Cracking Long Covid

These five women have similar symptoms. But there’s no single explanation—and no one magic cure

- Jason Gale

One felt her heart would explode out of her chest, another lost her ability to speak, and three others experienced unrelenting fatigue that left them confined to a bed, a bath or a wheelchair for much of each day.

The youngest is 23, and the oldest is 65. All but one work in health-related fields. Each has a different set of debilitating symptoms, but all have at least one thing in common-an immune system sent haywire by the coronavirus making them representative of the biggest group of people living with long Covid. As researchers strive to understand the condition, resemblances to other chronic ailments are coming into focus and providing insight into causes and treatments.

It's been two years since a group of UK doctors and researchers first warned of Covid-19's long-term effects.

Harvard University economist David Cutler puts the total cost of long Covid in the US at $3.7 trillion. That's equal to more than 80% of government outlays for the pandemic through the end of July. And scientists still don't know what causes it, how many people it affects or how to prevent and treat it.

Their view is clouded by more than 200 symptoms attributed to what the World Health Organization calls "post Covid-19 condition," many of which could have different causes.