August 2025 Newsletter

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved updated COVID-19 vaccines, but for a limited group: adults 65 and older, and younger people who are at a higher risk from COVID-19. The vaccines have been updated to target coronavirus strains circulating more recently.

It may be significantly more difficult for infants and young children to get vaccinated with the new recommendations, even though they are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Emergency use authorizations for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine has been rescinded, which means that the updated vaccine is no long authorized for children younger than five years old. Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine is approved for children as young as six months, but only if they have an underlying condition putting them at higher risk.

COVID-19 levels have been on the rise for months in the US, with transmission increasing in most states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are no signs of slowing yet, so activity will probably continue to increase in the weeks ahead. There were 1.7 COVID hospitalizations for every 100,000 people during the first week of August, CDC data shows, with the highest rates among seniors and children under five. 

The RECOVER Initiative is conducting a new clinical trial exploring a program that could help long COVID patients with exercise intolerance improve their quality of life and ability to exercise. The trial, RECOVER-ENERGIZE, is testing a program combining aerobic and resistance training, flexibility exercises, education and social support in long COVID patients for three months. Care will be tailored to each individual study participant depending on how they feel each day plus data from wearable Fitbits. Tailoring care for each individual study participant is essential. “It’s not only about physical improvements — it’s about regaining a sense of control and hope,” says Barry J. Make, MD, a pulmonologist and the RECOVER-ENERGIZE principal investigator.

A new study highlights just how much the lack of a standard definition of long COVID is clouding our understanding. Using data from 4,700 U.S. patients, UCLA researchers applied five long COVID definitions to the population. Depending on what definition was used, the prevalence of long COVID ranged from 15% to 42% — all in the same group of patients. These differences may lead researchers and physicians to miss some legitimate long COVID cases and to label some patients as having long COVID when they don’t. “Without a clinically usable and standardized research definition of long COVID, it’s like every study is using a different measuring stick,” says Joann G. Elmore, MD, the study’s senior author.

Scientists at UCLA Medical Center have discovered what may be a biomarker for long COVID. If other research groups can validate these findings, this marker could become the first measurable tool for diagnosing long COVID. Currently, doctors rely solely on patient-reported symptoms that appear weeks or months after infection with COVID-19 to make a diagnosis.

The recently published findings describe the presence of SARS-CoV-2 fragments inside extracellular vesicles. Within these samples, researchers identified 65 unique protein fragments of SARS-CoV-2 found in the cells of humans with long COVID. These proteins do not exist in healthy human cells.

A new study reveals that COVID-19 can significantly accelerate vascular aging regardless of disease severity, particularly in women. The gender-specific analysis revealed that women with confirmed infection have significantly higher large artery stiffness than those without infection; however, no significant difference was observed between men. Evidence suggests that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can alter the functionality of vascular endothelial cells and induce chronic inflammation, leading to vascular damage among infected women.

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