- Two recent prevalence studies showed the impact of Long COVID on Americans. The first, an electronic cohort study of over 600,000 active duty military personnel, found that 42% had at least one symptom more than 30 days after contracting COVID-19. “Mild to moderate cases of this syndrome could leave military personnel with long-term deficits in their overall fitness,” the study’s authors wrote. Then, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention preprint that assessed survey data at the state level found around 7% of U.S. adults were affected by Long COVID.
- A small study shared as a preprint in bioXriv found SARS-C0V-2 spike protein in the gut tissues of people with Long COVID. Eight people with Long COVID and five controls underwent colon biopsies for the study. Researchers found spike protein in both cohorts, but more in Long COVID, as well as evidence that it caused immune dysregulation in Long COVID compared to controls. “This is one more piece of hard evidence that antigen persistence is a legitimate driver of symptoms and organ system dysfunction for Long COVID and vaccine injury,” co-author David Putrino wrote on social media.
- Researcher Dianna Arnoux-Whiteman was awarded a $45,000 grant to survey the effects of Long COVID in the Blackfeet Nation. With funding from a Montana research grant, Arnoux-Whiteman plans to find an accurate count of people with Long COVID in the Blackfeet Nation, as well as work with the community and healthcare workers to improve awareness and care for the disease. The president of Arnoiux-Whiteman’s college told Flathead Beacon: “It will not only support more responsive care and resources within the community but also offer insights that may guide other Native communities…as they respond to the emerging realities of Long COVID diagnoses.”
