What Are COVID-19’s Long-Term Medical Effects?

I’m a critical care nurse working in a COVID ICU. I’ve practiced nursing in a variety of settings, from helping to run an Ebola Treatment Unit in Liberia to coordinating mass vaccination campaigns during the H1N1 pandemic. I’m also a former political professional who really appreciates your insight and analysis.

One thing that I feel is really missing from the public discussion about COVID is the surprisingly high rates of (likely) permanent disability among those who become critically ill.
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I don’t think it’s terribly well understood why there’s such a high rate of organ damage among COVID patients,...it’s important to understand this: while most COVID patients don’t need ICU care, a troublingly high number of those who do end up in kidney failure or with profound neurological deficits.
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I’m not going to speculate about the numbers, but I will say this. If you had a crystal ball, and you told me that when this was over the number of cases that lived but with severe and profound disability would be more than 5 times the number of people who died, I would not feel surprised by that prediction. And that’s not a trivial number.

Stay safe. - TPM