FACT FINDERS: How big of a threat is long COVID with omicron?

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - As many in southern Arizona are recovering from Omicron lots of questions about the possibly of long COVID with this variant.

Dr. Sean Elliott with Tucson Medical Center says we are starting to learn more about long COVID in those infected with omicron. Long COVID is when someone has new, returning, or ongoing health problems weeks after being infected. Some examples are: difficulty breathing, fatigue, brain fog, and headaches.

Since omicron is relatively new, there has not been a lot of time to see how big of a threat long COVID could be with this particular variant. However, Dr. Elliott says there are some early indications.

”There are some reports already that people are having long COVID but they’re far lower in intensity than the ones we saw after delta,” he said.

There is still much we do not know when it comes to long COVID from any variant. The CDC and other organizations are working to learn who is most likely to get long COVID and why. Rapid and multi-year studies are underway.

Copyright 2022 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.