As difficult as it’s been for officials to keep track of COVID-19 cases, Long COVID has posed an even greater challenge. While COVID-19 survivors have been reporting lingering symptoms from the start of the pandemic, the wide range of symptoms associated with Long COVID can make the condition hard to define, identify, and track. Now, with the release of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on Tuesday, a clearer picture is starting to emerge—and the results are alarming, as my colleague Jamie Ducharme reports.
After examining the electronic medical records of more than 350,000 U.S. adults who had COVID-19, and comparing them to the records of some 1.6 million adults who did not, CDC researchers found a striking pattern: among people under 65 who had COVID-19, about one in five people reported a new health condition that developed post-infection and that might be a result of the virus. Among patients over 65, the number increased to about one in four. And it doesn’t seem to matter how severe a case of COVID-19 is in this regard—even mild cases can lead to Long COVID.
The researchers also found that people over 65 who survived COVID-19 were more likely to report all 26 of the health conditions the study considered, compared to those who were never infected with the virus; younger adults who had previously been infected were more likely to report 22 of the conditions. Among these 26 conditions, respiratory symptoms and pulmonary embolisms—blood clots that can result in chest pain and shortness of breath—stood out as particularly common among patients who had COVID-19; they were about twice as likely to develop these conditions as the general population.
The extent to which Long COVID impacts people who have recovered from COVID-19 is especially troubling because there is not yet a clear way to prevent the former. While vaccines reduce patients’ risk of severe COVID-19, they don’t guarantee that people who are infected will avoid lasting symptoms. Indeed, a study published in Nature yesterday found that vaccination only reduced the risk of Long COVID by about 15% compared to unvaccinated people. (That said, previous studies on vaccination and Long COVID have found stronger protective benefits—around 40% to 50% reduction in chances of developing Long COVID.)
Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University, and co-author of the recent Nature study, said in a statement that efforts to reduce the risk of Long COVID must go beyond vaccination. “Our current approach will likely leave a large number of people with chronic and potentially disabling conditions that have no treatments,” said Al-Aly. “This will not only affect people’s health, but their ability to work, life expectancy, economic productivity and societal well-being.” Al-Aly argued that since masking and social distancing are not sustainable, new layers of protection are necessary, such as developing vaccines and drugs specifically designed to reduce the risk of Long COVID.
As the pandemic passes through its current phase in which there are fewer hospitalizations and deaths, but many cases, these reports are a reminder that the virus can have devastating impacts, even among people who seem to have recovered from the initial illness. As Jamie says, there’s still a lot for researchers to learn about Long COVID, as well as uncertainty about whether its symptoms persist for months, years, or even a lifetime. As Jamie tells me, “It's a big deal to have a large study from federal researchers showing that a significant percentage of people who have COVID-19 develop related health issues—and a warning that even more will in the future."
More than 527 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and over 6.28 million people have died. On May 25, there were more than 631,000 new cases and 2,600 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 8 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 83.7 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 1 million people have died. On May 25, 205,205 new cases were reported and 1,017 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of May 26, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
A growing number of school districts are putting facemask requirements in place as COVID-19 infections continue to rise, including in places like Philadelphia; Providence, R.I.; and Brookline, Mass., my colleague Katie Reilly reports. However, the number of schools requiring masking remains relatively small, with just 12 of the largest school districts requiring masks as of today, according to a tracker maintained by Burbio, a company that tracks schools mask policies.
Air pollution appears to increase the risk of severe COVID-19, including hospitalization, ICU admission and death, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal this week. The study, which included 151,000 Canadians, found that people who had longer-term exposure to common pollutants were at greater risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. Pollution has previously been linked to many negative health outcomes, including heart disease, respiratory illness, and stroke.
The second-most powerful leader in China, premier Li Keqiang,raised concerns about the economic impact of the country’s zero COVID-19 policy in a teleconference yesterday, announcing efforts to boost growth and urging local officials to help keep the economy growing, the New York Times reports. Amid stringent restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19, China’s economy has sagged. Its GDP grew at 4.8% over the first three months of the year, below the official target of 5.5%.
The White House today announced new efforts to expand access to treatments for COVID-19, including almost doubling the locations where oral antivirals are available over the next few weeks; launching new test-to-treat locations (where patients can get the drug immediately after testing positive), and promoting treatments to health care providers and the public. The first federally-backed test-to-treat site opened today in Rhode Island, and more are scheduled to open in Massachusetts and New York City over the next few weeks, the Associated Press reports.
More babies were born last year than in 2020, but U.S. births still lagged behind the year before the pandemic, according to figures the government released yesterday. Births increased 1% in 2021, but there were still about 86,000 fewer births than in 2019. In 2020, the U.S. experienced the largest one-year drop in births in nearly 50 years.
An investigative report by a senior British civil servant faulted government leaders, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for permitting government parties that violated the lockdown rules that barred residents from socializing, NPR reports. The report, which looked into 16 gatherings, found that there were "failures of leadership and judgment in No. 10," referring to the Prime Minister’s office. After the report’s release, Johnson told lawmakers he had “learned a lesson,” but that it was time to “move on.”
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Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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