Скачать или смотреть COVID patients find symptoms can linger months or return after treatment

Figures show that more than 1.5 million people in Taiwan have now had COVID-19. Many people make a great recovery. But some people are suffering from a condition known as “long COVID” – symptoms that linger on a long time after the original infection is gone. We heard from a 30-year-old marathon runner who’s lost stamina since a bout of the disease. Meanwhile, rules about COVID medicines are changing. Doctors have advice about what to do if your first course of drugs doesn’t do the trick.

Running a marathon is a big test of fitness and stamina. It’s become very popular in Taiwan in recent years. But one fit and healthy marathon runner has reported a big drop in his strength since catching COVID.

Dr. Vincent Su
Taipei City Hospital
He says that since he recovered from COVID, he climbs three flights of stairs and feels out of breath. And he has been “completely recovered” for more than a month. That’s quite a long time. Preliminary X-rays have not revealed anything particularly abnormal, some inflammation in the windpipe at most. I think patients like this may be quite common, in fact. Many people complain of fatigue or a decline in strength after a COVID infection.

This patient once took regular 40-kilometer runs. Now a few flights of stairs are inexplicably challenging.

Dr. Vincent Su
Taipei City Hospital
We still need a lot of research and studies and future observation to work out the full picture of the after-effects of this virus. So I would still not advise people to be blase about getting COVID. Recently some people have been saying they want to get it as soon as possible so they will be invincible, but overseas research has found that “invincible” immunity only lasts three to four months. It’s gone in a flash.

Doctors say that vaccination provides much better immunity than catching COVID. The government is relaxing rules about the prescription of COVID medicines, to stop highly vulnerable groups from developing serious symptoms. But reports from abroad suggest that many patients’ viral load goes up after five days’ treatment, even seeing a resurgence of symptoms.

Dr. Huang Li-min
NTU Hospital Pediatrics Dept.
If a person finishes the course of medicines and then tests positive again, it means their immunity is still inadequate. The drugs can only give you a leg up. They can’t eradicate all the virus particles. It’s down to your own immunity to fully clear away the virus. If you really feel bad after your symptoms return, you can take another course of medicine.

Doctors say that some medicines can be taken twice to help get rid of the virus for good.