“I just don’t know what is wrong with me, but something is off, and I am so forgetful. I feel like I have dementia,” a good friend said to me recently. I recalled that she had been sick with COVID-19 this past year.
I remembered her illness well because I had been very concerned about her. In fact, having recently observed my third anniversary of symptoms that were later determined to be long COVID, it has been particularly hard these past few years to witness those I care about letting their guard down and catching this virus.
Long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC) or post-COVID-19 syndrome, has been definedopens in a new tab or window as a constellation of symptoms, not explained by other diagnoses, that start during or after an infection consistent with SARS-CoV-2 virus and last for 12 weeks or longer. Symptoms can include severe fatigue, cognitive issues described as “brain fog,” dizziness, palpitations, cough, chest pressure, dyspnea on exertion, post-exertional malaise, neuropathic pain, headaches, and/or muscle aches. Approximately 6.1% of U.S. adults are currently suffering and 15.5% have ever had some form of this condition. Long COVID symptoms seem to disproportionately impactopens in a new tab or window women and individuals with a disability. In addition, higher rates of significant activity limitations from long COVID symptoms were initially noted in Black, Hispanic, and multiracial individuals, most likely due to ongoing health access and care disparitiesopens in a new tab or window.
When I reminded my friend of her prior COVID infection and the known risk of cognitive issues and long COVID, she looked confused and said, “But I was vaccinated, and my symptoms were so mild.”