So after learning a week ago a friend and his family all had Covid, and learning a few days ago my cousin in LA (and her husband) have Covid, I also now learned another cousin who lives in Fresno County caught it in August. The most troubling thing I heard about his case is that even now, 4 months later, he is suffering from myalgia. He is in his 40s and has fitness requirements for his job.
Also the first person I knew of who had Covid (who contacted us because our kids had had a play date in late February) is very wary of Covid because she had long-lasting symptoms even though her case was considered "mild" (and she is a slender, active person I'd guess in her thirties).
Is there any data on how common it is to a be long hauler? By long hauler, I mean people with difficulty breathing, difficulty exercising, body pain, or difficulty thinking/working for months and months afterwards.
If someone never goes to the hospital, but has myalgia for months afterwards, is it categorized as a "mild case that resolved at home?"
And the biggest question for me -- so far, the Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford vaccines have all touted themselves as having no severe cases -- a 100% protection against severe Covid (I think 1 person in the Pfizer study had blood o2 < 95% but went home and recovered). But are they tracking long-lasting "long-haulers" in the vaccine studies? TO what degree are the vaccines preventing symptoms that didn't require hospitalization but that could last for months? I suppose the efficacy rates (which test for any symptoms) cover this. If 95% fewer people vaccinated with Moderna have ANY symptoms, then that 95% couldn't be long-haulers. But what about that 5%? Were they equally likely, less likely, or even more likely to be long haulers? Is this tracked? What if they were all long-haulers? Or what if the vaccines also protected against long-haul symptoms equally at close to 100%? That would be important to know.
Because I'd consider the Oxford vaccine (if it turns out it's not causing transverse myelitis) with its 70% efficacy and 100% protection against severe cases, IF it protects well against long-haul symptoms. BUT if vaccinated people are still experiencing long-haul symptoms just as severely as non-vaccinated, and the Moderna vaccine has 95% efficacy against all cases and long-haul symptoms vs. 70% with the Oxford vaccine, that's a big difference.
Do we know how the vaccines perform against long-haul symptoms? Will we know, and if so, when?
Also the first person I knew of who had Covid (who contacted us because our kids had had a play date in late February) is very wary of Covid because she had long-lasting symptoms even though her case was considered "mild" (and she is a slender, active person I'd guess in her thirties).
Is there any data on how common it is to a be long hauler? By long hauler, I mean people with difficulty breathing, difficulty exercising, body pain, or difficulty thinking/working for months and months afterwards.
If someone never goes to the hospital, but has myalgia for months afterwards, is it categorized as a "mild case that resolved at home?"
And the biggest question for me -- so far, the Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford vaccines have all touted themselves as having no severe cases -- a 100% protection against severe Covid (I think 1 person in the Pfizer study had blood o2 < 95% but went home and recovered). But are they tracking long-lasting "long-haulers" in the vaccine studies? TO what degree are the vaccines preventing symptoms that didn't require hospitalization but that could last for months? I suppose the efficacy rates (which test for any symptoms) cover this. If 95% fewer people vaccinated with Moderna have ANY symptoms, then that 95% couldn't be long-haulers. But what about that 5%? Were they equally likely, less likely, or even more likely to be long haulers? Is this tracked? What if they were all long-haulers? Or what if the vaccines also protected against long-haul symptoms equally at close to 100%? That would be important to know.
Because I'd consider the Oxford vaccine (if it turns out it's not causing transverse myelitis) with its 70% efficacy and 100% protection against severe cases, IF it protects well against long-haul symptoms. BUT if vaccinated people are still experiencing long-haul symptoms just as severely as non-vaccinated, and the Moderna vaccine has 95% efficacy against all cases and long-haul symptoms vs. 70% with the Oxford vaccine, that's a big difference.
Do we know how the vaccines perform against long-haul symptoms? Will we know, and if so, when?