COVID-19's immediate symptoms—including fever, cough, chills, fatigue, a loss of taste or smell and more—are often bad enough on their own. It can also be lethal, of course; at least 2.6 million people have died of the disease worldwide. But an especially distrubing aspect of this illness is its tendency to leave some victims with symptoms even months after they're first infected. As the U.S. vaccination rollout continues and viral spread begins to slow, these "long-haulers" are still dealing with often debilitating effects, including what many describe as a kind of brain fog that makes it impossible to focus or work.
"I was always the friend and the sister and the cousin who remembered birthdays...and that has changed," Ghenya Grondin, 42, recently told my colleagues Jamie Ducharme and Francesca Trianni. "Balls are constantly being dropped in our household."
But as Jamie and Francesca report, the phenomenon known as "Long COVID" is taking a toll not just on those directly suffering, but on their caretakers, too. Ghenya's husband, Jonathan, is tending to his wife while also taking care of their three boys, doing housework and holding a full-time job as a creative director. "Every second I am awake, I am doing something to run the house," Jonathan said. Moreover, with Ghenya out of work due to her symptoms, the Grondins have racked up $40,000 in debt, fueled in part by medical costs related to her condition.
It's unclear how many Americans suffer from Long COVID. But assuming even just 10% of the 30 million known COVID-19 patients in the U.S. have long-term symptoms, "that means millions of families around the country are living lives dominated by Long COVID," as Jamie writes.
Federal programs are being set up to help COVID-19 patients themselves, and at least some employers are giving sick workers time to recover while still getting paid. But for some families, these efforts aren't enough to fully address the economic consequences of one partner being unable to work, while another has to care for them. "One 2013 study estimated that the average dementia caretaker loses more than $14,000 per year in forgone wages, to say nothing of the roughly $7,000 per year the AARP estimates the average caregiver spends out-of-pocket for related expenses," Jamie writes. "Nationally, according to the AARP, family caregivers provide about 34 billion hours of unpaid care each year, worth $470 billion."
At least part of the answer, advocates say, is for the government and private industry to better support not just Long COVID patients themselves, but their caregivers, too. Lawmakers could pass financial aid for families with a COVID long-hauler—thereby subsidizing professional care—or employers could offer paid leave for caregivers. "Right now employers aren't understanding it," says Zachary Klipowicz, a 40-year-old Colorado engineer who's been teleworking while caring for his ailing wife. "The government is not understanding that these people are unable to work; they are pretty much disabled."
More than 135.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this morning, of which 107 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. Approximately 21% of the overall U.S. population has received at least one dose, and about 11.3% of Americans have gotten both doses.
A growing number of European countries—including Italy, Germany and the Netherlands—are pausing use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine amid safety concerns, the Associated Press reports. While the company says the shot is safe and effective, a very small number of people—37 individuals out of 17 million vaccinated across Europe so far—have reportedly been affected by sometimes fatal blood clotting issues potentially linked to the injection. The AstraZeneca shot has not yet been authorized for use in the U.S.
The vast majority of Americans who have received the first dose of a two-shot COVID-19 vaccine are also getting their second dose, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published today. Nearly 90% of first-dose recipients who have waited long enough to get their second dose have gotten the follow-up shot, while 8.6% have not, but are still in the recommended window of time to do so. More than 95% of those who have received both doses did so within the suggested timeframe for their respective shot: 21 days for Pfizer-BioNTech, and 28 for Moderna. (These are only guidelines; there's wiggle room for those struggling to book a second-shot appointment.)
Pharmaceutical company Moderna has dosed the first participants in a Phase 1 trial of what it says is a new-and-improved coronavirus vaccine, the company announced today. Unlike the first version of its shot—which needs to be kept in a freezer until it's ready for use—this iteration is designed to be stored at typical refrigerator temperatures. That would "facilitate easier distribution and administration in a wider range of settings," as Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement. (The Pfizer vaccine requires even colder temperatures than the current Moderna version, but the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson shot can be kept in a fridge.)
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
The Global Situation
More than 119.8 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 2.6 million people have died. On March 14, there were 360,151 new cases and 5,490 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here is every country with over 2 million confirmed cases:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's political party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), took a beating in state elections over the weekend, CNBC reports, amid a fresh wave of coronavirus infections across the country. The results suggest that, as elsewhere in the world, the pandemic could upend political expectations in Germany as voters punish those seen as responsible for the country's struggles to contain the virus. While many observers have long thought that whoever runs for Merkel's seat from the CDU was destined to win, that's now less of a certainty.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italians are headed into another lockdown today, the New York Timesreports, as an alarming new variant causes a new spike of cases there. Many schools and non-essential businesses, including restaurants, will once again shutter throughout the country, which was hard hit by COVID-19 early in the pandemic. "I am aware that today's measures will have an impact on children's education, on the economy but also on the psychological state of us all," Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in a Friday statement. "But they are necessary to avoid a worsening that will make inevitable even more stringent measures."
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. recorded more than 29.4 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 534,000 people have died. On March 14, there were 38,222 new cases and 572 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All Connecticut residents 16 years of age or older are tentatively set to become eligible for the coronavirus vaccine on April 5, governor Ned Lamont announced today. That's weeks earlier than expected; U.S. President Joe Biden said last week that he'll order all states to open eligibility to every adult starting May 1. "As the state is anticipating to receive an increased supply of COVID-19 vaccines over the coming weeks, we are accelerating Connecticut's age-based rollout to proceed on [a] quicker schedule than originally planned," Lamont said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is pushing former U.S. President Donald Trump to more publicly promote COVID-19 vaccines, following a new poll showing that nearly half of Trump voters would turn down the shot if it was offered to them. Such a move would "make all the difference in the world," Fauci said on Fox News Sunday. "He's a very widely popular person among Republicans." Trump, who was seriously ill with COVID-19 in October, has reportedly been vaccinated, but he has not endorsed the shot to the degree of Biden or his predecessors, who recently appeared in a vaccination PSA.
Pressure is building on New York governor Andrew Cuomo today, after the New York Timesreported that an unpaid advisor who's been orchestrating Cuomo's vaccine rollout has also been calling local officials to gauge their support for the governor amid a sexual harassment scandal. The advisor, Larry Schwartz, denies tying support for Cuomo to vaccine deliveries, while Cuomo has so far refused to step down despite calls to do so from many top New York Democrats and others. Cuomo has also been criticized for reportedly attempting to obfuscate the number of coronavirus-related deaths in New York nursing homes.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of March 15, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
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WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Life in the World's Longest COVID-19 Lockdown
Parts of the Philippines have been under coronavirus lockdown for a full year now—but critics say the rules have less to do with public health, and more to do with President Rodrigo Duterte's attempts to seize as much power as possible, Aie Balagtas See reports from Manila for TIME. Read more here.
Prison Guards Are Turning Down the Vaccine
U.S. prisons have been hit with some of the country's most serious COVID-19 outbreaks. However, prison guards across the country are rejecting their chances to get vaccinated, the Associated Press reports. Read more here.
Only Your Boss Can Cure Your Burnout
Millions of workers are suffering from varying degrees of pandemic fueled burnout, and at least some employers are offering solutions in the form of wellness programs or other mental health benefits. But as Olga Khazan writes for The Atlantic, the solution may simply be giving people less work to do. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Alex Fitzpatrick and edited by Jamie Ducharme.
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