Friday, August 23, 2024

Summary of Long-COVID Statistics and Recent Research


I recently read an excellent article on long-COVID from PBS News that I wanted to share with you. My time and energy are very limited this week, as we were away last weekend and are leaving again Sunday (but this time for a few days of relaxing camping), AND we have unexpected house guests this weekend! But I wanted to at least share this article with you.

You can read the article here: Scientists Are Piecing Together the Puzzle of Long-COVID. Here's What to Know. It is relatively brief and written in clear language for regular readers (not doctors or scientists). A few interesting points:

  • Percent of those infected with COVID who get long-COVID (i.e. lingering symptoms or effects) has gone down since 2020, in part due to vaccines and in part due to different variants of the virus.
  • Unvaccinated people are at twice the risk of developing long-COVID as those who've been vaccinated.
  • Post-exertional malaise (PEM) is on their list of symptoms, but the article doesn't mention the cross-over with ME/CFS.
  • Many who develop long-COVID had only a mild infection at first.

Overall, the article emphasizes the disabling severity of long-COVID and the danger of developing it. I think this is a good one to share with friends and family (especially those who think COVID is no big deal and they don't need to keep getting vaccines!).

Hope you find the article informative and helpful.

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