Long Covid/PASC (general)

“If 20% of those infected get Long COVID, and 37% of those quit work due to the symptoms, that’s over 7% of the people catching COVID that leave the workforce and school. (See Stanford study linked below)

That is a staggering number.

Let’s sanity check that. Figure some 60% of the population has been infected in the last year. So out of the workforce of 150m that would mean some 90m were infected and over 6m would have left the workforce from debilitating Long COVID just in the last year.

While that is a depressingly large number, it does match up with earlier surveys that estimated between 18-22m had left the workforce due to Long COVIS and never returned since the start of the pandemic almost five years ago.

So yes, those are huge numbers which comprise a huge drag on the US economy. It would be WAY cheaper to develop and deploy new vaccines and air quality improvements, even on a national scale. (And it would save a lot of lives and livelihoods as well.)

But worst thing about our current lackadaisical approach to public health, is that the damage is ongoing and will continue until we force our leaders to do something about it.”

(MY NOTE: China vaccines are not MRNA technology. The better reduction in long-term Long Covid symptoms relative to multiple boosters compared to studies with MRNA patients is significant. Would like to see Long Covid data out of Cuba, a country that also did not use MRNA.)

Summary:

New study of 74,000 participants found:

-those infected with COVID had more other infections (including bacterial, influenza & mycoplasma infections)

-COVID reinfections had milder acute-phase symptoms but led to higher rate & severity of Long Covid

“Analysis of 68,200 valid responses revealed that the most frequent long COVID symptoms include fatigue (30.53%), memory decline (27.93%), decreased exercise ability (18.29%), and brain fog (16.87%). These symptoms were less prevalent among those infected only once: fatigue (24.85%), memory decline (18.11%), and decreased exercise ability (12.52%), etc. Women were more likely to experience long COVID, with symptoms varying by age group, except for sleep disorders and muscle/joint pain, which were more common in older individuals. Northern China exhibits a higher prevalence of long COVID, potentially linked to temperature gradients. Risk factors included underlying diseases, alcohol consumption, smoking, and the severity of acute infection (OR > 1, FDR < 0.05). Reinfection was associated with milder symptoms but led to a higher incidence and severity of long COVID (OR > 1, FDR < 0.05). Vaccination, particularly multiple boosters, significantly reduced long-term symptoms by 30%–70% (OR < 1, FDR < 0.05). COVID-19 participants also self-reported more bacterial, influenza and mycoplasma infections, and 8%–10% of patients felt SARS-CoV-2-induced chronic diseases.”

King’s College of London: “Long COVID symptoms prevalent among healthcare workers”

New research has found that 33.6% of surveyed healthcare workers in England report symptoms consistent with post-COVID syndrome

“It’s only October 11th and we now have 3x the number of referrals to our Long COVID clinic than usual. THREE TIMES MORE.

50% of our referrals contracted COVID in 2024. Of those, half contracted COVID over summer 2024.

COVID prevention is the only to way to prevent Long COVID. We have to do better.”

Long-COVID rate among disabled people double that of able-bodied

People with disabilities are also more likely to have severe COVID-19, face treatment refusals, and be hospitalized, the researchers say.

“Our ‘new normal’ should not include at least 11% of the population falling chronically ill with long Covid after each infection…

…The narrative that we are back to normal.. is not based in reality."

Long Covid by another name

“Kaiser Permanente study finds 14% of people living with chronic fatigue-like syndrome developed it after an episode of COVID”