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Like a zombie in a horror film, the coronavirus can persist in the bodies of infected patients well after death, even spreading to others, according to two startling studies. The risk of contagion is mainly to those who handle cadavers, like pathologists, medical examiners and health care workers, and in settings like hospitals and nursing homes, where many deaths may occur. While transmission from corpses is not likely to be a major factor in the pandemic, bereaved family members should exercise caution, experts said. (Mandavilli, 12/15)

An analysis of tissue samples from the autopsies of 44 people who died with COVID-19 shows that SAR-CoV-2 virus spread throughout the body—including into the brain—and that it lingered for almost 8 months. The study was published yesterday in Nature. (Wappes, 12/15)

Adults who were more physically active before testing positive for COVID-19 were at lower risk for hospitalization, clinical deterioration, and death by 90 days, finds a study published yesterday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Kaiser Permanente Southern California researchers led the study of the electronic health records of 194,191 patients diagnosed as having COVID-19 from Jan 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021, before vaccines were widely available. (Van Beusekom, 12/15)

A rehabilitation program for long COVID symptoms in the United Kingdom shows “impressive” results, according to a new paper in the Journal of Medical Virology. ... Over the course of six weeks, 31 participants followed the World Health Organisation (WHO) CR-10 Borg pacing protocol, which includes five levels of activity. The protocol rates how active a patient is and what level they are at based on a scale of 0 to 10 where 0 is the lowest level of exertion and 10 is the highest. There are suggested activities for different levels like breathing exercises, gentle walking, jogging and resistance exercises. The more rigorous levels included activities like running, swimming and dancing. (Hou, 12/15)

If you passed on getting the COVID vaccine, you might be a lot more likely to get into a car crash. Or at least those are the findings of a new study published this month in The American Journal of Medicine. ... [Researchers] found that the unvaccinated people were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash—in which at least one person was transported to the hospital—than those who were vaccinated. ... Of course, skipping a COVID vaccine does not mean that someone will get into a car crash. Instead, the authors theorize that people who resist public health recommendations might also “neglect basic road safety guidelines.” (Prater, 12/13)