Long COVID Has Contributed to More Than 3,500 U.S. Deaths

Long Covid can be a disabling condition with symptoms that range from respiratory to neurological. According to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, Long COVID can be fatal.

According to death certificate data analyzed by NCHS researchers, Long COVID contributed to more than 3,500 deaths in the U.S. Long COVID, for an age-adjusted death rate of 6.3 per 1 million people, was listed as an underlying or contributing cause of death on a small percentage of death certificates.

According to Dr. Friedberg, the good news is that post-COVID is not a fatal condition. The majority of people get better with post-concentration.

Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is worried that the problem may be worse than it looks on paper.

It isn't the only post-viral illness.

Researchers looked at death certificates that mentioned COVID-19 as a contributing or underlying cause of death, then looked at those that explicitly mentioned Long COVID, such as "post-COVID" or "long-haul COVID." Al-Aly says that the process ignores people who had but didn't test positive for COVID-19 or Long COVID. There has been an increase in the number of death certificates that mention Long COVID over the last few years.

Some post-COVID problems are not as visible as other symptoms. According to studies, COVID-19 survivors are at increased risk of serious health issues including organ failure, heart attack, and blood clot, but those things may not be attributed to the virus on a death certificate.

Most of the action happens in the first 30 days if you have a virus, according to Al-Aly. Many viruses can cause long- lasting health consequences even if they are not linked to the initial infections.

Pre-existing conditions can be worsened by chronic illnesses, which can push a patient from stable to critical. Cancer, Alzheimer's, respiratory disease, and diabetes accounted for between 2% and 3% of deaths related to Long COVID. There are documented cases of people with long carbon dioxide dying by suicide.

According to the NCHS report, 80% of the deaths were among people 65 and older. Women seem to be more likely to die of Long COVID than men.

Friedberg says its findings underscore a familiar message: do whatever you can to avoid getting COVID-19, which is the best way to reduce the risk. Both your current and future health can be improved with the use of vaccines, masks, and Ventilation.

Right now, we don't have a way to stop it. Friedberg says that it is a lottery when you get conclusive evidence. It would be great to be able to cancel that lottery.

Jamie Ducharme can be reached at jamie.ducharme@time.com