Many people suffer only light symptoms from the coronavirus and recover without any apparent ill effect but unfortunately, there are those that have a different experience, suffering from serious health issues long after having recovered from the virus.

In Israel, a clinic treating people with “long COVID” was opened last month in the Baruch Padeh Medical Center (also known as the Poriya Medical Center) in the Lower Galil, just south of Tiveria.

The clinic is headed by Dr. Nazal Salah, a respiratory specialist and senior physician in the medical center’s respiratory department.

“We’ve been dealing with the pandemic for a year now and we’ve seen that many people continue to suffer from various symptoms even after recovering from the virus, such as fatigue, exhaustion, breathing difficulties, and concentration difficulties,” Dr. Salah said. “We opened the clinic to assist them by providing a comprehensive solution for the treatment of these symptoms.”

Last week, the WHO called for more research on long-COVID. “Long COVID should not fall through the cracks,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to studies, one out of 10 coronavirus patients may suffer from prolonged symptoms a month after infection but little is known about the phenomenon.

According to a report by the Mayo Clinic, some coronavirus patients show evidence of lasting damage to the heart muscle and lungs months after recovery.

“Even in young people, COVID-19 can cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome — a condition that causes temporary paralysis,” the Mayo Clinic states on its website. “COVID-19 may also increase the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)