SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Long COVID-19 is an ongoing problem for many people who've been infected with the virus.
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As the virus continues to mutate into new variants, it's becoming even harder to predict how people will be affected in the long term, particularly young children.
"In kids as young as five years old can get long COVID-19 if they get COVID-19," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, Chief of Research and Development at the VA St. Louis Healthcare System on KCBS Radio's "Ask an Expert" with Holly Quan and Jason Brooks on Monday.
"The ramifications for them could be even more consequential than adults," he said, as it seems to affect cognition, memory, and learning.
While the symptoms are relatively the same between kids and adults, it's the impact long COVID-19 has on the ability to learn that is the most concerning.
Along with issues with learning and memory, young children have also shown the development of mood disorders as a result of long COVID-19.
"The number one goal is to educate practitioners as much as possible so pediatricians throughout the nation are aware that long COVID-19 can happen, and can happen in kids," said Al-Aly.
With more education on this issue, doctors can better look out for the signs of it and diagnose it as early as possible in their patients.
The treatment options right now for these symptoms aren't much different from what they would be for other diseases, he said.
"But I think it's important to recognize these problems early so people can seek care," he said.
Now that the pandemic has been going on for two years, it's been possible to track how long COVID-19 symptoms change over time. While some people have seen gradual improvement, it’s not consistent for everyone.
"Some people, even two years out, are still manifesting with really severe problems," said Al-Aly. "Debilitating fatigue, weakness, mood disorders, brain fog."
It's also very common for those who experienced an asymptomatic COVID-19 infection to then get long COVID-19.
This can make it difficult for then people to seek adequate care, because they might not realize what is causing their problems. For those people, it might be helpful to get an antibody test if they start exhibiting symptoms of long COVID-19.
Getting vaccinated may help reduce the risk of long COVID-19 but it’s still no guarantee.
"Vaccines do a good job to try to reduce the risk, but do not eliminate the risk of long COVID-19 altogether," he said. "Even among vaccinated kids, the risk is not zero."
The only way to avoid getting it for sure is to avoid getting COVID-19 at all. Even as COVID-19 mandates have eased in recent weeks, people should still be doing everything they can to minimize their likelihood of getting infected, said Al-Aly.
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