Daily Herald opinion: As virus still finds paths to infection, tests aim to help people with long COVID

The Daily Herald Editorial Board

For most of us, it is natural to assume that the COVID epidemic is behind us.

No more masks at the grocery stores. No worries about standing shoulder to shoulder amid a throng of cheering fans at a baseball game or dancing and screaming at a rock music extravaganza. No daily counts of the sick and the dead.

We can sometimes almost find ourselves trying to remember what all the fuss felt like.

Then, we come across a Debbie Tumbarello.

Tumbarello, 55, vaccinated and boosted, contracted the virus at her wedding in February. Like most vaccinated and boosted individuals who get the disease nowadays, her symptoms were very mild. Even her doctor told her she could just let the disease run its course like any other flu.

Six months later, the course is yet to be run. The cold symptoms are gone, but severe fatigue and brain fog remain.

"I've tried some medications for the brain fog and done some physical therapy, but really nothing's worked so far," Tumbarello told our Jake Griffin for a story published last week. "Sometimes when I try to say something, I have to sit there and really think about what I want to say, and make those things come out of my mouth."

And yet, she has some hope. She will participate in tests beginning this week through NorthShore-Edward-Elmhurst Health under a course of clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health that aim to better understand the causes and find treatments for what has come to be known as long COVID.

Patients with long COVID - about one in 13 of those infected by the virus - experience relentless fatigue, brain fog, chronic pain and shortness of breath.

NIH is spending more than $1 billion on long COVID research through a program called RECOVER - Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery. Anyone suffering from long COVID and interested in participating should contact NorthShore-Edward-Elmhurst Health via IDResearch@northshore.org or call (224) 364-7971.

Meanwhile, it's important that the rest of us remember that, although the worst of the pandemic may have subsided, the risk of contracting COVID with serious consequences is still with us. Washing our hands, covering our sneezes, maintaining a safe distance from others and, yes, wearing masks in many situations are wise practices.

And, of course, vaccinations are critical. As Tumbarello found, they are not foolproof, but studies continue to show they help protect the vast majority of us from getting the disease or experiencing its most-serious, potentially life-threatening effects. The New York Times reported last week that major drug companies expect to release new vaccines this fall specifically targeting the currently most-common variant of the coronavirus.

Talk to your doctor. Don't let down your guard.