The seismic after-effects of COVID-19
Beyond the risk of death , the new infectious disease can trigger a host of long-lasting disabling problems even in young and healthy patients
Very rough estimates put the incidence of these lingering maladies in the region of five to 20 percent of all patients infected with COVID-19 .
Amisleading narrative around COVID-19 that took root almost as soon as the pandemic appeared saw it as a debilitating and sometimes deadly disease striking mainly the elderly or those with preexisting conditions like diabetes and lung problems . In younger people , it was a manageable if not innocuous condition that would mostly resolve itself .
“ It doesn ’ t matter if younger , healthier people get infected [ with COVID-19 ],” Dr Scott Atlas , the controversial White House special adviser in the Trump Administration , told KUSI-TV back in July . “ I don ’ t know how often that has to be said . They have nearly zero risk of a problem from this .”
The ages of those who have died from COVID-19 certainly back up the idea of a senior citizen disease , with about 80 percent of COVID deaths in the US occurring in people older than 65 , according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ).
While the 3.8 million worldwide deaths from COVID-19 so far represent a global tragedy , the risk of death , however , is not the only thing making COVID-19 such a scary and dreadful disease .
Behind the still rising mortality figures , a much more nuanced and grimmer reality has crept in , evidenced by significant numbers of people from different age groups experiencing debilitating and persistent symptoms after being infected with COVID-19 . This disparate set of health problems has become known as “ long COVID .”
Very rough estimates put the incidence of these lingering maladies in the region of five to 20 percent of all patients infected with COVID-19 . Worldwide , this could translate into millions of people suffering from long-lasting medical conditions that will profoundly affect their lives without any fixes on the horizon .
“ We do not know yet the magnitude of the problem , but given the number of individuals of all ages who have been or will be infected with SARS-CoV-2 , the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 , the public health impact could be profound ,” wrote Dr Francis S . Collins , Director of the US National Institutes of Health , on announcing an ambitious research initiative on long COVID .
Though COVID-19 is just the latest in a long history of pathogens that have led humans to develop chronic problems , structural weaknesses in global medical systems have made it easy and convenient to downplay many of the residual negative effects that the novel coronavirus is having on a significant portion of patients .
Putting a brighter spotlight on long COVID would not only provide better care for those suffering from the after-effects of COVID-19 , but also improve the way we deal with a host of other lingering and longlasting conditions that are hard to diagnose and treat .
Long COVID : a multifaceted problem There ’ s still a great deal of uncertainty around long COVID , but what ’ s clear is that the condition is a complex syndrome that can take several pathological forms , leaving its characterisation open to more than one interpretation .
“ The definition of long COVID is important because everybody understands it differently ,” explained Dr Avindra Nath , a researcher with the US National Institutes of Health , to Global Health Asia-Pacific .
Though there ’ s some overlap among long COVID symptoms , the most common can be categorised into three different groups — cognitive dysfunction , exercise intolerance , and dysautonomia . This last category is an umbrella term for several problems , one of which is an abnormal or impaired regulation of the heart rate and blood pressure .
Some individuals with long COVID have brain fog — trouble concentrating and thinking clearly as well as remembering things and perceiving time correctly . “ They can tell you they ate French toast for breakfast , but they can ’ t remember whether they ate it today or yesterday or a month ago , so it ’ s a very specific type of memory loss ,” said Dr Nath .
Others complain of extreme fatigue that leaves them struggling with daily activities . For example , a few weeks after contracting COVID-19 , Dr Amy Small , a 39-year-old general practitioner in Scotland , got back to work for half a day and was wiped out in the wake of it . “ It floored me completely for 10 days and took two months to get back to where I was prior to that ,” she told the Guardian . “ I couldn ’ t speak one day
30 JUNE 2021 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com