Medical Futurist November 17, 2020
Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic is long. Since the WHO characterised the virus’ spread as a pandemic in March, cases have been climbing; countries are facing a second wave and are entering lockdown 2.0; and many aspects of our current lifestyle will continue through 2021. But this isn’t what we mean by “long COVID.” This newly-minted term refers to patients experiencing long-term sequelae of a COVID infection.
It’s not an exact medical term as it is a patient-made one apparently first used by Elisa Perego in a tweet to describe her own experience. Additionally, two patients can have different #longcovid experiences, with different symptoms, which can last for a month or as long as 12 weeks. But even though this juvenile...