As I recovered from Covid at the end of last year, I researched what I should watch out for in the coming weeks. After all, Long Covid loomed as a possibility. And I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything important.
As a basic piece of pandemic advice, it’s a good one. You should watch out for ongoing or recurring symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, brain fog, GI issues, and so on.
However, I can’t help but notice a disconnect between what I read in the press about Long Covid and what I see in the world around me. The press routinely claims that 10-30% (or 30-50%, or 20-80%) of people infected by Covid go on to develop Long Covid. But when I think about all the people I know who Covid has infected – which is pretty close to everyone I know at this point – waaay less than 10-30% of them have ongoing issues like the ones above.
In short, I do know people who still suffer from Long Covid. And I hope they recover. But they comprise maybe 1-2% (maybe less) of the people I know who have had Covid.
What’s the deal here?
One Set of Thoughts About Long Covid
For anyone who wonders about such things, I’d recommend this article from Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Notably, they provide some detail on what their Long Covid patients experience. They give common symptoms, what to watch for, and so on.
But they also point out that studies define the condition very broadly. And, of course, many of the symptoms are common enough that lots of people have these issues from causes other than Covid. And so, they come up with an estimate of the prevalence of Long Covid at more like 1-5% of people infected by Covid.
That estimate certainly rings much truer to my own experience than the scarier ones I read about in the press. And I suspect the same is true for readers out there. Some studies suggest the prevalence of Long Covid during the Omicron wave could be even lower.
And so, you should watch out for symptoms. But you shouldn’t assume you have a one-in-two or one-in-three chance or even a one-in-ten chance of developing Long Covid. Especially if you’re vaccinated.
Your chances for complications are probably far lower than that.
