What We're Learning About Long COVID

Scientific Studies and Individual Stories Are Bringing the Picture Into Focus

View this email online May 6, 2022 by Justin Bank Earlier this week, my NPR colleagues Allison Aubrey and A Martínez discussed the announcement of a new study at the National Institutes of Health. Scientists at NIH are recruiting about 20,000 people to explore long COVID. They're looking at widely reported symptoms like fatigue and brain fog. And they’re also looking at why some long-haulers go on to develop brain or heart problems, metabolic disorders, and, potentially, autoimmune conditions. You can go to recovercovid.org for more information on the study, and, potentially, sign up. The NPR Science Desk published an FAQ on long Covid in November that pointed out how wide the range of instances might be: “Estimates of the prevalence of long COVID-19 range wildly, from less than 5% to nearly 60% of total COVID-19 cases.” Even conservative estimates would mean that's millions of Americans. Brain fog and no cure in site, a story from NPR Member Station WAMU, tells the story of one Maryland man grappling with long COVID. It captures the confounding uncertainty for those affected. There’s uncertainty among those diagnosing and making treatments, too. Back in November 2021, Michaeleen Doucleff went on Morning Edition to discuss how some scientists were thinking of long COVID as three different syndromes. As a COVID long-hauler myself, I’m keenly following the conversation. I find it at turns validating, insightful, and even frustrating to look for benchmarks and insights through both reported anecdotes or the emerging scientific literature. Allison and A so thoughtfully blended both in their segment this week. Pandemic News The recent uptick in COVID cases "might be a glimpse into what the endemic stage of COVID-19 will look like, according to Andy Slavitt, a former senior adviser to President Biden on COVID-19 and a former head of Medicare and Medicaid in the Obama administration. The U.S. is not in an endemic phase just yet, Slavitt said, and the country likely won't know until after it's in it because, as he put it, "the best definition of endemic that I've heard is just when the surprises are gone and it becomes predictable." (Florido // NPR) “SARS-CoV-2 remains a long way from being ordinary … but there are signs that the virus — and our relationship to it — is shifting in subtle ways that make it more like seasonal flu than it was at the start of the pandemic.” (Molteni // STAT) And in conversation with NPR (Clayson // Here and Now) “ "People are wondering: If I had omicron once, can I get it again? Now two preliminary studies, published online this week, start to answer that question. And the results show just how quickly omicron can mutate and overcome the defenses our immune systems put up.” (Doucleff // NPR) “For much of the pandemic, a range of economic aid and restrictions on evictions kept eviction filings well below normal. Even after the national moratorium on evictions ended last August, rates rose slowly. Peter Hepburn tracks filings in six states and 31 cities for the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, and he saw a notable shift this spring. As rental aid programs started closing, eviction filings overall have reached nearly the same level as before the pandemic.” (Ludden // NPR) Newsletter continues after sponsor message Around the Network and Nation “By early 2021, researchers estimated Hmong people accounted for about 50% of deaths among Minnesotans of Asian descent though they made up only about 25% of that population. … COVID in the Hmong community appears to be mostly in check for now. Despite an early hesitancy, people of Asian ancestry now boast Minnesota’s highest COVID vaccination rate. What made the difference? Observers point to a growing class of young Hmong doctors, nurses and public health leaders who recognized COVID’s threat and worked to guide people toward science-based answers. Many in that emerging professional generation have grown from kids helping their parents navigate medical appointments to adults helping stymie a deadly disease.” (Cox // MPR News) As of Thursday, 996,675 Americans have died of COVID, according to the NPR database. There have been more than 81 million confirmed cases in the U.S. The two-week trend is up 57.3%, with increases in regional spots such as: Send your stories, insights and photos to thenewnormal@npr.org. You could be featured in an upcoming edition of The New Normal newsletter! Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: thenewnormal@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! 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