Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, new symptoms have been popping up and developing as more people fall victim to the virus all across the globe. Various new and mysterious strains have come about since the initial lockdown and a new round of specific symptoms have become a topic of discussion once again in the news this past week. This new group of symptoms is referred to as Long COVID. The National Library of Medicine estimates that nearly 10% of U.S adults, or roughly 65 million people, that contract COVID-19 will go on to develop Long COVID.

Long COVID consists simply of lingering symptoms of the already agonizing virus that may last months or in this case, even years for some people. Many individuals all over the world, and more specifically in the United States, have recently come forth telling of their experience with Long COVID and are also making many other people aware of the detrimental effects that Long COVID symptoms have had on them and their daily lives. These symptoms can include but are not limited to brain fog, sleep difficulty, headaches, and shortness of breath. This list of symptoms is growing everyday as new cases are being confirmed amongst COVID-19 patients. These symptoms have appeared to be unfavorable on people’s lives and have caused issues within their work and family lives. 

One Long COVID victim, Linda Tomkow, shared the story of her experience with the variant. “It’s the worst fatigue of your life,” says Linda. “It’s really been a team effort with my doctors to help me slowly get better.” Linda, several months after testing positive for COVID-19, was still experiencing symptoms like shortness of breath and brain fog that are consistent with other Long COVID patients. Linda is one of the many Long COVID patients that have shared their stories.

Unfortunately, since the virus has only been around for a short period of time and has limited research, these new after effects have even less research behind them and therefore no direct cure has been found to treat those who are currently suffering from the drawn-out symptoms of Long COVID. As a result, many patients are left untreated, suffering, and without answers. Experts are only beginning to discover the unknowns of long COVID and the road ahead is long and windy.