Long COVID-19 is real, it isn't just about deaths.
Currently the global average for long COVID-19 is that 15% of people infected survivors still have significant symptoms beyond 3 months. The spectrum ranges from headaches and twitches to serious heart and lung or neuromuscular conditions, it even looks like some who were classified as asymptomatic in the initial diagnosis will also be affected in someway long term.
In the USA the researchers fear is that many more cases go undiagnosed than they realise, some are now being picked up as high viral load but asymptomatic using flow cytometry and lateral flow tests, which are very sensitive compared to PCR but for medium and high level infections will give very reliable viral load counts. Initially they thought only about 5% of cases might be asymptomatic and infectious, but the early figures are showing up to 35% of cases are asymptomatic with medium to high viral load and infectious. If 15% of those have long term health effects the impact of Sars-CoV-2 is going to be significant and very expensive. In the USA obviously a lot of it is privatised, but in a place like here or the UK the burden on the public health system could be disastrous for everyone, even those who think staying isolated and healthy are going to be hit, imagine what might happen to health insurance costs!
When you start to add these impacts to the more immediate deadly effects, you can understand why the authorities are so jumpy.
For those of you who trust The Economist or Forbes, here is a nice plain language summary in Forbes,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalto...5aa1a6ee03
This article makes a claim that in one study they found vaccination even after an infection reduces long COVID symptoms, I haven't found the sources for that I'd be a bit sceptical, the reporting articles paraphrase a lot so you have to be careful, and they might just be local effects based on small numbers.
Currently the global average for long COVID-19 is that 15% of people infected survivors still have significant symptoms beyond 3 months. The spectrum ranges from headaches and twitches to serious heart and lung or neuromuscular conditions, it even looks like some who were classified as asymptomatic in the initial diagnosis will also be affected in someway long term.
In the USA the researchers fear is that many more cases go undiagnosed than they realise, some are now being picked up as high viral load but asymptomatic using flow cytometry and lateral flow tests, which are very sensitive compared to PCR but for medium and high level infections will give very reliable viral load counts. Initially they thought only about 5% of cases might be asymptomatic and infectious, but the early figures are showing up to 35% of cases are asymptomatic with medium to high viral load and infectious. If 15% of those have long term health effects the impact of Sars-CoV-2 is going to be significant and very expensive. In the USA obviously a lot of it is privatised, but in a place like here or the UK the burden on the public health system could be disastrous for everyone, even those who think staying isolated and healthy are going to be hit, imagine what might happen to health insurance costs!
When you start to add these impacts to the more immediate deadly effects, you can understand why the authorities are so jumpy.
For those of you who trust The Economist or Forbes, here is a nice plain language summary in Forbes,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalto...5aa1a6ee03
This article makes a claim that in one study they found vaccination even after an infection reduces long COVID symptoms, I haven't found the sources for that I'd be a bit sceptical, the reporting articles paraphrase a lot so you have to be careful, and they might just be local effects based on small numbers.
"Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck ....... Ruck, ruck, ruck, ruck"