“Asking @CDCgov, from my bedroom, where I'm moored because of #LongCovid, why the CDC isn't recommending masking -- alongside handwashing, vaxes and testing (which they are recommending). Alt text of response from Dr. Brendan Jackson below. 1/7”
Excellent thread:
Approximately 16 million working-age Americans (aged 18 to 65) have long Covid today.
Of those, 2 to 4 million are out of work due to long Covid.
The annual cost of those lost wages alone is around $170 billion a year (potentially as high as $230 billion).
Not. The. Flu. Not. Mild. NOT. OVER.
Actually, Democrats, Covid DOES continue to rule our lives.
Massachusetts study of 280 healthcare workers 3 years post-Covid: 73.4% with Long Covid reported worse quality of life, depression, anxiety, & stress.
Fear of Covid reinfection similar between groups.
Support needed.
The impact on our healthcare workforce is immense, occurring at the same time the general population needs our help more as they too are sickened and disabled by long-covid and post-covid conditions.
in a review of 56 literature studies: Long Covid is “prevalent" among Health Care workers who become infected by SARS-CoV-2
“Study from Switzerland: 245 COVID-19 patients surveyed 4 months post-hospital discharge.
Only 28.2% were symptom-free.
Women and those with longer hospital stays reported more persistent symptoms.
76.4% had memory and concentration issues.
April 2024: 'Long-Term Effects of COVID-19: The Stories of 2 Physicians Who Became Patients'
'James Mwangi, MD; Jeffrey N. Siegelman, MD - Emory Univ. School of Medicine'
'Our intention in this article is to generate more awareness about long COVID...'
August, 2024 LA Times:
"Each new infection also carries the risk of long COVID — in which symptoms, sometimes severe enough to be debilitating, can emerge, persist, resolve and reemerge over a period of weeks, months or years."
Long Covid Knocked a Million Americans Off Their Career Paths Years after infection, even answering email remains arduous for many
Long COVID Is Taking Big Toll on U.S. Workforce
About 14% of working-age people with Long COVID symptoms hadn’t returned to their jobs within three months of their initial infection, researchers found.
Interview with @franhaddock_ who has Severe ME and Long COVID on BBC Sheffield (6 mins)
Interview is about being 98% bedbound and the new report on the prevalence of Long COVID and the inequalities it has highlighted. Also mentions #MECFS
“Covid disabled me, took away my entire life. Reinfection made me a lot sicker, twice. Experts warn about reinfection and covid isn't gone.
Yet nobody who comes to visit me masks or tests or even asks me what precaution they should take.”
Understatement: “…getting multiple Covid infections increases the chance of short- and long-term effects on the body, including the heart and lungs. So, even if we can’t totally eliminate our risk of catching it, it’s still worth trying to dodge Covid as best we can.”
A study in Argentina found that 68% of the 2,030 health workers reported having #longcovid.
The highest risks were linked to severe initial symptoms, being a nurse, working multiple jobs, and working in emergency areas
“The severity and frequency of Long COVID is purposely obscured from public discussion as part of a continued political effort to normalize constant COVID exposure.
People who take precautions to avoid COVID are making the wise decision to protect themselves and their families; they are also safeguarding their ability to work and earn money in a society that disposes of people who cannot produce. It is a rational decision; in the case of Long COVID patients, it is a necessary one.
It is also, admittedly, a very difficult lifestyle to adopt and maintain.”
“A large study published in early 2024 showed that even people who had a mild SARS-CoV-2 infection still experienced new health problems related to COVID-19 in the third year after the initial infection.
Such findings parallel other research showing that the virus persists in various organ systems for months or years after COVID-19 infection. And research is showing that immune responses to the infection are still evident two to three years after a mild infection. Together, these studies may explain why a SARS-CoV-2 infection years ago could still cause new health problems long after the initial infection.”
