A Possible Explanation for Long COVID Gains Traction
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 17 April 2023
⏱️ 10 minutes
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Summary
NPR's Will Stone spoke with researchers and reports on a growing body of evidence that points to one possible explanation: viral reservoirs where the coronavirus can stick around in the body long after a person is initially infected.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before the spring of 2020, Shelby Hedgecock's life revolved around fitness. |
| 0:12.2 | She worked as a personal trainer in LA and competed in endurance races on the weekends. |
| 0:17.6 | Then she got infected with COVID. |
| 0:19.9 | She struggled to breathe at night. |
| 0:22.2 | Recovery didn't come a week or two later. |
| 0:24.5 | For months, her brain didn't get enough oxygen. |
| 0:27.8 | She wasn't even able to read for a year and a half. |
| 0:31.0 | It was like there was a disconnect between the words and my brain. |
| 0:35.8 | Now she doesn't leave her apartment without a medical alert button that can instantly |
| 0:39.9 | call an ambulance. |
| 0:41.1 | I've passed out in the shower before I've passed out alone at home before. |
| 0:45.7 | Hedgecock moved from LA back home to live with her family in Tennessee because she can't |
| 0:50.4 | be alone. |
| 0:51.4 | It's hard. |
| 0:52.4 | I never dealt with anything like this before COVID and it's been life changing. |
| 0:57.7 | She's not alone. |
| 0:58.9 | An estimated 15 million adults in the U.S. are currently suffering from long COVID. |
| 1:04.7 | They are no longer contagious, but health issues related to their infection stretch on and |
| 1:09.8 | on. |
| 1:10.8 | The severity and duration of long COVID varies. |
| 1:14.1 | Some people do slowly recover from their symptoms while a smaller number have debilitating |
| 1:19.4 | and lingering health issues for many months, even years. |
... |
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