COVID-19 has been shown to lead to all kinds of long-term side-effects and symptoms, from loss of taste or smell to even kidney disease, which could affect more people than previously thought.
According to a new study by the CDC, one in three people infected with COVID-19 will still experience at least one symptom for three to six months after the initial infection occured.
"We have an entire generation of people that have symptoms from having had COVID-19 and many of them will last for significant periods of time," said Dr. David Agus, CBS News Contributor and Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California on Ask an Expert on Wednesday. "How long, we just don’t know."
The span of time is unknown, as are the long-term ramifications. "We are learning that this is a dastardly enemy," he said to KCBS Radio’s Margie Shafer and Dan Mitchinson.
The symptoms can range from having a persistent cough or shortness of breath to neurological problems, such as fatigue or headaches, or loss of taste and smell. These are all common in patients regardless of the severity of their case, said Agus.
The number of people with long COVID-19 related symptoms could be even higher, considering that COVID-19 cases have been underreported, due to mild symptoms presenting in some people and the initial lack of testing available at the beginning of the pandemic.
Antibody tests are now more wildly available. And experience has aided in detection. "As we get further and further down this road we’re going to treat each type of virus a little bit differently – there are different warning signs and different behavior changes associated with each," he said.
One of the many reasons people should get vaccinated is to avoid getting one of these long-term symptoms. "We have to stop the virus," said Agus.
Getting people vaccinated has been a battle from the beginning, in part due to the spread of misinformation online and over social media. YouTube just announced Wednesday that the platform will ban false claims and conspiracy theories about the virus and the vaccine.
For Agus, the move is a little late. "20 months into the pandemic, now media companies are stepping up and saying 'We’re only going to put things out there that are accurate,'" he said. "I’m glad they’re doing it now."
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