When Deborah Shaffer tried to return to work two weeks after her Covid-19 infection, she forgot which floor of the veterans hospital she worked on. It was one of many strange expressions of the brain fog that has plagued the social worker in Wichita, Kansas, since she contracted the virus last November.
Ms. Shaffer is a veteran of Covid, someone who suffers from chronic symptoms for weeks or months after the initial infection. After her first unsuccessful attempts to return to the hospital, she has not worked a full day since she fell ill and has no idea whether or when she will return in person.
“I am a trained therapist and clinical social worker, but I cannot complete even the most basic tasks before me,” says Ms. Shaffer, 52. She recently started working from home, although she has not yet worked eight hours for day .
It is not easy for Covid long-haulers to get back to work. Scientists are just beginning to understand the mysteries of chronic Covid, also called Covid Long or Post-Acute Covid. It can cause several symptoms after the initial infection, including severe fatigue, cognitive problems, digestive problems, irregular heartbeat, headaches, dizziness and fluctuating blood pressure.
It is unclear exactly how many people suffer from long-term symptoms. But studies suggest that it is a significant part of the more than 107 million people with confirmed cases worldwide. About 26% of Covid’s 1,733 Chinese patients discharged from a hospital in Wuhan between January and May 2020 still experienced fatigue six months after the acute infection, according to a study published in Lancet in January.