This follows the year-long pattern. Have you noticed over this time how there is rarely any good pandemic news? Since last spring, all we have been served is a steady stream of the negative, and even when we get patently good information that needs to be weighed down by a new batch of warnings and other severe predictions about what is ahead. It is rather apparent there is a concerted effort to be sure the American public is not granted permission to upbeat on the topic.

Going back to last year, we were promised that hospitals would overflow and people would die in the street — these images never managed to materialize. Remember when ventilators were all the panic, and that a promised shortage would lead to spikes in the death rate? New York was said to be in need of 40,000 of the devices and President Trump was too busy golfing to get them made, yet after getting a few thousand the state was soon in possession of a surplus and began donating those elsewhere. Few of those warm headlines were to be found.

As the death count steadily rose, that became the sole focus, not the fact that we were well below the promised figure of over 1 million fatalities. When states like Florida were opening up, we sure heard from all of the hysterical outlets of promised doom, but we never were given the upbeat results of a lack of calamity. Think back to the Fall, when the announcement came of the vaccines, WELL ahead of schedule; instead of cheers we were given warnings about the drugs being unsafe, as well as announcements of new highly contagious strains. 

Now that we are seeing vaccinations successfully administered with about a 99% success rate we get a new announcement of another variable with the virus — it sounds serious, and of course, with it, comes the call for vastly more funding to combat this new variant. Yesterday, before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, testimony was heard from the National Institutes of Health. The medical experts there reported an “unprecedented” discovery, found in a study that looked into PASC — Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Well, this DOES sound horrible!

But, is it? What this dire-sounding diagnosis describes is what they call Long Covid, or long haul symptoms. This is said to concern people who have recovered from the disease but retain some form of negative reaction over the span of weeks, or even months. Delivering the testimony was Francis S. Collins M.D. Ph.D. He went on to say, ‘’Even those who had an asymptomatic infection can experience these long-term effects.’’ So, you can possibly have had no symptoms, but still suffer physical effects. You may not feel sick but trust us — you are. The doctor then announced, ’’Preliminary reports suggest that up to 30 percent of patients recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection may have some form of longer-term health impairment.’’ Once we take a look at the list of symptoms they attribute to the Covid-19 it is actually surprising that the figure is not higher.

The committee was not given a list of the symptoms alluded to, but scanning around the web produced one lengthy list, compiled by the University of Indiana. They cataloged a lengthy tally of these potential long-haul symptoms — 98 in total. Many of these listed reactions/symptoms do not sound directly Covid-related…or even indirectly. While things like Bilateral lymph node neck throbbing sounds dramatic, others are less so. 

Personality change is listed. Then you have to wonder how dandruff is related. Chapped lips are another potential side effect, as is hand or wrist pain. Costochondritis is another; this is inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the sternum, something I’d guess is not self-diagnosed. While one of the prevailing indicators of Covid has been the loss of taste and smell, one of the long-haul symptoms is Phantosmia, also known as olfactory hallucinations, or suffering from phantom smells.

Confusion is another long-term malady; my non-medical survey indicates possibly 75% of the people on social media suffer from this one. Dry eyes, weight gain, exhaustion from bending over, sadness, anxiety, inability to exercise, lack of focus — all the common traits I feel when hungover might in fact be lengthy lingering Covid symptoms! 

There is another serious-sounding affliction, one that I am deeply glad to not endure…I think. One reported side effect is called Covid Toes. This seems to be a very localized skin condition on the feet. Yea. 

By this point, It is difficult to come up with conditions that are not Covid-related. The convenience of this new congressional revelation seems to be timed with the approach as we can see ourselves approaching recovery mode in this country. Just as we are set to be happy and free once again here comes the warning of serious long-term affliction. 

Who knows just how long we can be under this physical duress? Considering all of these enduring symptoms you will need to be diligent in monitoring your progress; check daily to see if you are suffering any of these indicators, from your pandemic-generated dandruff on your head to your Covid toes.