Why do some people experience long-term effects after having COVID-19? And what can be done to speed recovery and prevent it? Researchers at UIC are part of a national effort to answer those questions and more.
Weeks or even months after recovering from COVID-19, some patients continue to experience symptoms such as ongoing fatigue, shortness of breath, sleep disorders and brain fog.They are often referred to as long haulers, and their symptoms can range from mild to completely debilitating. Recent estimates suggest up to 50% of patients may experience long COVID, according to Dr.
To better understand why some people experience long-term effects after having COVID-19, researchers at UIC are investigating long COVID as part of a national study. UIC researchers are studying what makes someone vulnerable to long COVID-19 and are exploring factors that might be protective and what interventions are needed to help patients return to normal as quickly as possible.
“We want to better understand whether a patient’s recovery differs according to the strain of SARS-CoV-2 that caused COVID-19; health history and lifestyle, including vaccination status before infection; and the role of social and environmental factors,” said Krishnan, who’s the contact principal investigator for the study, in a statement. “Answers to these questions will help us to support the people and communities most impacted by COVID-19.
UIC will receive approximately $22 million from the National Institutes of Health over four years to research long COVID as part