Little Things that Matter Your LIFE: The Coronavirus Brief: You could have Long COVID and not even know it

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Thursday, June 30, 2022

You Could Have Long COVID and Not Even Know It

BY JAMIE DUCHARME

Occasionally, on days when I’m extra tired or unable to focus, I’ll wonder for a moment if it’s Long COVID, left behind by a case of COVID-19 in April. So when I saw a tweet about people who think they’ve fully recovered from the coronavirus but afterward report new health problems—fatigue, depression, digestive issues, and so on—it caught my eye.

When I started talking to experts about this, they all said the same thing: there are almost certainly people out there who have Long COVID and don’t realize it.

How is that possible? A lot of it boils down to misunderstanding what Long COVID looks like. While there are people who get sick with COVID-19 and never shake their acute symptoms, like coughing or fever, that’s not always the case. Some people recover, feel fine for a while, and then start to notice new issues like exhaustion, chronic pain, neurologic issues, and cognitive dysfunction. Since many people think of COVID-19 as a short, flu-like illness, they might not connect the dots—especially if their symptoms are mild enough that they can mostly push through, as is true of many people.

It’s also difficult to get a Long COVID diagnosis. There’s no single test that can detect it, so diagnosis essentially entails ruling out any other possible explanation. Lots of people get misdiagnosed during this process, logically causing them to think something else is going on.

Of course, the majority of people do fully recover from COVID-19, while others happen to get sick with something else after they’ve had the virus. Every health problem isn’t a sign of Long COVID. But if you’ve noticed new, persistent symptoms after getting sick, particularly things that are unusual for you or your age group, it’s worth mentioning to your doctor.

TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK

More than 546.3 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 3 a.m. E.T. today, and over 6.3 million people have died. On June 29, there were 933,097 new cases and 1,772 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 10 million cases:

The U.S. had recorded more than 87.4 million coronavirus cases as of 3 a.m. E.T. today. More than 1 million people have died. On June 29, 193,201 new cases were reported and 710 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 June 30, 12 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

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) expert panel voted on Tuesday to update booster shots to target Omicron, hopefully providing better protection against newer variants. Regulators must now decide exactly how to apply that advice. Should boosters target only Omicron, or Omicron and the older strains? And which Omicron variant should they include in the shots: BA.1 or the newer BA.4 and BA.5? Depending on their decisions, new boosters could be available anywhere from next month to later in the fall. (In other booster news, the Biden Administration said yesterday it has agreed to buy another 105 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s shots to gear up for a fall vaccination push.)

COVID-19 cases are rising worldwide, yet again. The World Health Organization (WHO) recorded more than 4.1 million cases over the last week, an 18% increase from the previous week. Infections rose by almost 50% in the Middle East, and by more than 30% in Europe and Southeast Asia, according to the WHO’s data.

Massachusetts biotech company Axcella is testing a drug meant to combat Long COVID fatigue, NBC New York reports. The therapy—which can be consumed as a drink—aims to improve cells’ mitochondrial function, ideally boosting energy. Testing is in very early stages, with initial trials including only 40 patients, but it’s a promising step forward given that long-haulers currently have few proven treatments available.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top COVID-19 expert, appears to be experiencing “Paxlovid rebound,” the New York Times reports . Fauci tested positive for COVID-19 on June 15 and took Paxlovid, an antiviral that reduces the risk of death and hospitalization in high-risk patients. Like a growing number of people, Fauci tested negative after taking Paxlovid, then tested positive again a few days later. Still, he said the drug “did what it was supposed to do” by keeping him out of the hospital.

Researchers in Thailand this month reported the first documented case of a cat transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to a person, according to Nature. Animals, including cats, have tested positive for COVID-19 before, but proven animal-to-human transmission has been rare during the pandemic. In this case, it happened when an infected cat sneezed in a veterinarian’s face. The finding shouldn't spook cat owners too much, researchers say, but they should be aware of the (small) possibility of interspecies transmission.

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 Jamie Ducharme and edited by Angela Haupt.