Up to 38% of U.S. Adults Report Long COVID Symptoms in a New National Survey, Wastewater Prevalence Update, and The Silent Sacrifice of the Immunocompromised
A new level of denial explained.
COVID is a serious threat to our health, economy, and society! It's not just about reducing the quality of peoples lives and life expectancy, by accelerating aging, but also labor participation and economic productivity. We need to make preventing Long COVID a top priority for public and global health. The latest variants are going to increase the odds of acquiring a persistent infection so a greater number of people will be unable to work, properly care for their children or older adults in their care.
The latest U.S. Census Bureau survey released in April 2023, shows Mississippi with over 38% of adults reporting Long COVID symptoms lasting over three months and ten other states with over 30% of adults reporting Long COVID symptoms. There aren’t any states with under 25% adults reporting Long COVID symptoms. This is likely impacting similar numbers of people all around the world.
We will also look at the wastewater testing which shows the prevalence of COVID higher than in two prior years. We take a look at graphs from the U.K. showing the base level of infections remaining extremely high and explain the likely reason why the number of infections has started increasing again. No matter how much we wish it were true, we are not at the end of the pandemic. It may only be the beginning. See which U.S. states have the highest numbers of people reporting Long COVID symptoms.
Free subscribers will receive an email when the post is available to everyone.
The Household Pulse Survey, shows that for the period of March 29 - April 10, 2023, anywhere from 25% to 38% of adults are reporting COVID symptoms lasting longer than 3 months. We can see below that most of the states with the highest percentages of adults reporting Long COVID are in states that have had some of the least protections against COVID infections.
Hundreds of thousands of people with Long COVID are getting reinfected, and with each infection adding more risks to their health. Antivirals can help reduce the risk of Long COVID by between 10% and 25%. Unfortunately, current criteria for antiviral use may leave many Long COVID patients ineligible upon reinfection. We must investigate whether antivirals can reduce the consequences of reinfection in people who already have Long COVID. In the meantime, for those that want it, we should consider initiating antivirals upon reinfection while waiting for more evidence.
The majority of people with Long COVID symptoms aren’t going to share this with their friends and family because they know that most people won’t believe them or even want to hear about it. This makes Long COVID a silent pandemic that continues to impact millions of households. With hundreds of thousands of new infections everyday with ever more immune evasive and suppressive variants, the number of people suffering in silence will continue to grow.
Worse than suffering in silence with something you know is happening to you, is suffering and not knowing what is wrong with you. Spending time and money looking for answers to understanding what is happening. The majority of doctors will not recognize the symptoms as a persistent COVID infection or post COVID multi-organ damage or dysfunction. To many doctors are telling their patients that there is nothing wrong with them and that it’s all in their heads. Other doctors are treating individual symptoms without ever treating the cause of the problems. The cost to mental health will climb and the monetary cost of chasing symptoms without finding answers will cause more families to lose what little savings they have.
The end of the public health emergency is going to exasperate this growing health crisis. Secondary infections may present the first symptoms people are aware of. If you are experiencing new ailments, getting sick more often, feeling extremely tired, having trouble finding words, or feeling depressed or anxious, you may be suffering from the long-term impact of repeated COVID infections. We cannot ignore this virus and hope that it won't impact us or our loved ones. We need to act now and pressure our elected leaders to take actions that prevent the spread of this disease.
We need to raise awareness and support for those suffering from Long COVID. Let's come together to fight this silent pandemic and prevent further harm to our communities.
COVID is Real and Evolving at a Rapid Pace
Unbelievably there are accounts on social media pretending that COVID never existed and that it was all a made up story. Even worse, there are people that believe these accounts. SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 is confirmed through genomic sequencing by scientists around the world every single day. Tracked and categorized by mutational changes over time as evolution continues in millions of people.
Below is from the end of December 2022 and into early January 2023. We will see in the next pic down that evolution is continuing at a rapid pace.
Looking at the graph below, in May of 2023, we can see that evolution continues at a rapid pace. Not only the variants above the green line but also continuing outward all the way down the graph. The odds of more immune suppressive & dangerous variants grow exponentially with every passing day.
The Silent Sacrifice of the Immunocompromised
Increasing the odds of more dangerous, immune evasive and suppressive variants is the fact that more and more immunocompromised people are becoming infected after remaining protected for over three years. The silent sacrifices they have made to protect their own lives has also helped protect all of us by decreasing the speed of evolution. Studies show that immunocompromised are more likely to sustain persistent infections thus allowing more time for the virus to evolve around treatments and our immune systems. We have failed to protect infants, elderly, and everyone in between that is at higher risk and now we will likely see evolution increase in speed. Each new variant that infects people with persistent infections, is increasing the likelihood of new more dangerous variants. We are shooting ourselves in the foot and maybe putting the nail in our own coffin by allowing the unmitigated transmission of SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 infection poses extraordinary short- and long-term risks to people of all ages.
U.S. Wastewater Prevalence
Let's take a closer look at wastewater prevalence and compare where we are now to where we were over the past three years. The light green line in the graph below is representing the wastewater prevalence in 2023. The wastewater prevalence is higher now than in 2020 and 2021. In 2022 the wastewater prevalence started increasing in April. We can hope that we won’t see a surge from now into July or August but we certainly can’t count on it. We must continue to monitor transmission and the evolution by increasing the level of genomic sequencing around the country, and at airports.
Every country has to work together to increase mitigation protections, increase the level of genomic sequencing, data sharing and research into new mutations impacts on tests and treatments. It is extremely important to uncover more dangerous variants as early as possible. No matter how much we wish it were true, we are not at the end of the pandemic. Due to our own inaction, failing to take the proactive steps necessary, this may be just the beginning.
The Base Level of COVID Infections is Not Sustainable
The extremely high base level of infections will lead to an ever increasing number of reinfections, accelerating aging, and causing multi-organ dysfunction. Reinfections are increasing the odds of long-term persistent infections which significantly increases the odds of suffering from the often disabling impact of Long COVID. Reinfections are increasing the speed of viral evolution.
According to the ongoing Zoe Health Study, there were 1,012,677 active cases May 2, increasing to 1,056,750 active cases on May 9th. They reported 84,181 daily new COVID cases in the UK on May 9th, which is an increase from under 65,000 on May 2nd. Just like over the past few years, the 2 week spring break from schools, stops the exponential growth between homes and schools, allowing for a decline in infections. With schools back in session, the exponential growth resumes and will likely continue into July.
Clean Air for Kids
Investing in clean air technology will save lives.
It's simple: by investing in clean air in schools, workplaces, restaurants, and other public places, we save lives while also preventing all of the associated health and economic problems that arise when an infection occurs, as well as long-term damage that may not be visible for years or decades. Consider how chickenpox goes dormant, only to reappear when the immune system is compromised, usually decades later as shingles. Many of the health problems we face as we age are caused by infections. Consider how many days children would stay in school instead of sitting at home sick, and how many days parents and other workers stay productive instead of dragging and making others sick or calling out to be with their children. This adds up to significant savings, making the decision to invest in improving air quality an easy one.
We have an opportunity to use the cumulative science, data, and technology to provide a healthier future for our children and future generations, but we must invest the resources necessary to make this happen. This won’t happen without advocacy. Learn more and help support the Clean Air for Kids campaign.
T.A.C.T. is reporting the latest science, data, and analysis in order to achieve a sustainable path forward.
T.A.C.T. is a reader-supported publication. If you are not already a member of the T.A.C.T. community, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber to receive the latest updates and help support this work.
Let us know what you're seeing or experiencing where you are or any other insights you may have.
Hi TACT...
Really appreciate all the work you're putting into this; hopefully, you will help a few people get off the tracks as the train is coming.
The Biobot wastewater data presentation can be deceptive. For example, if you look at the descending green line for wastewater prevalence in 2023, one might get the impression that the situation is improving over time. However, in the Biobot Tweet below, we see that the prevalence of Arcturus is INCREASING in most U.S. regions which is kind of a big deal. No doubt a similar situation in Canada.
https://twitter.com/BiobotAnalytics/status/1656336959474892801
Keep fighting the good fight.