This is the first comic in a series about long COVID. The series features King County residents and providers sharing their experiences with the long-lasting symptoms and conditions that can follow an infection with COVID-19. Thank you to Deepa Sivarajan for sharing this story.
Deepa provided these recommendations for resources about long COVID:
- The Long COVID Survival Guide – a great series of essays by long COVID survivors, health care providers, public health specialists, and more
- The Sick Times – a site that tracks everything long COVID-related, including a helpful e-newsletter
- The People’s CDC – COVID protection advocacy organization that organizes for both COVID protections and for long COVID research and treatment
- Reporting by Ed Yong, who won a Pulitzer for his reporting on COVID – his articles are linked on his site (including PDFs for paywalled articles), and he has an e-newsletter
- Reporting by Julia Doubleday, including her e-newsletter The Gauntlet
Preventing long COVID
Anything you can do to reduce the risk of getting COVID in the first place and decrease the risk of severe disease will also reduce the risk of long COVID. So that means:
- Keeping up with COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Using all the protective measures, especially in crowded situations, like wearing well-fitting masks and making sure there is good air flow in rooms.
- Even if you had previous infection and never got long COVID, it is important to take precautions because long COVID can still occur during re-infection.
- Testing early and if you are eligible, getting treatment if you get infected with COVID-19.
Other long COVID stories
This comics series features King County residents and providers sharing their experiences with the long-lasting symptoms and conditions that can follow an infection with COVID-19. Other stories in the series:
“Just because you can’t see symptoms…”: A story from a Long COVID Clinic – PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER
They Don’t See the Crash: Jesse’s Long COVID Story – PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER
Comic by Meredith Li-Vollmer. Originally posted on March 5, 2024.