Long COVID devastated her, but new treatments offer hope
The Boston Globe • • health
Key Points:
- Samantha Crausman, 28, has been severely debilitated by long COVID for four years, suffering from symptoms including brain fog, fatigue, and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which has confined her mostly to her home.
- Long COVID affects about 20 million Americans, predominantly women, with symptoms persisting beyond three months in one in ten cases and often lasting a year or more, severely impacting quality of life and work ability.
- Scientific understanding of long COVID is still evolving, with multiple potential causes such as viral persistence, inflammation, and autoimmune responses; treatments remain experimental and a definitive cure is not yet available.
- Patients like Crausman face challenges including medical skepticism
