Did You See That Scary New Study on Long COVID? It’s Actually Kind of Reassuring.

[Social Media]

 

Death rates from acute COVID infections have fallen at this point in the pandemic, but there’s still a lot of worry about long COVID. And if you’ve been looking at recent headlines, you might assume that long COVID should very much be a concern for the average person today.

A new study is out in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine that appears, at first glance, to bolster that view. Headlines about it say it shows that long COVID is worse, on a population level, than heart disease or cancer, and that it can continue to cause issues two years after the initial infection.

Long COVID, which the World Health Organization defines as unexplained symptoms that are still a worry more than three months after the initial infection, is a public health concern. And yes, there is a chance that you will get COVID and have lingering symptoms. But what this study has to say about long COVID risk for most people is actually reassuring.

Here’s one way to summarize what the study shows: It compared people who had a record of a COVID-19 infection in 2020 with a control group, who had never been diagnosed with the disease, and found that years later people who’d had COVID-19 were still at an increased risk of a range of issues. Specifically, the researchers found, the risks of 25 out of 80 serious conditions were elevated even in people who had not been hospitalized with their initial COVID-19 infection when compared with an uninfected control. People who had been hospitalized saw even higher risks.

 

There are a few important things to keep in mind. First, this paper looked at what’s known as the U.S. Veterans Health Administration cohort. This is a group of generally older, mostly male patients who get health care from the VHA, and who are, on balance, much less healthy than your average person. Any issues seen in this cohort are very hard to generalize to the rest of the population. The paper also looked at people who were infected prior to the widespread availability of vaccines.

 

FULL STORY

[Eleftheros]

They're just gearing up to make Long Covid into a new growth industry.

 

Long Covid means nothing more than “anything bad that happens after you’ve had Covid.”

 

Since billions of people ultimately got infected, this includes a sizeable number of strange occurrences—even unexplained tooth loss was blamed on Covid. Most of the studies carried out relied on self-reported symptoms, which could (and most certainly did) introduce bias.

 

In fact, I see the the US government has already started laying the foundations of this bureaucratic industry with its Office of Long COVID Research, part of the Recover initiative, which starts off with a modest $1.15 billion in funding.

 

Even they admit that Long Covid is simply "long-term symptoms following infection by SARS-Cov-2" and that it includes more than 200 symptoms, i.e. almost anything that people care to report could be classified as Long Covid.

 

The only long thing about this is the long time that it can be expected to run and run....

[rabas]

A look at real long covid, forget the purveyors of constant misinformation. 

 

If you like science or physics you may know Physics Girl (Dianna Cowern) who has spent nearly 10 years explaining physics to millions on Youtube. She is one of the brightest, bubbliest, and happiest people you will ever see. Well, she was, until she got long covid. I think she is about 30.

 

The video starts with her friend because DIanna can no longer speak. Do watch, it also shows her before, which is priceless.

 

[impulse]

21 hours ago, rabas said:

A look at real long covid, forget the purveyors of constant misinformation. 

 

If you like science or physics you may know Physics Girl (Dianna Cowern) who has spent nearly 10 years explaining physics to millions on Youtube. She is one of the brightest, bubbliest, and happiest people you will ever see. Well, she was, until she got long covid. I think she is about 30.

 

The video starts with her friend because DIanna can no longer speak. Do watch, it also shows her before, which is priceless.

My apologies that I can't view the video because it's blocked here where I'm staying.  Did she show the symptoms before or after she was vaccinated?  Because I had my symptoms 2+ years before I actually got Covid, and starting 2 days after my 2nd Pfizer.  Not nearly as dire as you've described her condition, but life altering anyway.

 

 

[rabas]

34 minutes ago, impulse said:

My apologies that I can't view the video because it's blocked here where I'm staying.  Did she show the symptoms before or after she was vaccinated?  Because I had my symptoms 2+ years before I actually got Covid, and starting 2 days after my 2nd Pfizer.  Not nearly as dire as you've described her condition, but life altering anyway.

In her case it started directly with a Covid infection and just got worse. Covid is a very nasty virus and can cause problems throughout the body including the heart, circulatory system, and brain. In her case, the neurological issues are severe. But long covid is common, three family members living with me had it but lucky recovered in 2 to 3 months.

 

In your case, two days after vaccination is close to peak immune reaction to the vaccine. It's hard not to associate your case with the shot. I can sympathize because chronic low level problems can be a real drag.

 

Since vaccines represent the viruses they seek to stop, it's not far fetched to ask if vaccines could trigger long covid in rare circumstances. Maybe look up "long vax" or search for "can vaccines cause long covid". Here's one, there are several.

 

NIH: PubMed: In rare cases, vaccines may cause Long Covid-like symptoms

 

Good luck.

[impulse]

1 minute ago, rabas said:

Since vaccines represent the viruses they seek to stop, it's not far fetched to ask if vaccines could trigger long covid in rare circumstances. Maybe look up "long vax" or search for "can vaccines cause long covid". Here's one, there are several.

 

NIH: PubMed: In rare cases, vaccines may cause Long Covid-like symptoms

And that's why I'm not anti-vax.  I'm anti-mandate.  We should all be free to make our own decisions regarding our own bodies.

Thx for the link.

 

 

[rabas]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

My apologies that I can't view the video because it's blocked here where I'm staying.  Did she show the symptoms before or after she was vaccinated?  Because I had my symptoms 2+ years before I actually got Covid, and starting 2 days after my 2nd Pfizer.  Not nearly as dire as you've described her condition, but life altering anyway.

 

 

Question, did you have a sore arm, or was your immediate reaction mostly global?

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, rabas said:

Question, did you have a sore arm, or was your immediate reaction mostly global?

Full story, my 1st Pfizer went remarkably well.  No soreness, no symptoms at all.  So I eagerly went in for my 2nd when they texted me it was time (scarce doses were still being bogarted at that time).  Still no soreness, no noticeable symptoms that day or the next.  Then on the 2nd morning, I woke up with the left side of my face numb.  Lost my sense of balance, so some home projects that required ladder work went by the wayside.  And my energy level went into the toilet.  Couldn't stay awake for the whole day. 

 

That was 2.5+ years ago.  I've adjusted my lifestyle to accommodate the symptoms, especially the low energy level.  I'd give just about anything to go back and undo that 2nd shot.