Evidence shows the omicron variant of the virus is less
deadly than previous variants, and few people are clamoring for a return to the
hard isolation of the pandemic’s early days. (I’m sure not.)
But omicron is contagious enough that the sheer numbers of new
patients (Dallas County reported its highest case numbers of the pandemic last
week) could put more pressure on our already strained
healthcare system, and even mild cases of COVID-19 can be
unpredictable.
My colleague Will Maddox spoke to Parkland’s Dr. Surendra
Barshikar about those cases of “long COVID,” those patients still suffering
from fatigue and brain fog months after contracting the virus:
“The majority of the
patients who require further follow-up are not the elderly and infirm.
Barshikar says this population is made up of primarily low-income Black and
Latino patients who are mostly middle-aged. Many do not have any underlying
health conditions.
‘Initially, we thought
that it’s only affecting people that have significant comorbidities,’ Barshikar
says. ‘But I have seen so many young, otherwise healthy people that had no past
medical history and yet have significant severe acute COVID.’”
Live your life, but be careful out there.
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