Who Is Long Covid Hurting?

The Journal.

The Wall Street Journal

Business News, News, Daily News

4.2 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2022

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Stuart Smith used to enjoy driving fast cars, kayaking and flying planes. But the mysterious condition known as “long Covid” has upended his personal and professional life. We spoke with Smith, a lawyer whose career was cut short after he got sick, and WSJ’s Sumathi Reddy and Gwynn Guilford about the economic and emotional impacts of long Covid. Further Reading: - Covid-19 Illnesses Are Keeping at Least 500,000 Workers Out of U.S. Labor Force, Study Says - A Key to Long Covid Is Virus Lingering in the Body, Scientists Say Further Listening: - How Will We Know When the Pandemic's Over? - The Labor Shortage That's Causing More Labor Shortages Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So I just finished walking up the flight of stairs.
0:20.0	And head is down.
0:26.2	This is what living with long COVID sounds like.
0:33.2	I can always stand a couple of minutes.
0:37.2	I have to sit down.
0:40.2	Walking up the stairs or just walking to the mailbox is simply exhausting.
0:50.2	Stuart Smith is 62 and lives outside Portland, Oregon.
0:54.2	He used to work as an attorney at an aviation law firm, a job he loved.
0:59.2	Then he developed long COVID, and he hasn't been able to work full time for a year.
1:05.2	Now I get these just horrible headaches for one.
1:09.2	The last, sometimes 24 hours at a time.
1:14.2	I have this very bizarre feeling in my head that crops probably a dozen times a day
1:22.2	that feels like there's an electrical shock going through my brain.
1:28.2	I've gone through periods where it feels like the skin of my arms is burning.
1:35.2	Like I put it in the fire.
1:42.2	Nearly one in five Americans who've had COVID are believed to suffer from long COVID,
1:48.2	which is when symptoms last for three months or longer.
1:52.2	New insight into one of the enduring mysteries of the pandemic.
1:55.2	So called long COVID, the mysterious ailments.
1:58.2	Symptoms that can include fatigue and confusion that can last really for months.
2:02.2	Bottom line, we're not sure exactly what it is quite yet.
2:05.2	This mystery has been stumping doctors.
	...

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