Daily Herald editorial: Think of yourself. Are long-hauler symptoms worth the price of not getting vaccinated?

We've all gotten colds.

They last a week or two and you feel normal again. You can reliably expect this to be the case.

We've all gotten the flu.

It's certainly no fun, but most people recover from it without any lingering problems. Not all people, however.

With some in weakened conditions, the flu can lead to bacterial pneumonia, sinus and ear infections and the worsening of preexisting chronic conditions, such as asthma, diabetes and congestive heart failure.

Many die from the flu.

With COVID-19, however, it's difficult to predict whether once you have it you'll get over it in a week or two ... or ever.

Those who have lingering effects from COVID-19 are called long-haulers. Their long-term troubles are varied and often come in troubling combinations.

Our Jake Griffin, who with Marni Pyke has been tracking COVID-19 daily for two years, wrote about the tales of suburban long-haulers for Monday's newspaper.

About one in three people infected with COVID-19 requires additional medical treatments for symptoms that persist or manifest after the initial recovery, Griffin reported.

Carina Graham of South Elgin told Griffin her whole family contracted COVID-19 but she is the only one still suffering its effects: constant ringing in her ears and an inability to taste her favorite foods.

“I want to say I lost 16 pounds in about three months because everything I was eating tasted rotten,” she said. “It's definitely getting better, but there are some things I just can't even stand the thought of anymore.”

As far back as June 2021, we were writing about COVID long-haulers.

Alix Atwell, a Barrington woman who began her four-part “COVID Diary” series for the Daily Herald in June 2020, described how COVID-19 hobbled each of her family members differently. She still suffers from fatigue, muscle weakness, joint pain, balance issues, headaches, ringing in her ears, hearing loss, brain fog and trouble finding words. She takes oxygen from a machine when she sleeps.

If you are unvaccinated and it's not enough to worry about how you might affect others, then think about yourself.

Are you comfortable with the prospect of no longer enjoying food?

Or of having chronic pain, breathing problems, raging headaches or ringing in the ears?

Think of all of the people who weren't vaccinated and now are dealing with chronic problems.

Is it worth the roll of the dice?