Analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data finds 24% of U.S. adults affected by the disease have experienced COVID-19 symptoms for three months or longer. Learn which state and major metro area populations are experiencing the highest rates of long COVID.
It's fine, just keep infecting each other and it will work itself out. Haven't you sacrificed enough? It's treat time! 
The data used for this report came from the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, specifically Week 63 (Nov 8, 2023), the most recent data available.
There are some signs that long covid is becoming rarer, but the most optimistic estimates I've seen are a 3.9% chance of long covid per infection, after vaccination. In mid-2023 the WHO said it's a 1 in 10 chance.
If you are lucky it's just a persistant cough for a few months. If you aren't, you get disabled for life.
spoiler
24.4% of Americans ages 18 and over who have received a positive COVID-19 test or diagnosis have experienced symptoms of COVID-19 that persisted for three months or longer.
34% of adults in Oklahoma who had COVID-19 have experienced long COVID, the highest rate of any state population in the U.S.
Long COVID has affected two out of every five adults afflicted by COVID-19 in Los Angeles and Atlanta.
31% of those affected by long COVID report that the symptoms have reduced their ability to carry out daily activities.
A 2022 study from Brookings found that long COVID could be responsible for keeping as many as four million people out of work, or roughly 15% of the labor shortage.
The total economic cost of long COVID has been estimated to be as high as $3.7 trillion, or 17% of the 2019 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).
It’s not yet known what causes long COVID, but researchers do have some clues. Potential causes include:
Reactivation of SARS-CoV-2 particles Overactive immune cells releasing a high level of inflammatory substances that can damage organs and tissues Production of autoantibodies that attack the body in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection
Symptoms of long COVID, also called Post-COVID Conditions (PCC), can include:
Fatigue Fever “Brain fog” Shortness of breath Cough Chest pain Heart palpitations Headaches and dizziness Changes in smell or taste Stomach pain and diarrhea Joint and muscle pain
Those who suffer from long COVID are often referred to as “long haulers,” and according to the CDC, studies have shown certain groups of people may be at an increased risk:
People who have experienced a more severe case of COVID-19 Those who had underlying conditions prior to infection Those who did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine
Studies have found depleted serotonin levels in long COVID patients, which may be a cause of the “brain fog,” or neurocognitive difficulties that many people with long COVID report. Other studies have pointed to a link between COVID-19 infections and accelerated brain deterioration among those with dementia.
This is another study showing covid is harming an enormous amount of people, and I'm sure it will be met with same "nah, that can't be right, because I don't personally know anybody suffering" or "omicron is mild now" shit we get from neoliberal thought leaders.
Related article: Almost 6 Million Youth May Have Been Impacted by Long COVID, Studies Find Links to Life-threatening Conditions
I had my first confirmed infection early this year and i'm so glad that aftereffects are subsiding, i still get heart palpitations once in a while but at least the cough is mostly gone and i don't get these awful covid headaches anymore when i stay up too long. I had fairly mild accute symptoms, but how the damage stays with you, how it lingers, that's so scary. Freaked me the fuck out.
And when i called my mom to tell her i tested positive for covid a few days after visiting her and to see if she was ok, her first reaction was a completely perplexed "where did you get that?". And when she told my problematic uncle, his first question was how often i was vaxxed, as if that would make sure i can't get it. Really says everything about how people have put the entire topic away, as if it's something that can't happen to them.
The long term effects are quite scary. How can it possibly be good to reinfect ourselves with this thing?
I wonder wow many adults are just chalking up the health problems it's causing to aging?
How can it possibly be good to reinfect ourselves with this thing?
I'm always years ahead of the curve
people on hexbear make fun of my long-COVID communes now, but check back in 5 years (assuming everyone doesn't just die by then)
Nobody thinks that Long COVID will happen to them, but it can happen to you.
It can happen to anyone.
the physical impossibility of death(or disability) in the mind of a living person
I’m still mad at myself for contracting COVID in Nov last year. I’m lucky I did not get many longterm symptoms. I don’t know what I’d do if I got brain fog. I suffered from depression induced brain fog for years; I don’t think I could handle going back to that. Moreover it’s the unknown symptoms I might have that scare me.
My eyes had a tough time focusing for a while. Did I have some inter-ocular or inter-cranial swelling? What are the knock on effects of that?
I didn’t cough much at all. I’ve had other respiratory illnesses in the past that were way worse. Is that a good sign or are my lungs damaged in a less obvious way?
Previously had no sinus issues. Now I have to take a nasal spray each morning, which is torture for me because of a facial injury. Is this because of COVID or the fact that it’s February and 70 fucking degrees out right now?
My biggest worry is my kids. They aren’t old enough for school yet. I’m seriously considering home schooling even though I’ve always been against that. Home schooling groups in my area are also all pretty much Christian-fascist cults.
even though I’ve always been against that. Home schooling groups in my area are also all pretty much Christian-fascist cults.
There are cases where homeschooling is justified in the face of the state's failures, i've heard of secular people in texas doing it so their kids actually learn science and that the american civil war was about slavery, and if you can't move somewhere that's taking covid seriously that's worth trying to build a network of likeminded parents and ginning up an ad-hoc remote school by pooling money for tutors.
The effects on kids rather troubling, and the idea that we can just infect them over and over is insane to me. How is a kid supposed to know or describe if they have brain fog, or any of the other long term effects of covid?
This study goes into some of the effects of the pandemic on kids, and it's not good. Some of the problems were caused by the disruption to everyones life, but a lot of the problems are a direct result of the virus. What the hell are we doing infecting and re-infecting kids with a virus that can cause brain damage?
Northeast US wastewater is staring to climb again, might just be a bump before dropping or might be another spike like omicron did. But the Northeast usually leads the rest of the country by a few weeks.
they do go down, it's just that every year they go down to a higher-and-ever-increasing minimum
today's minimum is basically 2020's high
It's just starting to peak on the west coast and in the south around Texas. I wonder if there will be a bump in those places, too?
Hopefully not, but... It's so hard to tell with how limited data is becoming. For all we know it's absolutely raging out there and the few counties still being monitored have just been the first to peak.
Trying to determine I either got ADHD from covid or changing jobs just made it much more apparent to me.
