The Pandemic is Only Beginning: The Long COVID Disaster 2023-08-11T17:36:10.656Z

Comment by salvatore mattera (salvatore-mattera) on The Pandemic is Only Beginning: The Long COVID Disaster · 2023-08-14T02:28:16.008Z · LW · GW

Sure. Here's the thing: We don't have that data.

What we do know is that from 2010 - 2021, the number of disabled people in the US rose by about 11%, while the population rose by about 6%. Then in 2021, the number of disabled people begins to spike, and is now up 13% alone in the last 2.5 years, while the US population is only up about 1% in the same timespan.

That is a huge increase. Something is obviously causing a sharp increase in disabled people. What could that be? Could it be the novel virus that has a proven mechanism to make people disabled that began spreading through the population as restrictions were lifted in 2021?

Comment by salvatore mattera (salvatore-mattera) on The Pandemic is Only Beginning: The Long COVID Disaster · 2023-08-12T06:06:30.127Z · LW · GW

It's the opposite, actually. I have family members with obvious long COVID symptoms they don't acknowledge because they're committed to a political ideology which asserts that COVID is "over". Most people with long COVID will have to visit half a dozen doctors before they are properly diagnosed. And long COVID treatment is literally non-existent. There are no approved treatments or therapies at this point. None. So, rather than get "better" treatment, they won't get any. There are long COVID clinics at various universities. They have waiting lists that are several months long, and their treatments involve things like coaching on CFS pacing strategies (e.g. listen to your body, don't exert yourself).

Comment by salvatore mattera (salvatore-mattera) on The Pandemic is Only Beginning: The Long COVID Disaster · 2023-08-12T02:38:47.854Z · LW · GW

Well, we know that COVID damages the brain, and some people have had psychotic episodes following a COVID infection.

But long COVID is not psychosomatic, at least probably not in most cases. As it is novel, there's no straightforward test at this point, but there has been a decent amount of research in the last couple of years, so physical markers have been found. Some I listed in the essay, but others include things like inflamed vagus nerve, different enzyme levels in the blood, etc. And of course, a lot of long COVID is actual organ damage which can be viewed on an MRI or other tests.

I personally know many people with long COVID, but they often didn't identify it as such. I'm shocked that you don't at least know one person with long term smell/taste loss.

Comment by salvatore mattera (salvatore-mattera) on The Pandemic is Only Beginning: The Long COVID Disaster · 2023-08-11T23:16:23.429Z · LW · GW

You can see that the number of people in the US with a disability (according to the Fed) has surged since COVID. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU00074597

That's not perfect, but it's a compelling proxy.