‘Long haulers’: Months later, the devastating impact of Covid-19

The spread of Covid-19 in Philadelphia has slowed enough for the city’s health department to issue an All Clear response level, which immediately puts an end to public mask mandates, with some exceptions, and ceases the requirement for restaurants to obtain proof of vaccination and enforce masking.

Guest: Dr. Cheryl Bettigole, Philadelphia Health Commissioner

And, for millions of Americans who’ve been infected with coronavirus over the last two years, a different kind of “all clear” is out of reach, as they deal with Long Covid: a variety of symptoms experienced after the acute virus, that range in severity and have perplexed doctors since the start of the pandemic. ‘Long haulers’ have spent months suffering with brain fog, vertigo, depression and anxiety as a result of contracting Covid-19, and some studies now show that long-term effects can impact the cardiovascular system and even lead to suicide. We’ll talk about what we know so far, the research we need and the importance of making it happen quickly.

Guests:

Dr. Harlan Krumholz, Long Covid researcher and Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine

Morgan Stephens, Freelance journalist and production assistant for CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront, working on a forthcoming book about Long Covid

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CNN Opinion: Eight months of long Covid brought me to the brink “The tremors and vertigo had intensified. It’d been a week without sleep. And, with no medical treatment, I was essentially charged thousands for an emergency room visit and given a prescription for Anderson Cooper.”

The Washington Post: What is long covid? Current understanding about risks, symptoms and recovery. “The majority of people who got acutely infected felt totally normal before they had their infection, and now they don’t feel normal. That’s jarring.”