Public health experts are divided over how many people are getting long COVID-19, a potentially debilitating condition that comes after a patient has recovered from the coronavirus.
Ill effects from the condition can include fatigue, pain, neurological issues and even changes in mental health.
Initially, public health officials believed that only a small minority of people would suffer from long COVID-19. But some studies now indicate a majority of those infected with the coronavirus are experiencing long COVID-19 symptoms.
Still, estimates on the numbers of people with long COVID are all over the map.
Researchers from the Penn State College of Medicine found that more than half of COVID-19 survivors had long COVID-19.
Another study from the University of Arizona found that about 2 out of 3 people who experienced mild or moderate cases of coronavirus had long-lasting symptoms.
Other reports have been more conservative, estimating anywhere between 10 to 30 percent of those infected develop long-term symptoms. Those who experience ongoing symptoms from long COVID-19 have sometimes come to be known as COVID-19 long haulers.
One problem in figuring out how many people get long COVID-19 is defining it.
Apart from the wide range of symptoms, there is still debate over when a person is considered to have long COVID-19. Some health care authorities consider a patient to have the condition if symptoms persist after three to six weeks, while other think it should be considered on a longer basis.
Jim Heath, president and professor at the Institute for Systems Biology, is leading the Pacific Northwest consortium researching long COVID-19 as part of the National Institute of Health's (NIH) RECOVER initiative, which is looking into the post-COVID-19 condition and potential ways of preventing and treating it.
Heath told The Hill that if one definition of long COVID-19 was being used — one in which symptoms lingered about four to six weeks after infection — then roughly half of those infected would be considered to have long COVID-19.
According to Heath, an estimate of 15 to 20 percent of coronavirus survivors experiencing long COVID-19 after six months was a reasonable "educated guess" and he added that there was evidence to support that rate of occurrence.
When reached for comment by The Hill, the NIH said initial studies have found that at least half of COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized reported "persistent weakness or fatigue" months after their recovery.
Studies on the prevalence of long COVID-19 have been "relatively few," according to the NIH, and they have all focused on people who had symptomatic cases of COVID-19.
The NIH said numerous observational studies in both children and adults are being conducted to find potential treatments for long haulers. The agency has requested applications for new clinical trials to launch this summer to test potential ways of preventing and treating long COVID-19.
"In contrast to the wealth of prior knowledge that led to the vaccines for Sars-CoV-2 and a host of other viruses, there is much less known about what causes persistent symptoms following infectious illnesses or how to best treat them. As a consequence, there is more knowledge needed to fuel the scientific advances to come," the NIH said.
News
Scientists Have Uncovered Previously Hidden Microbial Activity on Human Skin
The most abundant microbes on your skin may not be the ones doing most of the work. Human skin supports vast communities of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that can influence its protective barrier, immune [...]
Brazilian Tree Compounds Fight COVID-19 on Multiple Fronts
Scientists found compounds in a Brazilian tree that hit SARS-CoV-2 on multiple fronts, revealing a promising new lead in the search for COVID-19 treatments. Researchers have found that galloylquinic acids extracted from the leaves [...]
Cutting Two Amino Acids Slowed Prostate Cancer in Mice
A newly identified link between amino acid metabolism and cholesterol production may help prostate tumors adapt to hormone therapy. Prostate cancer can find ways around treatments designed to deprive tumors of the hormones they [...]
Largest-Ever Physics Survey Raises New Doubts About Our Model of the Universe
Physicists around the world remain deeply divided on key mysteries of the universe, from dark matter to quantum gravity. The standard cosmological model failed to gain majority support, and no leading theory dominated the [...]
Scientists Just Overturned a 100-Year-Old Belief About Bacteria in the Lungs
New findings raise questions about the role of microbes living in the lungs. More than 35 trillion bacteria live throughout the human body, forming microbiomes in the gut, mouth, lungs, skin, and urogenital tract. [...]
GHCE Concept
From the preface of the book Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artificial Intelligence, Edited by Frank Boehm: Since the publication of my first book (Nanomedical Device and Systems [...]
Novartis, Ionis drug failure spurs questions
Pelacarsen didn’t protect heart health despite lowering levels of a protein particle, “Lp(a),” in a large clinical trial — a result with important implications for cardiovascular drug research. Dive Brief: An RNA drug from [...]
New injectable treatment helps the brain rebuild after stroke
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have created an injectable biomaterial that may help the brain recover from damage left behind by an ischemic stroke. In experiments with mice, the material transformed the cavity created [...]
Scientists Discover a Hidden “Immune Organ” Inside the Skull
Researchers discovered lymph node-like immune hubs inside skull bone marrow that appear to act as rapid-response centers for the brain. For decades, the brain was thought to operate largely apart from the immune system. [...]
Engineered tRNAs and lipid nanoparticles target nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis
Researchers have developed a potential new approach for treating a form of cystic fibrosis caused by so-called nonsense mutations, combining chemically modified transfer RNAs with lipid nanoparticles designed to deliver the therapy directly to [...]
New pancreatic cancer drug carries a $39,800 monthly list price
A groundbreaking treatment for one of the most common forms of pancreatic cancer has been approved in pill form by the FDA. Revolution Medicines’ oral tablet daraxonrasib, branded as Rasonque, reduced the risk of [...]
Researchers Have Discovered a New Way To Reduce Chronic Nerve Pain
A cancer-linked protein called BRAF may help drive chronic nerve pain, and existing cancer drugs targeting it reduced pain sensitivity in preclinical models. Chronic nerve pain can persist long after an injury and often [...]
Our books now available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
Quantum-Enabled Regenerative Health: Reimagining Wellness, Precision Health and Longevity Medicine
Introduction Healthcare is approaching a frontier where the quantum portfolio could influence not only how disease is diagnosed and treated, but how health itself is measured, modeled, predicted and preserved. Quantum computing, quantum simulation, [...]
FDA Clears First-of-Its-Kind Nonmedication Treatment for PTSD
The FDA has cleared a system that uses brain activity data to personalize magnetic stimulation for PTSD, adding a new nonmedication treatment option. Every day in the United States, approximately 17.5 veterans die by suicide, [...]
FDA approves breakthrough drug to treat advanced pancreatic cancer
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on Wednesday a drug that could extend the survival of those with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The drug, called daraxonrasib, will be sold under the brand name Rasonque [...]
