A study found that individuals with long Covid, defined as having new or ongoing health issues more than four weeks after a Covid-19 infection, were at high risk for a range of adverse health outcomes including a doubled risk of death, cardiovascular events such as arrhythmias, stroke, heart failure, and coronary artery disease, and pulmonary conditions such as pulmonary embolism, COPD, and asthma.

Risk factors for long Covid included older age, being female, tobacco use, higher body mass index, and experiencing more symptoms during the acute Covid-19 illness. Vaccination prior to infection was associated with a decreased risk of long Covid. The study authors recommended continued efforts to prevent Covid-19 infections and enhanced health monitoring of individuals after an infection.

This thing will be killing people for a long time and for many years to come. We are far from the end of the pandemic and people really need to stay on top of it when it comes to protecting their health.