The intense scientific effort that long COVID sparked has resulted in more than 24,000 scientific publications, making it the most researched health condition in any four years of recorded human history.
Long COVID is a term that describes the constellation of long-term health effects caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These range from persistent respiratory symptoms, such as shortness of breath, to debilitating fatigue or brain fog that limits people’s ability to work, and conditions such as heart failure and diabetes, which are known to last a lifetime.
I’m vaccinated plus three boosters, and I’m struggling with it now after COVID last fall. Sucks to be in that lucky 3.5%.
Rarity doesn’t change severity. I’m sorry for your struggle buddy.
I’m lucky that mine isn’t as severe as it could be. I’m not bedbound and I work from home, which I can still do, though on some days I need to lie down for a couple hours midday and work into the evening to make it up.
But I can’t do the things I used to enjoy like hiking, cycling, going to the gym. Even non-active stuff like chess - the brain fog affects how well I can calculate and I’ve lost a ton of rating after six years of steady improvement. Immune system is fucked and I keep getting skin infections. Can’t digest food very well, can’t even chew very well due to inflammation in my jaw. Can’t sleep more than 4-5 hours a night. The nervous system impacts everything.
So basically it still lets me do my job and pay my mortgage but everything I did for fun is out of reach. Not a great quality of life.