Post COVID Conditions Formally Named by CDC

The CDC has formally acknowledged the growing problem of patients who are suffering symptoms long after a COVID infection, calling the diagnosis Post COVID Conditions.

State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter said there’s a broad list of symptoms that reportedly as many as 80 percent of those who were infected will experience even after testing negative.

“These symptoms are broad and can include shortness of breath and chest pain, anxiety and depression, hair loss, sexual dysfunction, headaches, incontinence,” said Kanter. “Nobody wants any of these.”

The symptoms are considered to qualify if you get them for up to a month or longer after you are thought to have “recovered” from COVID.

Kanter said a study suggests about a quarter of all those who’ve had Post COVID Conditions have had to seek medical care to treat the condition.

“It is frightening particularly because even individuals who had very mild or even asymptomatic courses are still getting some of these symptoms,” said Kanter.

Kanter said these findings have further reinforced just how important it is to get vaccinated.

“It is not just protecting yourself against the worst complications, or protecting your family, but also protecting you against these longer-term symptoms which might not be fatal but can be life-altering,” said Kanter.