CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said he’s stepping back from hockey, for now, because of symptoms of Long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome. It turns out, Toews is not the only young adult who has had his or her life upended by long COVID.
Jonathan Toews is 34-years-old. According to Dr. Igor Koralnik, chief of neuro-infectious diseases and co-director of Northwestern Medicine’s Comprehensive COVID-19 Center, the average age for patients in the Long COVID Clinic has been 43-years-old, a majority are women. And, they suffer from one or more symptoms ranging from brain fog and headaches to dizziness, muscle pain, blurry vision and intense fatigue.
“There’s no specific test that can say this is positive for long COVID and, unfortunately, oftentimes, patients are not taken seriously,” Dr. Koralnik says.
The doctor said that, in its 32 months of existence, the Long COVID Clinic has seen about 1,800 patients. He said 85% of them are young adults who, mostly, had mild symptoms of COVID and were not hospitalized, while 15% of patients are older, were hospitalized and have had comorbidities.
Dr. Koralnik said Northwestern’s clinic started monthly Zoom support meetings for patients last month.
“The first zoom meeting was a big success already. It is important that patients feel they are not abandoned, that people care for them, that people are willing to listen to them,” Koralnik said.
Dr. Koralnik said COVID is endemic. It’s here to stay and that 50,000 people a day still contract it in the United States, with approximately 30% of those people winding up with Long COVID, even if they’ve been vaccinated and boosted.
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