Long Covid in the media and social media 2022

Article about Long Covid in English from Finland. It says treatment is uncoordinated and doctors disagree with each other over what it is.
YLE Over 21,000 cases of long Covid diagnosed in Finland

Quote:

There is, for example, a debate among doctors about whether it is an actual physical disease or more of a functional disorder.

According to Turku University professor of neurology Risto O. Roine, this may be the main reason why treatment in the public sector is lacking in many places.

"In Finland, there has been a widespread perception that long Covid is a psychological or functional disorder, and that may have influenced how it is approached. It's possibly been considered that there is no need to develop treatment," he said.

Roine pointed out that in the light of scientific research it is already known that the mechanisms of long Covid are biological, and viewing it as a functional disorder is not enough to explain the symptoms.

 

Trial By Error: Recent Articles in The Guardian, CNBC and Popular Science

https://www.virology.ws/2022/12/06/...les-in-the-guardian-cnbc-and-popular-science/

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1600217666064592896


I tried writing something but I don't know how to put so much loss in tweet form. Maybe others will contribute things that will give a starting for more to do the same.

 

"I just wasn't able to come back from that. I never felt like I had lots of energy on the bike. I went to the Vuelta to build through the race but all the way through I felt flat, flat, flat."

Yes yes yes. This is exactly how I felt after exercise during the PVFS stage- no PEM, just felt flat.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-highlights-long-term-dangers-of-covid-19/

 

Long Covid is distorting the labor market — and that’s bad for the U.S. economy
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/08/lon...-the-labor-market-hurting-the-us-economy.html

Estimates of how many people are unable to work due to long Covid vary widely. One person they cited calculated 2-4 million (1.8% of the US's labor force, yikes), another just 500,000.

If the effect on the economy truly is this severe, politicians and scientists are much more likely to listen and take action.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1600548451413958656


It's sad to say that given what they decide to write about first, I don't trust them. They seem to make it about themselves first. There's this:

But, yeah I don't trust them on that point. Either they won't go there, or they didn't manage to learn much and either option is bad. I hope I'm wrong but I doubt they'll be good for us.

 

Ironically, the main pressure on the economy here would be in the form of rising wages, which is actually a major concern right now (even though wages are far lower than if they had followed inflation). Fewer workers mean employers have to raise wages and court employees in ways they never had before. So this actually benefits a lot of people. Just not rich people.

Kind of similar to how the black plague basically ended feudalism in Europe, ended up raising wages for those who survived. But the overall impact is still very small. It's on the order or 2-3% of the population, that's a blip.

 

https://thegauntlet.substack.com/p/why-is-the-business-press-outreporting

Why is the business press outreporting the left on COVID?

Discusses the New Republic article.

 

From Long Covid Doctors for Action's Twitter bio, "A campaign and advocacy group committed to campaigning for UK doctors with post-acute #Covid complications and better workplace protections".

Seems a weird objection when their first posts are totally in line with their stated aim.

And the more they can do of these stated aims;

"To promote accurate information on the rights of UK doctors with #LongCovid in the workplace and other legal rights."

"To campaign for workplace protections against airborne SARS-CoV-2 spread."

"To promote accurate information and education on #LongCovid, and its effects on us and others as individuals."

the better for all.

 

A good article

 

Awful article in the New Republic claiming there is a debate to be had whether ME and now Long covid should be treated using a psycho social approach. Claims there is no evidence exercise harms people with ME and scoffs that ‘would make the condition suspiciously unique in the annals of medical knowledge.’
Suggests LC and ME are FND. Interviews such luminaries as the dreadful Michael Sharp and Alan Carson. https://newrepublic.com/article/168965/might-long-covid-wrong.

The author’s husband is a well recognised doctor apparently - Adam Gaffney - who has been anti long covid. He posted the article with gushing praise and switched off after a short while the ability for people to reply. They remind me of a younger version of our darling power couple SW and CG here in the U.K.

Edited to add - sorry I missed there is a thread on this article.

 

I'm not objecting. I just assume this will be bad for us, based on messaging and precedent.

Hoping I'm wrong about it, but the pattern so far doesn't support that, unfortunately.

 

https://twitter.com/user/status/1601223290273398784

 

Not sure if it will be LC only, but new advocacy account with awareness videos, by a biomedical engineer.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1601623662305546242


Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_OJEO5uLLY

 

A story about LC in children.

As is usual, Australian doctors are downplaying the risk:

 

Given the ignorant and problematic comments made by these doctors to the Senate Inquiry into LC, patients are probably lucky that they can't access these LC Clinics: