| There’s a growing mystery over recovering Covid-19 patients who don’t seem to get fully well. Some experience a re-activation of symptoms, or test positive again after earlier testing negative. Some are even potentially re-infected.
The issue is puzzling doctors and health experts, because it’s not clear why symptoms seem to be coming back in some patients. It’s also unknown if these patients continue to be infectious or if tests could be just picking up on dead virus particles.
Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab.
Photographer: BSIP/Universal Images Group Editorial
One thing is clear: these incidents are taking a major personal toll on patients who feel like they’re on a roller-coaster with no certainty as to when they will be truly fine.
In reporting on this mystery, I’ve kept in touch with a handful of Covid-19 patients. Most are weeks into the disease and thought they were over the worst of it, but remain puzzled and scared by lingering symptoms like breathlessness, body aches and stomach issues that would come and go. As the days passed, some would report happily to me that they were feeling better, while others would send updates full of frustration as they reported chest pains or shortness of breath, some of which resulted in an emergency room visit.
This mystery will also impact major issues like the development of a vaccine and how quickly governments can lift their lockdowns. If not all survivors develop real immunity to the virus, everything is thrown into uncertainty. In the long run, health-care systems, social safety nets and insurers could come under added strain.
The official statistics show that just over 1 million people and growing have officially recovered from the coronavirus. But for some like those I’ve interviewed, recovery is anything but simple.—Lisa Du |