it can hit almost anyone

While there is no clear list of symptoms to define the condition, the most common symptoms include fatigue, memory and thinking problems, loss of taste and smell, shortness of breath, insomnia, anxiety and depression.

Some of these symptoms may first appear during the initial infection, but persist or recur after a month or more. Or new ones may develop, lasting weeks, months, or more than a year.

With many symptoms appearing alongside other illnesses, some scientists have questioned whether the coronavirus is always the trigger. The researchers hope their work will provide clear answers.

Long-term COVID affects adults of all ages, as well as children. Research has shown that it is more prevalent among those who are hospitalized, but also a large proportion of those who are not hospitalized.

Retired flight attendant Jacki Graham’s battle with COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic wasn’t enough to land her in the hospital. But after a few months, she experienced breathing difficulties and a racing heart. She couldn’t taste or smell. Her blood pressure soared.

In the fall of 2020, she became so exhausted that morning yoga would send her back to bed.

“I’m a morning person, so I get up and push myself, but then I’m done with the day,” said Graham, 64, of Studio City, California. “Six months ago, I would have told you that the coronavirus ruined my life.”

New York nurse Hogan was also not hospitalized with COVID-19, but has been frail since her diagnosis. Her husband is a disabled veteran, and her children, ages 9, 13 and 15, quickly fell ill with fever, stomach pain and weakness for about a month. Then everything seemed to get better until new symptoms appeared.

Hogan’s doctors believe an autoimmune abnormality and a pre-existing connective tissue disorder that causes joint pain may have predisposed her to the disease.

possible answers

There is no treatment specifically approved for long-term COVID, although some patients may find relief from pain relievers, medications for other conditions, and physical therapy. But more help may be on the horizon.

Immunobiologist Akiko Iwasaki is studying the tantalizing possibility that COVID-19 vaccination may reduce long-term COVID symptoms. Her team at Yale University is collaborating with a patient group called the Survivor Corps on a study that involves vaccinating previously unvaccinated long-term COVID patients as a possible treatment.

Iwasaki, who is also an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supports the Associated Press’ Department of Health and Science, said she is conducting the study because patient groups have reported that some people experience long-term effects after injections. COVID symptoms have improved.

Study participant Nancy Rose, 67, of Port Jefferson, N.Y., said many of her symptoms went away after she was vaccinated, although she still experienced tiredness and memory loss.

Two recently published studies (one from the United States and one from Israel) provide preliminary evidence that getting vaccinated before contracting COVID-19 can help prevent or at least reduce the severity of this lingering disease. Both were done before the advent of omicron.

Neither has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but outside experts say the results are encouraging.

In the Israeli study, about two-thirds of the participants received one or two injections of Pfizer; others were not vaccinated. People who had been vaccinated twice were at least half as likely as the unvaccinated group to report fatigue, headache, muscle weakness or pain, and other common long-term COVID symptoms.

uncertain future

With no clear answers yet, the patient’s future is murky.

Many, like Graham, have seen progress over time. She sought help through a long-term COVID program at Cedars-Sinai, where she enrolled in a study in April 2021 and was vaccinated and boosted.

Today, her blood pressure is normal, and her sense of smell and energy levels are getting closer to pre-COVID levels, she said. Still, due to her ordeal, she retired early.

Hogan is still battling painful nerve pain and symptoms such as “spaghetti legs,” or limbs that suddenly become weak and unable to bear the weight, a condition that also affects her 13-year-old son.

Some scientists worry that long-term COVID in some patients could become a form of chronic fatigue syndrome, a long-term disease that is poorly understood and has no cure or approved treatments.

One thing’s for sure, some experts say: A prolonged period of COVID will have a massive impact on individuals, healthcare systems and economies around the world, costing billions of dollars.

Even with insurance, patients can lose thousands of dollars when they are too sick to work. For example, Graham said she paid about $6,000 out of pocket for things like scans, labs, doctor visits and chiropractic treatments.

South African scientist Pretorius said there was a real fear that things could get worse.

“So many people are losing their livelihoods and their homes. They can’t work anymore,” she said. “Long-term COVID could have a more severe impact on our economy than acute COVID.”