Terror of long COVID remains common even as pandemic eases, data show
LA TimesCourtney Gavin, who contracted COVID-19 in 2020 and developed long COVID, takes a break after using a chairlift in February. “Those who do not get a COVID-19 vaccine have an increased likelihood of developing long COVID,” CDC epidemiologist Sharon Saydah said during a recent meeting of the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Those findings were detailed in a study published by the CDC in August and, researchers wrote, “highlight the importance of COVID prevention, including staying up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination, and could inform health care service needs planning, disability policy, and other support services for persons experiencing severe activity limitation from long COVID.” One of the more curious aspects of long COVID is the sheer range of symptoms linked to the syndrome. “We now have even more data showing that vaccines can also lessen the risk of getting post-COVID conditions, including long COVID,” said Dr. Nava Yeganeh, medical director of L.A. County’s Vaccine Preventable Disease Control Program. “The symptoms and conditions of long COVID can persist for months or years after acute infection, and they also emerge or reemerge over time,” Saydah said.