Having posted 60+ COVID articles since 2020, we both acknowledge our ongoing fixation on the subject as well as the effort to try to address the 5 W’s of journalism: who, what, when, where, and why.
Who? Everybody.
What? COVID diagnoses.
When? During 2023.
Where? The US, 10 Federal Regions, and 48 contiguous states
Why? Because the public is still getting ill, the data are out there for anyone to use.
long COVID symptoms
Long COVID comprises a set of persistent symptoms developing weeks after COVID per se has waned. Long COVID cases have been remarkably stable; about 36% of those who had experienced COVID developed long-term symptoms. As such, long COVID deserves more attention.
Long COVID remains chimeric, more a litany of symptoms than a clearcut “disease.” Perhaps a clustering of symptoms might reveal the underlying picture. Researchers using lots of data and statistical analysis identify some patterns.
There are plenty of reasons for skepticism about medical studies. Some are poorly designed or performed, and some conclusions are totally implausible. In addition, some interpretations of them are intentionally misleading, and some studies need not have been done at all.