CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WV News) — Contracting COVID-19 can have a serious impact on a patient’s health, even if the patient doesn’t need to be hospitalized, according to the West Virginia’s COVID-19 czar.
Dr. Clay Marsh, speaking during Gov. Jim Justice’s Tuesday press briefing, cited a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which looked at the long-term health of patients who had contracted COVID-19 but did not end up in the hospital.
Marsh
“They found that in people who did not require hospitalization, about 20% of people who had had COVID below the age of 65 suffered some symptoms that would be consistent with long COVID,” he said. “About 25% of people not requiring hospitalizations over 65 also experienced these long COVID symptoms.”
Long COVID, also called post-COVID conditions, is a wide range of ongoing health problems experienced by people who have been infected by the virus, according to information from the CDC.
People who experience post-COVID conditions most commonly report tiredness or fatigue that interferes with daily life; symptoms that get worse after physical or mental effort; fever; respiratory and heart symptoms; difficulty breathing or shortness of breath; cough; chest pain; fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations); difficulty thinking or concentrating (sometimes referred to as “brain fog”); headache; sleep problems; dizziness when standing up (lightheadedness); pins-and-needles feelings; change in smell or taste; depression or anxiety; diarrhea; and stomach pain.
“Ultimately, having had COVID before does absolutely impact your immune system and many, many other systems — including your energy, your heart system, your brain system, your lung systems,” Marsh said. “We know that long COVID is an increasingly common manifestation of COVID-19.”
Also Tuesday, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources reported three additional deaths due to COVID-19.
The DHHR confirmed the deaths of a 107-year-old female from Berkeley County, a 76-year-old female from Barbour County- and a 92-year-old female from Hampshire County, bringing the state’s total COVID-19 death toll to 6,948.
“As we share this sad news, we pause to remember each West Virginian lost,” said DHHR Cabinet secretary Bill Crouch. “Our deepest condolences are extended to these families.”
There were 2,184 active COVID-19 cases statewide as of Tuesday morning.
The number of state residents hospitalized for COVID was 165, including 23 patients in intensive care units and nine patients on ventilators.
West Virginians ages 5 and older are recommended to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot when due.
Second booster shots are recommended for those age 50 and over who are 4 months or greater from their first booster, as well as for younger individuals over 12 years old with serious and chronic health conditions that lead to being considered moderately to severely immunocompromised.
The WV COVID-19 Vaccination Due Date Calculator is now available. It is a free online tool that helps individuals figure out when they may be due for a COVID-19 shot, making it easier to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccination.
To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, find a vaccine site near you or use the vaccination due date calculator, visit vaccinate.wv.gov or call 1-833-734-0965.
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