COVID-19 refresher series: Morbidity

ALPENA, Mich.– In week four of our refresher series on COVID, we take a look at its after–effects.

As we discussed last week, the current case fatality rate for COVID–19 still means thousands of people die.

As for the survivors, Nurse Hailey Black, personal health supervisor at District Health Department number Four says some still suffer for months after recovery.

“People that have had it can have long-lasting side-effects afterwards. Lung damage is common. Heart damage is common. Kidney damage is common. Neurological effects are common.”

Black says these other effects are called the morbidity of the disease. Unfortunately, scientists don’t yet have a full understanding of why COVID–19 has such broad effects in the body.

Like Doctor Meyerson in previous weeks, nurse black says the newness of the virus is the main problem.

“There are a lot of viruses that have been studied for many, many years and we understand them quite well. Because this is a novel strain new to our population, there is a lot that’s still not well-understood.”

Black adds that these lingering effects may have a major impact on our healthcare system in the future. She said we need to start considering how to help survivors when we exit the pandemic.

“We have layered crises here. We have the acute public health crisis of a pandemic and it’s likely that we are going to be looking at generations of impacts afterwards due to the other effects of this virus.”

Black says survivors may struggle with medical bills down the line. These costs could affect family relationships and a survivor’s economic standing.

Surviving COVID–19 isn’t always the end. For some, it may be the beginning of a much more difficult medical journey.