Top in ID: Long COVID after breakthrough infection; new name for monkeypox

A study of nearly 34,000 patients who received a COVID-19 vaccine but experienced a breakthrough infection showed that they were still at risk for developing long COVID symptoms.

Healio spoke with study coauthor Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, FASN, chief of research and development at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System, about the findings. It was the top story in infectious disease last week.

Another top story was about an announcement from WHO that the organization is working with experts to rename monkeypox. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, made the announcement during a press briefing amid concerns that the current name is stigmatizing.

Read the top stories in infectious disease below:

Q&A: Does vaccination prevent long COVID?

Vaccination may not fully protect people from long COVID symptoms if they experience a breakthrough infection, according to a study published recently in Nature Medicine. Read more.

Monkeypox will get a new name, WHO says

WHO said it is working with experts to rename monkeypox and its two clades. Tedros said WHO will make announcements about the new names as soon as possible. Read more.

Fauci tests positive, is experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, NIAID says

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, tested positive for COVID-19, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said. Read more.

FDA committee recommends COVID-19 vaccines for youngest children

An FDA advisory committee unanimously recommended that Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccines be authorized for children as young as 6 months old. Read more.

Polio risk increases as war continues in Ukraine

War has increased the risk for polio in Ukraine and beyond, interrupting health resources in a country with low immunization rates that has experienced recent vaccine-derived polio outbreaks, experts said at ASM Microbe. Read more.