An estimated 10% of people diagnosed with COVID-19 go on to experience prolonged symptoms, according to the British Medical Journal. That translates into over a million Americans who could potentially experience debilitating symptoms long after they've recovered from the infection.
. . . "You have patients with cognitive dysfunction, you have difficulty concentrating, having very bad fatigue, and also patients who are very [physically] deconditioned," said [Dr. Zijian Chen, director of the Mount Sinai Center for Post-COVID Care in New York City.]
According to the Mount Sinai Health System, the majority of long-haulers they've treated are between 20 and 40 years old, they're most often women and they have no known underlying health conditions.
I don't have a medical background, but to me the above indicates health issues related to the brain and lungs. Back in August, I wrote about another impact of the virus was kidney disease that was associated with severe COVID-19. That wasn't addressed in the article, but perhaps is discussed in the British Medical Journal report.
The question to ask is how long are these long haulers impacted. Maybe they eventually gain back their full health. The article discusses someone named Reyna Lopez who is 31. She spent at least 4 months in the hospital, released at the end of October. She mentions that she is on oxygen, but is trying to work her way off it. So perhaps there is hope that people do eventually fully recover.
Of final note, the article mentions this is more likely to impact women than men. On the other hand, it is my understanding that men are more likely to die from the virus.
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