling digestion, the gut microbiome is in constant close communication with the immune system. In...