With the federal health emergency ending in May, and masks a thing of the past, many people suffering from lingering effects of the virus known as long COVID feel like they are on their own.
‘We Feel Swept Under The Rug’: As Pandemic Emergencies End, Many Californians Battle Long COVID
“We were injured by this virus, and patients are losing hope. We feel swept under the rug,” said Shelby Hedgecock, an advocate who has had long COVID for three years. She is one of the estimated
1.5 million adults in the U.S.
who, according to the CDC, are currently suffering from long COVID.
Long COVID is an umbrella term for health issues that continue or emerge anywhere from weeks to years after an infection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. People with it are no longer contagious, but health issues related to the infection stretch on and on. It’s linked to more than 200 symptoms, said Linda Geng, co-director of the Stanford long COVID clinic.
“It’s pretty well agreed upon that it is a complex, likely multi-system condition, of manifestations that persist after COVID infection, and it can be quite debilitating,” Geng said.
Fewer than half of adults in LA County who contracted COVID-19 were fully recovered a month later, according to a recent study by the USC Pandemic Research Center.
Researchers asked 675 people who contracted COVID if they still had symptoms four weeks later. Forty-six percent said they fully recovered, but the rest reported continuing symptoms.
Chronic fatigue is one of the most cited issues, as well as chronic pain and impaired cognitive function which affect people’s daily lives.
“People who have a more severe COVID case may…
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